underground raving: a sociological analysis

7/30/2019 Underground Raving: A Sociological Analysis

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Underground Raving: A Sociological Analysis

Most music cultures were born from obscure roots, where only a small collective of people were

interested in the style. Grunge, for example, originated in Seattle and stayed local while much of

America remained fixated on Los Angeles and New York for music. Electronic dance music, or EDM,

shares this characteristic. Its first shows were in warehouses where only a few hundred people would

attend. Today EDM is arguably the most rapidly growing genre of music, with numerous massive

festivals each year around the world. However, despite this growth, some members of the community

continue to organize smaller, unpermitted events that sport local artists instead of headliners. These

events are colloquially referred to as underground raves, but dont let the name fool you: most

underground arent really underground. A more appropriate term would be undercover, as the key

characteristic of an underground rave is secrecy. Simply getting to the venue is an adventure with many

steps, but once there attendees are greeted with a sense of oneness and family that cant be found at

large scale events.

Before understanding the culture of the underground rave one must know and respect the long,

tedious process that is getting to the event. Information for the underground is shared on social media

websites, through flyers, or simply by word of mouth. Initially event organizers share the lineup of artists

as well as the date, time, and a phone number. Locations are generally not disclosed; this is what the

phone number is for. On the night of the event, usually an hour or two before it starts, the phone

number, more commonly referred to as an info line, becomes active, and attendees can call it for

information on where to go next. The location provided may not necessarily be the venues location and

is often times a map point a place where tickets can be purchased or a shuttle point a place where

attendees are shuttled to and from the event. Organizers use any combination of map points and

shuttle points to direct and bring attendees to the venue. The key reason these intermediary steps are


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used is to assure that the location of the venue isnt given to law enforcement agencies. Underground

raves are never permitted events, so it is imperative to keep the location a secret until required by

attendees. Getting to the event can take anywhere between half an hour to two hours, but once there

attendees have stepped into a new world. Lights flash from the stage as fans dance to their favorite

music. People wear colorful clothes and beaded bracelets. Some are experiencing the music in a whole

other manner by receiving a light show. Others have stepped away from the crowd to rest on the walls

or get some fresh air outside. Everyone has come to experience the music not for themselves but as a

community. Underground raves bring out the strong EDM fans that want to enjoy their favorite music

with likeminded people in an open and free environment.

It isnt hard to point out a member from the underground rave community, commonly referred

to as a raver, from a crowd. At events ravers often wear colorful bracelets that they make themselves.

These bracelets, called kandi, include simple one-row designs called singles, multi-row designs called

cuffs, and even more complex designs that expand off the wrist called 3Ds. These bracelets are made

from nothing but string and beads and are shared amongst ravers as a sign of friendship. The sharing is

done through a strict three-step process. First, participants attach the tips of their fingers together as

peace signs. Next, they do the same but with each hand forming half a heart as to create the illusion of a

full heart when attached. Finally, the participants hands interlock and become attached, at which point

each person takes their turn to slide a piece of kandi across to the others wrist. This process represents

part of the raving acronym PLUR, which stands for peace, love, unity, and respect. PLUR acts as a moral

code for ravers; the acronym underlines the four ways in which ravers should act toward each other and

the world at large. Not respecting these rules puts your identity of being a raver at question. Another

less common material element associated with ravers are light gloves gloves with multicolored lights

at the tips of the fingers. These lights make different patterns as you move them through the air. Light

gloves are moved around creatively in front of peoples faces in a psychedelic performance called


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gloving. Glovers, as they are called, do not have predefined routines in their performances but rather

string together a repertoire of smaller moves to resemble the intensity and pattern of the music playing.

This combination of auditory and visual stimulation can bring spectators to a heightened state of

euphoria. Ravers perform light shows for nothing more than the benefit of the spectator and as an

opportunity to expand their skills. When asked for a light show, a glover will gladly perform one. Glovers

are also open to constructive comments and criticism from spectators, as their primary goal is to

become a better glover and create the best performances possible.

Making your way into the underground rave culture is nothing more than a social task. Because

of their secrecy, underground raves are nearly impossible to access without knowing someone that

attends them. It is already unlikely that someone will know what an underground rave is until someone,

presumably a raver, explains it to them. However, there are internet forums that publicly post about

underground raves as well as other EDM events. It is also important to know someone with a car or have

one of your own. Map points, shuttle points, and venues are often in areas that are difficult to access by

public transit, and organizers often ask attendees to stay in their cars until the shuttle arrives at shuttle

points as to not attract any attention while waiting. After this, your integration into the community is

entirely dependent on the people you know and the connections you make. Because all aspects of

underground raves have a sense of family attached to them, it is not difficult to meet all the important

members in the underground rave community, such as organizers and artists , once youve met one of

them. This sense of family also makes it easy for new ravers to offer their help at events. For example,

getting on the lineup for an event is as simple as sending a recorded mix to organizers that

demonstrates your competence and asking when the next availability is. Similarly, people are willing to

offer help when asked for it. This makes throwing your own event relatively easy if you know the right

people, and it isnt uncommon for people helping with the event to do so free of charge.


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There seems to be a common theme emerging from the underground rave culture: selflessness.

It can be found in the glovers, who use their $50 to $100 light gloves for nothing but the entertainment

of others. It can be found in the important members artists and event organizers who are open to

those willing to lend a hand and are willing to lend a hand themselves when needed. There is no

monetary gain attached to their actions; they are doing what they do solely for the entertainment of

everyone and the success of the underground rave. This heavily contrasts the larger, mainstream EDM

events thrown today. These for-profit events take more social connections to gain upward mobility in

the community, and getting involved means you must prove that you have something big to offer.

Artists must not only have the skills necessary to perform but also a fan base that will attract more

attendees. Organizers need to make enough money to pay everyone involved as well as know enough

big name people to make the event come together. Most important, audiences at mainstream EDM

events are there for the artists, not the community as a whole. Only a select few are involved in the

deeper aspects of the event, and theyre usually backstage or on stage, physically and socially separate

from the crowd. Many underground ravers choose not to attend mainstream EDM events because they

know theyll have a better time with a tightly knit community of other underground ravers, but this is as

much a personal decision as it is for someone to do the opposite. Some appreciate the major lineups

offered by mainstream events, while others prefer the sense of family and freedom at underground

raves.

Recently, however, the identity of the underground rave has begun evolving. The events are

getting what some would call plagued by a new generation of EDM fans. These fans have found their

way into the underground rave culture after EDM became widely popular. Their appreciation for the

music is different than that of old school ravers, who began listening to EDM before it was well

known. Where the old generation of ravers listens to little-explored and less accepted subgenres of EDM

such as neurohop and glitch hop, the new generation listens to more popular and widely accepted


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subgenres such as electro house and dubstep. Because of this, and because of their own interest in

them, DJs at underground raves play these more accepted subgenres, which in turn attracts more new

generation ravers. There has also been an increase in gang members at raves, mainly for the purpose of

selling drugs. It is becoming more common for fights to break out amongst rival gangs at an

underground rave over drug and territory conflict. There is also an increase in non-ravers attending

underground raves, predominantly males from racial minorities who appear to be at the raves for

nothing more than becoming sexually active with other female attendees through suggestive dances

such as grinding. This increase could possibly be attributed with the rise in popularity of trap music, a

subgenre of EDM that fuses hip-hop beats and elements of electronic music at large. It is usually when

trap music is played that these non-ravers become noticeably more involved in the music, dancing more

to it than to any other subgenre of EDM. Most importantly, not all newcomers to the community

respect the moral code that has played a predominant role in underground raving since its birth. This

combination of old raver, new raver, and non-raver values is calling the identity of the underground rave

culture into question. Many old generation ravers have split from the community as a whole and

developed crews that throw underground raves catering more to their desires. These even smaller

communities are more questioning of new ravers, fearing that they might bring to their events the same

values that are destroying the moral code everyone once respected. However, by doing so they are

ironically supporting a non-inclusive attitude, the same attitude they are worried will plague their

events. With neither side of underground ravers respecting the norms that were once commonplace, we

must really consider what it means to be a raver in this day.

EDM has become widely successful since its underground origins in the early 90s, but this has

not stopped the underground rave culture from flourishing. Within the culture we find promotion of

selflessness and a strong sense of family. Ravers hold distinct material items that distinguish them from

other cultures and are also used to promote selflessness in their own way. The community even has an


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acronym that expresses exactly what the moral code of ravers is. However, underground raves are

starting to attract attendees that skew the definition ofraver and the culture. As values from all sides

seek a balance amongst each other, the community must redefine itself, with or without holding on to

what were once habitual norms.

underground raving: a sociological analysis

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