When you think about rave culture, what do you envision? Typically from the outside it may seem as though it’s just a bunch of idiotic people finding an excuse to do drugs. A person that’s somewhat familiar with the scene can see the appreciation ravers have for the music but still affiliate it primarily with drugs. Granted these perceptions aren’t one hundred percent inaccurate but, to the people of the rave community it’s so much more than that. When you go to an EDM show you don’t just see a DJ and lights. You see various forms of art, friendships being formed, a community of people growing closer with each show. The sentiment at every show and raver’s lifestyle is Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect (P.L.U.R.).
The types of art you see within rave culture vary. Many people display and sell their art at EDM shows such as paintings, jewelry, hat pins, etc. but, the other forms of art have a community of their own. I’m talking about gloving (image 1), poi, hula hooping, orbits, and any other type light show people can come up with. Many people refer to this as flow art. Some people go to raves solely to learn new concepts and techniques as well as to practice and show what they’ve learned.
Gloving consists of having LED light gloves and “gloving” to the beat of the music. Poi is having LED lights at the end of strings, swinging them to the beat. Hula hoopers have an LED hoop and move it around in incredible ways. Orbits have a light up middle piece connected by two strings that sometimes have light up handles. With any form of light show people are into it’s not only the moves one has that creates the beauty, but the lights themselves. Many people are able to create their own color patterns and strobes (light sets), depending on their equipment. All of these are not exclusively practiced at shows; people who really indulge in these hobbies practice any chance they get. They have Facebook pages to share videos and ideas as well as to organize get togethers' to collaborate with one another.
Light shows of every kind can be mesmerizing and absolutely beautiful, however because of the typical misjudgment of rave culture I mentioned in the first paragraph, participants are automatically categorized as avid drug users. I myself am a glover and have personally experienced this misjudgment. I was sitting on my college campus with a friend, showing her the new concepts I had learned, when we were approached by two public safety officers employed by the school. My friend and I were not making any sort of ruckus (I’ve seen people be way more routy in the exact same spot), and the officers ask us if we were on drugs. We looked at them disgusted as they explained that my lights are typically associated with MDMA and molly so they “had to come make sure”. As I said before, people (especially glovers seeing as we only need our hands to practice) will practice any chance they get. Do we have to be on drugs to do something we love? I personally go to every show sober and know many others who do the same because, the ‘high’ you get from the environment itself is enough. Music that hits an amazing beat, meeting people in the crowd that you vibe with so well that you exchange information and trade Kandis’.
Kandi bracelets are bead bracelets people make that usually say some sort of word or short phrase. People trade kandi by throwing up a peace sign and then the two people do a sort of handshake representing P.L.U.R ending with the bracelets being transferred through each others clasped hands. Some people, myself included, will only trade kandi they’ve made, not what they’ve been given. This is a really cool concept because when you look at all the
People have all sorts of ways to document or remember what shows they’ve attended. Some people collect the hat pins being sold at shows, some people decorate their walls with cards stating the DJ and the date (handed out by promoters after different shows). I’ve also seen people keep/display their wristbands, or even wear their wristbands for as long as possible. The reasoning behind this is that with every show, a comes a completely unique experience. Whether that experience be good or bad, you still enjoy looking back on it.
Of course I need to touch down on what brings us all together to these shows, the music. In my opinion what makes this music beautiful is that you don’t need to know the song to be able to vibe with it, since it’s based mostly on beats rather than lyrics. Infact when a DJ plays live they tend to freestyle a bit. Sure DJs’ will play their popular songs that everybody is dying to hear but, they won’t hear the exact same song they have downloaded on their phones. What makes shows so incredible is that the DJ feels the energy from the crowd and will remix the song in a way nobody was expecting. When this happens you can hear the whole crowd explode with recognition. I think this is partially where the unity in P.L.U.R is displayed; we’re all hearing these new variations together for the first time, and typically experience a similar sensation with each drop.
Obviously nothing I’ve stated in this article is an absolute; there are no absolutes in life. However this is a deeper look into rave culture that reveals more than shown by society and media. We are a very diverse group of people brought together by the magic music fills us with and, stuck together by the family and love developed.
