Rave Research Paper

Flashing laser beam lights, large elevated stage, live DJs, fog machines, projected colored images, and an energized crowd… these are just some basic elements of raves. Originated in the 1950s in London, rave was first used to refer to wild parties in general. But as electronic music and its subgenres, notably acid house music in Chicago, began their development in the 1980s, the meaning of the word “rave” also started to evolve into to what the public commonly perceived as now. A rave is a large dance party which features loud electronic dance music (commonly referred to as EDM) songs, produced by DJs segueing selected recordings one after another. The product, called a mix, is amplified with powerful sound reinforcement system equipped with huge subwoofers for deep bass sounds. The process of mixing is usually done live on an elevated stage, while the crowd, as the audience, dance their hearts out on the floor. Throughout the event, multiple forms of social interactions could be observed, such as verbal communication and physical synchronization. Although not widely discussed, physical synchronization should be considered as a form of interaction since, while not as explicit as interactions based on language, dancers do assert influences on each other and being affected by …show more content…
As a characteristic of EDM, most tracks belonging to this genre contain no more than a single word or vocal phrase in its main verse. This means that everyone has the power to interpret the music, as opposed to classical music which the composer and the director dictate the way the music is to be played, or pop songs with their meanings strictly limited by the lyrics. As Eyerman and Jaimison state in his research on identity in dance music: “construction of meaning through music and song is … a central aspect of collective identity formation” (1998,