An important objective of the work was to find things in common between the rave subculture and shamanism. The author also tried to answer the question of why electronic music fascinates and attracts so many people.
Rave parties are all-night or even multi-day events where electronic music characterised by a distinctive beat created by drum sounds at 115 to 160 beats per minute is played. Music genres such as techno, house, jungle, drum&bass, hardstyle, acid, tribal and ambient dominate at rave parties.
Music with the beat is primarily distinguished from other genres by the fact that it has hypnotic qualities. Some fans claim that it puts them into a kind of trance and causes pleasant feelings, often, unfortunately, compounded by the consumed drugs.
The capital of rave in Poland is Lodz – it was here that the event of this type has been organised for the first time. This year, after a break of 20 years, the Freedom Parade (organised on the model of the one in Berlin) as a symbol, a celebration of electronic music comes back to the streets of the city.
From vision to trance
When choosing the topic for the seminar, we had a brainstorming session. Coming from the topic of dreams, dream visions, I came up with the idea that I could address something similar in my work. I've always been interested in questions of religion, beliefs, so I started wondering if it would be possible to find things in common between trance at rave events and shamanic trance? After all, people who dance steadily at raves look as if they were in a trance.
– says Wiktoria Michalska.
The main aim of the study was to present the experience of trance, understood as an altered state of consciousness, by participants of rave parties. The paradigm was anthropology of experience, while interviews, observation and autoethnography constituted the research method. Victoria herself has attended rave parties.
As she points out interviewing rave attendees in such a way that they would use the term 'trans' themselves – to minimise the risk of autosuggestion – was of key importance in her study. Victoria also examined how the state of trance affected the perception of music, the lighting, or the dance itself.
Rave and shamanism
The most important elements of rave parties are techno music and dance, which are characterised by strong rhythmicity and transogeneity. They make their participant, who moves to the rhythm of the music, begin to feel a sense of community with the other partying people. Strobe lights, which give the impression of being unreal through their intense flickering, are an additional element.
– author of the work describes the rave experience.
The specific music – very steady, reminiscent of the sound of shamanic drums – is the first common thing between rave culture and shamanism. As Wiktoria Michalska points out, this is a certain cultural borrowing of the element of aesthetics and mood.
DJs playing, mixing music also play an important role at rave parties. Victoria has had the opportunity to interview one of them. As he acknowledged, it is up to the DJs to determine the nature of the event. They are the ones who, controlling the music, the sound, have the greatest influence in putting rave parties attendants into a trance. They are an essential element unifying the rave community. The same way the shamans unite their communities.
Some of Victoria's interviewees admitted to taking psychoactive drugs during rave parties – they explained this by the need to go deeper into the trance. However, the accounts of those who experienced it under the influence of drugs were not significantly different from those who did not take drugs.
Community and harmony
The climate of unity and harmony that prevails at rave parties makes them seem safer than other music and dance events, such as club parties. There are unwritten rules of the rave community that predict a group-wide response to an unwanted aggressive behaviour. It is also very important to respect the personal space of attendees of such events.
This subculture is based on love, respect and music. At its core, it is not to divide but to bring people together. Community and music are its core values; additional aspects can be noticed later.
– concludes Wiktoria Michalska.
The thesis was supervised by dr Sebastian Latocha and reviewed by dr Katarzyna Orszulak-Dudkowska.
Source and Edit: Natalia Naworska, Marcin Kowalczyk, Promotion Centre, University of Lodz