Musikal Resistance: A Short History (I)
This paper was originally presented as an informal talk at the Rebelstar Activist Retreat, Crescent Beach, BC, Canada on November 26th, 2001.
Musikal Resistance: A Short History (I)
History.
Rave Culture began at the juncture of several political social movements.
i) Jamaican Dub Soundsystem Culture of the 70s/80s
ii) UK Traveller Culture (ex-hippies); Punks; New Agers; also a centuries old tradition of Carnival on the Common Lands
iii) Austin, Texas, 1986: the impact of Ecstasy
iv) Continuation of Chicago Disco into house music; the rise of gay culture and the Funk Movement
v) Detroit: the artistic-social backlash to the failed modernist city-project resulted in Detroit techno and rap.
vi) The late 80s in the UK saw the rise of Acid House music (Chicago house with a 303 overtop, the combining of Chicago dance culture with UK rebellion), which took on new social importance due to its context: “dj’ed,” on turntables, mixed by djs with pitch controls (this is a new thing!), in illegal spaces: occupations of warehouses, farmlands, public and private spaces.
Tagged: electronic music, history, Jamaican, rave, soundsystem culture, TAZ, UK, US