Raves, Drugs, and Imagination

By Deadly Buda July 19, 2001

Rave Culture will die unless drug useage is replaced by a flowering of imagination. I am not basing this statement on statistics, gurus, cops, clergy or politicians. This is my opinion based on 10 years of intimate involvement with every aspect of this social movement.

What attracted me to the rave scene was the combination of things I was interested in: music, art, technology, spirituality, dancing, and other people similarly interested. We were combining our resources to generate something ‘new’. Perhaps it was not ‘new’ - it was actually ‘us’. Our generation did not previously have a voice or identity, so we constructed our own. Social identity is important because it helps explain what we mean to each other. As humans must co-operate to survive, we are constantly in need of re-establishing connections to ourselves and nature so that we may co-ordinate our actions. We do this through expressive forms: dancing, playing music, drawing or just blasting your favorite tunes out the car. It all says ‘this is me’ to others. The rave scene initially addressed its expressive needs by drawing from other sources. For example, the music was a synthesis of hip-hop, industrial, disco-house-techno, punk and world music; the art was derived from graffiti, pop art sensibility, Situationism and the evolving of computer graphics. The spirituality was derived from a variety of sources, but because of the technological bent of the rave scene, it gravitated towards ‘conscious enhancing’ chemicals. Connecting with a ‘higher power’ through ‘mind expanding substances’ is a vestige of 1960’s thinking, a result of failing organized religion during the 20th century. The hypocrisy of Western Civilization’s religions forced people to look elsewhere for spiritual inspiration. In the 60’s, Acid, and its hallucinations, attempted to fill the gap. By the late 80’s, Ecstasy displaced Acid because it also addressed another important issue - human connection. Ecstasy helped us reach out to one another in a loving way amidst an increasingly alienating society.

Perhaps the drugs could have been therapeutic, but reality economics came into play. Illegal and in demand, they were supplied by criminals. Soon these criminals were supplying drugs that had no pretension of spirituality, such as cocaine, heroin and crystal meth. They would find willing customers at the rave. Ravers take drugs for the same reasons that most people take drugs: to alter their perception of reality. The more adverse our reality is, the more we desire to escape it. Because drugs alter our perceptions, we may think we are making a positive decision by taking drugs to mask pain.

Unfortunately, some problems are internal. No manner of diversion can fully aid our problem’s resolution. Being the victim of abuse, feeling rejected by society, or spiritual disappointment (such as a loved one dying, or a religious hypocrisy) eventually take their toll. We internalize these problems and they are felt on such a profound personal level that it is difficult for us to admit their full impact without feeling embarrassment, shame and betrayal.

The rave scene is rejected by society - Police regularly bust raves. Ravers want to hug each other-Society is distant and alienating. Ravers desire relevant spirituality - Society insists on worshipping hypocritical institutions. Ravers appreciate a culture of their own making - Society seems to hate creativity, creative people, and would rather be out shopping. It seems we are trapped within a diseased, bankrupt society whose every evil not only has placed it’s black mark on us, but is fully on display, it’s mere presence mocking anyone with an iota of sensitivity. The problem with the drug ‘solution’ is that is appears to work - initially. When drugs initially separate us from pain, we have a convincing vision of what life can be. It is as if we are at our best. But we are not at our best. We are only feeling better about a bad situation that has strengthened while we merely focus on its symptoms. Ideally, you could have one good trip, learn from it, and it ends there. But many, like myself, didn’t stop after the first time. The lure of an escape prompted repeated exposure to more, harder drugs that created a physical as well as a mental addiction, compounding our problems.

On ecstasy, it was nice to hug everyone, and have them reciprocate. Hangovers, dehydration, nervousness, and not able to properly focus without eye strain is not fun, and is inferior to just hugging in regular life. Without drugs, I was afraid of people (more specifically their potential for rejecting me). Because alienation is more painful than the drug’s side effects, I thought a drug that would mask the alienation was the solution. But the pain I felt inside never really went anywhere. It continued to subconsciously haunt my waking day, until I summoned the courage to acknowledge it. Until that moment, I wasted time and energy.

Frankly, the reality we are forced to live in often sucks. It’s greedy, superficial and desperate, It hurts us, but escape is not the answer. If we ignore our problems, they will destroy us. The solution is imagination, and it’s nurturing. If the rave scene stands up with courage to reality, utilizing its best assets-it’s creativity and imagination, perhaps our whole society can benefit. .All human-generated reality starts in the imagination. The imagination is the link between the physical and the spiritual world, and it is fostered by the creative arts. These expressions are the fundamental reasons for the Rave Scene’s existence in the first place. Furthermore, existence morphs constantly - generating new situations for humans to contend with. Humans address these changes in reality with ideas, and this helps insure their survival. This is a feedback loop that must not be interfered with. It must be encouraged - and the most important way for us to do this is fostering the imagination within rave culture.

Morph Beats and Teknivals…

By Deadly Buda

Freebass 0.4 2001 (USA)

You are most likely to hear Morph beats at Teknivals.

As described in my article 2 issues ago in this very mag; ‘Morph Beats’ refers to a genre of electronic music that synergizes all the current sub-genres of rave music such as Jungle, Hardcore, House, Trance, Ambient, etc. As it doesn’t easily fall into any specific category, and because many rave promoters are more conservative than we would like to believe, Morph Beats have found themselves orphaned from their birthplace – the rave! The music demands to be heard, and people demand to hear something new and relevant, and so desire stimulates action.

The Teknival is a French term that describes a ‘Free Techno Party’. It is fitting that the French coined the term, as the phenomena is strongest in France, though the same sort of party happens frequently in Spain, Italy, UK, Eastern Europe, and sporadically in the United States. Currently the parties will involve as many as 30 different Sound Systems, go on for multiple days for multiple thousands of people, all without consent from the authorities, who are essentially powerless to stop a Teknival when it is at it’s apex. The parties are ‘free’, as there is no way to really charge when you are set up in the middle of a national park, or in the middle of a street demonstration.

I know this all sounds pretty far-fetched to American raver readers who are used to paying $45 for a ticket to a rave that gets busted as soon as a cop spills his coffee. Thus, I will try my best to explain how Teknivals developed, and how they are brought to life.

Before you can have a Teknival, you need a Sound System. A Sound System, or ‘Rig’ as it is often called, is usually a few musicians making electronic music and their friends who like to party. They usually start having parties in the basement of the space they live in, so that they can play the music they are working on. This soon gets crowded, and so they invest in a PA, Speakers, Mixer and generator, and play in a park or empty warehouse somewhere. This small gathering usually gets busted by the cops. Why does a small gathering usually get busted by the cops? Theories abound, but it seems as if there is a strong authoritarian bias against people gathering together when it can’t be taxed, or controlled to the point of crushing any remotely creative impulse or joy of social union. This would be the end of the story, but because there are many sound systems, eventually they start to meet each other and compare notes. By gathering their resources, they realize they can effectively organize in such a way as to make the party too big for the authorities to easily control.

The Sound Systems conspire on a date and location that the event will take place, this is kept secret. All concerned people must respect the secrecy of the location, as the more people that know the location; the more chance there is that something will go wrong. “Loose lips sink ships”. The date is advertised in fanzines, on scraps of paper left at record stores, on various info lines, etc. The Phone number given only will reaffirm that something will take place on that date somewhere, perhaps with a general geographic locale, such as “Northern France”. Usually the unspecified locale is a campground of a National Park or similar venue. The Sound Systems will arrive at the location a few days prior and begin camping as any other normal campers. But these are not your ordinary campers!

The night before the Teknival, like busy squirrels, they are uncloaking and setting up their sound systems, whilst all the other unsuspecting campers sleep! Once the Sound Systems begin setting up in earnest, the info line will specify a rendezvous point (usually at a super market parking lot or similar locale). There is only one info line at this point, usually a different phone number than the one given out previously. The rendezvous point is spread by word of mouth from those lucky enough to get through the busy signal. This procedure prevents easy monitoring by the police.

Once a sufficient number of people have reached the rendezvous point (usually a couple hundred) A car comes from the event site. This car then leads a caravan of every car at the rendezvous point, too the event site. The caravan is important to keep together, because there is no way to stop it reaching its destination (i.e. interference from the police) if the cars maintain a steady even pace. The purpose of the caravan is to have as many people as possible at the site at one time, so there are instantly more people than can easily be pushed around by the cops.

Once the area is ‘secured’ by the mere act of having a large group of determined people, the party begins. Now that the location is safely secured, all Teknival and morph beat related info-lines, pirate radio stations, etc. broadcast the location of the Teknival. Now everyone can know where it is at, and word spreads like wildfire, increasing the attendance at the site, and the power of the Teknival! These parties usually rage all weekend, 3 days for National holidays, and sometimes in extreme cases can go all week.

As for leaving the site at the end of the party, this is really when you are at your most vulnerable. The same principle of strength in numbers applies. It is good to split up equipment among a few cars, and try to leave amongst the inevitable grid lock that will take place during the end of the Teknival. If the cops get a speaker or two, big deal, you can always get another, but having an obvious sound system in one van can be inviting trouble. If you get busted they get your whole rig, and maybe even trump up some charges against you. Play it safe and have everyone take a piece separately if possible.

We in America could learn a lot about social organizing from our friends in Europe. I hope this article has sparked some interest in you to pursue more creative and aggressive ways to organize yourself and your friends in creative and socially beneficial ways. If you would like a more thorough how-to regarding Teknivals, “Spiral” has written a comprehensive instruction article that can be downloaded at http:// www.deadlysystems.com/DT2 in .pdf format.

Morph Beats…an introduction.

By Deadly Buda

Freebass 0.2 2001(USA)

Weaving their way chaotically through the record bins of your local record shop is a new style of electronica. Sometimes these records are shuffled into the Jungle section, the IDM section, the Hardcore section or the House section. Upon listening to these records, you know something is quite different about the sound coming from the record and the genre it is supposed to be associated with. It’s a little more raw, it doesn’t quite conform to the ‘DJ Friendly’ formatting you have come to expect from your vinyl. Oftentimes you end up buying the record not knowing quite what you’ll end up doing with it. It’s just too interesting to ignore. There is definite mystery that needs explained. The label, if it has one, doesn’t seem to help, and questioning your local record store vinyl expert is often met with perplexed looks and mumbling about some ragamuffin unloading a lot of these crazy records from Europe at the shop the other day. If this situation has happened to you, then you just might have stumbled into the weird, wacky world of Morph Beats.

Morph Beat is a style that doesn’t really have any hard fast rules. There are no BPM limitations; some records are 120BPM, while some are 250BPM, sometimes on the same record. There are no sound limitations; some tracks sound real gritty and noisy, while some have birds chirping and silly samples. There is a lot of creative freedom in this genre, and people are taking advantage of it. So what ties Morph Beats together? Where are they from? Who makes them?

Electronic dance music became segregated into various genres such as trance, house, jungle, hard-core, etc. in the mid-1990’s. The underground electronic scene, most notably in Europe, rebelled against this segregation for the simple reason that it restricts creativity if you must constantly conform to a constantly nar-rowing standard of expectations. After all, it was your freewheel-ing bedroom DJs and producers that made the rave sound what it is today. Because the raves were becoming more commer-cial, there were fewer places to play new music that did not conform to the pre-made expec-tations. To get the new music out, people had to throw parties that were generally cheap or free, and so many of the music makers would produce vinyl of their records and sell them at these events. Many labels were associated with travelling sound systems and they started trading these records with other labels and sound systems, often from a number of different countries, and taking the records back home after the event and selling them to their local record shop.

At first, these records were just trickling into the United States, but as the phenomenon grows, it must be identified in some manner. So the situation arises where you must “label” a music that rebels against classification and will quickly mutate anyway. Thus, the term “Morph” was chosen, not only because it was a termthat was always bandied about in the underground scene, but also because it generically describesthe process of ongoing transformation.

Morph labels to take notice of would be my own label, Deadly Systems, which was one of the first United States morph labels. In Europe, we would have to mention Praxis Records. Both labels are good starting points as they represent many of the popular sound mutations over the last 7 years; the early catalog representing fast brutal dark hardcore-ish sound, and later morphing into ‘broken beat’ techno, and noizy jungle breakcore, currently. Dj Scud and Aphaisic’s Ambush Records, is a great label to look for all sorts of wild breakcore of different speeds and flavors. In the quirky techno, and broken beat area, there is DJ Controlled Weirdness’s Uneartlhy Records and Dan H. and Hekate Sound System’s frequent imprints New Skin, Hex, and Brachage Records. Audio Illusion Recordings and Coven H. and Zhark are solid trippy electro breaks (oftentimes). On the trancier side of things is the various mysterious imprints often from France, such as Spiral Tribe associated records, Capsule Core, and Explore Toi. For banging techno flavor and more of a dark banging hardcore sound, maybe try Uncivilized World, Epitaph, and Epileptik. Want some spaced out dub at 6am for your mud encrusted sound system? How about the Madness label, or some cuts from High Tone?

These label descriptions are just barely scratch-ing the surface of great labes out there, and there will be more to come, that’s for sure. As I said before, most of these labels run the gamut of sounds so it’s hard to sum up their whole cata-log with one generalized description-you have to listen to them yourself! So, next time you are in your local record shop, morph yourself out of the same old restrictive genres and into some crazy new sounds!