Do we really want out?
Glasgow is mostly a clubbing city. It's never been ravey. Even their understanding of UK garage is somewhat truncated. As a clubbing city I 100% don't doubt its better than London but rave culture as a whole, including its white(er) pounding techno/gabba varieties is mostly really something of London, Essex, Bradford, Sheffield and Birmingham. That's it really, with forays in Wolverhampton etc. It's not even a totally English thing. EG Liverpool was a big house city but not really rave.
Really rave is two things. Either the crossover of reggae culture with house and techno or the cross of hip hop with house and techno culture.
Gabba and hard techno is more the latter, either in the samples or in the style of 3 deck mixing in a Jeff Mills style.
Gabba and hard techno is more the latter, either in the samples or in the style of 3 deck mixing in a Jeff Mills style.
No not really, acid+speed was probably more prevalent until Es got cheaper.
so again that's an element of the narrative that I find hard to buy into - because a few tastemakers and cultural gatekeepers had a good pill (and could afford it) suddenly everything was peaceful and friendly and loved-up when in actual fact it's not hard to imagine that it wasn't quite like that for everyone.
I mean that's more balearic beats. More your Terry Farleys and Andrew Weatherall's and what not, although to Andy's credit he was always much darker, much grungier and didn't buy into the summer of love optimism as much.
what was the deal with chill-out rooms while we're at it? I've been in one club and one warehouse that had one and both were just really crap - people who wanted to be seen at an event because they felt they should, but having a safe space to not actually engage with the culture of Actual Dancing. I love ambient music and the ambient techno I'm familiar with but people floating about on beanbags seems completely pointless in this context
john eden
male pale and stale
They were quite varied. I think at their best you and your mates would head in there for a breather and a spliff. Generally you could hear each other so it was a good place to talk bollocks and sometimes you'd meet other people there too. The soundtrack was incidental really.
At their worst they were too quiet and too sterile and too bright and everyone just stared at each other in a paranoid fashion and it was the casualty room.
Yeah rave as a whole is not political really. Neither pro nor anti. That stuff applies more to punk. There were of course political aspects but the culture was not based on speaking truth to power or rebellion.
In fact, most Black dance music is not, which is always uncomfortable for the white bohemian, something @blissblogger talks about pretty well, in, I think, Bring the Noise.
Simon silverdollarcircle
Well-known member
A place to skin up, basically.
Simon silverdollarcircle
Well-known member
And a place to find out where the afters is and then later on find yourself doing ketamine off their kitchen worktop on a Sunday afternoon
An important part of the ecosystem, chill out rooms
An important part of the ecosystem, chill out rooms
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
They're mostly just a place to sit to get a breather if you feel a bit (physically or psychically) overheated. Or to actually talk with someone, as John says. Snog. Roll a spliff. See if you can find those pills you bought an hour ago.
The music doesn't have to be terrible. The one at Wang often played roots reggae and stuff like that.