From: burtp@aix.rpi.edu (Philip Nason Burt)
Subject: rave music
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 19:22:55 GMT

i was out to discover what rave music is and i ran across this stuff 
at soda.berkeley.edu.  (used without permission)

1   What is a "rave"?

	The term "rave" has been overused almost to the point of losing
its meaning.  The word has always meant (according to webster):

>1. rave \'ra-v\ vb [ME raven] 1a: to talk irrationally in or as if in 
>   delirium 1b: to declaim wildly 1c: to talk with extreme enthusiasm 2: to 
>   move or advance violently : STORM : to utter in madness or frenzy - rav.er 
>   
>2. rave n often attrib  1: an act or instance or raving 2: an extravagantly 
>   favorable criticism

	In current practice, a "rave" usually refers to a party, usually
all night long, open to the general public, where loud "techno" music is
mostly played and many people partake in a number of different chemicals,
though the latter is far from necessary.  The number of people at the
event is unimportant; it can range from 50 people to 25,000 people.  The
cost of attendance is also unimportant - there have been good raves and bad 
raves at both ends of the cost spectrum (though in practice, the higher the
price, the more commercial the event, and the lower the quality).  At a
rave, the DJ is king - he controls the psychic voyages of the dancers through
his choice in hard-to-find music and his skill in manipulating that music,
sometimes working with just a set of beats and samples, into a tapestry of
mindbending music.  A large part of the concept of raves is built upon 
sensory overload - a barrage of audio and very often visual stimuli are
brought together to elevate people into an altered state of physical or
psychological existence.  

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1.5 The "House Vibe"

	The actual concept of raves is not new - it is as old as time itself.
As the base level, raves are very comparable to American Indian religious
ceremonies, i.e. pow-wows, and also to the concept of the Shaman in Eskimo
and Siberian society - where music is the key towards pulling oneself into a
unique emotional and psychological state, a state in which one experiences
washes of sensations and visions, not delusions, but visions.  Sounds very
hokey in print, but I'm sure MANY of you out there know what I'm talking
about.  The hypnotisizng effect of techno music coupled with the seemless
transitions and themic progressions of rave DJ's as the night progresses
can be QUITE intoxicating, resulting in what could be closely compared to a 
religious experience.  Music in general has always been able to sweep
people off their feet, but what distinguishes raves are the concept of
the _shared_ experience; a feeling of unity often arises, and people are
open and friendly to one another.  There is a loss of that "attitude"
that is omnipresent in normal clubs and even in life in general.  People
are celebrated for who they are, not what they aren't.  There are many
better ways to explain the above, and more than a few can be found at the
FTP site.

For a better, blow-by-blow description of what an actual rave is like,
please check the FTP site under the media/ directory, and get "image" - 
it's an article that appeared in the SF Examiner in February 1992, and
is perhaps one of the most comprehensive surveys of the rave scene ever
to appear in print.

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2   What is "techno music"

	Opinions on this vary greatly, but there are a few ways to
distinguish techno from other types of music.  Overall, techno is
denoted by its slavish devotion to _the_beat_, the use of rhythm as
a hypnotic tool.  It is also distinguished by being primarily, and
in most cases entirely, created by electronic means.  It is also
noted for its lack of vocals in most cases.  Techno also usually
falls in the realm of 115-160BPM.  There are of course exceptions 
to every one of these rules, but these guidelines seem to survive the
"what about..." test most of the time.

	There has also been a significant use of samples in techno
songs, samples lifted in huge blocks and contributing a large share
to a song's popularity.  This can be both bad ("Theme to Seseme Street"
in Smart E's "Seseme's Treet") or good (Star Trek transporters sampled
in Eden Transmission's "I'm So High", giving YOU that transporting
feeling) or great (Tears for Fears sampled in Orbital's "Moebius").
This sampling has generated much controversy, and it is the opinion
of the author and many others that sampling is okay as long as the
sample is not the whole song; "Seseme's Treet" might be an okay song, 
but if you take away the sample (which was lifted verbatim from the
TV show), you don't have much of a song left.

	"Rave" music has several different forms:

[and before we proceed, remember the words of God's personal DJ,
Jon Drukman: "abolish labels."]

a. House

	House music is where it all began, when Chicago DJ's started
playing around with their Kraftwerk 12"'s with their soul records, and
a brand new object called a DRUM MACHINE which they discovered they
could use in their set.  The steady and clean sound of the house rhythm
coupled with uplifting soul vocals gave "house parties" an incredible
energy.  Please see "jackshouse" on the ftp site for a good example of
the mindset of this time...  House also uses more piano riffs and 
generally sounds "happier" than most other forms of music played at raves.

Good Samplers:  Best of House Music, Vol. 1, 2 (Gotta Have House), 
		and 3 (House Music All Night Long)
		Aly-us  "Follow Me"


b. Acid-House

	Acid-house developed when the Roland 303 and similar drum machines/
synthesizers came out producing the "funky worm" - that VERY distinctive 
sound (see any "Acid Mix" of any song) that just *sounds* liquid (sorry, 
that's the best way I can describe it).  The sound and the style is linked 
to use of LSD, but many people (myself included) claim to feel many of the 
same sensations while listening to acid-house music. 

Good Samples:  House Hallucinations Pump Up the World Vol. 1
	       Adamski - Liveanddirect


c. (Hardcore) Techno

	The energy building in these parties started getting stronger, and
people found comfort in faster, harder-pounding rhythms.  As the "rave"
progressed from small outdoor setup and small indoor clubs to warehouses,
the hardcore sound started appealing to a greater number.  The best way
I've heard hardcore described is start with Metallica, take away their guitars
and real drums and replace it with synths and drum machines.  Hardcore is
designed to get your body moving by activating your adrenalin (like punk) 
rather than endorphins(?) (like house).  Hardcore has brought a lot of the
metal-crowd into dance music, and also reconciled dance parties with the
industrial crowd as well.

The Originators: Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson. Cybotron. Rhythim is Rhythim.
	going farther back:  Kraftwerk, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa
	"Electric Cafe" and "Planet Rock" are de riguer;  M/A/R/R/S's 
	"Pump Up The Volume" is important here too.

Good Samples:  Human Resource - Dominator
	Also check out: Aphex Twin - Digeridoo
	or "Only for the Headstrong", a compilation on FFRR


d. Breakbeat

	Breakbeat is symbolized by the use of sped-up hip-hop beat samples.
Very often reggae tunes and influence are brought in, to good effect too
since most reggae is around 65-80bpm and most breakbeat techno about twice
that.  Breakbeat is very effective at getting the crowd moving, but its
hypnotic effects are somewhat less.

Good Sample: Most of anything on Risin' High records.
	XL Recordings Vol. 3
	Any of the Kaos Theory discs.


e. Ambient

	The genre is very well described in Mike Brown's Ambient FAQ
available from the ftp site.  Basically ambient (or ambient house) is
designed to lull your mind through more soothing rhythms and samples.

Good Sample: _Anything_ by the Orb.


f. Trance

	Very similar to both ambient and acid-house, trance is softer on
the ears and body than most techno, but still keeps you dancing (unlike
most ambient, where the effects are more profound if you SIT DOWN and 
listen).  It's designed to try and take you, literally, into another
world.  

Samples speak louder than words: Eden Transmission - "I'm So High" on
	Exist-Dance.  GET IT NOW.
	Also, "Stella" by Jam 'n Spoon (at least the non-ambient parts)
	and "Papua New Guinea" by Future Sound of London


g. Tribal

	Tribal is denoted by exactly that - rhythm patterns and sounds 
which closely mimic Third-World and Native American and other "World
Music" styles.  The connection between modern-day raving and ancient
musical and cultural rituals is thus established, and the dancer can
be transported to a more primal self (in theory).

Good samples: Studio X - Los Kings Del Mambo, 808 State - Repo Reaper	


h. Progressive 

	This is the newest and least-well-defined genre; it's based less
on sampling, less on wailing divas, and less on hip-hop culture, and more
on authentic instruments, haunting melodies, and always around 120-125bpm.
There's always a strong beat, and at times it resembled acid jazz. The
appelation of "progressive" was given by a music magazine, so many people
wouldn't call it that, but so far no other name has come to replace it,
and it is fairly different from straight house.  This is the most popular
music at raves in San Francisco right now.

Good examples: "Cry Freedom" by Mombassa, "Mighty Ming" by Brother Love Dubs


And to close this "definitions" section:

"My main point is that techno comes from somewhere.  It was not invented in 
this scene, nor is it particularly new.  One can easily get the impression 
from the omission of this fact that the contrary is true.  Not only is it
responsible to acknowledge origins/sources, but other people may want to
explore the related types of music that they might not otherwise ever
hear about." - Tahl Milburn, tahl@tfs.com

---------------------------end of rip off-----------------------------

well, 

for more complete info on raves and rave music (djing in particular)
check out the soda.berkeley.edu ftp site.  I personaly have never been
to a rave.  I do love the music i have heard though.

later,
phil
Newsgroups: rec.music.christian