i-D Magazine

The ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL attracted more than 130,000 people to dance in the
desert while watching their favorite EDM DJs lay some sick beats. These large
events have reached a level of iconography due to the celebrities that attend
and the fashion trends that are inspired by the festival go-ers. However, large
music festivals dedicated to electronic music are not a new concept.
TEXT TAYLOR RUPAREL
In the 1950s, a rave was described as a wild
bohemian party. The word “rave” was then commonly
used in reference to the 1960’s garage
rock and psychedelic bands. With a rapid shift
away from mod era into the hippie era of the
70’s, the word rave fell out of relevance; that is
until the late 80’s a new waves of electric music,
acid house and techno began to flourish in Manchester,
England. With the recent end of the U.K’s
textile industry in the north, large mills and warehouses
were left vacant begging for the counter
culture to find some use for them. Parties in the
abandoned lots were advertised as all night video
shoots; people would buy tickets for £5. On
each ticket was taped 1p (penny), the party goers
acting fee for the “video shoot”. By doing so,
forces of the law did not affect the parties. House
music began to gain popularity, so much so that
it invaded London where Acid Music Parties took
shape in public arenas. The parties attracted up
to 25,000 people per party. With such a large
attendance, local authorities started fining for unauthorized
parties, ultimately forcing rave back to
take place in the countryside. The term rave was
once again relevant, being used to describe the
subculture surrounding the Acid Music Parties.
American DJs traveled to the U.K and Europe to
play at the parties, which lead to them returning
to America and facilitating their own parties or
raves. D.J Frankie Bones is credited to creating
one of the first raves in the U.S called “Storm
Rave”, which traveled state to state. After this,
numerous smaller promotional groups started to
form they’re own raves including Caffeine and
Ultra Music Festival. Once rave culture reached
the West Coast, parties such as OPIUM and NAR-
NIA reached 60,000 people in size. These raves
were named “The Woodstock of Generation X”.
The classic rave fairy girl motif came into existence
based off of the first promotional poster
for NARNIA, which featured fairy imagery. West
Coast raves took place on Indian reservations or
ski resorts during the summer, maintaining the
British tradition of hiding the events away from
the public. Many raves in the U.S were completely
legal and had the approval from local authorities.
Agreements were set in place that allowed
for the
raves to continue through out the morning until
6am as long as no alcohol was served. The no
alcohol rule, in turn, promoted the use of ecstasy.
Raves were now known as drug supermarkets and
received negative press attention due to the hospitalizations
caused by drug over doses as well
as from deaths. The American population stop
caring about techno, house music and started
listening to nu-rock groups such as The Strokes
and The White Stripes. Some American DJs even
moved to Europe where there was a larger market
for Dance music
Today, almost 25 years after raves first hit America,
rave culture has once again manifested itself
within Generation Y. It was critical for party promoters
to shed the notion of drugged up kids
dancing to electric music. In order to do so, they
abandoned the word “rave” and replaced it with
“Music Festival.” Techno music is now known as
EDM (electric dance music). Part of the rebranding
intuitive was to pull raves out of remote
locations and place them in highly public areas.
Electric Daisy Carnival, one of the U.S’s largest
EDM music festivals, takes place at Las Vegas’s
motor racetrack attracting over 130,000 people.
With such high attendance at festivals, safety can
be a major concern. However many situations
can be avoided by being smart. Attending music
festivals with a group of people you trust is very
important. Set up a home base or meet up point
incase you loose someone or the group breaks
up. Make sure to keep your phone charged and
have a backup battery just incase. If you are you
to participate in drug use, make sure you know
what your taking and how it will affect you. It
is also suggested to bring a drug testing kit in
order to test your d.o.c. Never leave your drink
unattended. With over 130,000 people around
you, never assume that it won’t happen to you,
whatever it may be. Listen to your instinct.
62 i-D THE SPEAK UP ISSUE