Loreng Insum 2

A Musical Shift:

In the 80′s and 90′s, popular culture was locked in a strange relationship with creepily feminine glam rock bands and questionable teen pop boy bands. As of today, there is still some obsession with this type of music, but mainly by teenage girls and young adults still mentally stuck in that time period. I’m not trashing the success of boy bands or fem-rock groups—I owned both Nsync and Guns & Roses CD’s—I’m just saying that the popular music culture has started to shift to a whole new form of music. This original exploding genre of music would probably not even be considered true music a few decades ago, however, the electronic dance music scene has spread through the current generation of young people like the bubonic plague did through 14th century Europe. Alternative rock, rap, hip-hop, and some boy bands still carry major weight in modern musical culture, but their popularity has generally plateaued while EDM’s prominence has consistently seen an exponential rise since the new millennium. 

New Music, New Lifestyle:

The most interesting part of the electronic dance music explosion is not just how computerized music could be so compelling to the ear, but how this new musical genre has spawned an entire subculture within its audience. EDM has gone beyond the typical influences musical genres have on their audience, and created an entire following of people defined by their musical taste and more often than not, their mingling with MDMA and other types of party drugs. The rave scene was born with one thing in mind—sex, drugs, and dance. Most music scenes tend to follow these same ideas, but EDM takes it a step further and embodies this motto as a sort of creed adopted by all followers. 

Music Festivals:

Ravers around the world unite under the electronic music flag, and attend global festivals where the EDM culture becomes larger than life, turning in to the only reality they know. Some popular festivals include:

• Ultra Music Festival
• Electric Daisy Carnival
• Electric Forest Festival
• Dance Valley
• Global Gathering
• Bonnaroo
• T In the Park
• Nocturnal Fest
• Escape from Wonderland

In the United States, EDM has risen insanely in popularity, but has not quite taken over the mainstream title. Europe, however, has totally indulged itself in the musical insanity that is electronic music. Like a lot of global trends, the rave scene has developed greatly in Europe and spread outward in to all the corners of the globe. With the more recent development of dubstep, the popular hip-hop and rap music of the United States has been remixed and re-popularized in electronic form, helping spread the electronic music culture through the mainstream music taste of Americans. 

Neon Trend:

The rave scene hasn’t only introduced a certain lifestyle to its audience, but an entirely new style of clothing and accessories. Rave parties and festivals have popularized vibrant neon themed shirts, hats, glasses, and whatever other kind of wacky accessories one wants to wear. Neon colors have become so necessary for raves because they embody the craziness that the music promotes and the people thrive on. Ravers have personalized their own neon shirts and hats to represent their own unique individuality, their organizations, or whatever else crosses their mind. The neon theme has permeated the global EDM scene and is unique specifically to this genre.