The Official alt.rave FAQ
Maintained by Chris.Hilker, cspot@cats.ucsc.edu
Version 2.2 - Last Modified 05-08-94
HTML Version by Brian Behlendorf (brian@hyperreal.com)
Contents
- Introduction to the FAQ
- What is a "rave"?
- What is "techno music"
- DJing
- Drugs/Smart drinks
- The visuals
- Creating techno music
- Other rave-related mailing lists
- Techno music stores
- Techno/Rave publications
- Throwing your own parties
- Appendix I - true Frequently-Asked-Questions
Raves are, if anything, the ultimate subjective experience.
Your perception of how well or how badly a rave "goes off" is based at
least 70% on your state of mind (and depending on the circumstances,
100%). Therefore, it's impossible to create an FAQ which is entirely
objective. I'll do my best. I am MORE than happy to incorporate
others' suggestions into the FAQ, to include dissenting opinions and
statements, within reason. This file is not the be-all and end-all of
rave culture; many of the topics here will simply be introductions to
the subject and point to the little rave web site I've created at hyperreal.com. There's
simply TONS of stuff there. And for the rest of the document,
whenever I refer to "the web site", I mean hyperreal.com.
This document should also serve as an introduction to alt.rave. Alt.rave has been alive since
early 1992, and has an extremely wide distribution. At last count an
est. 20,000 people read it. As is usual on USENET, people often have
strong opinions which clash with others' strong opinions. If everyone
accepted the view that reality is subjective, and that on matters of
taste there is no dispute, then flame wars become a thing of the past.
Posts like "Orbital sucks, and the Orb can kiss my butt" are probably
inappropriate flamebait. Rewording it to say, "I am disappointed by
the new Orbital because..." is a lot better. Many people also
complain about too many posts about a particular subject, or group, or
country, etc... to which the standard response is, start talking
about what you want to hear. Finally, there was a big debate about
whether to create alt.music.techno, to "distinguish"
the music from the scene, and now that group exists.
The term "rave" has been overused almost to the point of losing its
meaning. The word has always meant (according to webster):
- 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
- rave n often attrib
- 1: an act or instance or raving
- 2: an extravagantly favorable criticism
In general 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 a shaman, a priest, a channeller of energy - they control
the psychic voyages of the dancers through his choice in hard-to-find music
and their 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.
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 hypnotizing effect of techno music
coupled with the seemless transitions and thematic 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 web site.
For a better, blow-by-blow description of what an actual rave is like,
please check check out the "The
Ecstatic Cybernetic Amino Acid Test", an article that appeared in
the San Francisco Examiner in February 1992, and is perhaps one of the
most comprehensive surveys of the rave scene ever to appear in print.
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 Sesame Street" in Smart E's
"Sesame'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. (Chicago) 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
- Vol. 2 (Gotta Have House)
- Vol. 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. Others claim this is
wrong, that acid was a term derived in Chicago for stealing samples from
other records, i.e. the "acid burn". Still others claim this was a rumor
created by people defending the scene in Britain, trying to unlink the
party scene from the drug scene.
james@sol1.east-london.ac.uk writes:
Idiotic musicians from a circa 86 uk go to the uk to tour.
The uk at that point is in the grip of an 60s acid rock revival ( eg
the shamen started off as a psyche-? band in this thang) and they GO
TO DETRIOT! THeY buy records! Being a bit stupid and under the
influence of vast quanities of LSD they just buy stuff at random out
of the 'acid' section. When they get home they realise their mistake
but think wow this is a bit nice.
Good Samples:
- House Hallucinates Pump Up the World Vol. 1 (A&M CD 3928)
- Adamski - Liveanddirect (MCA MCAD-6454)
- Maurice - This is Acid
and more recently, more in the vein of acid trance:
- Hardfloor - TB Rescusitation
- Anything on Labworks
c. Techno
It is probably best to split techno into three groups - proto-techno,
Detroit techno, hardcore, and "techno-rave".
c.1. Proto-Techno:
Proto-Techno isn't really a style of music per se. It's merely a
concatenation of the various artists and styles that had the biggest impact
on the original creators of techno in Detroit. Hence, there isn't much
stylistic homogeneity here. Proto-Techno can be anything from the minimal,
assembly-line technopop of Kraftwerk (particularly the 'Trans-Europe
Express' album) to the nonsense, party-time funk-taken-to-its-illogical-
extreme of George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic to the early '80's
hip-hop mongrelization of the two in the Electro genre.
Examples:
- Kraftwerk: "Neon Lights"
- Parliament: "Flash Light"
- Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force: "Planet Rock"
- Cybotron: "Clear"
Further Listening:
- Kraftwerk: 'Trans-Europe Express' (Capitol CDP 7 46473 2)
- Kraftwerk: 'Computer World' (Elektra 9 3549-2)
- Parliament: 'Parliament's Greatest Hits: Uncut Funk/The Bomb" (PolyGram 822 637-2)
- Various: 'Street Jams: Electric Funk Vol. 1' (Rhino R2 70575)
c.2. Detroit Techno:
The hallmarks of Detroit Techno are a stripped-down, aggressive
funk sound, played mostly on analogue instruments (the Roland TR-808 is a
favorite drum machine), and, most of all, a pounding, severe rhythm. Vocals
are rare. It has no "soul" in the traditional Motown/Stax sense of the
word, which is not to say that the music is devoid of feeling or emotion -
it's just that the expression thereof is unconventional. "Magic" Juan
Atkins, Kevin "Reese" Saunderson, and Derrick "Mayday" May are the names
you need to know to fake your way through a conversation about Detroit
Techno.
Eric Iverson writes:
For those not in the know, Cybotron released their first contributions
to Detroit Techno in 1981 - handily preceeding _Planet Rock_ and a host of
other Electro Funk. They were also an active part of Detroit's radio and
club scene. True, they didn't hit their stride until a couple years later
when they would produce _Clear_ which finally sounds less like technopop
and more like techno proper. By 1985, Atkins, May, and Saunderson had
all firmly established themselves as recording artists. They will always
credit Kraftwerk and Parliament as their inspiration. In fact Kraftwerk
and Clinton have both, at times, claimed responsibility for the Detroit
techno scene.
Where was house? Could it have had an affect on Detroit techno? Sure!
Was the affect as strong as late-70's Gary Numan or Ultravox's _Vienna_?
Probably not! Kraftwerk's _Computer World_? Never!
Cue 1987...House is happening in England and Derrick May arrives
with his record _Strings of Life_. The stuff catches on. The Techno
movement goes into full swing. Not only do the "Holy trinity" have
techno for UK consumption, but so do a bevy of others...Blake Baxter,
Eddie Fowlkes, Kenny Larkin, Carl Craig, and more. All from the Detroit
scene with roots that are clearly delineated. They didn't just pop up
from the house scene, though obviously they benefited from it.
Would they have existed without house? I think so. Would it sound
different? Well, it already does sound different!
Examples:
- Inner City: "Big Fun"
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: "Nude Photo"
- Further Listening:
- Various: 'Retro Techno/Detroit Definitive: Emotions Electric' (Network UK RETROCD1)
- Various: 'Techno One and Two: Electronic Dance' (Ten UK DIXCD 123)
- Derrick May: "The Innovator"
c.3. Hardcore Techno:
Where Detroit stuff is mainly a hybrid of European technopop and
funk, your average Hardcore song seems to be a speed-metal tune played on
Detroit-type instruments (although the TR-909 is the drum machine of
choice). Hardcore Techno is easier to get up and hyped to than its Detroit
counterpart. Hardcore has brought much of the metal crowd into dance music,
and reconciled dance parties with the industrial crowd as well.
Examples:
- Tresor Compilations Vol. 2
- "Lock on Target" by Disintegrator [Industrial Strength]
- Industrial Strength Records Comp
- "Cosmic Trash" by DJ Dano [Mokum]
- Various: 'Turn Up the Bass: The House Party/The Ultimate Megamix 2'
- (Arcade Benelux 01 6720 61) (Weak mixing, but it contains
one-to-two-minute sections of nearly 50 songs, giving perhaps the best
overview of the hallmarks of the style available on a single disc)
c.4. Techno/Rave:
Techno as product. When people complain about "techno by the numbers,"
they usually mean Techno/Rave. This style is generally soft and
accessible. You are much more likely to have a rap or other vocal in a
Techno/Rave track than either a Detroit or Hardcore track. Examples
include 2 Unlimited, the Smart E's, and recent efforts by the Shamen.
What MC Hammer is to hip-hop, what Winger is to heavy metal,
Techno/Rave is to Hardcore.
Examples:
- The Shamen: "LSI"
- 2 Unlimited: "Twilight Zone"
- The Movement: "Jump"
Further Listening:
- Various: 'The Ultimate Rave' (EMI/Virgin/PolyGram UK CDP 798641 2)
- Various: 'Rave 'til Dawn' (SBK K2-80070)
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.
Eric Iverson wrote:
If we were only going to rely upon sound as proof of descent then I
would be ever so quick as to trace all minimal breakbeat to a song
recorded in 1965 called _L.S.D_ by the Yardbirds ("Little Games
Sessions & More" E2-98214, EMI). And I would trace all 4-measure
repeating analog synth-riff rave tunes to an early '70s album, _The
Wozard of Iz_ by Bernard Krause (out of print). Listen to either one
and you'll hear the similarities. They will astound you! However,
simply sounding alike is not enough. In the case of the Yardbirds,
_L.S.D._ was not even released officially until 1992! It couldn't be
the parent of breakbeat, despite its age!
gsc1@Lehigh.EDU (geoffE) wrote:
In regard to the heading on breakbeat...Two styles to breakbeat
are emerging under the names, "Jungle" and "Darkside". Jungle
breakbeat uses reggae samples on the tracks. Darkside is the brand
new style of breakbeat that recently emerged out of the streets of
London. It uses minor keys to create an erie feeling and horror/sci-fi
samples or female vocal samples to add to its melodic feel. And now
from London, Gus Lawrence, President of Reinforced Records, the most
fluent and respected breakbeat label on the planet says, there is now
the "breakbeat ballad". Again, it is dark sounding, but this time it
uses vocals and is aimed at the audience around 3 or 4 o'clock in the
morning, "when you start getting tired from all that dancing," said
Lawrence.
Now for some genre samples:
Jungle:
- Johnny Jungle EP
- D.M.S. - "S.O.S."
- SL2 - "On A Ragga Tip"
- Phuture Assassins - "Roots N Future"
DarK:
- Metalheads - "Terminator"
- Nasty Habits - "Here Come The Drums"
- Rufige Cru - "Darkrider"
- Ballad: Fabio - "Ghost In My Life"
- Acen - "Window In the Sky"
e. Ambient
The genre is very well described in Mike Brown's Ambient FAQ available
from the web site. Basically ambient (or ambient house) is designed
to lull your mind through more soothing rhythms and samples.
Good Samples:
- The Orb: U.F.Orb (Big Life/Mercury 314 513 749-2)
- Amorphous Androgynous: Tales of Ephidrina (Astralwerks ASW 6101)
- Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works (R&S BE AMB CD 3922)
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.
- "Stella" by Jam 'n Spoon (at least the non-ambient parts)
- Any of the "Trance" comps, or anything on Guerilla
A variant (or sub-genre) of this is hardtrance, which is currently very
popular in the underground all over Europe. Characteristics, higher beat
(c. 150 bpm), compulsory 303 sounds and string layers.
Good Examples:
- Almost anything on Harthouse label (Overboust, Progressive Attack, etc)
- Ramin: Vol III
- Sextant: Part of the Scene
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 - Reaper Repo
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 resembles
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.
mjbrown@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu:
One could also say progressive house is "progressive" in
that those who make it are trying to bring back more interesting musical
arrangements with either more complex percussion or melody or both, whereas
the trend in the last few years was to strip down the sound to a raw, minimal
form.
Good examples:
- "Cry Freedom" by Mombassa
- "Mighty Ming" by Brother Love Dubs
- The Trance compilations vols. 1-3
- Ritmo De Vidaa: Taboo
- Otaku: Percussion Obsession
- React 2 Rhythm: I Know you like it
- React 2 Rhythm: Intoxication
- D.O.P.: Groovy Beat
Labels: Guerilla, Limbo, Soma, Hubba Hubba
h. Deep House
dit@sybase.com:
Deep house is a style of house most prominently influenced by a
combination of gospel and old chicago strictly house beats. Look for
wailing divas (I love them!) spooky organs and that old chord
progression that we know and love. Deep house never nods in techno's
direction..ever..
Cuts to check out:
- Can't Trust Nobody - Sloppy
- Check out anything on Strictly Rhythm Records for a good taste of Deep house.
- The Shelter (The shelter club's theme song, I suppose?)
- Oh Oh Oh Oh ---- Ten City!!! Ten City is DEEP! Check out My Piece of Heaven!"
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
You can get on the Twitch remix company mailing list - send mail to
twitch@casa.stanford.edu.
i. Sources
You can also get DJ mix tapes from the following places:
UK: Yaman Productions, PO Box 393 , Watford, Herts WD1 7JZ England
USA: Ameba - 1732 Haight St. - 415-750-9368
Street Sounds - 7751 Melrose Ave. - (213) 651-0630
D.M.C. - 7621 1/2 Melrose Ave. - (213) 651-3520
Beat Non Stop - 7262 Melrose Ave. - (213) 930-2121
Prime Cuts - 7758 Santa Monica Blvd. - (213) 654-8251
Here are some addresses for record labels (more complete lists are
available at the web site):
Boy's Own Productions PO Box 1422, Chancellors House, Chancellors Road
London W6 9SG, UK fax: + 44 81 968 8459
Djax Up records Po Box 2408, 5600 CK Eindhoven The Netherlands
fax: 31 (0) 40 445 057
Eye Q Records / Harthouse Strahlenberger Str 125A, 6050 Offenbach/Main Germany
fax: 069/800 33 36
Guerilla Records 130a Plough Road, London W10 6BL UK
tel: + 44 81 964 1199
Hard Hands 32 Pall Mall Deposit, 124/128 Barblby Rd London W10 6BL
Limbo / 23rd Precinct 23 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HU UK fax: + 44 41 353 3039
MFS Reichstagufer 4-5, 1080 Berlin Germany
fax: 030 220 9218
Overdrive fax: frg (0) 6162 84918
Rephlex Records PO Box 2676 London N11 1AZ UK tel: + 44 81 361 0529
Rising High fax: +44 71 229 4061
Wonka St. Jacobsmarkt 75, 2000 Antwerpen Belgium
fax: 03/226 20 30
The art of DJing has come full swing in the world of the rave,
where the DJ has replaced the live musician as the focal point for an
event. The DJ is now regarded at the "conductor" of their "orchestra" of
two turntables and a mixer (and maybe a sampler, but that's not necessary).
The orchestra's "instruments" are the slabs of vinyl (or aluminum &
plastic, in Pete Ashdown's case) that carry the basic grooves and melodies,
and it's up to the DJ to ensure that the orchestra plays all their
instruments in perfect sync and with a measure of continuity. The DJ must
*know* their music, know where the breaks are, know the keys, know the
BPM's, to make his/her set come out as perfect as possible. Anyone who
says DJ'ing is just spinning records has never tried to do so. DJs often
develop a following, and the level of devotion among some is something
unseen since the Beatles. (Basically, if you have Garth playing at your
event in San Francisco, you can ensure 2000 people will be there, even with
VERY minimal flyering - the same holds for Barry Weaver or Doc Martin in
LA, or Adam X on the East Coast)
A file of collected net.wisdom w.r.t. mixing and such called
"2.b.a.dj" is available, as is a
"DJ Guide" (written by Laura La Gassa, laura@soda.berkeley.edu)
If you are interested, check out the BPM mailing list, by mailing to
listproc@dhp.com with the words
"subscribe bpm <your name>".
Please Note: the authors of this FAQ bear no responsibility for any
possible harm or injury arising from the use of chemicals mentioned
below.
Preface:
The subject of drugs at raves is very controversial. One wonders
whether the rave scene would have been more easily accepted by the public
had the presence of drugs not been so high. Of course, many other wonder
how raves could have ever come about without them.
Drugs, like anything else in the world, are dangerous when used
improperly. Please use caution if you do decide to use mind-altering
substances, both legal and illegal. You owe it to yourself to gather info
before making a choice regarding drugs. You have access to an incredible
amount of information on the networks here. USE IT!
The reason I am including drug info in the FAQ is not because I think
drugs are a necessary part of a rave nor even a significant part of
it, but because questions arise on the newsgroup frequently enough to
warrant its inclusion.
There is a whole newsgroup devoted to drugs - alt.drugs, and any and all questions about drugs
at raves are probably more appropriate there than at alt.rave. This
information is presented for informational purposes only. Please, if
you decide to dose, please read up on and know exactly what you are
taking and what the expected affects are.
Smart drinks
Smart Drinks are drinks made with nutrients that supply needed
precursors and cofactors that your body uses to manufacture
neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry impulses in the
brain. These neurotransmitters can frequently be depleted by heavy
excercise, stress, stimulant drugs, or lack of sleep, and many people
report that amino acid/vitamin combo "smart drinks" seem to help.
For more info see the
"smartdrinks" file on the web site.
Ecstasy
There is a LOT of worthwhile info to be gleaned from the web site at
hyperreal.com,
and alt.drugs. Go get it. But to
breifly talk about Ecstasy:
- NO, it does not drain your spinal fluid and the verdict on permanent
brain damage is still not in.
- While dosed, you should drink LOTS of water to stay hydrated,
especially if dancing hard.
- Yes, it is illegal.
There is LOTS more to be said so go read those files NOW before you even
think of trying it.
LSD:
Many of the same precautions for MDMA (Ecstasy) hold for LSD. In
addition:
- Make sure you are in a comfortable location, and a comfortable
headspace: "set and setting"
- Try dosing for the first time somewhere other than a rave, like at
home, and try going to a rave completely clean the first time.
- Other than that, check out the LSD-FAQ
and other info files. Oh, and there's NO STRYCHNINE IN LSD.
Other drugs currently talked about
Ketamine, 2CB (also referred to as "Cloud 9" or "Nexxus" or "Zenith"),
and GHB. Again, PLEASE do research on something before you pop it
into your mouth.
Visual effects are one of the most important parts of the rave, but
not always essential. Sometimes the best parties have only a strobe light,
if even that much. On the other end of the spectrum are the 200-ft wide,
screens drenched with projection, the 10-watt green lasers bouncing off the
disco balls giving the effect of laser rain, the miles of fluorescent
tubing, the computer graphics which can blow your mind away... it's a very
large part of the "mindfuck" factor of raves.
Live visuals have been used since the 60's at concerts, using
overhead projectors and oil-and-water setups. Those are sometimes still
used - and rotating color wheels in front of the projection beam can really
add to the overall "trippyness".
Strobes - $19.99 at yer local Radio Shack. Cheap, but
effective. "Mind Machines" are seldom much more than small strobes
with varying speeds that you wear inside glasses - but the effect of
stroboscopic light near the refresh speed (or half your refresh speed,
or a quarter, etc) of your eye can be quite hallucinatory. You could
probably build your own Mind Machine for less than 10 dollars. For a
brain machine buyers guide check out the mind-l archives at asylum.sf.ca.us.
Computer graphics - there are a couple of programs available
as freeware over the net that would be right at home at a rave.
MSDOS machines:
-
Fractint
- This one is the premiere freeware fractal generation program.
Get it at all costs.
-
Acidwarp
- This is a fantastically trippy computer graphics program.
Macintosh:
Available via anonymous FTP at the site sumex-aim.stanford.edu in
pub/info-mac/app
size filename
---- --------
99525 fractal-wizard-16.hqx
169237 ifs-fractal-movie.hqx (animated, apparently not very configurable)
78126 julias-dream-107.hqx (Julia sets only)
159806 mandel-zot-304.hqx (free)
624848 mandella-81.hqx (shareware $40)
98291 super-mandelzoom-106.hqx (public domain)
21453 wallpaper-for-the-mind-11.hqx
The "big guys" all seem to really like Amigas - I see Digital Media
truck them out at many raves I go to. "Video Toasters" and
"Mindlights" are two additions for computers to fully integrate video.
Various companies have sprung up developing "mindfuck" videos for
raves - one amongst them being Hyperdelic Video. They combine
everything from cartoons to computer graphics to video feedback, and
edit them together in a frantic pace, often at 135 bpm so as to
closely match the music. Sometimes they will bring in a live mixing
board and edit the videos real-time. One other group, called Synergy
Visuals (reachable through
http://www.synergize.com) simply bring a computer, a VCR, a Sharp
projector, and a mixing board, and go wild combining custom-written
and very trippy computer graphics with video of everything from old
Batman TV episodes to Fred Astaire.
Advances in projection technology have also helped bring the
imagery to remote locations - a new single-tube projector from Sharp is
extremely compact and lightweight and can be set up outside, just about
anywhere. And Ikea and Sanyon reportedly make good models as well.
If you are looking to arrange your own visuals for an event, I
suggest you make ANOTHER trip to Radio Shack and pick up "The Mind's Eye",
a fantastic collage of computer graphics, in the $25 range. Absolutely
incredible looking. "Beyond the Mind's Eye" is also available.
More videos:
- Media Magic - PO Box 598 Nicasio, CA. 94946 - fractal videos, posters, etc
- Dr. Devious/Prism - PO Box 1035, Endfield, Middlesex, UK
- 3Lux I, II & III - Stud!o K7, Kaisedamm 7, 1000 Berlin 15, GERMANY
Also, some local contacts for lighting:
- Los Angeles - Ecstasy Effects (X-FX). Contact Brad Baker: (213) 467-3057
- Milwaukee, WI - Ephex (poepping@miller.cs.uwm.edu) 414.225.9397 fax414.347.0648
- San Francisco
- Weird Blinking Lights - 415-252-9234
- Digital Media - 2-1645 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 -
voxphone 408.476.8464 faxphone 408.479.4196
Books/Literature
- "Cyberarts -- exploring art & technology" edited by Linda Jacobsen (Miller
Freeman Inc, ISBN 0-87930-253-4)
- Fringeware:
fringeware-request@wixer.bga.com
"About building and modifying all kinds of stuff. And then some."
- Mind Machines: Send "SUBSCRIBE MIND-L " in the
body of the message and nothing else to: LISTSERV@VM1.YORKU.CA
Liquid Oil Projections
(thanks to Chris Beaumont, ccat@netcom.com)
A widely available overhead projector may be used to project kinetic
liquid projections.. :ambient effect.. Use a overhead projector with
bottom lighting,preferably with a quartz-halogen lamp. Put a dimmer on
the main power, and if you can, add a supplemetal fan to insure
adequate ventilation. Mask off the edges of the stage, place the
dishes (old glass clockfaces) on top (a small one in a larger one) and
add the water and oil based dyes, usually just to the space between
the two dishes. For oil dye, I use Keystone anilyne dyes, and for
water, I use photo retouching colors.. 91% alcohol can be added to the
water solutions to enable the water based liquids to become darker as
they evaporate. For clear oil, of course clear mineral oil. With the
colors,you'll learn less is more. Then you're ready to go, turn up the
dimmer slightly and focus. Mask off the edges of the screen area,
remembering to cover the edges of the screen-area as much as
possible...Are your dyes ready? Then turn the overhead up and
BLOB-O-RAMA!!!... Remember..easy does it... Good luck!
E-quipment
Roland produced a series of electronic instruments in the early 80's all
with three character names. There's the 101 synth, the 303 bass line
sequencer (popular for acid house), the 505 drum machine (the 505
is one of the first drum machines to use PWM samples for creation
of drum sounds) there's a 707 drum machine and the 727 . the 727 features
latin noises instead of the normal drum kit (miami sound machine uses a lot
of 727 sounds. listen for them if you can stand it) the 808 drum machine
has that big beautiful whooooommmmmm kick associated with early house
(not to mention drippy sustained highhat noises and snares). the 909
is a midiable pounding drum machine, it kicks. it's used in hardcore techno;
the majority of hardcore bands I've seen live have a simple 3 part setup,
some sort of sampler workstation/sequencer hooked up to a 909 and then the
909 syncs the 303. some even bring a dat machine along for backing tracks.
jna@silver.lcs.mit.edu (John Adams)
The Roland MC-202 is a microcomposer, which means that you can program
songs into it. It saves to tape. It has sync and CV-gate but no
MIDI. It makes some of the best bass sounds, comparable to nothing.
It produces a rounder sound than the 303 (which is a bit squelchy) and
the 101 (which is a bit noisy). N-Joi and The Prodigy have stuff use
the 202. (N-Joi used it in their "Live in manchester" album. They say
"marky on the bassline", and it goes, BBBommeee. And The Prodigy used
it in the bassline of "Everybody's in the Place.")
mw@sybase.com
well the basic set-up is any computer that can be plugged
into some drivers including keyboard, drum machine, sampler,
sequencer, and fm modulators. NeXTS and Macs seem to be the choice,
although the new atari falcon (believe it or not) is going to kick,
largely because it has dedicated sound and video chips, so the cpu
can be used for everything else. i could go on, and i will if you
want - here's a list of products
- korg wave station
- yamaha sy77 and sy99
- roland 808 (hence 808 state's name)
- the M-1
- the prophet (going back to kraftwerk)
hey - i'll just go check the midi studio i do my work in.
Software by opcode.
programming language for non graphic writing: lisp, and or c.
Pat.Dote@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU
cheap means:
$14.99 at target. this can also be found at your favorite toy store. it is
called a voice changer.
it is like a megaphone, but you have three different switches on it: alien,
ghost, and robot.
the alien is a pitch up and down with robotic distortion
the ghost is a pitch up with the robotic distortion
the robot is a pitch down with the robotic distortion. resembles the cylon out
of battlestar galatica.
i am surprised i found this this cheap. >> LOADS OF FUN!!!
i am taking all of the handles and the cheesy plastic case off and just
utilizing the circuitry to make my mixer w/built in effects.
with a robot effect on a 909, guess what pounds the fuck out of your head
god, it is amazing....
sines
taylor and i are having fun devising new and fucked ways of wiring this to
that and applying this thing to that, etc
Cool, maybe you two can come over to my place and figure out how to get my EPS
to talk SCSI to my Macintosh.
we are interested to hear about what you are doing in your
bedroom too.
I do most of my music stuff in my garage. What happens in my bedroom is my
own business.
As far as music equipment goes, the best investment I've made in the past year
was in an Emu Procussion -- the ultimate drum machine. It has tons of drum
sounds, from heavy metal to jazz to house to techno to tribal, with very
flexible programming capabilities. (And it's midi too.)
My second-best investment was in Alchemy, which has an incredibly useful
constant-pitch time-shifting feature. i.e. You can take a 90 bpm drum loop
and speed it up to 130 bpm without changing its pitch.
mw@sybase.com
For discussion about upcoming events, etc. Some lists can be VERY
chatty.
Regional lists:
- San Francisco and the Bay Area: majordomo@hyperreal.com
- Send mail with the words "subscribe sfraves"
List admin: brian@hyperreal.com
Weekly calendar-only version available
- North/East United States: listserv@umdd.umd.edu
- Send mail with the words "subscribe ne-raves (your address)"
List admin: Dan FREElove anarchy@eng.umd.edu
Weekly calendar-only version available
- Southern California: socal-raves-request@ucsd.edu
- include "add (address) socal-raves" in your message.
List admin:
jvance@einstein.oac.uci.edu
Weekly calendar-only version available
- United Kingdom - uk-dance@orbital.demon.co.uk
- To join, send mail to listserv@orbital.demon.co.uk,
with the line 'subscribe uk-dance (your name)', with your real name,
not your e-mail address.
- South-East Raves
- Send mail to listserv@american.edu,
with the words SUB SERAVES (your name).
- District of Columbia Raves
- Send mail to listserv@american.edu,
with the words SUB DCRAVES (your name).
- Australia Raves
- owner-ausrave@ansto.gov.au
- Florida
- flraves-request@cybernet.cse.fau.edu
- Mid-West US
- mw-raves-request@engin.umich.edu
- Montreal
- Raving Up North: cism@ere.umontreal.ca
- Northwest US
- nw-raves-request@wimsey.bc.ca
- Pittsburgh/Cleveland raves
- pb-cle-raves-request@telerama.pgh.pa.us
- University of Maryland
- cyberpun@wam.umd.edu
Musical Mailing Lists
- IDM (Intelligent Dance Music)
-
idm-request@hyperreal.com
- The Orb mailing list
-
orb-request@xmission.com
- The Orbital mailing list
-
orbital-request@xmission.com
- The KLF mailing list
-
klf-request@xmission.com
- BPM list
- for discussions about DJ'ing, mixing, music, etc.
mail to listproc@dhp.com with the words
"subscribe bpm <your name>".
USENET newsgroups:
- alt.rave
- For discussions about the rave scene ALL OVER THE WORLD
- rec.music.synth
- More exact information about how to create electronic music
- alt.music.techno
- Discussions about the music played at raves
Other Archive Sites:
There are rave-related images available at the
following locations:
V-Rave
If you are on a machine that supports outbound telnet, then try getting
to V-Rave.
This should kick you into the online Virtual Rave (assuming the
system is up, of course). The site has seen a LOT of action
recently.... it's basically just a chat system, but you don't
need a client to run it.
The Vrave mailing list:
to mail to the list, mail to: v-raves@gnu.ai.mit.edu
to mail to the list owner, mail to: owner-v-raves@gnu.ai.mit.edu
to request add or drop, mail to: v-raves-request@gnu.ai.mit.edu
to help me use the list the way i designed it, mail to: gts@gnu.ai.mit.edu
uwiz@kazak.NMSU.Edu
Thanks to
- mw@sybase.COM
- liquidx@cnexus.cts.com
- EIVERSO@cms.cc.wayne.edu
- mikes@eta.rice.edu
- ambient@netcom.com
- Frederick.Wolf@um.cc.umich.edu
- bb2j+@andrew.cmu.edu
- dt25+@andrew.cmu.edu
- hogg@tapir.Caltech.EDU
- PLUI%IOSSVR.gm@hac2arpa.hac.com
- mjbrown@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
- wxw@sv020.torreypinesca.NCR.COM
- laura@soda.berkeley.edu
- bclevela@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
- Antwerp - USA Import, St Jacobsmarkt 75, 2000 Antwerp, (03) 232.04.29
- Atlanta, GA - Let The Music Play - (404) 321-7746
- Baltimore, Maryland - Modern Music (410) 523-1882
- Boston, MA - Boston Beat - 80 Bennington St - (617) 561-4790
- Boulder, Colorado - Wax Trax - 303.831.7246, 303.831.1402 or 303.939.8658
- Brunswick, NJ - Planet X - (908) 249-0304
- Brooklyn, NY - Groove Records - 64 Avenue U - (718)-714-5232
- Brussels - City Records Vinyl Shop - (02) 428.52.03
USA Import - (02) 279.66.98
- Cincinnati, OH - Culture 7 - (513) 821-7783
- Chicago, IL - Gramaphone - (312) 477-5354
- Columbus, Ohio - world record, 1980 n high st 2nd fl, 614.297.7900
- Dallas, Texas - Autobahn Records - (214) 522-4674
- Detroit, MI - Recordtime-Records and Tapes - 313-775-1550.
- Duluth, Georgia - The Remix Warehouse - 2180 Pleasant Hill Road, Suite
A-5168 - 30136-4663 - (orders 1-800-241-MIXX)
- Holland - Black Beat - Niewendijk 104 - 1012 Mr Amsterda 31 20 638 4252
- Houston, Texas
- noo beat 713-526-6544
- sound+ 713-520-7323
- London, England
- Zoom Records - 188 Camden High Street, London NW1 UK
- Black Market - 25 D'Arblay St, Soho, London W1 UK
- Catch-A-Groove - 94 Dean St, Soho, London W1V 5RB 44 71 494 0208
- Fat Cat - 14 Monmouth St, Covent Garden, London WC2 44 71 497 1359
- 23rd Precint - 23 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 1HU, 44 41 332 4806
- Unity Records - 47 Beak Street, London W1R 3LE 44 71 734 2746
- Los Angeles, CA
- Street Sounds - 7751 Melrose Ave. - (213) 651-0630
- D.M.C. - 7621 1/2 Melrose Ave. - (213) 651-3520
- Beat Non Stop - 7262 Melrose Ave. - (213) 930-2121
- Prime Cuts - 7758 Santa Monica Blvd. - (213) 654-8251
- Record Reaction - 3226 East Broadway, Long Beach - 1-800-362-3735
- Milwaukee, WI - Innovative R. S. - poepping@miller.cs.uwm.edu - 414.225.9397
- New Orleans, LA. - Spice Records (on Edenborn)
- New Brunswick, NJ - Planet X - 308 George Street 908-249-0304
- Pittsburgh, PA - Turbo-Zen Records - 128 Oakland Ave - (412) 621-7759
- Portland, Oregon - Turntable Mary's - (503) 227-3933
- Roseville, MI - Record Time - 313-775-1550 "The 'official' +8 distributor."
- Sacramento - The Beat - (916) 736-0147
- San Bruno, CA - ULTRASOUNZ records @ 482 san mateo ave. - 415-871-4170
- San Diego, CA
- AC&S Dance Music Center, 665 H Street Suite B
- Chula Vista, CA 91910 (619) 476-1212 Voice (619) 476-1303 FAX
- Off the Record - 3849 5th Ave. - (619) 298-4755
- San Jose, CA - Underground Records - 408.286.8303
- San Francisco, CA
- Gaia Mantra - 16th & Valencia, SF
- BPM - 1141 Polk St., SF - 415-567-0276
- Tweakin' - 593 Haight Street (@ Steiner) - 415-626-6995
- Star Alley - 322 Linden Street - (415) 552-3017
- Sydney, Australia
- Central Station Records - 48 Oxford St - Darlinghurst 2010
- Reach'n Records - Crown St - Darlinghurst 2010
- Disco City - 314 Crown St - Darlinghurst 2010
- Toronto, Ontario
- The CD Bar - 281 Queen St. W. - (416) 977-6863
- Play De Record - 357A Yonge Street - 416 586 0380
- B's Wax, 539 Queen St. West, (416)504-0613
- Starsound, 427 Yonge St., (416)977-0525
- Vancouver, BC
- Odyssey Imports - 534 Seymour St. - (604) 669-6644
- Rhythm Zone - 537 W. Pender - (604) 682-8144
- Washington, DC
- Twelve Inch Dance - (202) 659-2010M
- Music Now - (202) 638-3272
Oh, and give Dave Steinhart of Ear/Rational a try, at ear-rational@xmission.com.
He can get *anything* it seems.
- Dance Music Report 636 Broadway, Suite 804, New York, NY 10012 (212)677-6770
- Dataflow PO Box 187, London SW192JJ (Lee Newman & Michael Wells aka GTO)
- DJ 4th floor, Centro House, Mandela St London NW1 0DU 071-387 3848
- DJ Times 25 Willowdale ave, Port Washington, NY 10050
- DMA 7943 Paxton Ave, Tinley Park, IL 60477
- eDEN 171 Rue Lafayette, 75010 Paris, France (In French.)
- Global Techno Power 2030 Grand River, Suite 303 Detroit MI 48226 313 963 0509
- Matrix 600 River Place #6632 Detroit MI 48207-5026, semite@aol.com
- MixMag P.O. Box 89, Slough,Berks, SL18 NA, NY NY 10012
- MixMag N.Y. 666 Broadway, Ste 3, NY NY 10012
- MOVE 100 W. Livingston St, Orlando, FLA 32801 FAX(407)339-4507
- Project X 37 West 20th Street Suite #1007, NYC, NY 10011
- STOMP! Magazin Im Weidenbruch 3, 5000 Koln 80, Deutschland
- Streetsound 174 Spadina Ave, Lewiston, NY 14092
- Tech 17 #101 - 1265 Dogwood Cres, North Vancouver BC V7P 1H2 CANADA
- Under One Sky 2249 E. 21 St., Apt. 4F, Brooklyn, NY 11229
- URB magazine 1680 North Vine St #1012, Hollywood, CA 90028 213-993-0291
urbmag@netcom.com
For those of you out there who have LOTS of spare time and energy,
the idea of throwing your own parties has probably crept into your head. As
a service to this, I have set up a directory on the hyperreal.com FTP
site called "holdyourown", which I hope to fill with stories of people who
throw or help throw parties, chock full of tips and advice. Please take
the time to look through them. In particular I've put up a guide to
finding renegade sites and throwing the parties, more a collection of
advice I've added up in almost a year of throwing outdoor renegade events,
including helping with the Full Moon raves in San Francisco. These are my
*favorite* types of parties, and the thrill of throwing a successful party
and making people's lives better even if only for a night is truely
wonderful. THIS is what raving is about :)
Appendix I - true Frequently-Asked-Questions
Who cut the disc with the samples:
- "Did I dream... you dreamed about me?"
- Richard Dawson (from "the Running Man" '87 schwartzenegger flick) saying: "IT'S TIME TO START RUNNING!"
ANSWER: "Temple of Dreams" by Messiah.
The vocal samples are from This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren
and there are also Bronski Beat samples.
Question:
I like The Orb, and I keep hearing about a band called Orbital.
Are they related?
Will I like Orbital's music?
Answer:
No and not neccessarily, respectively.
Orbital are Paul and Phil Hartnoll (brothers), who have no connection
whatsoever with The Orb. As far as I know, no collaborations or remix
projects have taken place between the two. Should your local record
store tell you that Orbital are The Orb's dance badge (I heard it said
once) beat them around the head with a suitable record deck.
Orbital's music is not ambient in The Orb sense, nor is it really
techno or house. Some put them under the progressive-house label, but
they seem to be one of those bands that don't fit in a pigeonhole.
mei172@cch.coventry.ac.uk
"I need CD compilation suggestions!"
Please FTP over to hyperreal.com under /music. Enough
there to bust H. Ross Perot's Gold Card, including Pete Ashdown's
excellent XDZebra series.
Guru (mei172@cch.cov.ac.uk) is NOT Guru Josh.
QUESTION: What are the songs played in the club scene in
'Basic Instinct'?
Answer: "Rave the Rhythm" by Channel X,
available on the following compilations:
- 'Techno Sonic Vol. 1,' Sonic Records
- 'The Second Chapter,' XL Recordings UK
and "Blue" by LaTour, available on
- their eponymous album,
- the "Cold" CD single,
- and the compilation 'Big Hard Disk vol. 1'
Does anybody have a track listing for
Analogue Bubblebath 3?
AFX (Aphex Twin) - Analogue Bubblebath 3
CD tracks: 12" tracks:
========================== =============================
1 4:16 .215061 1 4:16 .215061
2 5:43 .1993841 2 4:31 .000890569
3 3:45 .0180871a 3 0:38 .38
4 4:31 .942937 4L 3:45 .0180871a \____recorded as 1 track
5 4:10 .0180871b 4R 4:10 .0180871b / on separate channels
6 4:31 .000890569
7 4:18 .5527803773258 5 4:18 .55278037732581
8 Untitled (Fluted) 6 4:31 .942937
9 Untitled (SS) 7 5:43 .1993841
10 0:31 AFX 6/b 8 0:31 AFX 6/b
11 Untitled (BE)
12 Untitled (Shower beats)
13 Untitled (Spectrum beats)
mjbrown@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU
I was at a rave 2 weeks ago when the dj played a rave version of the
Beatles' song HEY JUDE. I don't know if the dj was mixing or if this
rave version exits on CD somewhere. Does anyone know if this is
available anywhere on CD or cassette?
The initial release, on black vinyl with a red label, was released initally
to dance specialty stores, but Michael Jackson's music publishing business,
which owns the rights to the Beatles catalog, heard about it and demanded
they be pulled. These original 12"'s have garnered as much as $100 in
trade. A bootleg was released a short time later, called "Jude on a Ragga
Tip" (for the song is really just someone with a good sense of timing
playing both "Hey Jude" and "On a Ragga Tip" by SL2, with MBM samples
thrown in) and was backed with "How Does it Feel?" by Electroset (a song
which eventually did get official permission for its sampling of "Blue
Monday").
whats that song that goes "i neeeeeeeed your lovin,
like the sunshiiiine"
"I Need Your Lovin'" by NRG.
Should restaurants provide free water?
Yes, and so should raves.
What's the difference between the single-CD US version of 'The Orb's
Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld' and the double-CD UK version?
Kiyan Azarbar AAZARBAR@1302.watstar.uwaterloo.ca wrote:
> I just asked a guy to order Adventures for me, and he said that he could
> get it on UK import and it might be cheaper. Turns out it's $34 CDN, but
> he said that was for the Adventures Double CD. I ordered it, but is there
> really a double CD with more tracks than the Adventures that I've seen?
> Is anything missing from it? How many tracks?
(From the KLF/Orb FAQ:)
The original UK release of the album has four tracks that don't appear
on the American version:
14:15 Back Side Of The Moon
15:06 Spanish Castles In Space
9:30 Perpetual Dawn
8:10 Star 6 & 7 8 9
The first two tracks are deleted entirely on the US release, while the
latter two appear in remixed versions (both of which also appear in
slightly longer versions on the US CD5 for "Perpetual Dawn"):
3:48 Perpetual Dawn (solar youth mix - edit)
4:23 Star 6 & 7 8 9 (phase ii - edit)
The changes in tracking for the album's US release were made by Alex
Paterson under pressure from Mercury Records, who didn't believe that
the full two-disc version was marketable in the United States.
lazlo@triton.unm.edu
The vocal to this song goes "high as a mountain... that's where I
wanna be... listen to the echo.."
Anyone know what it's called. I used to a hear Garth play it a bunch.
this is a very old song, all the way from 1987. my record says:
colm iii - you take me high 12"
ruby red records-uk (12 ltd 444)
a1 mansion mix
b1 (i guess the original version)
shum@merle.acns.nwu.edu (Michael Shum)
--
(chris.hilker) cspot@cats.ucsc.edu
"We feel affinities not only with the past, but also with the futures that
didn't materialise, and with the other variations of the present that we
suspect run parallel to the one we have agreed to live in." -Brian Eno