Acid House and Rave Essay

Page 1 Student ID 21006394 MC401 Music Cultures and Marketing Principles CW1 Essay

1

This illustration taken from the album music for a jilted generation by The Prodigy defines

many core values associated with the acid house and rave era spanning from the late 80’s

through to early 2000’s. Key points being symbolised in this image are the escape by

everyday working folk from their tenuous nine to five day jobs working in factories to this

underground movement of followers who just wanted to have an escape from normal life and

to stick it to the authorities. The imagery of the single person gesturing to the authorities that

the party cannot be stopped is symbolic of everything associated by the culture and the

almost secret society of those that followed it. Hosting parties in non-conventional spaces

like abandoned warehouses, aircraft hangers and open fields. A rave organiser describes it

as (Paskin, 1993)

The era where acid house was at its prime was during the end of the Thatcher government

where the country was in recession so attending parties like this were the public’s way of

release from such government control. There was no control over the gatherings and no

rules to adhere to. Due to this lack of control and policing drugs were a large factor in rave

culture. “Ecstacy (sometimes pharmaceutical MDMA, often a cocktail of amphetamines and

LSD) was the prototypical drug of the late eighties/ nineties rave scene. Research shows

that many clubbers and often polydrug users who tend to abstain from drugs other than

marijuana outside clubs and raves (cf. Newcombe 1992).” (Thornton, 1995)

Towards the decline of acid house culture in 2003 came the introduction of the criminal

justice act. Laws were passed regarding trespassing, repetitive beats being played in public

areas and granting police the power to seize equipment they believe to be used for such

parties. The main part that relates to raves is Section 63

1 Taken from The Prodigy – Music for a jilted generation album, inside cover.



(Section 63 Powers to remove persons attending or preparing for a rave.)

(1)This section applies to a gathering on land in the open air of [F120] or more

persons (whether or not trespassers) at which amplified music is played during the

night (with or without intermissions) and is such as, by reason of its loudness and

duration and the time at which it is played, is likely to cause serious distress to the

inhabitants of the locality; and for this purpose—

(a)such a gathering continues during intermissions in the music and, where the

gathering extends over several days, throughout the period during which amplified

music is played at night (with or without intermissions); and

(b)“music” includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of

a succession of repetitive beats. (Home Office, 1994)

Although with the introduction of these laws the acid house rave culture almost sunk into

obscurity overnight many elements of it remain in dance music to this day and had this not

occurred many genres that are present today for example drum and bass, dubstep and more

niche genres like breakcore would not have gestated. By applying genre rules you can start

to see a relation of acid house and current popular genres today. Rave culture was very

different from conventional performance by musicians where live instruments were used and

formal and technical rules differed somewhat.

‘These are the rules of musical form […] which include playing conventions – what skills the

musicians must have; what instruments are used, how they are played, whether they are

amplified or acoustic; rhythmic rules; melodic rules; the relationship of voice to instruments.’

(Frith, S. 1998, p. 91)

The means of production for such music often used hardware like the Roland TR-8082,

sound produced by this hardware was by no means close to that of a real drum kit but has

become autonomous with dance music production to this very day. At the time the TR-808

was originally unsuccessful as a device for production which led to it being very affordable

on the 2nd hand market. Sound samples from other artists productions were often used in

production and due to the limitations of current hardware were often very short as the

technology had not been developed to the extent it is today allowing entire productions to be

stored in their multi track format digitally. With the advent of home production more often

2The Roland TR-808 images and explanation of its workings http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/808.php


http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/808.php

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/33/section/63#commentary-c1980912


than not computers such as the Amiga 500 3and the Atari ST 4which was favored due to it

being the first home computer with MIDI ports as standard giving producers with little budget

the ability to start producing dance music at home.

‘These refer to the means of production of a music genre, to questions of ownership,

copyright, financial reward’ (Ibid p. 93)

From using the sound samples little regard was given for sample clearance from other artists

with the music taking parts of other artists work with little alteration to the sounds and simple

drum patterns and synth noises layered on top of the track. Examples of such production are

clear in music like Smart-e’s Sesame’s Treat 5and the track by Urban Hype, Trip to

Trumpton6. One such track by the group shut up and dance entitled raving I’m raving 7was

withdrawn by the record label following the threat of a lawsuit by the original artist Marc

Cohn due to its similarities to his song walking in Memphis 8.

Although the majority of the music was produced with little budget more often than not on

home based studios the producers were not the musicians at the forefront of the scene

contrary to other genres like pop or rock. The real performers were the DJ’s or disc jockeys.

This small group of major artists were the tastemakers of the genre and their performances

predominantly featuring other artists work were what the followers of the genre would crave.

“In knowing, owning and playing the music, DJs, in particular are sometimes positioned as

the masters of the scene, although they can be overshadowed by club organisers whose job

it is to know who’s who and gather the right crowd” (Thornton, 1995)

With this DJ led culture that surrounded the genre there was little financial gain from within

unless you were a DJ or promoter, those producing the tracks had very little chance on any

gain unless a track championed by a DJ then leading to it being released on a major label

within the scene for example XL recordings, Production house or FFrr. This could then

potentially lead onto chart success but with it the risk of being classed as selling out to the

mainstream. On many occasions producers would pay for production of a limited run of

twelve inch vinyl records to be produced usually unlabelled or with basic information hand

written on them which would then be passed onto independent record shops specialising in

such music. This also occurred when such a release had heavy copyright issues with

sample usage or clearance from the original artist.

3 The Amiga 500 from Commodore http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=654 The Atari ST http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=205 Smart-e’s Sesames Treat promotional video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXYa_qklKPc6 Urban Hype – Trip to Trumpton Promotional Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXYa_qklKPc7 Shut Up and Dance – Raving I’m Raving http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBpy3JrI3oQ 8 Mark Cohn – Walking in Memphis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TLDQdQmk3g


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TLDQdQmk3g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBpy3JrI3oQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXYa_qklKPc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXYa_qklKPc

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=20

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=65


One of the main struggles of obtaining this status as an A-list rave DJ was owning the music,

to become a member of this exclusive group you had to have access to dub plates. These

were acetate based records which were used in the mastering process of mass produced

records and would cost approximately fifty pounds each, ten times more expensive than a

normal twelve inch recordings but granting the DJ the status they could be the only person

with that track. Often producers would send DAT tapes to mastering houses with dub plate

cutting facilities along with a list of the DJs who were permitted to have a copy of that track.

This still happens today be it in a more digital environment using the internet. Because of the

money earned by these DJs to become a member of this group was often difficult as one

extra person who owned a particular track would mean the track becoming less exclusive.

There were still live performances in acid house however these were overshadowed by the

DJ side of performance and more often happened when a track which had been in the DJs

possession for some time was picked up by a record label for a major release and for

performance issues required a band to give the impression of the song being performed

live, an example of this is the artist Black Box performing Ride on Time9 the entire tune was

studio produced using samples for the vocal and piano track. The prodigy were one of the

first acts to take studio produced tracks and turn them into an actual live performance10

although the performance was still heavily led by samples they were triggered live by

musicians. Lyrics were more often not a key aspect of the music but what little were used

often had meaning on many semiotic levels.

‘These are essentially rules of communication, how music works as rhetoric; such rules

refer to the ways in which “meaning” is conveyed […] they determine the significance of the

lyrics’. (Ibid p. 91)

From the majority of tracks in acid house they were mostly instrumental however a common

theme in the majority of the sampling that happened in tracks with samples of ‘everybody

free’ ‘I got the power’ and ‘let the music take control’. Some would say these samples were

direct references to the ecstasy usage and effect the drug has on somebody when

consumed. Music is experienced even to the point where the tracks told the listener to ‘feel

the rush’ which referred to one of the feelings an ecstasy user experiences when under the

influence of the drug.

“How you are seated says more about the music that will be performed than a poster does”

(Fabbri, 1981) conventionally raves were never a seated performance and very little seating

was provided for the audience in the main area to encourage them being on their feet and

9 Black Box - Ride on time performing on top of the pops http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGg7eEf2YB010 The Prodigy performing at Shelly’s nightclub 1991 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IMIlvJ9t14


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IMIlvJ9t14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGg7eEf2YB0


dancing11. Separate “chill out” areas were provided where participants could relax; cold

water and other amenities were provided. The additional production of the rave was often

an integral part of the performance with rave promoters often boasting about the loudness of

the speakers and the specification of lighting and décor. This would not be a technical

specification of the production but more a case of how loud, how many lights, how much

décor and what additional attractions to the main performance would be available.12

13

Behavioural aspects of performance differed somewhat from other genres and what would

be viewed as unacceptable in other more commercial genres were socially acceptable within

rave culture. “How the performers “sincerity” is valued differently according to genres.”

(Fabbri, 1981) If you were to take the pop genre as an example the performers within when

in the eyes of the public and media remain clean cut and portray the image they can do no

wrong. Rave artists and promoters on the other hand, seen as the performers of the genre

would steer away from this image to avoid rejection from both peers and audience. Drugs

were a large part of the rave culture; they were illegal in the eyes of the law and socially

accepted by those involved within the genre14. When drugs were spoken about outside of

11 Footage from a large rave in Norfolk 23.08.91 showing the extent of the main dancing area and lack of seating http://www.youtube.com/user/ravehistory#p/u/1/QNE67GvRG2012 Sunrise Rave in Longwick Buckinghamshire 1989 showing extra attractions outside of the main performance area. http://angeladam.com/video/OldRavesAndPartiesVideoIndex.html 13 Flyer advertising an event near Blackpool. 14 CCTV footage from a rave in Doncaster where clear use and effect of ecstasy can be seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM3xf87CbIQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM3xf87CbIQ

http://angeladam.com/video/OldRavesAndPartiesVideoIndex.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/ravehistory#p/u/1/QNE67GvRG20


cultures arena, any knowledge to their use was denied. However taking drugs would make

somebody socially accepted within the scene.15

Regarding the background of those involved in rave culture it is stated “These are rules

concerning the ethnic or gender divisions of labor, for example, and, in general, reflect what

the music is meant to stand for as a social force, its account of an ideal world as well as the

real one” (Frith,S. 1996, p.93) Due to the often remote location of raves popularity for the

genre was mainly among the 17-25 age bracket the lower end of this being the legal driving

ages enabling the audience to travel to such locations. Other audience members would often

come from lower to middle class backgrounds where the weekend rave was their escape

from the nine to five factory or office job, where they could don their smiley face t-shirt and

escape to this secret society away from the mainstream.

In an attempt to remain underground the public would often veer away from how the media

reported on the genre ‘Journalists and photographers do not invent subcultures, but shape

them, mark their core and reify their borders. Media and other cultural industries are integral

in the processes by which we create groups through their representation’ (Thornton, S.

1995, p. 160)

This statement could also be argued that journalists also destroy subcultures. This was

proven often when issues caused by journalistic intervention with the rave culture from small

incidents through to trends being completely rewritten once the media had gained a grasp,

the smiley face t-shirt once a popular garment with followers became unacceptable following

an article in mainstream media linking it with drug use. Because of this ever changing view

from fans this made it very difficult to market directly to them.

‘Dividing the total audience for popular music into musical taste categories such as ‘hard

rock’, ‘alternative’, ‘dance’, ‘teenage pop’, ‘world beat’ etc., enables marketing staff to target

consumers through specific publications, radio shows, media routes, retail stores and

venues’ (Negus, K. 1992. pp. 67-8). While this may seem an easy task because of the

attitude of those that followed the genre by corporations trying to harness how to market to

these individuals it often led to the behaviour of fans to change once an organisation had

decided how to market products to the genre. ‘Fans also express anti-commercial beliefs (or

‘ideologies’, we might say, since these beliefs are not entirely in alignment with the cultural

situation in which fans find themselves). (Hills, M. 2002 p. 29).

15 Dance 91 in Oxfordshire where an event organiser sarcastically denies knowledge of drug usage 4:02. http://angeladam.com/video/OldRavesAndPartiesVideoIndex.html# 2nd link


http://angeladam.com/video/OldRavesAndPartiesVideoIndex.html


In conclusion rave culture can be defined by these rules however in following these rules it

could be argued that it has led to its demise and the growth of its subgenres to their own

individuality now. Although very little exists now due to government intervention and the

criminal justice act acid house and rave culture has given birth to the popularity of modern

electronic music today and these rules can also now be applied to those subgenres in their

own right.



Works Cited

Fabbri, F. (1981). A thoery of musical genres: two applications. In D. H. Tagg, Popular Music

Perspectives (pp. 52-81). Göteborg & Exeter.

Frith, S. (n.d.). Performing rites: Evaluating popular music. Oxford paperbacks Oxford

university press.

Home Office. (1994). Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Retrieved 04 17, 2011,

from http://www.legislation.gov.uk:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/33/section/63

Longhurst, B. (2007). Popular music and sociaty. polity press.

Paskin, L. (1993, March 19). Club Cultures. (Unknown, Interviewer)

Thornton, S. (1995). Club Cultures. Oxford: Polity Press.

Raves relationship to the media. (unknown, unknown unknown). Retrieved 03 02, 2011, from

www.fantazia.org.uk: http://www.fantazia.org.uk/Scene/press/magazines.htm

Whiteley, S. (1997). Sexing the groove : popular music and gender. Routledge.

Bibliography

Fabbri, F. (1981). A thoery of musical genres: two applications. In D. H. Tagg, Popular Music

Perspectives (pp. 52-81). Göteborg & Exeter.

Frith, S. (n.d.). Performing rites: Evaluating popular music. Oxford paperbacks Oxford

university press.

Home Office. (1994). Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Retrieved 04 17, 2011,

from http://www.legislation.gov.uk:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/33/section/63

Longhurst, B. (2007). Popular music and sociaty. polity press.

Paskin, L. (1993, March 19). Club Cultures. (Unknown, Interviewer)

Thornton, S. (1995). Club Cultures. Oxford: Polity Press.



Raves relationship to the media. (unknown, unknown unknown). Retrieved 03 02, 2011, from

www.fantazia.org.uk: http://www.fantazia.org.uk/Scene/press/magazines.htm

Whiteley, S. (1997). Sexing the groove : popular music and gender. Routledge.


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Acid House and Rave Essay