Halloweentek 2007. Photo by Alex Canazei
These are not the easiest of times to be starting a journal, and we certainly have had our share of difficulties, but with pleasure, we release the second edition of Dancecult, the flagship journal for research on electronic dance music culture. While not a special themed edition, there is, nevertheless, a strong aroma of cultural politics throughout this edition. That is, most of the articles address ways the cultures of EDM intersect with activism, ethics, and politics more generally. First among the feature articles, my own contribution, "Making a Noise – Making a Difference: Techno-Punk and Terra-ism", addresses the emergence of the techno-punk sound system tradition in Australia, formations committed to legitimate belonging in a post-settler nation, the investigation of which offers insight on the concept of "hardcore" adopted within these and other scenes. "Hardcore" is a theme addressed directly by Simon Reynolds in his Conversation piece, "The History of Our World: The Hardcore Continuum Debate". Recognising the presence of a persistent culture (i.e. "hardcore") in UK EDM, Reynolds responds to From the Floor commentaries published in our inaugural edition, clarifying his position with regard to the "hardcore continuum" in a conversation that is undoubtedly far from over.
Further feature articles from tobias c. van Veen and Ramzy Alwakeel address what they posit are the uniquely political dimensions of rave culture (and thus EDMC more generally). From the perspective of political philosophy, in "Technics, Precarity and Exodus in Rave Culture", van Veen opens up a discussion of rave's politics, unpacking what he sees are its integral components, offering particular insight on rave culture's dissolution of the distinction between labour and leisure. In "The Aesthetics of Protest in UK Rave", Alwakeel explores the work of Autechre and The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, discussing how their interventions contribute to an understanding of the aesthetic character of protest and of the performative politics of EDM. Closing up our Feature Article section, and lending assistance to the wider understanding of the culture of EDM, with her piece "Memory and Nostalgia in Youth Music Cultures: Finding the Vibe in the San Francisco Bay Area Rave Scene, 2002-2004", Eileen M. Wu explores the role of nostalgia in the continuing production and reproduction of rave culture.
Besides Simon Reynolds' contribution, whose "continuum" is male dominated, this edition features another Conversation piece "Let's Have At It!" by Rebekah Farrugia, whose interviews with successful female DJ/producers Kate Simko and DJ Denise offers insight on the difficulties faced by women seeking careers within the world of EDM production. Farrugia's discussion points to the need for an increase in "women-centered music making environments" and to the importance of social networking technologies and new distribution platforms enabled by the Internet which have increased production opportunities for women. In our From the Floor section, my own piece, "Sound System Nation: Jamaica", is a report on Dancehall and the sound system tradition inspired by my visit to Jamaica in 2008 for the ACS Crossroads Conference in Kingston. That a significant part of what Reynolds calls the UK "hardcore continuum" is rooted in Jamaica and Jamaican émigré developments in the UK, adds relevance to the inclusion of this piece here. Pascal Querner's "Capturing the Vision at California's Symbiosis Festival" is a short photo-essay on California's 2009 Symbiosis Festival.
Finally this edition features three book reviews and a review of two films. The books reviewed are Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall, and Deborah Pacini Hernandez (eds) Reggaeton (reviewed by Alexandro L. Madrid); Tammy L. Anderson's Rave Culture: The Alteration and Decline of a Philadelphia Music Scene (reviewed by Beate Peter), and; Silvia Rief's Club Cultures: Boundaries, Identities and Otherness (reviewed by Fiona Hutton). Sean Nye reviews the films Run Lola Run and Berlin Calling.
Executive Editor of Dancecult
6 June 2010