state of London underground

[Gus]

The music wasnt politicised and nor was the scene but lets take a look shall we.

The second world war was the end of the empire and the end of the victorian social order. The post war industialisation and wider availability of goods created the first mass consumer society. Women during the war had been allowed to take the same jobs as men in the fields and factories and demanded that remained. During the 50's the generation which had sacrificed so much were demanding much more and weren't going to let the morality of the older generation dictate. This gave rise to the rebellion of the James Dean era and to a xcertain extent rock and roll and elvis etc.. leaping forward we have the american civil rights movement and vietnam which brought rise to the hippy mobement and its subsequent offshoots of psychedelia which gradually infected the UK.

We had an actual revolution followed by a cultrual and moral revolution and by the time the post war socialist state was begninning to cripple industry we had yet another social revlotion which brought rise to the Pistols and Punk.

Spot the pattern? Every time there is a rejection of the cultural and political status quo there is a new movement within music and youth culture.

The Thatcherite reforms were no less of an economic and social revolution. The shift from stagnant statism to free flowing individualism and some say selfishness. (see privatisation)

The opponents of which, or at least thatcherism, were always the reclaim the streets/animal right/SWP far lefty types. They were always inextricably linked to the squat "scene" and I've yet to meet an acid house DJ of the era who didnt have links with one or other organisation who were routinely waving placards or in running battles with the rozzers.
The first ravers would have been ex punks, and hippies of the Levellers/NMA pursuasion and anarchy types.

The arrival of ecstasy and mass availability of electronic gear was coincidental but tunes and pills do not a scene make. DJ's had to draw on audiences and where better to find them than at protest squats etc.

To say that the birth of rave was entirely apolitical and just a random mutation of genres based on technological advances doesnt sit well for me. That kind of thing happens all the time. its happend a dozen times since the birth of acid house.

What makes it a movement with political undertones is in evidence by the ensuing moral panics and media hype.
The great nichtomorph of the 90's.

In this case the catalyst was a drug but that drug appearing at any other time since, and the result would have looked entirely different if it happened at all.

Ideas only survive if they have a sea to swim in and such conditions only tend to be apparent in times of economic or social uncertainty.

I think ;uch of this is true. But , some would say sadly, there is another major fator in at least two of the most creative of these cultural revolutions - huge quantities of freely available L.S.D. - something I have no interest in but its influence on music is undeniable.

[Technologic]

The music wasnt politicised and nor was the scene but lets take a look shall we.

The second world war was the end of the empire and the end of the victorian social order. The post war industialisation and wider availability of goods created the first mass consumer society. Women during the war had been allowed to take the same jobs as men in the fields and factories and demanded that remained. During the 50's the generation which had sacrificed so much were demanding much more and weren't going to let the morality of the older generation dictate. This gave rise to the rebellion of the James Dean era and to a xcertain extent rock and roll and elvis etc.. leaping forward we have the american civil rights movement and vietnam which brought rise to the hippy mobement and its subsequent offshoots of psychedelia which gradually infected the UK.

We had an actual revolution followed by a cultrual and moral revolution and by the time the post war socialist state was begninning to cripple industry we had yet another social revlotion which brought rise to the Pistols and Punk.

Spot the pattern? Every time there is a rejection of the cultural and political status quo there is a new movement within music and youth culture.

The Thatcherite reforms were no less of an economic and social revolution. The shift from stagnant statism to free flowing individualism and some say selfishness. (see privatisation)

The opponents of which, or at least thatcherism, were always the reclaim the streets/animal right/SWP far lefty types. They were always inextricably linked to the squat "scene" and I've yet to meet an acid house DJ of the era who didnt have links with one or other organisation who were routinely waving placards or in running battles with the rozzers.
The first ravers would have been ex punks, and hippies of the Levellers/NMA pursuasion and anarchy types.

The arrival of ecstasy and mass availability of electronic gear was coincidental but tunes and pills do not a scene make. DJ's had to draw on audiences and where better to find them than at protest squats etc.

To say that the birth of rave was entirely apolitical and just a random mutation of genres based on technological advances doesnt sit well for me. That kind of thing happens all the time. its happend a dozen times since the birth of acid house.

What makes it a movement with political undertones is in evidence by the ensuing moral panics and media hype.
The great nichtomorph of the 90's.

In this case the catalyst was a drug but that drug appearing at any other time since, and the result would have looked entirely different if it happened at all.

Ideas only survive if they have a sea to swim in and such conditions only tend to be apparent in times of economic or social uncertainty.

Interesting stuff.

[nekro]

so acid techno was born because of dissillusionment with the thatcher era? :/

i really don't think that many of the artists, people involved in organising the squat parties in London or the 'ravers' were motivated by these reasons, some maybe, but the majority not. i was there week in week out at underground sounds, immersion, virus, bedlam, restless natives etc.etc. and this is not how i remember the scene being.

[AcidTrash]

The point being that the east end london activist scene was very much vibrant because of the thatcherite reforms. While they themselves maynot have been responsible for the scene as we know it, it was almost certainly the sea through which the idea initially swam.

[AcidTrash]

Just thinking. Turning it on its head, what notable sea changes in music have occured in times of economic prosperity and stability?

The blues were born of slavery, psychedelia was born of the hippie movement during a social revlolution, why is it so implausible that rave was a counter reaction to to the birth of modern consumer captialism as we know it?

[Gus]

Just thinking. Turning it on its head, what notable sea changes in music have occured in times of economic prosperity and stability?

The blues were born of slavery, psychedelia was born of the hippie movement during a social revlolution, why is it so implausible that rave was a counter reaction to to the birth of modern consumer captialism as we know it?

Disco ? Its the only one I could think of that didnt fit your hypothesis.

[AcidTrash]

Disco ? Its the only one I could think of that didnt fit your hypothesis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_Discontent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis

Hardly a quiet decade of peace and stability. Although the origins of disco and or any social movement associated with it is outside my area of interest.

Probably the collective hangover of the hippie movement.

Can I phone a friend?

[Gus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_Discontent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis

Hardly a quiet decade of peace and stability. Although the origins of disco and or any social movement associated with it is outside my area of interest.

Probably the collective hangover of the hippie movement.

Can I phone a friend?

Then again theres usually some heavy stuff going on in the world so you can always find something that was going on. I really dont think Disco was inspired by any sort of bad times though. However disco is mostly shite so maybe you could have a point - decent music is inspired by hardtimes.

[nekro]

for those that are genuinely interested in what the london 'scene' is like these days then check out this weekends party, should be quite a few sound systems there since it's a bank holiday

[electoad]

my 2 cents
boredom + unstable tempwork + depression(optional) = megga creativity aka doing things for yourself.... creative evolution.

stable comfortable job = stable overweight comfortable mediocrity, consuming and expecting others to throw the good parties. Aka all fun and no tough.

[People_Mover]

I think you'll find that Disco grew out of the gay rights scene - the discoteque was the only social outlet for gays at the time. So in that sense, disco was a form of social protest. Without it, it's unlikely that much of today's dance music would even exist.

[AcidTrash]

I think you'll find that Disco grew out of the gay rights scene - the discoteque was the only social outlet for gays at the time. So in that sense, disco was a form of social protest. Without it, it's unlikely that much of today's dance music would even exist.

Sounds about right. Was thinking earlier today that my explanation of disco was vague and implausible but that probably has it.

[People_Mover]

Hmmm...my last post was supposed to be in reply to one on page 3. I didn't realise we were up to page 4. Never mind....

[People_Mover]

One thing I will say though - acid techno is, by its very nature, limited in scope. What worked back in 1996 still works today. New tunes will always be compared to the classics and probably suffer as a result. In order to survive, the music must evolve - not so as to sound like anything else, but to remain in a sector all its own, Does that make sense?

[AcidTrash]

@DTD...

You say that techno is essentially fck you music but do you find that its harder to find an expression of "fck you" in a more socially liberal society since there are very few moral or musical taboos anymore?

I would have thought that very little in the dance world could be interpretted as rebellious given that mainstream media has so readily stolen and absorbed most underground music.

[force]

@DTD...

You say that techno is essentially fck you music but do you find that its harder to find an expression of "fck you" in a more socially liberal society since there are very few moral or musical taboos anymore?

I would have thought that very little in the dance world could be interpretted as rebellious given that mainstream media has so readily stolen and absorbed most underground music.

mainly because the musical ideas it deals with are abstract and go against the grain of commercial music.
and it needs a bit of a leap of faith to understand.

^^

[AcidTrash]

Well what exactly does go against the grain of commercial music these days since just about every concept from the underground has been absorbed?

Most forms of techno are in your face on a daily basis in adverts and trailers.

[force]

since just about every concept from the underground has been absorbed?

Come up with new concepts then.

[davethedrummer]

Well what exactly does go against the grain of commercial music these days since just about every concept from the underground has been absorbed?

Most forms of techno are in your face on a daily basis in adverts and trailers.

i don't agree

[force]

Which makes most techno producers worth their salt say, fck you, i'm gonna try and make something different, using sound elements in other ways, experimentation, rather than same old same old.
Its only a lack of imagination/talentwhen it comes to the paint by numbers stuff.

Its only really techno and the more cutting edge breakcore stuff that still tries to push the boundries.
Other genres tend to find a winning formular and stick with it.

(hard) house/dance/nrg/trance etc.