Technomad: Global Raving Countercultures

325 Pages·2009·53.534 MB·English

by  Graham St John

Technomad
Studies in Popular Music
Series Editors: Alyn Shipton, journalist, broadcaster and
former lecturer in music at Oxford Brookes University
and
Christopher Partridge, Professor of Contemporary Religion
and Co-Director of the Centre for Religion and Popular
Culture, University of Chester
From jazz to reggae, bhangra to heavy metal, electronica to qawwali,
and from production to consumption, Studies in Popular Music is a
multi-disciplinary series which aims to contribute to a comprehensive
understanding of popular music. It will provide analyses of theoretical
perspectives, a broad range of case studies, and discussion of key issues.
Published:
Open Up the Doors
Music in the Modern Church
Mark Evans
Forthcoming:
Send in the Clones
A Cultural Study of Tribute Bands
Georgina Gregory
Dub in Babylon
Understanding the Evolution and Significance of Dub Reggae in Jamaica and Britain
from King Tubby to Post-Punk
Christopher Partridge
Technomad
Global RavinG CounteRCultuRes
Graham St John
Published by
UK: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 1 Chelsea Manor Studios, Flood Street, London SW3 5SR
USA: DBBC, 28 Main Street, Oakville, CT 06779
www.equinoxpub.com
First published 2009 by Equinox Publishing Ltd.
© Graham St John 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permis sion
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
St. John, Graham, 1968-
Technomad : global raving countercultures / Graham St. John. -- 1st ed.
p. cm. -- (Dance and performance studies ; v. 3)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84545-546-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Youth--Attitudes.
2. Techno music--Social aspects. 3. Rave culture. 4. Techno
music--History and criticism. 5. Counterculture. I. Title.
HQ796.S77 2009
306.4’842609049--dc22
2008032692
ISBN-13 978 1 84553 625 1 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 84553 626 8 (paperback)
Typeset by CA Typesetting Ltd, www.publisherservices.co.uk
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Lightning Source UK Ltd., Milton Keynes and
Lightning Source Inc., La Vergne, TN
To my mum

Contents
List of Figures viii
Acknowledgments x
1 The Rave-olution? 1
2 Sound System Exodus:
Tekno-Anarchy in the UK and Beyond 28
3 Secret Sonic Societies and Other Renegades of Sound 65
4 New Tribal Gathering: Vibe-Tribes and Mega-Raves 93
5 The Technoccult, Psytrance, and the Millennium 165
6 Rebel Sounds and Dance Activism: Rave and the
Carnival of Protest 194
7 Outback Vibes: Dancing Up Country 235
8 Hardcore, You Know the Score 253
Endnotes 258
Bibliography 285
Index 300
List of Figures
1.1 Fighting Rigs. Sound off between Labs and Looney Bins,
Gener8r, Lakota club Bristol, 17 February 2007 4
1.2 Spider Rig Threshold. Image for Gener8r, Bristol,
November 2007 13
1.3 Bassnectar at a warehouse party in Portland, Oregon,
April 2007 26
2.1 Spiral Tribe 23 Face 39
2.2 Simon Spiral with 303. New Music Express, 9 January 1993 42
2.3 Mutoid Waste Co Skull & Cross Spanners 46
2.4 The Shushman/Ninja DJ 53
2.5 Original CzechTek Poster (1994) 58
2.6 Black 23 Dragon 63
3.1 Moontribe Mandala 67
3.2 New York’s Blackkat Collective 74
3.3 Amok @ Blackkat May Day 2007 in Union Square Park,
Manhattan 77
3.4 DJ Algorithm looks on with tobias.dj on three turntables
at “We Got Burnt,” 20 August 1999, Vancouver, B.C., Canada 80
3.5 Non Bossy Posse at the Graffiti Hall of Fame, Sydney 86
4.1 Glimpse on the Dancefloor, Rainbow Serpent Festival 2007,
Victoria, Australia 104
4.2 Free-Party 118
4.3 The relocated Avon Free Festival on Castlemorton Common,
UK, May 1992 128
4.4 Vendetta free party near Torino, Italy with Trakkas, Oxyde
and Metro sound systems, June 2004 132
4.5 Fusion Festival, Germany, 2007 138
4.6 Boom Festival Main Floor, Portugal, August 2006 154
4.7 Community Dance at Burning Man, Black Rock Desert,
Nevada, 1999 (with Simon Posford aka Hallucinogen) 161
5.1 Outback Eclipse, December 2002 at Lyndhurst,
South Australia 185
5.2 Plane Henge at Mutonia, South Australia 188
List of Figures ix
6.1 Prague demonstration following CzechTek riot,
3 August 2005 201
6.2 European Alternative Resistance, Strasbourg, April 2006 202
6.3 Reclaim the Streets, Sydney, May Day 2004 211
6.4 Joyeux Merdier Social, Paris, 1 May 2006 224
6.5 Gener8r7. Flier art for Gener8r 2007 fundraiser, Bristol 231
7.1 The Great Australian Bush Doof 239
8.1 United Forces of Tekno 254