Rave Parties

It was in 1989 that the acid party was formally re-dubbed the ‘rave’ by English musician Neil Andrew Megson

Last week, the Mumbai Police busted a ‘rave’ party in Juhu and seized drugs from the premises. But even though they have become synonymous with drugs, the first raves in the world were only about having a good time.

In the modern world, the rave originated from acid parties. Yes, the name that connects it to a popular party drug may be unfortunate, but in music terms, it just meant that these parties were about dancing to house music. The trance music that emphasises repetitive beats and melodies without lyrics was the main reason people collected in large numbers at these parties. The genres of electronic music played at raves include trance, psytrance, techno, dubstep, jungle, jungle techno, drum and bass— often accompanied with laser light shows, glowsticks and smoke machines.

It was in 1989 that the acid party was formally re-dubbed the ‘rave’. English songwriter and musician Neil Andrew Megson called an acid party a “rave” during a TV interview, and it was adopted to describe the subculture that grew out of the acid house movement.

The rave has a culture that basically centres around dancing and light shows. Here is another interesting tidbit: If you have been raving for a long time, you can get a rave name, which usually have deep symbolic meaning for people.

But drug use has haunted raves everywhere. Drugs such as cocaine and LSD are known to be commonly used, like during the hippie movement of the 1960s. But ecstasy is regarded as the main rave drug, mainly because of the integral part it has played in fostering the rave culture. The colourful clothing, menthol inhalers, pacifiers and other rave accessories are either meant to enhance the high or are the indirect result of ecstasy use.

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