Altered State author Matthew Collin discusses his new book Rave On: Global Adventures in Electronic Dance Music with musician, DJ and academic Sally Rodgers.
‘Part history lesson, part vibrant dance-floor travelogue, Collin’s smart geographical survey shows how club culture mutates and adapts … Between those repetitive beats, there’s still a world of possibility.’ Victoria Segal, Sunday Times
‘Ten x-rays of dance culture in ten global hotspots that lovingly trace the history of each locale’s sound through its DJs, promoters and proponents … Both scholarly and intimate … Collin’s quest is never short of illuminating … fascinating’ Kitty Empire, Observer
Three decades after the acid house ‘summer of love’, dance music has gone from subculture to the global mainstream. Does it still have the same power to inspire?
From the pleasure palaces of Ibiza and Las Vegas to ‘new frontiers’ like Shanghai and Dubai, raving is now a multi-million-dollar business. But there are still hardcore believers upholding its DIY ethos – the techno idealists of Berlin and Detroit and the queer subcults of New York, the post-apartheid party people of South Africa and the outlaw techno travellers of France. For Rave On, Matthew Collin (the author of Altered State, the classic acid house history) travelled the world to experience these unique scenes first-hand, talked to the key DJs, promoters and producers and heard the story of how dance culture went global – and found out whether its maverick spirit has survived its own success.
