EDM Culture and its Hazards

Is EDM's Culture A Hazard?

Its been a tragic week for the EDM(electronic dance music scene). There has been three drug related deaths on the east coast, 2 at Electric Zoo and 1 at Zedd’s tour in Boston. As a result the final day of was Electric Zoo canceled. I agree with this cancellations its better to have the festival canceled for a day than risking the festival be canceled for good.

These deaths have sparked a media frenzy on drug use and the EDM scene. As someone who’s witnessed the transformation of the electronic dance music into to mainstream popularity I want to shed some light on this topic that the media is overlooking in their attempts to degrade and slander EDM culture.

Ever since the inception of EDM culture (google GOA Gil) there’s always been some link to drugs primarily psychedelics. Initially this brought a spiritual element to electronic music. My theory is this parallels tribal times where people would be dancing around a camp fire to the sound of drums and the chanting of shamans. In modern times this has been applied;  we now dance around to our favorite DJ and trip out to insane visuals as they take us on our own personal journeys.

Close nit communities of ravers/kandi kids began to form as well. In these communities you knew the drugs you took were safe and test kits were even provided. The motto of P.L.U.R (peace,love, unity, and respect) held true. EDM music in its various forms from hardstyle to trance began to spread from the shores of Goa to Ibiza and the entire European continent. During this time many EDM festivals started to pop up like Love Parade, Sensation White and Trance Energy and EDM was heavily scrutinize and stereotyped as techno in America even though Techno emerged from Detroit. In Eminem’s track “With Out Me”, he famously said “Nobody listens to techno” but he was very wrong.

EDM would eventually make its way to America and into mainstream popularity thanks in part to Swedish House Mafia’s track “One”. As EDM culture evolved the drug of choice changed from psychedelics to MDMA/Estacy aka molly. House turned into pop, trance became trouse and dubstep transformed into unrecognizable noise. Close nit communities of ravers began to separate and the very same people who said “no body would ever listen to techno” started jumped on the EDM bandwagon.

Music festivals began to pop up in every majority city in America like Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Electric Zoo in NYC, EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) on the west coast and even European franchises like Sensation White and Tomorrowland (TomorrowWorld in America) gained massive popularity. Electronic music started to get radio play as rappers and pop stars began to embrace the genre.

These festivals often lasted several days and includes after parties. For teens and tweens who haven’t experienced much partying due to strict drinking laws in the US(You have to be 21+ to drink) this was the ultimate experience with the added bonus of seeing their favorite acts and DJs all in the same place. Some hardcore fans would still show up  primarily for the music like members from the #TranceFamily but the were over shadowed by the majority of people who simply wanted to party their asses off and get fucked up on what ever drug was present.

Drug dealers saw this new market and took advantage of it by cooking up a cocktail of party drugs. As a result deaths from the over dose of drugs became a common occurrence at large EDM festivals. Many festivals have taken measures to combat this by setting up medical tents and water fountains through their venues. Due to the taboo that the personal choice to use drugs has in ttoday'ssociety many people are scared to make use of these resources out of the fear of being arrested. However they’re organizations popping up like DanceSafe that offer test kits. If you make the choose to use drugs the responsibility of your life is in your hands. Make sure you have a designated friend who is aware of what you’re doing and keep checking in with them. Stay hydrated and research what you’re getting your self into from communities like erowid.

The consequences on the general community from these 3 deaths in the past week will be harsh on the EDM community. Acts will have a hard time booking gigs for venues as they will not want to be associated with drugs use and the bad press that comes with it. Time will past and EDM will continue to evolve and live on whether that means EDM will go back to its roots in the underground or continue to ride its mainstream popularity.

Read more on his blog at http://saeedjabbar.com/blog/

By Saeed Jabbar on September 1, 2013