Why is the European rave scene so much better than the American (IMO)?

nuttynutskin

nuttynutskin

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
10,681
Something I've always wondered... It seems like as far as sheer quantity of festivals/raves, and also for that type of techno, America doesn't even hold a candle to Europe. And I'm not saying there's no good American artists and raves at all, but unlike Europe they seem to be few and far between, and also more based in house and electro than say gabber, hardstyle, hardcore, etc. Is it just a regional thing?
 
Good question , I've always wondered that too.. Anyone ? Israel has so many artists , so maybe there . And of course the German scene . .. thoughts ?
 
I have been saying this for years now, I am UK based & always felt the scene we have over here would be kinda the same the world around.
I worked in Cape Cod, Boston for a summer & was shocked when people didn't know what Pirate radio was, never heard of Jungle music etc.
The city I live close to has many events every weekend from Jungle, Breakcore, Gabber, Garage etc on every weekend, the worst though I have to admit was my time in Norway by far. Even in the 2nd City Bergen there was NO rave scene & this is the country that gave the drum & bass scene Teebee & Polar.

I think the English just like a damn good time more than most, all the stuff I have seen of the American rave scene looks like some "Plastic" mass market thing who's target market is 19 year old "Candy ravers"

FakeFlake said:
And of course the German scene
Click to expand...

Techno viking ftw :)
I never get fed up of watching the guy, kinda is the German Techno scene wrapped up in 1 small video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J2sLMP7Qqw
 
why have i never seen that vid before, he can srsly bust sum moves, inverted water bottle was sooo classic
 
Mysterie said:
why have i never seen that vid before, he can srsly bust sum moves, inverted water bottle was sooo classic
Click to expand...

Gotta agree on the dance moves, Kung Fu crossed with Techno :)
Glad I brought something new to you, plus I gotta agree on the "Drukqs" on your profile, Vordhosbn is my personal #1 with 54 Cymru Beats a close 2nd.
 
A lot of it with North America is the car culture. I think people are more likely to get music to thump the bass in their cars, and trick out their $1000 civics with a 2 g sound system. In Europe I don't think that kind of culture is as big, I'm sure it exists but in NA its massive. The need for festivals is probably lower, although we have probably some of the biggest festivals. Most major cities have a niche culture respective to the genre. The old school idea of raves are sort of dead, although in the 90s it was fairly huge.

In Europe you can basically hop on a train and go to Germany or Amsterdam or fly to Spain or something. And yeah we don't have a Berlin (who does???), or the depth of the hard scene but really I think things have changed where people are more willing to hop on a cheap flight or something and go to an event night.

And DJ culture has changed where its sooo easy now. If I wanted to have a party at someone's house with a bunch of friends I could just rent a mixer or bring mine and a soundsystem for a decent price. There's not this huge thing of spending huge money on 1200s and buying records. Just bring a USB stick and everyone can play tunes they like.

Or Internet radio. If want to listen to your favorite DJ they usually have a weekly radio show, turn up your speakers and you are good to go.
 
Gahaha!!! Yes the techno viking , ur so right about that :D Of course England too , how could I forgot about drum and bass . And actually I am listening to some Camo & Crooked right now even before I read the thread =))) Nice sounds when the darker times comes =))) But we all like music dont we =) Ur from North America jpgdrnr ? I was thinking that the "rave" scene is somewhat bigger there ?
 
nuttynutskin said:
Something I've always wondered... It seems like as far as sheer quantity of festivals/raves, and also for that type of techno, America doesn't even hold a candle to Europe. And I'm not saying there's no good American artists and raves at all, but unlike Europe they seem to be few and far between, and also more based in house and electro than say gabber, hardstyle, hardcore, etc. Is it just a regional thing?
Click to expand...

I think part of the issue with good acts being few and far between in the US is the "mainstream" aspect of everything. DJs are the new rockstars so to speak, and it is more about working a crowd than taking people on a journey. While I absolutely LOVE the jam band scene (Lotus, Eoto, STS9, etc...) most of the DJs are just generic "beatport top 100" guys in the states. Some aren't, as I love a Bassnectar show any time it's around, Ill.Gates is pretty good as well, PL has some good live shows, but most of these guys aren't doing anything but contributing to the "pressing play" argument by standing in front jumping around and crowd surfing while a CD is playing in the background of some prerecorded mix or something of that nature.

While I think the argument over CDs vs. Vinyl vs. Ableton is over-exaggerated (a good show is a good show right? after all it is the carpenter and not the tools), too many people using these digital and high-tech methods are simply using these things (such as the sync button) as a crutch rather than a tool. Every "good DJ" around where I live all use this fucking sync button on their traktor S4s or sit glued into the waveforms on the computer screen, and their only transitions are just simply by fading from one auto-cued track into another after about 2 minutes, and then repeat the process while adding an effect every 90 seconds or so. If they are going to use that route, learn the fucking vinyl as that is what that was made for - An organic feel to mixing. The guys that don't beatmatch at their live shows (big names) all use a shit ton of layering to add uniqueness to a set. Hence using the auto-beatmatching as a TOOL rather than a crutch. Anyone who buys this expensive equipment for a sync button and can't add any uniqueness or variation to their sets from the next guy and the one after, even with the aid of that button (even though beatmatching is SOOOO easy), is just mind boggling.

All these no name kids playing at these bars and clubs today are all autosyncing and autocueing throughout there sets, and sound just like the next guy who comes after. And I mean EVERYBODY... And the worst part is, these kids watching these guys play are like "He's actually pretty good" when I comment on how it sounds generic and like every other beatport top 100 house guy with some skrillex, trap, and that basic screechy brostep... All I can do is simply shake my head because I have spent the last 3 months making my own transitions, collecting loops and acapellas, and individualizing tracks to put into one 30-40 minute mix just for my own listening pleasure. It's a lot of hard work, and being able to transpose all of that into one musical journey is even more work. And I still have another month of work to go before I will be finished. All these kids I see playing out do not put that time and energy into their sets, yet they get all the fucking recognition from the crowd who says "YAY, I LOVE MOLLY, BITCHES, AND ELECTRO HOUSE MUSIC!!!!"... America is not comprised of ravers, it's simply comprised of partiers and fratboys who like to get fucked up and bump shoulders to anything in the background (like that whole screechstep/bro-step wave regardless of whether or not it all sounds like loud obnoxious noises rather than music, and don't even get me started on this "trap" bullshit...)

At least one place by me does free drum & bass/jungle events once a week, going back to the roots of the COMMUNITY aspect of the rave culture, rather than the party culture of the mainstream "EDM" wave. While festivals are great (I love the shit out of them), its too much of the same basic bullshit going on now without much variety.

This link describes the American EDM wave in perfection:
https://soundcloud.com/daleri/epic-mashleg
Need i say more?
 
Last edited:
Has anyone else also noticed that a lot of European techno has more of a darker/classical melody to it as well? Probably why I like it.

This is a pretty good example I think. I mean if it were strings playing the melody line it would sound like something from the 1800s...

 
i think it's definitely a regional thing but there's a lot of generalisation in the thread. are we talking about events or music? or are the two inextricably linked? are we discussing qualitative or quantitative factors? or both? what's the definition of "rave scene" or is it so vague it's a meaningless term?

i've spent the bulk of my time living in the u.s. in the san francisco bay area and, from both a qualitative and quantitative point of view, the scene (musically and in terms of events) was alive and well. the specific genre in which i am most interested is psychedelic trance but there was a seemingly endless supply of well-organised events with excellent line-ups (a combination of local talent and international household names).

i'm also a big believer in being the change, changing a lighbulb instead of moaning about the darkness. without a doubt, 3 of the best psytrance parties i have ever been to were dance events my friends and i threw ourselves.

alasdair
 
Let me try again... The US sucks for gabber, hardstyle, hardcore, etc. lol

When's the last time there was an event like this in the states?...

 
I just think it comes down to appeals. I went to a local event last year around mid april and they played a ton of hard style, gabber, hard dance, and other styles. It just is too fast for some people to dance to due to the mainstream culture. What is mainstream pop music centered around (sadly what most people I have known listen to in the states)? Vocal Pop music is centered around 128bpm, while the crunk rap a.k.a. trap is centered around 70bpm, and people can dance to it. DnB, Hardstyle, Gabber styles can be upwards of 175-200+bpm, which is just too fast for these people used to dancing to that generic electro-house 4 on the floor 128 pattern, or just slow motionless booming 808s at 70bpm with a couple of quick snare hits.

While I have no problem raging to DnB all night (hardstyle/gabber just isn't my cup of tea, though I don't mind these things once in a while), most people are stuck and don't know what to do when some jungle/DnB comes on in the middle of a set and just sit there, frozen. I guess I'm weird that way, because I think house music is just too slow for me to get locked in to. Also, Europe has always been much larger in the area of experimental music than the US as far as electronic music goes, whereas the US has been far more mainstream. Many of these shows are not focusing on the crowd who loves the community, culture, and music, but rather focusing on fratboys in their bright neon colors who love to throw elbows at eachother, get fucked up, and just have something loud playing in the background.
 
A couple of my friends that went to Europe says its much better there. More of a chill vibe and definitely a lot more techno.
 
Northern LIGHTS said:
I just think it comes down to appeals. I went to a local event last year around mid april and they played a ton of hard style, gabber, hard dance, and other styles.
Click to expand...

Cool, where was this?

Northern LIGHTS said:
It just is too fast for some people to dance to due to the mainstream culture. What is mainstream pop music centered around (sadly what most people I have known listen to in the states)? Vocal Pop music is centered around 128bpm, while the crunk rap a.k.a. trap is centered around 70bpm, and people can dance to it. DnB, Hardstyle, Gabber styles can be upwards of 175-200+bpm, which is just too fast for these people used to dancing to that generic electro-house 4 on the floor 128 pattern, or just slow motionless booming 808s at 70bpm with a couple of quick snare hits.
Click to expand...

Good points... I never thought about the speed.

Northern LIGHTS said:
While I have no problem raging to DnB all night (hardstyle/gabber just isn't my cup of tea, though I don't mind these things once in a while), most people are stuck and don't know what to do when some jungle/DnB comes on in the middle of a set and just sit there, frozen.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah I could just imagine the average drunk American frat rat's reaction if Panacea, Ophidian, Hive and Keaton, etc. were playing.
 
It wasn't a big event by any means, more like an underground event at a warehouse area outside of the city but there were 3 stages, probably a few hundred people, and they played a good amount of that harder style music. Of course there were some house guys, some electro, some dubstep, but almost everyone had a good amount of songs or so that were hard dance, gabber, and others of that nature. From about midnight to 3am it was all hardstyle going on at the outdoor stage, and it fit the mood perfectly. It was definitely different than the usual scene I'm used to...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top