The Drunken Barn Dance as a NeoPagan Trance Ritual, Considered

Till finds a close connection between African Possession Dance rituals and what he terms the Electronic Dance Music Cult (EDMC). To a similar extent, so does Sylvan, writing in our earlier source: White Soul. From the first time I was exposed to the idea that religiously derivative overtones of African trance music are present within western pop culture and functioning with the same basic purpose, I was interested in looking closer. I am taking the opportunity to do so with this essay.

Till and EDMC

Till believes that EDMC is both in reaction against and oppositional to cultural norms and traditional religious forms. He writes that it the EDMC scene has organically grown from a liquid and postmodern soup of dissatisfaction with mainstream spirituality, and that because it harkens to indigenous religious typologies, is therefore more authentic. He sums up his belief in the overall value of EDMC this way: [It is] making a wager on human moral intuition and ability to negotiate the art and the usages of living together (Till). Curiously, the author is clear that while he has attempted to remain objective, he says that he has tried to not cast value judgments on the merits of EDMC- he admits that some biases might inject themselves into his work. While I appreciate the academic honesty, I wish that he had tried just a smidge harder. Till is positively enamored with the electronic music scene and the associated ritual and communal aspects of the rave party. Tills deep and abiding love of EDMC is apparent in the effusive language he uses to describe the subject under consideration: It is a democratized, postmodern, re-enchanting, reconstructive spirituality. It is autonomized, subjectivized, both individualized and rational/holistic, both individual and group/communal, emotionally intelligent and explorational, seeking sensation and ecstasy, mystical and involves power and spiritual authority being owned, not passed or delegated. (Till) Who wouldnt want something as glorious as that? For reference, I have included clips from the 2012 White Party, one of the most famous and exciting EDM events in the world, an underground rave party, and an African Possession Dance Ritual. NOTE: all three clips include brief nudity and suggestive dancing. If viewing such images offends you, please dont click play. First, a couple of modern EDMC events, one mainstream and then one underground: Click to view Click to view Compare these with this video of an actual possession trance ritual: Click to view

I don't know about anyone else, but for me, the similarities are remarkable only because they are so very incidental.

Problems, confusions, and misplaced foci

Till writes that the most conclusive pieces of evidence of spirituality and religion within EDMC are the innumerable accounts of transcendent experiences described by the clubbers themselves. He follows this claim with a long series of quotes from the clubbers about their various engagements within the rave culture, which he then describes as being experiences of transcendence and rapture (Till). The problem with this approach is that he then follows this with a series of similar quotes from similar clubbers that distinctly refuses any type of religious designation. How can a researcher quote a participant saying they have had an amazing experience, reify their own words as being indicative of a religious experience, but then ignore them when they say that it wasnt? I dont agree that redefining the words and attached meaning of someones testimony is fair to the person being interviewed. Whats more, I dont see any reason to accept that because someone says they are religious or irreligious or says that an experience was or wasnt spiritual in nature, that means that they are speaking to something essentially true, so much as they are speaking to something that is experientially true. My mom loves gardening and feels closely connected to nature when she is tending her tomato plants. That doesnt mean there is something essentially spiritual about gardening. This is another opportunity to remember a truism of logic: Correlation is not Causation. Till mentions a couple of interesting ideas; things that I simply could not allow to pass by without comment. The first of these refers to a likeness that the author finds with EDMC and church services: Clubbers can often be seen raising their hands up towards the light(s) in a fashion very reminiscent of a Pentecostal church service (Till). Okay, I can accept the similarity. Here are a couple of images from these two events. Both include people with their hands up.

Everybody's hands are "up," but I dont think that the similarity speaks to an association of intent. Till goes on to write that [r]aising ones hands was a sign of clubbers I spoke to of release, rapture, escape, ascension and ecstasy, as they reached upwards and outwards towards lights that came down from above the clubbers, framing their heads like a nimbus or halo, a signifier of divinity in religious art of the sacred or divine, all set within the heaven-like smoke machine generated clouds. (Till) Aside from the fact that the language that Till is using is a bit over-the-top - "heaven-like smoke machine?" - I think he is making a strong connection where, if there is one at all, the connection is tenuous.

Concluding Thoughts
There is not enough space here to describe all the differences, confusions and conflations of similarity that I discovered in the text. Drug-taking as social lubricant and as party favor is presented as if it has something in common with the Ghost Dance Religion. (It doesnt.) Ecstasy and MDMA are described as being essentially safe and that when young people overdose and die, it is because of a lack of education, poor drug-taking skills, and subpar manufacturing and processing. (Also, not true.) I found his entire section on the drug culture aspect of EMDCsunfortunate.

Once again, I think that Till missed the opportunity to focus on the small group of people for whom the EDMC scene is both implicitly and overtly a religious experience. The Boom Festival is an amazing example. Till mentions them as bringing together the latest in psychedelic audio and visuals, art instillations and workshops. A convergence of people, energy, information, and philosophies from around planet Earth and beyond (Till, quoting from the Boom Festival Website). These people are doing something that actually is reminiscent of religious dance. It is amazing! Honestly I want to go. For more information on Boom, click here. I thought it unfortunate that by conflating the drug-induced frenzy of the club scene with people who are engaged with house and EDM as a religious ritual, an essential difference was lost. The separation of religious experience with social party seems to be absent from Tills description. All we need do is compare the White Party with Boom and the fundamental spiritualism of the one and the core secularism of the other becomes apparent. At least it is apparent to me. Word Count; 1043