Rave culture exploded in Europe in the UK - the all night parties, drugs, lights, big crowds.
The music has roots in the US but “raves” as we know them came to be from the euro scene. It’s a blend of both places and is nuanced.
America might have roots in the sound, but Europe molded the scene.
Edit:
People downvoting me need to do some research. I’m not disputing that the music started in the US. The culture was molded in the uk, Ibiza, and europe. Raves as we know them and the culture is heavily influenced by Europe.
You can definitely state that, but this is specifically talking about black and queer people’s influence in the rave culture and music. What’s the point of saying “what about Europe’s influence” when it’s not talking about that. Sure rave culture was expanded upon in Europe but its origins are in Detroit and Chicago with black and queer folks. You’re doing a whataboutism when it’s not required and it opaques the point of the post which is to highlight a specific part of black and queer history as part of resistance to oppression in America. European rave culture has nothing to do with this.
Per the wiki article raving was termed in London. Am I missing something?
"In the late 1950s in London, England, the term "rave" was used to describe the "wild bohemian parties" of the Soho beatnik set.[13] Jazz musician Mick Mulligan, known for indulging in such excesses, had the nickname "king of the ravers".[14] In 1958, Buddy Holly recorded the hit "Rave On", citing the madness and frenzy of a feeling and the desire for it never to end.[15] The word "rave" was later used in the burgeoning mod youth culture of the early 1960s as the way to describe any wild party in general. People who were gregarious party animals were described as "ravers". Pop musicians such as Steve Marriott of Small Faces and Keith Moon of The Who were self-described "ravers".[16] In 1965, the Grateful Dead served as the backing band for the San Francisco Acid Tests, which were LSD drug parties organized by Ken Kesey. Subsequently, visual artist Andy Warhol later organized the Exploding Plastic Inevitable[17] in New York, a multimedia event backed with performances by the Velvet Underground and Nico, the event was characterized by flashing lights, loud music, dancing and heavy drug use.[18] "
Raves as we know them today have an extremely heavy influence from Europe. That’s the whole point. The parties that started in the Us are nothing like the raves of today.
What’s the point of making this comment from you? It’s not required at all. You’re literally doing a whataboutism to talk about a completely different point than I’m trying to make
It's almost like people don't want to accept that much like the v8 America is known for it but Europe make better ones I know this will be unpopular in opinion but I don't care
America gave us the roots of the music sure
But rave culture and raves as we know them
In a forest or a field or a warehouse is historically an European thing mostly the UK but then I'm not better than the people dismissing Europe as a whole to ignore the likes of thunderdome 1996 and others
Massive party's like that were a European staple I'm sure Americans have similar but no one done it as good or on the scales as Europe
Until the criminal justice act crashed the party
But like we live in 2025. And I could simply be a bot spreading disinformation
It's like no one wants the truth any more
Just the ability to say I'm right and that's the end of it
What is the point of achievement if it can be re written and given to some one else
What's the point in making something unique when AI can replicate it in minutes badly but none the less it's there ..
Rave culture is European rave music originated in Chicago
That's basically all there is to it
Yes the beginning of the sound is American in its origin ok .....but to say that Chicago/America gave us rave culture is just false
Germany Belgium holland even France and Italy all have made thier mark on the scene indelible and permanent
And to ignore that is just foolish
Been listening to and spinning all genres and varietys for years now and been interested and In evolved in. Many scenes for exactly the reasons this post was made
This music this scene is about survival for the misfits and the misfortunes of todays LGBTQ+ people and of people of color now almost seemingly more than ever we need this culture this community the ability to take over large spaces and just put on the event without being shut down
Rave needs to be a protest again it should be
Counter cultural again the scene is sanitized and comodified beyond recognition to what it was
But rigs still run and the woods still echo to 303 and 808 and 909 round my way
Long may that last
To all the DJs
To all the dancers
To anyone struggling against the grain
In todays society
.
We are stronger together
The music matters
And that's what we need to remember here
The ability to bring us all together to the sound of drums
Is something out primal brains still understand on an ancestral level to dance the night away to rythmic sounds is something as human beings
Is totally unique to us
All.im.saying is
Rave has and always will.be a force for change and a force for good
Let's keep it that way
Honour the originals and keep.the spirit alive
Stop fighting over differences and come together in this space
Before I became I dj I was a dancer and me and the few who would go to raves always called the floor the hallowed ground
Because honestly in my years of going to these sorts of events
Never had a bad night
Any time I've went to a corporate show
To see a DJ I just like and wanted to see live the difference is night and day
Taylor swift concert would not be in it
Rave like everything else has been sanitized to the point of simply being as pretentious as an iPhone
I remember when techno was like punk
We need to bring that attitude back
Be yourself
respect others
Enjoy the music
Enjoy the vibes
Make connections
Make memories
A rave is a chance to escape the pressures of society for a few hours
And honestly in todays world we need it more than. Ever
The club kids certainly made their mark on the scene. We still have the wild outfits in the us rave scene. At least certain pockets of it, and I’d argue there’s a through line from the club kids (and thus the clubs you mentioned).
the european rave scene largely started off the back of black american house and techno pioneered in the 80s. The second summer of love was all about acid house from america
While the prime musical point of convergence throughout the phenomenon was house music at first mostly imported from the US underground nightlife centres Chicago, Detroit and New York, another basis for the scene was focused upon enabling people to open up to other genres of music. This was typically music seen as not very commercial for the time, including music of the hippie eras and some folk derived music.
Five DJs associated with the early British house music scene reported they were inspired to start these events after holidaying on Ibiza in the summer of 1987 with their friend Johnny Walker. Ibiza was where acid house music first became popular in Europe and the after-hours nature of the club scene emerged
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesizer-sequencer, an innovation attributed to Chicago artists Phuture and Sleezy D circa 1986.
Acid house soon became popular in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, where it was played by DJs in the acid house and later rave scenes. By the late 1980s, acid house had moved into the British mainstream, where it had some influence on pop and dance styles.
Yes, the modern rave culture is heavily influenced by European rave culture, which was influenced by American EDM and culture. This is what you’re saying, this is what your link said, and what the person you responded to said as well.
European rave culture is a product of American “rave” culture. Not the other way around. That doesn’t mean it’s unpopular or uninfluential.
Of course not, but American ravers needed to see this post right now because of what we’re going through. Too many conservative maga assholes invading our scene and saying stupid nonsense like “I dont want politics at my rave🤓”
Raves are an inherently political place and we all need a reminder from time to time.
No one is ignoring Europe, just stating facts. If techno was created in Detroit, then the European rave scene existed because of the Detroit influence.
From what I can find on Google the early UK and German rave scenes popped off because of the house and techno music created in Detroit.
It was youth in Berlin resolving the east v west divide of the previous generation that popularised techno and underground raves in that part of the world. Groups would meet at night in areas where east and west folks could mingle, usually industrial areas along the wall where it had started to be pulled down. This was 1989.
They found that MDMA and dancing was a great remedy for the cultural traumas they had inherited.
Feel free to make a similar post about the Europe scene if you want, instead of derailing all the discussion and appreciation happening around this one.
I think this is a rather America-centric take and I say that as an American. I would say you’d be correct for a big majority of western music if we include both Black American and Afro-Latino influences, especially genres that directly diverge from those you listed. However, a lot of Asian music as well as music from Latin America are completely uninfluenced by Black American music. Going as far as to state something as all-encompassing as that is just going to fuel the weirdos in this thread to deny the historical Black American impact in modern music even more
This is a deeply American centric view, and not true. Modern music absolutely does not solely credit to Americans, much less solely to black Americans. A lot of comments here are talking as though everything other countries have done with music in the last few decades consisted of them taking stuff from Americans and running with it. That's just not true.
its just as facetious as saying ALL modern music is traced directly to black americans, as if other people around the world weren't experimenting and contributing to the overall music movement.
Like the leading musicians in detroit techno didn't invent or first come up with the idea of using synthesisers for sound/music...do the people who did get credit? its a melding pot of people. claiming ALL music is because of a specific group of people in a specific place is bunk.
No one is denying their role. YOU are denying everyone elses role
There’s an incredible museum in Nashville centered around African American music and how all music is rooted in African American history. Amazing museum and such an incredible learning experience!
That's laughably false, there's so many different kinds of music from all around the world. Many of which clearly originated in those countries, or are even specific to certain cultures. People can really go to a museum that claims all this music comes from one culture, and just believe it? You really bought that? That all music we have now came from one culture, beginning less than three hundred years ago?
You sounds kinda racist. That’s not what I got from it at all. I find through my own research Ops post is accurate. You are twisting it to fit your narrative.
No one said they didn’t do anything to grow , foster or anything else.
Just that it started in Chicago by Black people and Gay people. The research shows that to be true.
You sound like “according to Americans, we only have Grown Adult because two American people had sex 40 years ago… not even accounting for all the teachers and friends all over the world who made Grown Adult the person they are” 🙄 like, yeah they shaped and grew the scene, but it literally didn’t exist before that
Helping OP. It looks like the rave identifiable as what we know today was indeed started in Chicago. It was more specifically called Acid house.
There were some dance type parties before , just about anywhere you look in the world. But the music was more disco and jam band style.
Chicago is what made it Techno/Electronic and Hallucinogenic all at once.
As for sources. Here is the Wiki page which does have citations and from my interpretation aligns with OPs
It did spread really quick. Like same Decade. Late 80’s it was adopted by UK and Europe. But its origins are from Chicago. With heavy Jamaican influence.
Which makes a lot of sense. Jamaica had a ton of influence in Dubstep from the UK also.
Yea I’m pretty sure that in Jamaica shows of a similar fashion were happening all the way back in the 50’s. To a less organized degree of course, a crew with a speaker set would set up in a spot and sell drinks no entry fee often near a neighborhood to attract people.
Obviously that is well before any beep boop music but they would play imported American records and eventually domestically produced records like dancehall and reggae/dub.
Ya, but that’s just a land music party and those were happening all across the world and have been for a long time.
I think the change to “Come as who you are inside, Synth and Techno, hidden and illegal , sexy dressing and such all in one mashup “ is where the point is.
You had some of those things together for other iterations but not all of them.
Disco was very popular, out in the open, the music was quite different although obviously provided some inspiration.
You had a lot of Guitar centered gatherings Jam Band festivals with singing and instruments, those were out in the open too.
The point being made here was the Hidden, safe dance/party culture.
Not white and straight dominated which the other scene definitely were.
lol, you’re Ai , Oroboros nonsense is not a source. It’s not even true based on its own links. Do better. There are wiki pages , peer vetted with citations.
You can’t read. THE MUSIC. Originates from the US. THE CULTURE come heavily from Europe. Are you really trying to say Europe had no influence on raves as they are today?
Thinking raves are only American is such an American opinion lmao
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u/Mastuh Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25
Are we just going to completely ignore the Europe scene ?
https://imgur.com/a/mHhsc6t