Ravers wannabe guide...

For you all out there who wants to become a raver. Let me tell you some genre of musics out there which are popular. There are a lot of subgenres within the techno scene. Many people find it hard to tell the difference between the subgenres, but to a real raver, the difference is as meaningful as any rocker fan might find between soft rock, glam rock, pop rock, hard rock, heavy metal, or other type of rock (I don't know what else)... to them, it is a difference that will effect them real bad.

- Techno: The term techno is at once used to refer to the scene as a whole and also a particular facet of it. For most people, techno (proto-techno, Detroit techno, or hardcore techno) is the music of the scene. Techno is the most minimalist, the most mechanical, and perhaps the least soulful of all the subgenres. It's definitely the most aggressive, loudest, harshest, severe, and pounding; frequently hardcore wins over metal, punk, and industrial. Example of widely know groups of techno are Kraftwerk and Cybotron.

- Rave (also Techno/Rave, not to be confused with raves as events): This style is usually more soft and accessible than techno, and more likely to win transform from pop. It usually features female vocals and an easier, less tune. Most people think it's a lot easier to dance to. Rave is more melodic than hardcore techno. Big name rave groups are the Shamen and LA Style.

- House: (also Chicago or Acid House): Like techno or rave, house is itself a term that is often applied to the whole scene, but for raver it is also a subgenre. For most raver, house is the blackest, most funky and hiphop like of techno styles. House most clearly shows the roots of techno in the joining of black and gay musics(haha, no offense but i hate house)... house is happier, more party like and more upbeat than the often pessimistic hardcore. It features lots of piano sounds and samples from rap and a very smooth flow to it. Good example of house include Adamski and Dee-Lite. MTV also finds that house music is the easiest to create music videos for.

- Trance: (also hardtrance) Trance is real popular in Indonesia, especially Padang, Europe, especially in Belgium and Germany. You find a lot more string sounds in trance, which often also uses a good deal more of the spoken word. Trance is, of course, supposed to put you in another state of mind, and the features the most mind expanding rhythms. The pulse of the song is supposed to be timed so as to mesh most effectively with the rhythms of the body and the bloodflows of the brain. Good example of trance include Ministry of Sound, Eden Transmission, 808 State, and Cabaret Voltaire.

- Ambient : Ambient is the most atmospheric and spacey(is it how to spell it?) or aural kind of techno music. There's a heavy use of echo and replay to create a comfort feeling on the listener. Ambient shows clear roots in New Age music, as well as the synth sounds of groups like Human League or electronic music pioneers like Brian Eno or Philip Glass. Ambient is supposed to be more alive than straight techno, more likely to make you want to meditate than dance. For this reason ambient is often featured in the chill out rooms at techno clubs where people go to rest between dancing. It's supposed to ease the mind, calm the body, and pamper the emotions into a reflective state. Some of the big names in ambient are the Psychick Warriors ov Gaia and Aphex Twin.

- Dub (also Breakbeat, Jungle, or Darkside): Dub techno shows Caribbean music to be a strong influence, example reggae, ska, and zouk. Dub uses some of the rhythms of reggae but sped up a great deal since reggae is usually played at a fairly slow tempo. Dub occasionally features sampled acoustic drumming (imagine that!!!) and uses a lot of original vocals, and has what a lot of people call a spooky feel to it. Some people even hear a little bit of gospel or spiritual in dub. Good example include Phuture Assassins and DHD (Dub House Disco.)

- Tribal : Tribal techno most often imitates (but rarely copies wholesale) Third World sounds and Fourth World musics (you know what third and fourth world is right? in case you don't know, it means some very traditional countries or not modern at all.), combining them with electronic sounds to create a modern primitive sound. Rather than sampling a particular ethnic sound, like a lot of so called World Music, tribal techno will simply borrow the feeling of Middle Eastern or Native American rhythms... tribal is supposed to sound the most ritualistic of all the kinds of techno. Tribal techno often tries to create an ethnotechno feeling which sounds primitive but can be hard to associate with any known Fourth World tribe or group, although some often does sample outright the chants or rituals of such groups. Examples of the tribal style I can find are Mere Mortals and Juno Reactor.

- Progressive (aka Deep House, Acid Jazz): Progressive techno of course is different from progressive music. For techno philes, progressive, which is real popular in San Francisco, features a more complex melody and layering of instrumentation, mixing chord progressions, and a spooky kind of feel. Acid Jazz in particular shows a sort of renewed interest with instrument lines oten jumping out and coming to dominate the tune. Good examples of progressive are Brother Love and React 2 Rhythm.

So have you decide which music type do you want? Well I strongly recommend you to try Trance and Jungle. They are the best. But don't ever ever try to go to a party after hitting EXTACY. Man I am sure in the next morning your necks won't be able to move like usual. Lots of beats will make u headbang every now and then. Approximately 120 beats per minute or more. Do you think your neck is strong enough to support your head banging for 8-12 straight hours? Good luck...