Theoretical framework on rave clubbing culture

The contextualization of rave and technoculture in Serbia is related to the nineties of the twentieth century - a time of wars and isolation of the state and society - when rave was a button with a universal way of life wherever it ruled in the world (UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands) yet from the “flight of love” in 1969 in Woodstock and 1988/89. in San Francisco. The basic postulates of that way of life and (counter) culture in the world - love, peace, and togetherness - brought together the new left, anti-war and pacifist movement, feminism, gay and lesbian rights movements, the environmental movement, etc., with a musical matrix of repetitive 4/4 rhythm (derived from experimental research on electronic music with political engagement, since the avant-garde of the 1920s, and especially since the 1950s in Paris, Cologne, Stockholm, London). In the words of the pioneers of the Serbian electro and techno scene - Goran Paunovic and Tijana Todorovic - in contrast to the then-dominant circumstances of war, nationalism, and necrophilic cultural environment, techno and rave culture in Serbia in the 1990s were built on the principles of escapism and rebellion. That is, from the needs of people for healing and 'cleansing' from the darkness of everyday life through the (individual) body, movement, and dance with affectation by hypnotic, tribal rhythms of electronic music, but also the need to strengthen and format that moment with the proximity and warmth of other bodies. a collective body that also became a political body, ready and eager to overthrow the then system. By the end of the 1990s, in the fight against the political regime, rave and techno parties "spread" throughout Serbia - whose political potential was recognized by both the ruling and opposition political parties, trying to keep this critical mass under their control. Therefore, the question of the overall effectiveness of rave politics remains open to this day, especially if we look at the hypertrophy of capitalism in the last 20 years in Serbia, ie the movement of large parts of world production from west to east and the penetration of investment funds, megacorporations, advertising, sponsorships (Marlboro, Lucky Strike, Tuborg, Philip Morris) into rave culture. However, political organization and struggle through music and dance/movement of the rave is manifested today in the world, in countries where the social, economic, political, cultural system is falling apart and in the west, where there is a current strengthening of right-wing political currents. Revolutions ”against the 2018/19 system in Tbilisi, Berlin, Kyiv, Sao Paulo, Paris, London tens and hundreds of thousands of people occupied the streets and public spaces dancing for days and managing to fight for their goals).