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Thread: "Euro Style Rave" Event; Any help?

  1. #1

    "Euro Style Rave" Event; Any help?

    So I need a little help as I know they're are a lot of Europeans on these forums, I figure who better to ask

    My city blows for electronic music, but has a very eclectic and diverse crowd available I'm trying to make an attempt to start something going with. What I have planned so far is that it's called "Savannah EuroRave" and it's basically going to be a rave style event at a local club. There is very little electronic music around in the area, and only two places that I know of play any electronic at all and it's almost all trap and/or mainstream top 40 stuff. Not that I don't like it, but I've already clashed personalities with some of the people who run those places and we'll just say I won't be playing there any time soon. On the flyer I have come up with, I've advertised that the genres will include Electro/Techno/Trance/Hardstyle/DnB/Psy/GOA ...Basically (outside of electro) everything that isn't played, and is from my knowledge more popular outside of the U.S. I will play some of the popular mainstream Electro stuff, but I'm trying to avoid it and play things that aren't that common around here and more fun anyways.

    Here's my problem; I've never been/seen/heard what a "European" style rave would be like. I know, you're probably asking yourself "then why the hell are you doing an event you know nothing about", to which my reply would be, I don't know, I'm bored.

    What kind of music would you most likely expect to hear? What are some of the differences between what you would see at a European versus a US event? What kinds of music are currently trendy in their "rave" scene? I also apologize for classifying all of the countries as European, I'm very aware there are many different countries and cultures, but hopefully you get where I'm coming from. I was born in Germany, but don't remember anything from there, so my experiences have all been quite...american.

    As for music, I really enjoy the more uptempo type of music which is the kind I plan on playing. Some hard-dance/techno artists for example: Basshunter, Rob & Chris, Basslovers United, Italo Brothers, Rob Mayth, Crystal Lake, Akustikrausch ... basically anything on the technobase.fm playlist on Spotify ... Is this type of music common for what I'm seeking to do, or am I looking in the wrong places to convey the message of "This is what a rave is like in Europe"?

    Also, one thing I read is that the pounds of glow sticks and light up crap is an American thing? Any truth to that? I am planning on dumping a bunch of money into promotional items which will in turn flash and glow different colors, but free stuff brings people in so I will probably stick to it.

    I'm meeting with my promoter hopefully in a couple of days to discuss everything, and the club I have planned to throw the event at has had such low numbers for the past several months I am hoping the club owner lady (I've DJ'ed there off and on and maintained a good relationship with her) likes the idea so I can get it going and hopefully keep it to be a monthly event. I'm also doing this as a way to start to build a fan base for my productions

    I'd like to do it justice, so any information you guys can provide to make it great, would be much appreciated!
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  2. #2
    Moderator pete's Avatar
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    It depends on what you are after.

    An authentic European "rave", as you call it, would never go near any kind of music such as Basshunter, or consider glowsticks as a major factor.
    Sure, the taste in some countries can be skewed towards this kind of sound but, to be honest, an actual authentic event playing this music...it would be more of a club/commercial sound, catering specifically for a demographic.

    In the UK the word "rave" is associated with the breakbeat hardcore or acid scene of the late 80s early 90s. These days the word "rave" isn't used. But I think I know what you are after. You are probably not wanting to play these older styles.

    You are looking for a modern dance event that has varied styles of overground electronic music, which is not popular in the USA.

    I would advise to look at modern events that take the spirit of "rave" and apply it to a modern environment. Try looking up Bangface, a successful event in the UK. Bear in mind it is very tongue-in-cheek, hardly takes itself seriously, and tends towards to ridiculously hard. But it should give you an ideas.
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  3. #3
    I'd figure eastern Europe is mostly all about dnb and psytrance parties as far as raves go.. middle Europe would be the techno heaven and house-y raves being the west European thing (that includes the UK)

    Gathering from the events I've been to, psytrance makes use of those fancy, psychedelic roof decorations whereas for a drum and bass rave you could go for an army theme with camouflages and ammo boxes. Techno is probably the #1 thing at the moment in Europe but it lacks a uniform theme in my opinion... if you don't count in the abandoned warehouse atmosphere.

    EDIT : This is just my .02 based on the fact that the last time I went to a rave (with a cover charge) was in 2013...

    EDIT2 : One way to get a proper European touch to it would be to have everyone speak english with the infamous european accent.. just learn from, say, Ableton tutorials on youtube made by german people for example

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by efinque View Post
    EDIT2 : One way to get a proper European touch to it would be to have everyone speak english with the infamous european accent.. just learn from, say, Ableton tutorials on youtube made by german people for example
    LMAO!! This is an awesome idea.

    Thanks to you both for the info! From what you said Pete, what you said about what a "rave" is nowadays is spot on to what I have read. I was reading some article about the difference between american and european rave attire, and american gear was absolutely insane bright colors and craziness, where european was generally plain clothes and occasional costumes. I'll dig a little deeper into the Bangface, as they even had their own little album you could listen to on the website.

    I plan on playing the whole gammit of genres to try and find what people are willing to have a good time too, and giving out glowy stuff I think gives it a more enticing and "fun" vibe no matter what's being played. I'm super excited about playing some Psy trance and Hardstyle, but who knows. I just absolutely refuse to sit there and play David Guetta, Zedd, and the likes.
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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by DoomJockey View Post
    LMAO!! This is an awesome idea.

    Thanks to you both for the info! From what you said Pete, what you said about what a "rave" is nowadays is spot on to what I have read. I was reading some article about the difference between american and european rave attire, and american gear was absolutely insane bright colors and craziness, where european was generally plain clothes and occasional costumes. I'll dig a little deeper into the Bangface, as they even had their own little album you could listen to on the website.

    I plan on playing the whole gammit of genres to try and find what people are willing to have a good time too, and giving out glowy stuff I think gives it a more enticing and "fun" vibe no matter what's being played. I'm super excited about playing some Psy trance and Hardstyle, but who knows. I just absolutely refuse to sit there and play David Guetta, Zedd, and the likes.
    Outdoor raves (often called teknivals) are popular in Europe as well.

    As for rave attires, I thought the idea of a rave is to be a playground for people to express theirselves.. whether it's a costume, way of life, political idea or movement etc. There's no use comparing a chinese new year's festival to a western one..

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    I was heavily involved with a rave for 7 years but I doubt it's the rave you're after... We're talking 150-170 bpms. German Hard Trance, on EDM records (EDM before the US term so a search will be hard) Scottish bouncy techno (Tarten techno), italio dance, hiNRG, MAKINA (spanish rave), more of the European style happy hardcore (very German), not the southern UK style that had heavy DnB/jungle influences (pots and pans). The music was extremely bouncy, big kicks and off beat stabs.

    Then there was a scene based around the DONK! Scouse House, a bit slower. All very chavy music! The Russians went mad for the Donk too, forget the genre they named it though.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by mitchiemasha View Post
    I was heavily involved with a rave for 7 years but I doubt it's the rave you're after... We're talking 150-170 bpms. German Hard Trance, on EDM records (EDM before the US term so a search will be hard) Scottish bouncy techno (Tarten techno), italio dance, hiNRG, MAKINA (spanish rave), more of the European style happy hardcore (very German), not the southern UK style that had heavy DnB/jungle influences (pots and pans). The music was extremely bouncy, big kicks and off beat stabs.
    The HiNRG stuff is pretty fun to listen to. Italo too, but from what I gathered those scenes didn't last that long.. shame though. There is (or at least was) some commercially succesful FinNRG (hardcore) stuff coming out from where I come from and I attended their room at an event but for some reason I've never gotten into it nor did the big audience here, although from what I've heard it's pretty huge in some major countries/cities. Same goes for psytrance, with the exception that I kind of "grew up" in that scene.. that and the drum and bass/occasional techno stuff.

  8. #8
    Member dlove's Avatar
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    ice lollys for sale

    and ps Pete, the word 'rave' is still used in it's original Dancehall concept - the word was taken from that scene, and it's still going strong with the likes of Bashment & UK Hip-Hop/Bass parties
    Last edited by dlove; 11-29-2015 at 03:38 AM.

  9. #9
    Moderator pete's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dlove View Post
    ice lollys for sale

    and ps Pete, the word 'rave' is still used in it's original Dancehall concept - the word was taken from that scene, and it's still going strong with the likes of Bashment & UK Hip-Hop/Bass parties
    Strange, I thought the original raves were from the UK in the 50s/60s. When a raver was a young carefree girl of low moral fibre, and a rave was a bohemian soiree.

    But I guess the West Indians were probably there before everyone else, seen.


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  10. #10
    Hey Doomjockey. First of all, there ARE real electronic music events you can go to.. and should go to. But you may have to travel a bit.
    There is a small psytrance (which is what I mainly play) scene in Atlanta, also in Ashville NC. There are techno (real techno, not that clubby stuff) parties in Knoxville. That's just what I know from the people I know, I am sure there is much more.

    Do a little research, get some friends in a car and go party.. there is no way for you to recreate an underground dance experience if you've never gone to one.

    Second thing I would say is.. you are going FAR too wide with the genres you are playing. Usually you don't have all these genres mixed together in a set, or even in a whole night. For you to try to jump in as a non-experienced DJ and play a whole night of mixed underground electronic music.. to a nonexperienced crowd, is a recipe for failure. My advice would be to pick just one genre and try to dig deeper into it and get good at it.. then go onto the next. Find some other DJ's to work with who are interested in different genres.

    You are def underestimating how hard it is to fill a room with people and keep them there. If you manage to get a club to give you a night you need to fill it and keep filling it.. and to do that you need to reach out to a lot of people and have a strong core group of supporters.. it is easier to do that when you have more people involved with throwing the event and a good group of friends who are going to back you up. Work on building up a group of friends who'll support your event. Tap into the existing electronic music heads in your area.. they are definitely out there.
    Last edited by light-o-matic; 11-29-2015 at 09:39 AM.

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