Musical Ethnography

I have chosen to explore the Dallas rave scene. Although I am a huge fan of techno music and I feel somewhat apart of the techno culture, I have to actually attend any live techno events or go to any rave clubs in the area. I plan on attending an event at the Insomnia night club in downtown Dallas. It is an after hours night club which opens at 4am and closes at 8am. I believe that certain styles of techno are more particular to certain area which makes this a perfect way to explore the techno influence in Dallas specifically. I do know that drugs are a huge part of the rave culture however I can assure you I will not be trying such a thing. I will observe other people in the audience and comment on how they view the performance after being under the influence. Another huge part of the culture the light shows. I find these light shows fascinating and I think it will positively change my perception of the techno culture in Dallas. A major aspect of this project will be the audience in this culture because of the influence the crowd has over the DJ at clubs. Good DJs can tell when the audience is not "feeling" the music and the DJ will then proceed to switch up the tracks. As a result of this the audience becomes a major influence in this culture and I cannot wait to try and be a part of this experience.

Techno

The music culture that has influenced me the most has definitely been techno. All of my friends associate this culture with me. However, I would like to clarify that I am only interested in the musical aspects of this culture and not the illicit activities that coincide with listening to techno music. Why has this culture been influential? I don't have a clear answer, but over the years my music library has narrowed down to pretty much all techno. Its the only kind of music I listen to that i can just listen to for no reason. So what is techno? Well, it is hard to describe but sub-genres of this culture range from a calm Trance music (as exampled here by deadmau5) all the way up to hardstyle beats (as referenced here by SMF). I started listening to Basshunter and his music is what first introduced me to this culture. From his music I began to research other types of techno and see what I liked best. I ended up listening to David Guetta, Daft Punk, and The Bloody Beetroots. I think maybe the biggest influence techno has made is that it has changed the way I approach things. For example, with The Bloody Beetroots song, I listen to it in the morning to get me pumped up and ready for the day. With the first link, deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse), it has a calming effect on me to where when I want to focus on something, I'll put the song on and it will help me concentrate. Listen to techno all day every day.