Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture

This work tells the story of rave culture and explores the origins of this dance music, chronicling the ways in which its reverberations have influenced 1990s pop. Examining the music as well as the drugs, the book traces how Chicago house and Detroit techno catalyzed the rave and "Madchester" ferment of 1988-90, then follows the music into the early-1990s. It surveys the confusion of post-rave styles and scenes: jungle, electronica, drum and bass, trance, trip hop, and Big Beat. The book also looks at the role of Ecstasy in the dance-and-drug culture. It includes interviews with Paul Oakenfold, Derrick May, 808 State, Stone Roses, A Guy Called Gerald, The KLF, Primal Scream, Orbital, The Prodigy, Goldie, 4 Hero, Aphex Twin, Tricky, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin, DJ Shadow and many more. A CD is included, featuring 15 seminal dance tracks from ten years of rave.