Peace.Love.Unity.Respect

THE EDM FAMILY

The movement that is bringing people together around the world.

Jenna Vagle

A community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Thinking about this definition, what community do you belong to? It could be as simple as the town you grew up in, the dorm you’re living in, the neighborhood you reside in now, the bar you go to or the study group you are a part of. If you’re like many of the people your age, you could choose to be a part of the EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, community. But it is not just a community. It is a Family. This era of music has been criticised repeatedly. Some say it’s just kids doing drugs and dressing ridiculously, but for those of us who have actually witnessed the phenomenon of a show or festival, it is so much more than that. It is an experience that makes one feel uplifted and embraced. Everyone is there for the same reason, to enjoy the music and come together as one.

A common practice in the family is PLUR, Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. It sounds weird, but that’s what most of us are. Weird people doing weird things together. When you PLUR with someone, you’re trading kandi, beaded bracelets that ravers spend hours creating. PLUR is a symbol of the unity that the EDM family is all about. No one is there to judge you or put you down. Everyone is loved and everyone is respected. Even if it’s your first show, you are welcomed with open arms.

I recently read an article that says “Millennials are the new generation of hippies,” and it couldn’t be more true. The article written by Lauren Martin on elitedaily.com mentioned many similarities to the EDM family and the hippies of the 60s. It’s no surprise that most of us are trying desperately to defy our parents’ idea of who we should be. All through high school, we were told to plan for the future. They told us to get good grades, save money for college because those student loans will burden you after graduation, apply for scholarships, get a part time job, do community service, be apart of all extracurriculars because it looks good on a resume. Where in that mix did we get to do what we actually wanted to do? Where did we actually get to be kids?

This is so relevant to the ideas of the hippies. The 60s was a defiant period coming out of the homemaker era. It was a time of war, but also revolution. Martin mentioned this in her article and I can’t help but relate it to today. Marijuana and gay marriage is being legalized. In the 60s, it was the civil rights movement. We are free spirits trying to find our place in this world, and we have found trust in each other to help us search for it.

EDM has many different genres including; dubstep, electronica, trap, house, techno and trance to name a few. They’re all the same concept, but each has its own personality and beat. Dubstep features beat drops and A LOT of bass, while trap contains aggressive lyrics and can be compared to rap music. The genre is contrary to what a lot of people think. It’s not just a person hitting play on a computer and playing back a track. It’s a whole set up of different sounds and recordings. Remixing songs and combining tracks together are common practices in house. Artists don’t just play music when they’re DJing, they put on an entire performance. There are light and video screen set ups, laser shows, strobe lights, fog and sometimes artists use Go-Go Dancers to get the crowd going wild.

Dubstep and electronic are two of the more popular genres, and the big name artists are life changing. Bassnectar is one of the most prominent names in EDM. His tenth studio album, Noise vs Beauty, was released in June of this year. Everyone has their own taste in DJs, so it’s hard to say who is most popular and what songs are hits. Other big names in EDM include; Skrillex, Excision, Paper Diamond, Borgore, Zeds Dead, Zedd, Kaskade and Steve Aoki.

It’s changing lives. It’s giving people a reason to come together. It’s an era of peace, love, unity and respect. It’s a place to feel at home.

I am Jenna Vagle, a Mass Media major at Minnesota State University Mankato. I am an aspiring Entertainment Journalist and this is an article i wrote for my school newspaper, the MSU Reporter.