PLURR: The Rave Community: January 2018

To understand what PLURR stands for one must first understand the similar term, PLUR.

PLUR stands for Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. These are a set of principles, or pillars, that are associated with rave culture and electronic dance music.

PLURR is very similar, but with the added Responsibility. It is more commonly used among veterans in the rave community.

Peace - To be in the same place as another, and exist simultaneously without conflict or adverse reactions

Love - To unconditionally feel great affection for a fellow being, and offer friendship regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs

Unity - To come together and defend common interests, and give a sense of well being among those who feel unaccepted; to allow any and all to be a part of you and your friends

Respect - To allow yourself to be who you are without expectations, and to allow others to do the same; giving those around you the pride, courage, compassion and honour you would yourself

Responsibility - To be responsible for yourself, and for your actions; as well as being responsible for the well-being of your fellow ravers (ie. you help those around you when they need it)

PLURR isn't just an acronym that gets thrown around when trading kandi or when meeting people at raves, it's a lifestyle. These links below explains a bit more if you want to delve into it:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/plur-lifestyle

https://thatdrop.com/defintion-p-l-u-r-within-edm-community/

We also use the acronym PLUR when trading kandi - beaded bracelets and cuffs that we make and trade with other ravers - along with a series of hand signs that are used while trading.

Trading kandi is a great way to meet new people in the rave community, as well as promote inclusion and share the PLUR and good vibes with others. It's also fun to spend time to make kandi because you can make each piece unique and special, and then you get to share what you've made with other people. Raving is very much about the community and having a great experience, as well as sharing that experience with others.

The PLUR community believes in respecting everyone, regardless of background, and banding together. They try to spread and promote peace and love, caring and understanding, respect and community.

The reason this blog exists is due to a school project. Throughout the next 13 weeks I will be updating this frequently, with various posts about electronic dance music.

I will be taking a closer look at the rave community, and giving an insiders perspective, as I do frequent many shows and festivals and have a lot of connections through the community. I love EDM music, as well as a variety of other music genres, but I find that I enjoy the atmosphere, energy and experiences from EDM shows more than any other music community. There's something about how welcoming and friendly everyone is, the way that complete strangers are willing to help you out without expecting anything in return, that really draws me in.

I also want to break down the stereotypes and stigmas associated with EDM music, as most non-ravers don't understand the true nature of the rave community or what we stand for.

A Brief History:

EDM has been around since the 1960's, but didn't start to gain popularity until the 80's and 90's. During the 80's and 90's the EDM scene began to explode in the UK and Germany, with underground raves and all-night dance parties taking the countries by storm. By the mid-2000s EDM managed to make it's way to North America, and has become a part of popular culture ever since.

Now:

Music festivals, raves, and live shows are all very common in today's society. There are huge festivals all over the world, and each festival will drawn in thousands on people. Edmonton hosts several large-scale raves during the year, and many smaller venue shows as well.

Like all music genres, electronic dance music (EDM) has created it's own subculture and community.

The rave community is built off of positivity, acceptance, and love. The rave community is centered around lifting each other up and supporting one another, and is rooted in peace and the notion of having respect for your fellow raver. What I love most about the rave community and culture is that it is so loving and welcoming. It doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, or where you come from, everyone is treated with compassion. From the other ravers, to artists and producers, there is an understanding that the music and lifestyle are inclusive and everyone is welcome to take part.

“This music is for everybody – it’s for the outcasts, it’s for the cool people, it’s for the fat kids, it’s for the skinny kids, it’s for the gay kids, the straight kids. The aliens! The yellow people, the purple people, the black people, the white people, no matter who you are this is for you…” -Skrillex

“Our audience is intelligent and kind, discriminating only in regards to which sound they like best. Our audience is unprecedented in their drive to proactively support each other.” -Kaskade

This is the part of EDM culture that people not in the scene don't see. That they don't really understand until they experience it. There is such a huge stigma against ravers, and rave culture, and we are often badly portrayed in the media because all anyone can see is the drug use. Yes, there is never going to be a rave without drugs, but there will always be ravers that don't partake in the drugs. There will always be sober ravers; the people just there for the music, the people that are there for the community.

I will be covering drug use and the stigma assigned to the EDM community in a future post. For now, this is to focus on the rave community and what it entails.

Sub-Communities:

Within the rave community there are sub-communities as well. Some of the sub-communities are dedicated to different artists, or following certain EDM genres (example: headbangers are people that are dedicated to heavy bass, the Mello Gang are fans of the artist Marshmello etc). Other sub-communities are people dedicated to flow arts - light toys that can be used to create beautiful patterns to the beat of the music, kandi kids - people that use beads to create bracelets, masks, necklaces and other objects, festival organizers and volunteers/promoters, and amateur djs - people that are trying to get started in the industry.

Ideally throughout this project I will be getting interviews with people from each sub-community, or go into a deeper explanation of who they are and how the contribute to the over-arching rave community.

Some community groups are:

The Alberta Rave Community

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AlbertaRaveCommunity/?ref=bookmarks

PLUR Republic Canada:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/503151953070055/?ref=br_rs

Alberta Glovers United

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1670182749915627?ref=bookmarks

Emazing Lights Alberta

http: //www.emazinglightsalberta.ca/