Friday, June 17, 2011

Darker Electricity - Spiral Tribe blog

Mark Angelo Harrison, aka Stray Wayward, was involved with early free party sound system Spiral Tribe. So good to hear that he is working on a book about those times called A Darker Electricity. You can check out some extracts at his blog like this one:

'The arrival of the Acid House scene in the late 80s had transformed audiences into participants. At The Hacienda in Manchester and at underground parties in London, I’d experienced a real sense of involvement and social equality. Once that equality had been glimpsed there was no going back to the old rock n roll relationship between performers and audiences. A relationship that – whether intentional or not – reinforced the old power structures of us and them. At the underground parties, the dance floor was no longer the pit for the worshipping minions. No longer a place to gaze up adoringly at some contrived act strutting about on a pedestal. The dance floor had been reclaimed by the people as a free social space – a place where people felt centred, balanced – together. Not a new idea, but one that successive overlords have relentlessly outlawed – and attempted to write out of history'.

2 comments:

  1. Not your writing, I know, but I thought I'd comment.
    The rock 'n' roll, performer/audience relationship reninforces 'the old power structures between us and them'? Really? I'm sure there are quite a few political bands that would be a bit disappointed to hear that.

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  2. Ironic that within next to no time partiers were all facing the DJ in much the same was as an audience at any gig. Us and them once again...

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