How to show local scenes more love

Rave culture has been global for a few decades now. Many of its most influential artists travel internationally every week. But at the grassroots level, there’s a huge variety of vital scenes in operation.

Sadly, local scenes often suffer from a lack of support due to the pull of superstar DJs, large clubs and festivals. Here’s why local scenes need our love…

BACKBONE OF RAVE CULTURE
Without local scenes and local artists, there would be no international culture. From Hernan Cattaneo to Nina Kraviz, Carl Craig to Honey Dijon, the majority of prominent global DJs started playing locally. If they’d never had any local support, they might not have ever made it.

THEY CULTIVATE DIVERSITY
Crews like Nyege Nyege and Jokkoo have risen to prominence in recent years, adding an African dimension to global electronic music culture. Both collectives, and many others like them, grew locally before they made a global impact. This is crucial to the progression of the global culture, and, more importantly, cultivates a more diverse community.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY
Across the UK, and the rest of the world, local venues are struggling in the face of economic pressures and the dominance of corporate entities. By investing more time, energy and money in your local scene, you can help to keep those venues alive.

NURTURES COMMUNITY
Instead of travelling out of your locality to attend clubs and festivals, staying close to home creates more opportunities to connect with and nurture a local community. Taking it back to the roots of rave culture, community is a cornerstone of this whole thing. Communities provide safety, connection and stability to localities, and they are the foundation for social cohesion. So look at what’s happening in your area, or consider starting your own thing, to galvanise your local scene.