Last weekend was all about the Amsterdam Dance Event, people from all over the world and the country came to Amsterdam to enjoy electronic music and matching atmospheres. De Nacht van… NTR Wetenschap invited Julian Schaap (ESHCC) to reveal the science behind ADE. In the interview, Julian discussed what makes dancing for hours on repetitive beats attractive.
Julian is a cultural sociologist and does scientific research into the sociology behind music. So not research into music itself, but rather into what music does to people and vice versa: what people do with music. In the interview focussing on ADE, Julian explained how raves and big events around electronic music are becoming increasingly popular. Julian describes the reason for this being the feeling people get from events like ADE. This is about a feeling of nightlife, meeting people and, for many, escaping everyday life.
The escape from everyday life is elicited, for example, by the immersive experience of events such as ADE, where not only the music is central, but also the experience of image, colour, light and sound. This combination creates a kind of ritual aspect in which people start to synchronise.
"Through beat synchronisation, we know how people's heartbeats begin to synchronise, even how people breathe. If this is successful, something we call collective effervescence can occur: the moment individuals actually forget themselves and merge in ecstasy with the group and the music."
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In the interview, Julian and the presenter discuss the psychological effects of this collective effervescence, as well as the use of drugs at the various raves and similarly during ADE. Curious? Listen to the whole interview here (in Dutch).
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