‘RAVES 2.0’ — THE EMERGING PARTY MOVEMENT IN PARIS
Back in the early 2000s, Paris was well known for its cafes, bistros, monuments and landscapes. Paris was not known for its night parties. While Berlin and London were becoming leaders within the international electronic music scene, Paris was slowly dying.
Since then, plenty of things have changed, and the city is experiencing a boom led by the self-proclaimed party movement, ‘Raves 2.0’.
The new era of electronic music exploded in 2011 when the Parisian nightclub ‘La Concrète’, located in the centre of the city, opened the way for the development of the electronic music culture. “I remember people waiting five hours to get in La Concrète at its peak,” said Mélissa Mercader from OFF, an event organizer.
Listening to Techno and House had became the ‘in thing’ and a movement started to develop around it. Young Parisians finally found a spot where they could party like Londoners and Berliners had been doing for decades. Soon, the 16 hours parties on Sundays became trendy and the club changed the whole Parisian nightlife scene; it was a revolution. ‘La Concrète’ gave to one of the major capitals in Europe the techno reputation arguably always wanted.
Five years on, the original movement has lost some of its authenticity. At the beginning the people who went to ‘La Concrètre’ were pure electronic music listeners but since then the scene’s growing commercialisation has attracted some people who comes just because it is ‘cool and trendy’ affirmed Mattia Taiuti, member of ‘La Parallèle’, an event organizer collective.
Some of the original clubbers of ‘La Concrète’, began to criticise its change. As a result, they started to think of a way to recover the essence of the true electronic music party.
Some people began to look at the suburbs of Paris, which were at the time viewed in a negative way. There was a saying in Paris: “If something happens outside the ‘périphérique’ (highway that circles central Paris and separates the center from the suburbs), we don’t even want to hear about it.” Today, this idea is over.
The industrial areas in the suburbs of Paris have been left alone and abandoned. Having this amount of space , some people started to ask themselves, “Why don’t we organize rave parties in these empty warehouses like they did in Berlin in the 80s and 90s?”
‘Raves 2.0’, is how they define this new emerging movement. “We reinvented a new way of partying, keeping the ‘rave’ style but completely improving it according to the present,” affirmed Alexis Hanne, member of the Swarm Factory, an event organizer collective.
Originally, the ‘raves’ were illegal free-parties organized within a few hours in secret spots, usually in the woods or in squats. This tendency emerged with the development of techno and drugs. “Techno has always been associated with drugs but the people who say that have not been to a ‘rave’ yet,” explains Mattia. As a result, ‘Rave parties’ and the techno culture have had a negative connotation for a long time.
Nowadays, the collectives have taken away the damaging aspects of it. Mélissa explains that, “French legislation makes it hard for us you recreate a real ‘rave’, however, we stick to the main principles having more organization, structure and being legal.”
What really makes these events attractive is this idea of adventure. Having to find the event online is not easy but once you find it no more details are given, which adds a certain fear of the unknown. “In your mind your doing illegal things and you do not know everything that is happening,” explains Mattia, however he said, “when I first did a ‘rave’ in a warehouse it felt like I was a kid; it was a revelation.”
Today, there are about seven established event organizers (Parallèle, Vryche House, OFF, Swarm Factory, Débrouï-Art, Lakomune, Fée Croquer…) investing in the suburbs of Paris. It is a growing trend that is finally taking the Parisians outside the ‘périphérique’.
“Our goal is to show people that there could be a different way to party and also to defend the techno culture both nationally and internationally,” said Mélissa. Most of the collectives created within the past two or three years promote the same kind of values. They claim to have recovered a freedom once lost. Alexis, affirms that finally they can make the parties they want the way they want.
All collectives propose the same kind of events: a secret venue revealed the day before, an abandoned warehouse located in the suburbs and cheaper prices than clubs. The finished cocktail is mind-blowing.
EKLPX is a techno DJ and producer who performed at the event Vryche Basement // Parallele N°2, and she said after the party, “Basically, the event was the best night I ever had by far. I have always dreamt of mixing music in a place like this.”
The big difference is the venue. Instead of being all compressed in a little space, as usually happens in clubs, you have a big large space where you can peacefully let go of the accumulated stress of the week. If there is one thing all the collectives in Paris agree on is that warehouses like this make people feel free.
Usually around 500m2, the venues are there for you to get lost in.
In some events like Vryche Basement // Parallele N°1 and N°2, the whole techno atmosphere is also served with live art performing, giving you the chance to relax for a few seconds watching them painting on the walls.
The essence of true electronic music parties has been recovered and when you go to an event you have a varied public. Even though most of people are 20–27 years old, you encounter different people. “Once, a couple of 45 came to one of our parties at 10 am after they left their children at the nursery,” said Mélissa.
There is also a general communion at the events, “The staff are the first to party; we put our hearts on the party,” said Mattia confidentially. However, he also balances it. “Slowly, the movement is getting popular and now the problem is not to find a venue and avoid the police, now the problem is the public. The question is why everyone wants to come to warehouses? But you cannot control who comes.” Indeed, the parties are based on a general consensus in which the public respects the venue and the staff provides you with an amazing night.
Today, the so-called ‘Raves 2.0’ movement is getting bigger and bright days are upon them. Paris and its suburbs have finally revived and big artists are becoming interested in the new movement. The event LAKOMUNE 15.04.16with Bambounou, clearly illustrates it. Even ‘la SNCF’ (National Society of French Railways), offers the opportunity to book some of their industrial spaces for night events.
The whole movement ‘Raves 2.0’ emerged from the commercialization of Parisian clubs like ‘La Concrète’ in central Paris. It went to the suburbs to find larger spaces to recreate the 80s-90s raves in Berlin. Seeing the growing popularity of it, now the question is whether or not this new movement is going to be able to keep its original essence.
‘Atmosfaire’ — Urban Revival in Paris
The suburbs of Paris are full of empty spaces. One of them is ‘l’Atmosfaire’, the main spot of the collective ‘Parallèle’, which is an old warehouse in the north of Paris, St Ouen. Behind their parties there is a whole community of artists.
