Flashback to the Future

Raves used to take place in the most unusual places. Many of them were held in old warehouses in the industrial side of town. The police did not like young people hanging out all night, possibly taking illicit substances, well into the morning. So, subterfuge was involved to spread the word among those who saw raves as more than just "a party" but more like a gathering of the tribe for a celebration. Pamphlets were distributed advertising the events. People were never told where the event was taking place, but through word-of-mouth, they were instructed where to meet so a magical bus would take them to the event.

The pamphlets usually had art that set up the vibe for the party with a specific theme like aliens, cyberpunk, psychedelic, and so forth. In addition to the funky art, the pamphlets had positive encouraging messages like beauty, love, self affirmation, cultural awareness, cosmic delight, tribal unity, computer tech, space age, and many other messages that hippies from the 60s would have understood perfectly with a glint in their eyes and aliens from the future would have acknowledged with flashing probes.

As ravers all congregated at the appointed place, it was like the gathering of extra-terrestrials with all the neon silvery alien high-tech fashion. The police usually showed up, but as there was NO ALCOHOL on the premises, trying to stop the bizarre dancers from swaying to the beat was like trying to herd cats on catnip. It wasn’t over until the last laser sizzled and the music stopped. Let me reiterate this point. There was no alcohol because the event was not about getting smashed to hook up. Attendees usually danced on their own, not in pairs, but solitarily grooving to the beat with whatever funky jungle moves they could improvise to the music. This meant you could attend a rave all by yourself, dance by yourself, and go home without ever having to interact directly with others. For many of us, it was more about the music, the dance, natural wonders, and the tale of existence as old as time.

One particular rave was held in a church. How the organizers were able to secure a church is beyond my understanding. The cops didn't shut down the event, so it seems that the ravers had a little help from above.

This video was inspired by the 90s rave scene, which was like a cyberdelic UFO arriving towards the end of the millennium. I prompted the xAI Imagine video generation platform to create an image for a rave in a warehouse with stained-glass windows and then proceeded to animate those images based on the stylings of the rave scene. The software created characters with extravagant designs that seem more appropriate for Burning Man than a rave, which usually involved high-school and college age kids who wore all sorts of colourful baggy clothing usually bought from second-hand stores, so the threads had a 70s vibe. This is difficult to recreate at the moment with AI given the differences among cities and countries across the ages. Having said that, there were people who dressed like these characters at raves and added an element of sensuality to the bouncy flashy proceedings.

The two songs that you hear in the video were created using AI music software called Udio. I wrote the lyrics, which were cheesy but positive slogans sometimes found on rave pamphlets. I prompted the AI to generate this techno music with rave flair and lyrics that had embedded echo commands. This allowed me to experiment with echo effects. Individually, the songs were too long, so I edited them to include the parts that I found the most interesting. I put together the video in MS Clipchamp using mainly transitions and little effects because the videos themselves already had a good visual effects.

Thank you for viewing and keep those glowsticks waving in the air.