international news _ 20th November, 2006

New Rave- New Electroclash?

Text by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

Two of Britain’s biggest quality newspapers The Sunday Times and the Observer anointed ‘new rave’ the UK’s next big thing genre, this week, in an uncanny replication of how they once jumped on board electroclash.

“Rave New World- A bunch of crazy kids in crazy outfits is shaking up the zeitgeist,” the Sunday Times’ Style section declared in a cover feature, while Observer style consultant ‘Mr Cool’ (former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips) decreed ‘Smiley’s Back’,

“Mr Cool had an unexpected encounter with the ‘new ravers’ last week,” he added, “This mysterious club tribe, whose dress is heavily inspired by the Day-Glo colours and cartoon imagery of acid house, have been the talk of London fashion circles for some time.”

Phillips cited fashion magazine Super Super as the definitive bible of genre as did the Sunday Times, who used the mag’s editor Steve Slocombe as both the feature’s Art Director and star interviewee for the 2 page feature.

“We think about new rave on a daily basis here,” Slocombe explained, “I can look at a pot plant and think ‘how new rave is that?’ and can I wear it? To which the answer is ‘Yes, clearly’.”

The one time editor of now defunct style magazine Sleaze Nation first championed New Rave to the International Herald Tribune in March (also in a feature written by Fleur Britte, thr Sunday Times Style Section editor) in which erstwhile electroclash scenesters Adamski and Boy George were cast as leading lights of the new phenomenon.

“No one's ever seen this mix before,” the Super Super chief suggested, “In the past a new movement would come up in opposition to the last one. This one is swallowing it. We pick up things we like from anywhere and what comes out is all new . . . Here there is a total disregard for rules, and that's so exciting,” he claimed.

The first dissenting voice, however, emerged in the latest issue of new (ish) London dance mag One Week To Live whose reviewer of New Rave iconic club Anti-Social was less than impressed with the club’s musical mix of Black Eyed Peas, Lady Sovereign and ‘most of M.I.A.’s album’.

“Anti-Social is much less obscure than it would have you believe,” OWTV’s Mark Edwards complained.

“If you are a heavily made-up teenager and like showing off to M.O.R electro-pop I suspect you may enjoy this night. Otherwise steer clear,” he advised.

Anti-social chief Scottee is unlikely to be too concerned, however, having admitted several months ago that their entire strategy is to attract mainstream media support and success.

“We started Anti-Social two years ago. We thought ‘let’s teach ourselves to DJ, let’s call ourselves Yr Mum Ya Dad and let’s take over the world”, he told Time Out in August.

“Underground goes overground” has been our motto from the start, A lot of people like things to be niche and exclusive, but we want this to be popular culture, to cross over and become normal, however shameless it may be,” he added.