Introduction

In early December 2002, several thousand psychedelic trance enthusiasts journeyed to Lindhurst in the South Australian outback where, in the calm of a weeklong sonic onslaught, they witnessed a total solar eclipse. With precedents like the Solipse festivals in Hungary and Zambia, Outback Eclipse attracted young electronic dance music habitues from dozens of nations. Contemporary global events like Solipse, Portugal's Boom, Japan's Solstice23 and Australia's Exodus Cybertribal Festival draw inspiration from· epic beach parties at the former Portuguese colony of Goa (India) and Moontribe's Full Moon gatherings in the Mojave Desert near Los Angeles. While diverse themselves, these events represent a mere snapshot of the moving panorama of that which came to be known as rave:2 from the celebration of celestial events at remote locations to electro-salvation at metropolitan massives; from temporary Arcadias flourishing in converted warehouses, to transformational rituals like those facilitated by

Philadelphia's Gaian Mind, to the brand-name liminality of super-clubs like London's Ministry of Sound; from huge corporate-sponsored extravaganzas like Tribal Gathering (where tens of thousands may congregate), to 'megatribal' gatherings like Earthdream, a 'technomadic' carnival held annually in Central Australia and destined to culminate on 21 December 2012 in accordance with the Mayan Sacred Calendar; from the gospel-inspired exhilaration of house and garage, to the Mrofuturism of jungle and Detroit techno, to techno-pagan doofs held in outdoor locations featuring ceremonial art installations and revived 'ancestral rituals'; from Earthdance, a Free Tibet movement fundraiser transpiring in over 100 cities in 70 countries simultaneously with a synchronized global cybercast, to Christian ecumenical raves like Sheffield's notorious 'Rave Mass' or Matthew Fox's Techno Cosmic Mass in California.3 Electronic dance music culture is a truly heterogeneous global phenomenon, motivating new spiritualities and indicating the persistence of religiosity amongst contemporary youth.