Full Penetration: The Integration of Psychedelic Electronic Dance Music and Culture into the Israeli Mainstream

In Israel, psychedelic electronic dance music culture has become unusually prominent in the mainstream. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the article compares how secular and orthodox Jewish youth use trance-dance parties to serve their respective community needs. These contrasting uses reflect the distinct socio-cultural circumstances and conditions of each group.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Although psychedelic electronic dance music and culture (PEDMC) networks exist across the planet, in Israel this subculture has attained a high degree of mainstream national/cultural prominence. Based on an ongoing ethnographic project, this article discusses Israeli (P)EDMC by comparing and contrasting the multi-functional roles that this music culture plays for two generally non-related local populations-secular and orthodox youth. It examines the way these communities utilize trance-dance parties to serve their community and their specific needs, and how, in turn, these uses reflect the current socio-cultural circumstances and conditions particular to each group.