Electronic Dance Music is a culture of aesthetic. It is not a genre of music, it is a lifestyle. One can argue that every genre concert is about the aesthetic. From Bob Dylan to Taylor Swift to Skrillex, there is a specific culture and atmosphere present for each. However, what makes EDM different is that it relies on the aesthetic and it’s this aesthetic that makes it so enticing and exciting.

EDM found its roots in the disco movement of the 1970s but evolved through hip-hop and rhythm and blues in the 1980s. However, it was not until the 1990s when electronic dance music became synonymous with the rave/underground scene. Warehouse parties and outdoor festivals were havens for fans of EDM because they created an entire separate space – an entire separate world – from the non-EDM lifestyle. It was elusive and it was fun. However, modern EDM has become a part of the mainstream music culture and has created an influx in the population of this entire separate world.

EDM was founded on aesthetic. It thrives off of its ability to create a new world full of lights, colors, bright clothes and dancing. These are more than just concerts, they are experiences. But because their success is so experience-dependent, attendees generally go to great lengths to ensure a fantastic experience.
But what is the meaning behind it all? Is there a greater purpose to this world of aesthetic or does it just exist to remove us from reality? Was this industry created to distract us from the real world? I mean, hey, we work hard and we deserve to blow off some steam, right? Forget our problems and surround ourselves in the artifice of lights and sounds and dancing? Aren’t we owed this distraction?

I guess the answer depends greatly on ones’ views about societal participation and moral or political obligations. I have no problem with engaging in the arts and recreational activities; I think that many laws and rules surrounding certain recreational activities are used as fear mongering tactics to keep society in line and that’s not right. That being said, what concerns me about EDM is the effect of creating a culture based on a fantasy world. Seemingly, it’s a world we imagined up ourselves and it’s a world we all contribute to, but when the music stops and the lights come on, it all disappears. This little dream world is a farce and it knows no loyalty. It’s a world of sensation with no legitimacy and no legality. It will not be there to fight for your rights or take care of you when you’re sick or help pay off your college loans. This world does not care about you nearly as much as you care about it and that is scary.

Aesthetic is a lie we tell ourselves to distract us from reality. EDM provides us with aesthetic and relief, but when innocent civilians are being murdered by their state and our government has shut down, do we really want to be relieved and distracted? Are we just fighting for our right to aesthetic because we’re afraid of reality? Maybe I am looking too far into the politics of it all, but by ignoring the implications of our generation’s interests and not engaging in cultural self-reflection, we can get lost in the cult of aesthetic.