The Spiritual Roots of Electronic Dance Music (Part 2)

In the previous article, we proposed that Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has spiritual roots, offering alternate spaces for deep experiences traditionally offered by ritual, such as those of the Christian Churches or Yoruba worship. Like the rituals of Christianity, Yoruba ritual practices have spread throughout the world, first arriving in Latin America with the transatlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries and developing into diasporic religions such as Cuban Santeria, Haitian Vodun, Trinidadian Shango, and Brazilian Candomblé (Brandon 1997, p. 1-2). Yoruba worship practices underwent substantial development under harsh and cruel conditions within newfound social and cultural contexts, eventually developing as unique religions in their own right, associated but distinguishable from their West African predecessors.

In the 1940s and 50s, Cuban Santeria spread into the United States, influencing many of the musicians in New York and then spreading into other parts of the country. In the 1970s there were many African American and Latino communities in New York practicing Yoruba-based workshop, until a split into two camps distinguished those that continued the preservation of traditional Caribbean practices, and those who sought restoration and strengthening of ancestral ties to Africa.

Santeria becomes widely popularised through inclusion in pivotal records during the 1960s and 70s, by popular artists like Tito Puente, Fania All Stars, Mongo Santamaria, and many others. The Santeria community during this period included influential figures in the entertainment industry who would promote the songs and music of Santeria, such as Cuban musicians Frank “Machito” Grillo and Mario Bauza (Vega, 1995, p. 202). Bauza introduced master Afro-Cuban drummer Chano Pozo to Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra, leading to the development of “Cubop” through the integration of Pozo’s knowledge of orisha (deiity) worship music within African American jazz (Vega, 1995, p. 202). Santeria also had an international appeal due to its rhythmic complexity, melodies, and interactivity, which was popularised for Western audiences on a global scale by Cuban groups such as Los Van Van, Irakere, and Sintesis during the 1970’s and 80s. Their music integrated Santeria rhythms and chants with Western styles of pop, jazz, rock, and classical, and the extent of international touring made their music more accessible for Western audiences (Manuel, 1987, p.164, 167).

Emergence of House Music

House music emerges in the 1980’s in clubs like The Warehouse, Chicago, and Paradise Garage, New York, comprised of predominantly African American and Latino audiences who were seeking a place for freedom of expression (Martin, 2013, p.84). House music mixes samples of gospel songs heard in church with Latin rhythms and piano riffs, and featured the use of music technologies, including newly created drum machines and electronic synthesisers which gave the music a driving, futuristic, and otherworldly sound. Spiritual narratives from church, African metaphysics, and Caribbean worship practices were often attributed to these events, which were described as “going to church” or “inviting the gods”, blurring the line between the sacred and secular (Martin, 2013, p.87). House music events were spaces where one could lose oneself, connect spiritually with a higher power, while renewing ancestral ties to an African or Latin homeland.

The connection to African and Latin American culture is apparent in the way the music is used to initiate dance and trance. The music consists of musical tropes that enhance the possibility of trance, and were common to traditional religious settings. Musical techniques that evoke trance include repetition, acceleration of tempo, and blurring of time dimensions through polyrhythms. Their application within events include the use immersive spaces, such as dark cavernous nightclubs, which encourages audience participation and self-absorption, a critical feature of ritual worship practices.

The Psychology of EDM

As House music develops into Electronic Dance Music (EDM), which includes a diversity of electronic styles focused on beats used for the evocation of dance, many of its early music techniques continue and evolve. This includes various intensifying features which create dance and cause pleasurable states of euphoria and ecstasy (Solberg 2014, p.64). The following section will outline some of the core features of EDM, which have their roots in spiritual practices for manifesting altered states. These are taken from my PhD research, where I explore Afro-Latin Santeria and its evolution in emerging electronic music sub-genres. This research shows how cultural memory and psychological necessity develops new sub-cultures that seek connection with a higher power, using music as the basis for deep connectivity. House music typifies the systematisation of a philosophy for evoking trance, based on psychological and spiritual needs, and derived from a rich cultural legacy. Musical developments from House to EDM may appear different on the surface, but an underlying ethos remains- a philosophy of musical approaches and techniques of intensification for evoking trance, ecstasy, and heightened states. These types of practices originate in Africa, travel to Latin America, spread through the Americas, and then into the rest of the globe.

EDM Tropes for Evoking Altered States

1. Repetition

Repetition is a key feature of worship rituals that seek to create trance and altered states. In repetition, each iteration is actually distinct, as two parts aren’t experienced exactly the same. Slight variations help maintain interest while simultaneously creating trance.

In EDM, technologies like drum machines, samplers, and computers are ideal for creating repetition, although a balance between uniformity and variation is necessary to enhance the effect and not bore the audience. Repetition aids entrainment, which is where one becomes synchronised to a rhythmic stimulus, aiding self-absorption to the music and social group which is critical to trance induction.

2. Tempo

It is no coincidence that humans are most entrained at tempo ranges between 100-140 bpm (Levitin et.al. 2018 p.56). Orisha worship rituals engage these tempo ranges to facilitate altered states (see my PHD, Labra 2024). Often starting slow, ritual musicians gradually accelerate to high tempos of 140 bpm during liturgy. Tempo acceleration is critical to creating the intensity necessary to evoke emotion, a key factor in the production of trance states (see Becker 2004).

Typically, EDM typically does not augment tempo during songs, which do fall within the prime tempo ranges for creating entrainment and trance, between 110-140 bpm. Although, tempo is accelerated within a DJ set or live performance, with musicians accelerating tempos through the technique of song mixing, thus, intensifying the audience experience throughout a performance.

3. Continuous Music

The evocation of trance requires the use of continuous non-stop music to ensure intensification of emotion. In orisha worship practices, this is achieved by rhythms and songs that persist for long periods, often hours. Shifting between songs is achieved through masterful transitions, that don’t disturb the musical flow. This enables rituals to last hours without cessation of music.

Similarly, DJ culture has developed methods to play music continuously, enabled by DJ gear that allows smooth mixing between songs without interruption. Critical to the art of DJing is smoothness of transitions between songs to maintain flow and continue intensification developments on the dancefloor. This DJ feature mimics the techniques of ritual musicians who value smooth transitions, both for aesthetic and emotive purposes. Often DJs contrast mixing ‘smoothness' and ‘abruptness’ to enhance tension and create impact, a feature also used by ritual musicians, such as the Kase in Haiti, which is an abrupt rhythmic ‘break’ used to evoke the gods (Daniel 2005, p.8).   

4. Sequencing of Musical Peaks

The creation of altered states is determined by the evocation of emotion, which is developed through intensification via ‘musical highs’. These ‘musical highs’ appear within wave-like structures where multiple peaks are sequenced, moving audiences through musical-emotive peaks and valleys. These wave-like structures provide aesthetic qualities that differentiate cultural styles, while also affecting psychological dimensions as outlined by Kurth (Tan 2013, p. 121), who states that wave-dynamics produce physic force which affects the way we interact with music unconsciously. EDM producers use these wave structures to evoke emotion at key points during a composition (see diagram below), while DJs uses this form to create peaks within their sets.

Figure 1: Taken from Solberg 2014 p.67, shows typical EDM track audience emotional arousal level.

4. Transformation Theme

A key component of orisha worship is the creation of transformation, by changing audience states during the progression of a musical piece. This is developed through differentiated sections that evoke strong emotional responses through the use of novelty, anticipation, and surprise. In EDM, a three-part form is used to evolve a groove and create musical transformation. It includes an opening section, an unstable or chaotic middle section with a drop (known also as ‘break routine’ by Solberg and Dibben 2019 p.373), leading to the reestablishment of the original groove or an altered version.

This three-stage process appears in traditional ritual design, both spatially and procedurally, such as in initiations or rites of passage (Van Gennep 1960, Turner 1966). This suggests a connection between musical form and psychological effect, used to create inner change and personality development (Jung 1959, p.39). These symbols appear in a variety of manifestations, including narratives, films, and cultural myths, including the Hero’s Journey (see Joseph Campbell 2008).

EDM incorporates this three-part structure. It consists of a middle liminal section that creates instability, developing the conditions for musical transformation. This three-part musical structure symbolises psychological transformation, which is unconsciously imparted into an audience, lifting them from ‘normal’ into heightened states of consciousness. The middle ‘liminal’ stage is used traditionally in ritual, a middle passage where previous personalities and social constructions are destroyed in preparation for a new state of consciousness (Turner 1982, p.113)

4. Intensity (via Aesthetic Oppositions and Layering).

Intensity is critical to ritual, shown vividly in Central African rituals where a devotee is specially assigned to ensure intensity by whipping musicians, keeping them alert, focused, and engaged during performances (Nketia 1988, p.54, 85). Intensity evokes emotion that is critical to trance, and thus a key feature of rituals (see Becker 2004). Among the many techniques used to create intensity, aesthetic oppositions and layering are two key practices common to EDM. These techniques alter various musical domains simultaneously, including the dimensions of density, frequency spectrum, pitch, and complexity.

Aesthetic opposition involves creating contrast between two musical properties, and provides time-based development that enhances tension and heightens emotion. Electronic technologies provide many ways to achieve this technique, using filters, volume knobs, or oscillator pitch dials. Another technique is layering, which is facilitated by computer programs like Ableton or Logic Pro. Layering involves the accumulation of stacked musical elements and loops to create rhythmic and melodic complexity, enhancing aesthetic oppositions by enabling development from sparse to complex sonic scapes.

7. Audience Participation

Audience participation is critical to rituals. It is achieved traditionally in religious rites by recitation of prayers, prostrations, ritualised action, or call-and-response singing, clapping, or dancing. Musical participation ensures contribution and collaboration by the congregation, while simultaneously enhancing the overall energy of performance. This requires the acute awareness and skill of musicians to 'read the crowd’ and ensure music is optimal to participation and heightened experience.

Similarly, in EDM, DJs make real-time music selections based on audience mood and context, thereby enhancing the participation of the audience. EDM events are built to enhance social contribution, using spaces that encourage the loss of self and sense of unity, while maintaining a core focus on the evocation of dance. The outcomes are often the emergence of new states of consciousness, a sense of euphoria, connectivity, or loss of self, which impacts both personal and collective experience.

8. Spiritual Associations

Worship rituals are based on philosophies or sets of cultural beliefs that provide meaning and context to deep religious experiences. Altered states are often attributed to gods or ancestors, proving the validity of cultural practices while simultaneously enhancing their effects. Collective beliefs serve to unite cultural members and aid social cohesion. It has been observed by Graham St John (2017, p.14) that EDM events show a fundamental distinction to traditional rituals, in that they lack the religious or philosophical frameworks of traditional rituals, but instead incorporate and ethos of pleasure seeking and social connectivity. But despite this lack of formalised philosophy, EDM clubbers still report feelings of transcendence and connection to a higher force (Sylvan 2002, p.138). This would suggest that EDM provides spiritual experience, albeit, of a non-denominational type, and within less-formalised structures. The spiritual nature of EDM is shown by the emergence of ritualised electronic music events, using sounds, symbols, and attire to evoke otherworldly, supernatural, or traditional themes, thereby, encouraging spiritual experience through ritual.

The inclusion of ritual music tropes in EDM would only enhance spiritual experience by facilitating trance and altered states, techniques used within religious rituals, rites of passage, and initiations. These musical tropes have evolved from ritual, developed into new cultural practices using new technologies and performance approaches, leading to the emergence of contemporary music sub-genres.

The future of EDM’s spiritual role is uncertain at this stage, although it is likely that the continued use of ritual-based music techniques will continue to evoke trance-states and spiritual experiences that develop into new ritualised events, sub-genres, and religious sects, that further aid our notion of the divine.      

Thanks for reading. If you would like to read previous articles then head to https://www.vincentsebastian.com/blog . Don’t forget to join the newsletter for upcoming thought-provoking articles about music practice, psychology, culture, and creativity . You can check out my original ​music​ here. 

References

Becker, J., (2004), Deep listeners: Music, emotion, and trancing(Vol. 2). Indiana University Press.

Brandon, G., (1997). Santeria from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell Memories. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis

Campbell, J., (2008). The hero with a thousand faces (Vol. 17). New World Library, California

Jung, C.G., (1959), The archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Routledge, Oxfordshire, UK, 2014

Levitin, D.J., Grahn, J.A. and London, J., (2018). The Psychology of Music: Rhythm and Movement. Annual review of psychology, 69(1), pp.51-75.

Manuel, P. (1987). Marxism, Nationalism and Popular Music in Revolutionary Cuba. Popular Music, 6(2), 161–178.

Martin, D.C., (2013), Is This the Dance Floor or a Revival Meeting? Theological Questions and Challenges from the Underground House Music Movement. In Ed. Coleman, M., Ain’t I a Womanist too: Third Wave Womanist Religious Thought, 1517 Media, Fortress Press.

Daniel, Y., (2005). Dancing wisdom: Embodied knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candomblé. University of Illinois Press, USA

Labra, V.S. (2024) From Ritual Music to Electronica: The Transformation of Traditional Santeria into Electronic Neo-Santeria. Thesis. University of Newcastle, Australia.

Mason, M.A., (2002). Living Santería: Rituals and Experiences in an Afro-Cuban Religion. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Nketia, J.K., (1988). ‘The Intensity Factor in African Music.’ Journal of Folklore Research, 23, pp.53-86.

Solberg, R.T., (2014) ‘Waiting for the Bass to Drop, Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 6(1), pp.61-82

Solberg, R.T. and Dibben, N., (2019). Peak experiences with electronic dance music: Subjective experiences, physiological responses, and musical characteristics of the break routine. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 36(4), pp.371-389

St John, G., (2017). ‘Electronic dance music culture and religion: an overview’ Electronica, Dance and Club Music, pp.243-267.

Sylvan, R., (2002). Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music. NYU Press, NY

Tan, D., (2013). Ernst Kurth at the boundary of music theory and psychology, University of Rochester, NY

Turner, V. W., (1966), The Ritual Process: structure and anti-structure, Cornell Paperbacks, Cornell University Press, NY.

Turner, (1982), From Ritual to Theatre, PAJ Publications, NY, USA

Van Gennep, A., (1960), The rites of passage. Routledge, Oxfordshire, UK, 2013

Vega, M.M., (1995). ‘The Yoruba Orisha Tradition Comes to New York City.’ African American Review, 29(2), pp.201-206.

Glossary

Drop: refers to a dramatic, high-energy section of a track that typically follows a build-up or breakdown. It is characterized by a sudden shift in intensity, often marked by a heavy bassline, powerful drums, and a release of tension.

Entrainment: refers to how individuals naturally synchronise their movements, emotions, or neural activity to an external beat or pattern.

Liminal: refers to the transitional phase in a ritual or process where individuals exist between two defined states. Turner expanded on Arnold van Gennep’s concept of the rites of passage, emphasising the middle, or "liminal," stage as a space of transformation, ambiguity, and potentiality.

Orisha: a deity or spirit in the religious traditions of the Yoruba people, primarily found in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, as well as in the Afro-diasporic religions such as Santería, Candomblé, and other African-based spiritual practices in the Americas.