a ‘techno anthem’ may contain explicit instances of prayer, as for example the track
‘Halleluja’ (Sash! 2000), which incorporates ecstatic gospel music sounds and themes
including exuberant choruses of ‘Hallelujah, Lord!’ and ‘I wanna thank you!’ The
content of the prayers in ‘Halleluja’ is, however, strongly oriented towards ebullient
MDMA and dance-associated forms of consciousness, and thanks are given (perhaps
ironically) for such seldom appreci ated facets of life as mobile phones, shopping
malls, perfect skin, faster food, pay TV, remote control, ‘quality time’, the Internet
and global warming. The musical effluvium of gratitude continues:^13
Thankyou, for plastic surgery, thankyou, for safer sex.
Thankyou for the World Cup finals, thankyou, for radar control.
And thankyou for a brilliant future, in a peaceful world.
(Sash! 2000)Quite apart from the frequently religious or quasi-religious ideation of psychedelic
dance music, the very form and structure of the music promote and support trance
states. The repetitive, hypnotic, rapid beat of techno (generally 110–30 beats per
minute) may induce a classic auditory driving scenario (Neher 1962). Percussion
and tintinnabulation are frequently used to accent ritual ‘transformations’, possibly
because these sonic bursts ‘overload’ the autonomic nervous system via the limbic
system (which controls the hypothalamus), resulting in an inhibition of ‘rational
thought’ and an increase in suggestibility (Needham 1967). Percussive sounds may
also augment synaesthesia and the depersonalizing effects of entheogens (Johnston
1977), effects that may be further compounded by ‘photic’ driving from the
kaleidoscopic lighting and animations present at many parties. It has been
speculated that repetitious stimuli can induce a ‘collective tuning-in’ relationship
among participants in ritual:
the various ecstasy states, which can be produced...after exposure to rhythmic
auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli, produce a feeling of union with other
members participating in that ritual. In fact, the oneness of all participants is
the theme running through the myth of most human ritual.... This state may
vary in intensity, but it always has the effect of unifying the social group.
(d’Aquili and Laughlin 1975:38)Prolonged, vigorous dancing can be sufficient in itself to induce mood-altering
biochemical changes and altered states of consciousness. An important feature of
psychedelic dance music is its great duration, and partygoers may find themselves
dancing for extended periods of time in a state of blissful depersonalization (Bull
1997). Over time, the movements of bodies become aligned to the same rhythms,
lighting patterns and economies of social circulation, so that the participants may
develop a sense of merging in unison. This effect may be assisted by the use of LSD
and MDMA, if we are to grant them the ‘ego-dissolving’ and ‘heart-opening’
properties frequently attributed to them. Like the Barasana yajé rituals, the doof is
ENTHEOGENIC DANCE ECSTASIS 135