10
Gamelan, techno-primitivism, and the San
Francisco rave scene
1
Gina Andrea Fatone
In August of 1997, at a rave in the foothills of the Sierra mountains, a five-member
Balinese gamelan^2 group based in Santa Cruz, California, became part of the Vibe.^3
Via a powerful performance experience that fused techno music with traditional
Balinese gamelan, the group’s participation in this alternative cultural event^4 led to
subsequent invitations to perform at raves in the San Francisco area, as well as an
invitation to cut a collaborative CD with a DJ in May of 1998. Gamelan Anak
Swarasanti^5 has since performed repeatedly at events hosted by various Bay Area
rave collectives. I find this musical appropriation illuminates two notable aspects of
these local events: the value of a kind of musical structure commonly present in
communal gatherings leading to altered states of consciousness^6 and the
juxtaposition of a nostalgia for the “primitive” and exotic with a reverence for high
technology.^7 I maintain that a paradoxical “techno-primitive” ideology comes into
relief as the processes by which this Southeast Asian musical ensemble has recently
been incorporated into the San Francisco rave scene are examined. This techno-
primitivist construction, one amidst multiple stances performed in rave, involves the
interrelated roles of cultural borrowing, homogenized “ethnic-ness,” and the quest
for “authenticating” experiences in the context of the technocultural present.
A return to innocenceIt is evident from the growing body of literature concerning rave culture that so-
called “tribal,” “primitive,” or “pagan” elements of raving are decidedly self-
conscious amongst a prominent constituent of participants. In logging on to one of
the many rave collective web pages, for example, the self-identification of ravers with
“pure,” unadulterated, pre-industrial society, and the romantic notion of collectively
returning to “tribal” roots through the rave process is strongly apparent. The
Guerillas of Harmony web page (Twist 2000:1) includes links to essays with titles
such as “Roots of Trance Dance,” “Children of the Evolution,” “Cybertribe Rising
Revisited,” and “Rave and the Rebirth of Celebration.” One San Francisco raver
states: “I think it’s a return to innocence.” Quoting him further:
It has roots in prehistory. It’s like one of these big dance sessions where they
would chant all night long until the sun comes up or something. That’s my