distinct records into a seamless mix. Finally, incorporation is that point at which the
DJ fully completes the transition to the proceeding track, leaving behind all traces
of the former record and returning listeners/dancers to the more familiar simplicity
of one record. This can be achieved by progressively EQing all three channels from
one record out of the mix: immediately, by punching a kill switch; gradually, by
lowering the main volume control of the channel in question; or quickly, by moving
the cross-fader completely to the desired channel.
Dancing passagesAs noted in the case of EQing as a liminal technique, mixing as a passage process is
received in a variety of ways depending largely on a dancer’s knowledge of
underground dance music’s performance aesthetics. While neophytes make their
first ritual passage through events somewhat tentatively, the initiated are more sure-
footed. Throughout many of Patrick’s mixes, the excitement and expectation of the
separation phase often went relatively or completely unnoticed by less experienced
participants, while more experienced dancers displayed their cognizance of
impending changes through gestural shifts such as sweeping or stabbing hand
movements in sync with the impending record’s secondary rhythmic structure or a
monitoring glance to the DJ booth. Recognizing this initial threshold in the mix,
such reactions illustrate the extent to which experienced dancers are fully embedded
in the ritual process and how less experienced dancers are yet to develop the same
level of ritual skill and/or knowledge. For example, it was observed that less
experienced dancers often hesitated and surveyed others for cues throughout each
phase. In the case of more experienced dancers, many of whom seemed either to
know or to predict forthcoming changes, there were no awkward pauses and their
understanding of, and participation in, the structure and timing of mixes was
displayed through the blowing of whistles, throwing hands in the air and glances of
affirmation between friends.
This final phase of the mix presents opportunities for dancers to distinguish
themselves from non-dancers as actively managing their membership or sense of
belonging in a collaborative community at the nucleus of the ritual proceedings. For
dancers, successful movement through the mix completes the passage process in a
way not accessible to those off the dance floor. One might even suggest that the
more mixes one dances through, the more fully incorporated one becomes in the
new community Furthermore, over the course of a DJ’s set, and after each cycle is
successfully repeated (particularly in cases when peaks occur), participants might
undergo an accelerated transcendence where the combination of music, dance and,
sometimes, drugs results in a heightened awareness of what informants often refer to
as the ‘vibe’—that elusive and ineffable quality of underground dance music events
which defines a ‘totally sick’ night out. Yet, throughout the course of this event,
many participants on the dance floor regularly disengaged themselves from dancing
in order to buy drinks, go to the toilet, etc. By taking temporary reprieves, dancers
were able to monitor the proceedings and reflect on their own perception of and
SELECTING RITUAL 177