The Mobile in Club Cultures: Spectacular moments and mundane practices
This paper explores the use and meanings of mobile communication technologies by young people participating in contemporary electronic dance music (EDM) club cultures. Set in the context of 20 years of research on acid house, raving, and EDM clubbing, it is argued that a concentration on the more ‘spectacular’ aspects of these (youth) cultures - such as the peak experiences of ecstasy ‘rushes’ - tends to obscure the mundane, everyday practices of clubbers upon which such spectacular moments are built. It is suggested that to be a clubber is not solely about one spectacular ‘moment’ of music and drug consumption at a set place and time – crucially it is also about engaging with personal and web-based technologies, technologies which enable those spectacular moments to occur. Drawing on examples from research on EDM club cultures, this paper is about (mobile) technologies at play, but also the ICT-enabled ‘work’ that goes into people’s leisure activities in particular contexts.