We have received several questions from parents about a relatively new kind of music known as electronic dance music (EDM) who are wondering if this music is dangerous.
The answer to this question is a resounding “yes!” There are concerns with all forms of EDM (electronic dance music) which is an umbrella term that includes many different types of music. Dubstep is considered to be a type of EDM, as is techno trance which encourages listeners to empty the mind, a practice that leads to an altered state. As I state in this blog, techno trance leaves “young listeners who are hungry for spiritual ‘experiences’ vulnerable to whatever mischief the devil wants to work while they are otherwise ‘asleep’.”
This is not necessarily the case with dubstep, which is described in this article as being the product of a handful of DJ’s and producers who wanted to forge a new sound. “ . . . [I]t is comprised of elements familiar to the London underground — drum and bass, two-step garage, hip-hop, for starters — yet it is still somehow very exciting, very different.”
It sounded very creepy and menacing to my ears – like something you’d hear in a movie just before the killer launches his attack. It’s a very eerie sound.
Aside from using the music to put oneself into an altered state, the biggest danger by far with all forms of EDM is the dangerous drug use that occurs at its festivals and dance clubs.
This 2014 article by Fox News documents an alarming number of deaths and serious injuries occurring at EDM clubs and festivals such as the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas where a 24 year-old man died of an overdose of Ecstasy. At the same festival, 550 medical calls were made by concert-goers at the weekend event. In addition, there were 48 drug-related felony arrests.
In fact, it was the drug-related death of a 15 year-old girl in 2010 that caused the carnival to move from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Vegas Motor Speedway where it is held to this day.
In 2013, the final day of the Electric Zoo festival in New York was cancelled after two young fans died, four were hospitalized and 31 arrests were made.
Attendees freely admit that they like the music better when they’re taking drugs.
“For me [while listening to electronic dance music], the drug makes the music almost sound better,” said an 18-year-old from the New York area who admitted to taking the drug known as “molly” when attending concerts.
EDM music, and the drug-related subculture that has evolved around it should be concerning to parents especially because of the peer pressure toward drug-related activities that is likely to occur.
