Dance. The movement of the body to the rhythm of the music. Or against it. It can be formalised, structured, or completely frenetic, coming from the guts, even primeval. Because, like melody, rhythm is the oldest component of music and it is against it that we dance. Dance is inscribed in us: our bodies and minds. Should it therefore be excluded from music defined by terms such as classical, contemporary, or new music? 

Electronic music has not easily succumbed to the primacy of patriarchy or capitalism and has always served all those who were interested in it. It is the music of freedom and knows no such concepts as gender, cultural affiliation or origin, as narrated by the remarkable documentary Sisters with Transistors. Importantly, although it grew up in experimental studios, it has freed itself from all sorts of tags and definitions, developing into several different genres, including dance ones. In post-communist Germany, techno united a fractured society; in the UK, hardcore, breakbeat or jungle reinforced the antisystemic values promoted by a working class tired of Margaret Thatcher’s rule; and in the United States, house and techno music became a space of freedom for POC and LGBTQ+ communities. Even in Poland we had our own scene of early electronic music, the centre of which was primarily post-industrial Łódź. In other words, electronic music has always followed current events, like a mushroom sprouting its fruiting bodies on all continents and infecting more and more communities. 

Dance and electronics, however, are not inseparable. They are intersecting rather than identical sets. Dance music can be electronic music, but we also have cases where one has nothing to do with the other. However, it is important for us to focus on a very specific example of the common elements between these two phenomena, which are exemplified in rave culture. It emerged in the second half of the 20th century and was a response to the social, political, and economic changes taking place. Rave is most often practised in clubs, but it can also be found in non-obvious places such as forests or beaches, empty buildings or ruins, fields or rubble. This has to do with the past of this culture, which was once practised illegally, in defiance of legal regulations. Because, as we have already established, electronic music is the music of freedom. Today, admittedly, rave culture is distorted by the process of commercialisation, but its true face cannot be so easily restricted or subjugated: it is ultimately a space for the manifestation of our primal needs. 

As the sacred and the profane intersect in electronic music, it is not surprising that contemporary music composers reach for all its varieties. After all, we live surrounded by pop culture, so necessarily electronic music is experienced everywhere. For millennials or Gen Z, it is a natural phenomenon. Older generations often discriminate against the huge potential of electronic dance music because they are not aware of its history or cultural significance. To quote Jeff Mills, the father of techno, for example, “techno was not created as dance music, but as a futuristic manifesto.” And it is in this spirit that we are creating Dance Modern: as a manifesto, a metaphorical covenant pact between Neue Musik and electronic dance music. 

Dance Modern is a community event, created by two major Warsaw festivals in the space of Komuna Warszawa, which has (co-)organised many a concert. It is a celebration of dance and electronic music, centred around significant figures who make art across genres or disciplines, including a Polish representation of male and female artists. FOQL (Justyna Banaszczyk) will present contemplative and drone material, which she herself has described as “a party experience in the mind of an introvert.” LOUFR (Piotr Bednarczyk) will play material from all his albums. RYTERSKI plans to focus on his recent genre explorations, hooked on jungle, noise or techno. A completely different language from these three is used by the duo H31R, who explore experimental electronica in their hip-hop-influenced music. The duo will present material from last year’s album HeadSpace. Authentically Plastic – artist, DJ, and producer based in Kampala, Uganda. Their genre-blending sets, which traverse both dark and bright moods, use styles such as Gqom, Vogue, and techno as foundations to explore other, more unconventional sounds. Their music draws inspiration from everything, from the quasielectronic rhythms of northern Uganda to early noise/industrial experiments and live performances. And finally, the Elvin Brandhi and Sara Persico duo, who combine the former’s improvised lyrics and deconstructed beats with the latter’s analogue, abstract sounds. 

With this event, we want to show that it is possible to draw on the achievements of rave culture at contemporary or avant-garde music festivals. We also want to demonstrate the brotherhood/sisterhood of the two big Warsaw festivals. Because we believe that there is a creative force in the community, capable of cocreating culture and commenting on it. That’s why we want to invite you to join in this process and unite in a wild dance. 

Rafał Ryterski, curator of the concert, Warsaw Autumn