What is peace?
At the core of electronic dance music (EDM) is a cosmopolitan philosophy of peace, love, unity, and respect (PLUR). As manifested in EDM, the concept of PLUR is reminiscent of the Kantian notion expressed in the philosopher’s pivotal writing Anthropologie in pragmatischer Hinsicht (Anthropology from a pragmatic point of view), in which he stressed the exquisiteness of calm and peace in people’s daily lives.
In order to investigate the possible relationship between this Kantian perspective and PLUR, I adopted a participant observation approach while attending some famous music clubs in Ibiza, as well as several EDM music festivals, including the Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Singapore, S2O in Bangkok, and EDC in Tokyo. At the 2016 Ultra Music Festival in Miami, techno music listeners from around the world expressed strong solidarity, and participants were very open to sharing and performing the idea of PLUR.
Conversely, although festival-goers in Bangkok and Tokyo demonstrated a love of EDM music and exhibited high levels of musical literacy, their behaviors were not expressive of the concept of PLUR.
Music always has political meanings. For instance, John Lennonʼs songs promote peace, and reggae music seeks the ideal of “Lastafa.” However, EDM in East and Southeast Asia has been losing its political connotations.
EDM lyrics often proclaim the loneliness and bitterness of the world, as exemplified by the Chainsmokers’ hit. EDM expresses Millennials’ pursuit of the norms of a peace-centered, citizen-oriented society.
