A Darker Electricity Spiral Tribe is available from Velocity Press
From a distance of 30 years it’s perhaps hard to remember how revolutionary Spiral Tribe appeared to be. Reading Darker Electricity reminds us that it wasn’t show, Spiral Tribe were the real deal. No TikTok techno here. No chasing fame. In fact uniting the ravers and traveller scene in the UK, and subverting the standard narrative.
Spiral Tribe appealed to ravers and indie kids, and those who wanted it to all mean more. Sure – the raves and the hedonism were a big part of the appeal, but the symbolism and imagery added a layer of mysticism. Combine this with strong political ideals and you have a melting pot of subversivity. Add in hardcore techno and gabber and you are onto a real moral panic.
One of the original Spiral Tribe Mark Angelo Harrison this book talks through their origins, the events, Castlemorton, the clashes with the police and the eventual record deal. Some of this story was well known, Mixmag barely covered them but the British music press including Melody Maker and NME were both supporters. But the rest of this book is the inside story, and the details. How they cracked venues, how they ended up in Berlin and to some extent why. Sure it goes off a little bit spiritual when talking about the number 23 and the spiral logo, but this was all very much part of the package. Considering the madness this is a really well written book.
HWND – Buy it for yourself or that old skool raver in your life.
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