【コラム】 Zineはレイヴを救えるか？：DIYメディアの記憶装置としての可能性

Column en History Rave Zine

29 Sep 2025

【コラム】 Zineはレイヴを救えるか？：DIYメディアの記憶装置としての可能性

Zine is a record, zine is an expression, zine is an extension of rave

Text: mmr

Genre: Media culture/music archive

Theme: Zine as a preservation device for unrecorded culture

A zine is a small piece of media that you can create yourself.Zines were as present in the rave scene as they were in the ’90s punk scene, the feminist movement, and skater culture.A rave is a celebration of the moment, and zines are a great way to remember and share it with others.

Enthusiasm burned into paper

The vibrations of my body that I felt on the club floor.An illegal rave that lasted until morning in a forest on the outskirts of the city.A wordless resonance exchanged in the infrared light surrounded by smoke.

They are often not recorded.It is not reported in the media and is not recorded in history.

However, a DIY media called ``Zine’’ is currently attracting attention as a means of picking up the fragments and retelling the story.

A zine is not a magazine, diary, or report.However, it is closer to the “voices of the people involved” than any of these.In the rave culture, which inherently resists recording, zines have the potential to serve as ``memory aids.’’

The problem of lack of rave records

Rave is a musical culture that emphasizes the experience of the here and now, and its nature makes it incompatible with media recording.

Reasons why it is difficult to record	Contents
Taboos on photography and recording were particularly strong at underground raves in the 1990s, and equipment was often prohibited from being brought in
Illegality/Anonymity	No records are kept to avoid detection by the police or government
Transient	Events on the floor disappear for a moment

Thus, the ``true image’’ of many raves does not remain.The lack of sound sources, images, and records threatens to disrupt cultural inheritance.

What is a Zine?: Alternative records created by individuals

Zine is an abbreviation for “Magazine” and is an independent publication that anyone can create freely.It is a cultural entity that does not rely on printing technology or the Web, but instead relies solely on paper and copy machines.

Features of Zine

Trinitarian structure of editor = reader = stakeholder
Free formats such as handwriting, cutting and pasting, collage, etc.
Any theme (music, politics, gender, personal experiences, essays, etc.)
A means for “recording and sharing” that has nothing to do with commercialism

Zine and rave affinity

Zines can be a ``means for reconstructing the experience’’ of unrecorded raves.

Specific example

Method	Contents that can be recorded
Reposting the flyer	Preserving the visual culture of the time
Essay on the scene	Verbalize the mood and atmosphere of the scene
Set list record	DJ name, song order, flow of the scene
Sharing dangers and anecdotes	Drug experiences, check avoidance, and social tension

Examples: Rave Zines around the world

flowchart TD A["Rave Zine"] --> B["Overseas"] B --> B1["Datacide
(Germany)"] B --> B2["Rave Flyer Archives
(UK)"]

Region	Zine name	Features
Germany	Datacide	Critical rave zine with psychocore, breakcore, and political context
UK	Rave Flyer Archives	90’s flyer + personal essay

In the age of digital, why keep things on paper?

Features	Digital	Paper (Zine)
May disappear	May disappear due to broken link or deletion	Will remain in your possession semi-permanently
Copy	Infinite copying possible	Limited physical copy = presence as “evidence”
Share	Instantly share with a click	Hand delivery/mailing = physical ritual involved
Easy to send messages	Anyone can easily send messages	Efforts to make = concentration of the creator’s thoughts

Just as rave was a “physical experience,” zine is also a “physical medium.”

Rave Archive

Founded in 2007, Rave Archive is an archive that preserves and shares memories of rave culture in the 90s.From the perspective of a raver and an archivist, I will pass on a culture that tends to disappear to future generations.

Rave Archive

Old School Rave Flyer Archives from 1989-2000 from across the US and Canada

Oldschool Rave Flyer archive 1989-2000+ from all over the US & Canada

By Ernie Villalobos

Archive of Old Rave Flyers

Conclusion: Zines are the key to inheriting the culture that could not be recorded

Zines are neither commercial nor public records.However, because of this, it is possible to preserve ``moments that no one else would have recorded.’‘It is a diary, a report, a testimony, and a love letter.

As much of rave culture is lost, the memories left behind in the form of zines will become valuable fragments for future generations of listeners and dancers to rediscover the contours of the culture.

🔗 [Column] Rave and Media: Archiving unrecorded music culture