Rave Archive 'Remastered'
*Press the unmute button for sound*
Handycam footage, 2 mintues, 2025
Found footage and audio, 15 minutes 30 seconds, 2025
An archive within an archive, 'rave archive remastered' is an immersive piece which looks at paying homage to the elements of rave culture the past and present through the use of found footage. The 16 minute piece shows the lineage of the music and history of the culture and community through found footage. Old rave footage which turned into accidental archives to then be showcased in this video piece as a piece of history, musical history and cultural history. Even expressing the artists personal connection to the culture through their own gathered found footage and archive documentaries. Influenced by artists such as Mark Leckey, Jeremy Deller and Hope Pearl Strickland. Referencing pioneers such as Frankie knuckles and the 80s Chicago house scene to The Prodigy and Altern-8. The title remastered plays on the fact that this piece is an extended version of the first rave archive piece, remastered also being a title to when you change or develop something new within the original.
Degree Show Installation, 3 piece projection through media players & speakers
(2025)
Research & Process
Research - Documentaries & History
Everybody in the place - BBC
Watching Jeremy Dellers 'everybody in the place' documentary. it delves into the history of rave culture and explores social and political contexts. In this first screenshot, Deller speaks upon the early influences of the culture spanning from mid - 80s chicago gay house clubs then house music making its way to the UK. Taking my reflection from last semester i wanted to looking into the history of the culture and the musical influences. It shows how communities are connected musically and the evolution of dance music genres and I enjoyed how the documentary aesthetically was made in chronological order. I questioned how I could bring that into my video work something which I hoped to answer in rave archive 'remastered'.
A trip around acid house - ITV
Delving in deeper to the history of acid house, BBC documentary 'a trip around acid house' which explores historical contexts and real time moments of the culture in the late 80s and it gives an inside to what the scene was like in its beginnings and prime. screenshot showcases a moment where a DJ was explaining where acid house originated from and how the word came from sampling. This key moment is something I want to include within my video piece to showcase the theme of history and influence. The documentary also gives an inside view on the youths opinons on raves and a night in their lives looks like, I found it interesting to see their perspective and hear more of the youth cultures opinions in its raw form.
The Hacienda - BBC
Alongside looking in deeper into acid house, I decided to look into one of the most iconic venues from the rave scene in manchester, the hacienda. This documentary showed the creation of the hacienda and the pioneers who created it and how it grew to be one of the most popular venue for acid house raves in the UK. It also shows how community based hacienda became, how football hooligans started raving and then it was more love then fights. since I got to alot of todays well known venues in manchester. This documentary had wondering, I should start to capture more footage in the smaller venues like kable club and soup kitchen which are symbols and homages to the past of underground scenes. Modern day take on manchesters rave scene.
The prodigy & suburban base records - documentary
My Second focus element was on the hardcore music and the hardcore scene in the 90s. I found a documentary of Essex based groups the prodigy and suburban base records in their early days. To myself i think the hardcore scene was such an underdog genre and scene yet it birthed on of the most popular and iconic electronic hardcore groups, the prodigy. Seeing this footage felt very sacred the biggest names in there early years and seeing the insight to their lives and what raves where like at that time and how much it meant to them. I was even drawn to how the documentary was made, personal and business perspective which links with myself and how I
Jungle fever - BBC 2
My third focus element was on jungle music and jungle raves, I watched jungle fever, a documentary from 1994 on jungle music and how it was one of the biggest underground genres of that time in the 90s, as a jungle fan myself i took a very deep interest in this documentary. It spoke upon the origins of jungle and featured its current pioneers at the timesuch as Shy fx and Dillinja.
I enjoyed how it spoke upon the influences jungle music takes from R&B and soul music, sampling vocals and how it has a Soundsystem influence which links with its Caribbean influence and origins. I have such a personal connection to jungle music through my own exposure and how the influences are what i grew up on. These influences are what I wanted to visually highlight in my work to showcase the hidden elements of the music and its history.
Research - Artists & Projects
Mark Leckey - Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore
This piece has always been an constant influence for my video pieces, not only due to the contexts which it communicates ( rave culture, counterculutre and nostalgia) but how Leckey appropriates the found footage by editing, slicing, playing around with the audio, music with highlighting youth culture references and influences at the time. Leckey having an connection and being apart of both sub cultures in both 80s and 90s resonates alot with myself and my position within the rave scene today. Made me question HOW? how can i share my own connection within the scene? would it be through music? through my own stories? if so what stories of the scene showcase my connection to the culture?
Highlighting a quote from a guardian article: reading this, it is exactly what I wanted to portray within my video pieces. Having the ability to evoke that nostalgia of the culture, but making it have a deeper impact and understanding to the viewer, taking them on a journey whether an older experienced audience to my age group or even younger.
I watched an interview of Mark Leckey speaking on 'fiorucci made me hardcore' and his meanings behind the work and hidden elements. He revealed that the title was inspired by Warhol from on of his pieces which included the words 'fiorucci made me hardcore'. I enjoyed how he spoke about his editing process and how desktop computers allowed him to edit and process analog footage. I found it a contrast to todays society of editing, its become more simple and more software based.
"subculture is a way of life" leckey quotes in this video and it spoke to me, I resonate with that quote due to rave culture being a main part of my life and how much it has changed me and given me another community, this is what I intended to express in my work.
Mark Leckey - DREAM ENGLISH KID 1964 1994AD
Looking deeper into more of Leckeys work I watched a piece, Dream English kid. The piece showed themes of nostalgia, lineage, culture and history. A recurrening element in leckeys work is the use of found footage and how he manipulates it to tell a story. I was drawn to how he highlights a timeline within the piece, showing different cultural moments from each decade. Leckey uses a technique where he repeats the footage or audio adding a musical element into it his pieces.
Dream english kid installation: looking at the installation from 2015 I got the sense that the set up was made to be visually intaken and focused on. The blacked out space, the speakers are quite large, they also look layered or multiple speakers ranges formed into one which would seem to cover the room with a surround sound impact. This gave me an idea on how i should present my video piece for the degree show
Ufuoma Essi - ALTEA
Looking more into artists who work with found footage i came across Ufuoma Essi. Her work shows themes of identity, history and feminism. I was influenced by how she layered the videos over one another as seen in this film still of her piece ALTEA. It elevates the footage, plays around with the space, gives it a more modern futuristic take using something archived from the past.
Highlighted a quote from an article : I resonated with this quote, how Essi uses the medium of film to allow her to communicate in a direct way and how she can 'disrupt' and 'play' which I too enjoy about the process of making film/ videos. To myself it is also an outlet of portraying, expressing and showcasing something and it can be visually taken in by the audience.
Hope Pearl Strickland - Artist Talk and Personal 1-1
I attended Stricklands artists talk, her work expresses contexts of identity and how that can be expressed through the use of film. I was heavily drawn to how she used archive footage alongside using her own gathered film footage. To me it looked like she used a super 8 film camera. I was drawn to how she sets her pieces, how the images and audio set well with eachother. She also uses transcribe text in her pieces which give her pieces a documentary aesthetic. A bit like Jeremy Dellers piece its that aspect which i want to bring into my pieces.
I was fortunate enough to have a 1-1 tutorial with hope after her artist talk. when showing her my video work she was honest in what she thought was good and what needed improving or what she saw that I shouldve kept on doing. For instance, the repetition element in my videos she advised me to keep doing that in my piece and play around with it more. Im glad I had the 1-1 with hope it really helped me push out and take risks within my work.
Fiona Tan - Artist Interview
I came across an artist interview by Fiona tan, a filmmaker whos work expresses context of archive footage, memory, history and time. In this interview she speaks on how time is a tool, how influential it is to her work and how it is used as material. I was focused on that quote due to myself using time as a material through the use of editing and manipulating the footage through cutting, and slicing but aswell it made me think who could I use time as a tool more within my work, linking with my 1-1 with Strickland and how she advised for me to keep experimenting with how I use the footage.
The Lapsed Clubber Project - Audio Map
The lapsed clubber project is an ongoing project which is an continuous archive of memories (transcripts and voice recordings) from the people of Manchester or who went raving and clubbing in Manchester in the 80s and 90s. I was drawn to the senitmental value of the clubber project as a whole and how much of history of the culture is shared to create an ongoing archive. It made me question if I could make my own audio archive or even showcase a few recordings within a video piece to elevate the personal perspectives within the video.
Zinzi Minott - Bloodsound
- Seeing 'bloodsound' at the walker art gallery
I think of sound when I see Bloodsound by Zinzi Minott, this piece is very inspiring to me not just with it being a built soundsystem but how it impacts you, through her choices in audio, the volume of the audio and how it could fill a room in its entirety. This is an element I wanted to incorporate with how I present my installation.
This piece is also personal to me in ways where It reflects my culture and childhood with sounds used such as songs like Barrington levy and beenie man and more Caribbean artists which I grew up on. She also adds in audio from a jungle track which also hooked me in, paying homage to a genre which was heavily influenced by Caribbean culture.
Pipilotti Rist - Installation
Looking deeper into installation work, I found Pipilotti Rist. An Experimental video artist. I watched a video which shows her installation work and i came across her double screen video installation. I was drawn to how immersive her installations are and the scale of it to which it impacts the viewer leaving them focused on the screens. This piece I enjoyed how the pieces projected complement eachother and how they merge into one another, a dreamlike installation. I intended for my installations to be as immersive but in a more powerful and energetic way. I wondered if I could extend that and how it would feel If my piece was a multiple projection piece.
Research - Theoretical Contexts
Communities, Archives and New Collaborative Practices - Simon Bobble
Highlighting a piece of academic writing by Bobble: To me quotes I highlighted truly entails what looking a footage of rave culture is like, seeing the people of the community, the different styles of music played, the outfits, the venues etc. The scene itself became an archival space and through the use of video cameras, its history was able to be saved and seen to this day through the media.
VICE Article - ' My journey through old rave clips'
Highlighted quote from a VICE article: The author speaks on how old rave footage has effects us in the present day, the feeling of nostalgia even when we weren’t there at that moment in time but living it through someone else or a close family member. Another quote which symbolises my feelings and emotions towards old rave footage, I too get that nostalgic feeling even though I wasn’t there, its like i have a longing for the past and thats what I want to do to the audience of past and future generation.
Research - Cultural Influences and References
The Prodigy - Music Videos
Influenced by the prodigy music videos: The prodigy videos always hit a nostalgic point for myself personally, ever since I was little I have always been drawn to how the video footage was presented into by the multi coloured layering and the abstract mark making. The prodigy also being pioneers in the rave scene from the 90s electronic & hardcore genre. The way as seen in the screenshots there is inverted styles of filters in footage, that sort of element is what I want to bring out within my work and that sense of musicality and how each clip is in good alignment with the music.
Reading in deeper into the background of the 'out of space' music video, finding out the director is russell curtis who directed every single one of the prodigys music videos in the 90s. I found it interesting that they included there own archive of footage within their music video.
Reading more information of the music video of everybody in the place i was surprised to learn that it was taken in new york city, and having all of the members of the prodigy dancing around new york, symbolises bringing hardcore to the states and that they brought the energy and the chaos of UK rave culture with them.
Fatboy slim - The Art Of Rave Podcast
Fatboy slim another pioneer dj within the electronic scene, speaking on his personal history with music and a moment from his childhood that started his love and growth for music. This was something which i was warmed by, a vulnerable moment and a more deeper inside into a well known artists story a more behind the scenes moment.
Mark Leckey DJ set - The Lot Radio
I watched a radio DJ set by Mark Leckey which showcased an eclectic range of music which he chose himself and explaining its background. I resonated with this form of Leckey, not only being a music fanatic but also having a personal interest in Djing which I also like to do outside of my artwork. It gave me interesting ideas to record myself djing.
Human Traffic - Film
I was drawn to the film human traffic not only because of the theme of the film but how rave culture is portrayed in the film. Giving comedic yet deep historical contexts on how rave culture effected people and their lifestyles. It made me inspired to showcase a personal perspective within my work.
The film showcases one of the most iconic and well known Cultural references today. "any jungle in guy?" which is a scene where 2 men go to a vinyl shop and ask the shopkeeper if he has any new jungle music in and it cuts to everyone dancing in the shop to the tune.
Goldie - Inner city life - Music Video
Another music video i was influenced by was Goldies music video inner city life which was also a popular 90s jungle/drum and bass tune. The filters of the music video, dark earthy blue and grey wash filter which represented to me the night life and the sienna filter representing the day life, I also enjoy the purple and blue glitch on the sienna filter. The fading transitions used between clips I was drawn to, it gave the video that sense of calm which matched the energy of the ambient jungle tune.I also enjoyed the symbolism it showcases within the video, for example this screenshot of the Metalheads vinyl being played, Metalheads was a Pioneer drum and bass label back in the 90s which goldie founded.
DJ Mag Interview - Goldie Speaking on the Music Video
In this interview still, Goldie is speaking on the music video and he highlights key moments such as the location of the nightclub scene which he revealed was paradise club in London which was a popular venue at the time and that the music video featured personal members of his life i.e Dj Randall, his girlfriend at the time and family friends. It reminded me of my own videos and who I capture within them, showcasing the rave scene but within there is my friends either on the decks or in the crowd. Stating that Mike lipscombe was the director and asked for 1 strange request of wanting a shot of a trolley falling off a building.
Watching vinyl DJ sets -
To gain more musical influence and inspiration towards my video piece I watched a few old skool vinyl sets on youtube, It made me think If i could record a mix and for my video piece to go along to and to work from, mixing 4 genres of rave music into one mix, questioning if i take it one step further for nostalgia and play on vinyls. this is something which I was eager to testout.
Process
My first Idea was to have 4 separate pieces all being there own moment but after watching all of the documentaries and started to delve more into the theme of archive I wanted to create 4 pieces into one whole piece. Taking influences from Jeremy Deller, Mark Leckey and merge the characteristics and methods im influenced by. My 4 separate pieces are 80s house to acid house, 90s hardcore, 90s jungle and lastly my own personal 2025 perspective. I wanted to expand from last semester and add my own personal links and elements to my work. In my notes I have written down tips on how I should start my videos, what audio I could use and key footage I should include to communicate my contexts and themes, questioning myself alongside aswell.
Gathering footage
My work became very research based alongside making, I was able to gather secondary research, ranges of found footage from sources such as youtube and screen record to use in my work. gathering from all 3 scenes of acid house, hardcore and jungle. Within those moments I was able use moments of symbolism, the rave fashions of each scene (oversized shirts,happy face shirts, bucket hats and glasses) and different elements e.g the horns and whistles from the hardcore and jungle scenes. I was even able to link the horns and whistles from jungle raves to uk carnivals. Including iconic hacienda footage in homage of manchester making its mark on the scene. I also gathered footage from the documentarys which are also within my research, they were able to show raw moments. Through the use of using found footage alongside my own in my work it has given me alot more freedom to dig deeper, express more lineage and showcase elements of the culture and influences which I wanted to express .
To showcase my own perspective, alongside the found footage, I kept on gathering my own source handy cam footage from todays generation of raves in Manchester using my Sony handycam. Recording everything around me from people to lights to speakers giving myself aspects to focus on within my work.
This is the sony camera I use to capture all my own footage, It has its retro aesthetic outcome which helps with expressing nostalgia and making my footage look like it was taken 30 years ago. It is a piece of equipment which has been around me since I was 3, for myself the camera is personally nostalgic.
To create my video piece I used the software adobe after effects, this software specifically gave me the ability to create those effects which I had been inspired by from The Prodigys music videos, the repetition which was influenced by Leckeys work and through the influences of breakbeats in electronic music and using time as a tool by stretching the footage, slow it down or speed it up.
​
This screenshot was taken in march during my preparation for my rave archive exhibit screening in april, I wanted that screening to be a test towards my final piece. From the exhibit I was able to take feedback and change and add new elements to my piece.
I wanted to extend on elements that i would include from last semester, after having feedback from my exhibit I decided to bring in more personal elements to my work, adding more text of personal speech, giving my own personal obsevation from behind the machine linking with how my own found footage from my camcorder is also from my own observation.
Gathering audio on my Iphone
Recording of myself speaking on my first rave experience.
Recording of my mum speaking about one of her favourite jungle songs
Being inspired by the lapsed clubber project I decided to gather my own archive of audios on my phone (shown in screenshot) from my own personal stories to my mums and her experiences. I also found out that my uncle helped built sound systems in Birmingham in his younger years which links to the caribbean influences but unfortunately i took the audio in a overlapping conversational setting. The gathering of audios became very useful to include within my video work, it expands my work from previous semester and brings in a more personal perspective to my work than just being an observer, this reminded me of Jeremy Dellers documentary and how he would have audios included in his presentation.
I wanted more voices, preferably from the early generation of ravers. Used secondary research recording from the Manchester Lapsed clubber project, It gave my piece more perspective and linking it more to memory and memories from other people who experienced those raves in the past.
Music Used in the piece - In order
Frankie knuckles - Your Love
To go straight to how it all started from chicago, I began my piece by using this song by Frankie knuckles who was the founder or 'godfather' of House music. This song is one of his most popular and well known.
A guy called Gerald - Voodoo ray.
It its titled as UKs first acid house track, I felt it was important to include this in my piece as it is a historic song which sweeped the scene.
​
The prodigy - Everybody in the place
The prodigy are one of the most well known groups of the hardcore genre I chose my favourite song of theres to Include within the piece, I also included clips on the music video in my piece.
Omni trio - renegade snares (foul play remix)
This song is a personal pick of mine. It is one of my favourite old school jungle songs and a most used track for djs in the 90s
4AM KRU - smoke something
4AM KRU are personal friends of mine and this song is a favourite of mine, its a song which i cant help but always dance to it. The duo have also helped with elevating my knowledge on jungle and they have both become one of the most popular jungle act of this generation.
​
I tested an alternative idea of creating a mix which my video piece would work from, taking inspiration from minotts audio in 'bloodsound' however after trying to create a mix, I felt it didnt do what I intended to want for my piece. Overall I decided the music had to be seperated.
To make the piece feel more immersive I had an idea to include another piece using my own footage, a time stretching each piece, slowing it down and having them fade into one another but without sound. I wanted to have something which represents that background noise, in the perspective of raver, or even myself it would be a point of view of being in a crowd and that is what I wanted. I used footage of different elements of being in a rave, the stobe lights, being in the crowd, dj decks and the speakers.
DEGREE SHOW SET UP -
Before setting up: this layout was my initial plan for my degree show set up, to have an installation space where i could have loud audio from speakers and my projectors on a build higher up so the public can walk through the space and get immersed into it.
Testing out my Idea: In one of the bookable set up spaces, I was able to test out my 3 projection installation, through testing I was able to see what it would feel like as the viewer and I enjoyed the feeling of being overwhelmed by the scale and how immersed I was in my work it felt like I was in a rave yet my main focus was on my main piece which is what I wanted my viewer to experience.
New layout: After viewing my built blackout space and testing my AV equipment in the space, through testing the space I found out that the main piece projecting in the middle, the aspect ratio would be too small if it was closer to the wall and on a high shelf, with some help from my tutor to fix the problem we moved the projector further back and set on the floor, luckily it filled the wall as I intended it to but to make it neater I needed a plinth. Unfortunately I had to change the layout and plan of using a curtain but I understood and still had the ability to keep my piece an immersive experience.
Images of myself painting and cleaning up the blackout space, making it look more professional and to an exhibit standard and painting the wooden panels black to make the room darker and more presentable .
Left and right projectors set up, both broadcasting the same slowed montage of rave footage at different times which is effective. The footage used was taken on my handycam and showcases elements of lights, crowd and djs to emulate that perspective of being in a rave.
Setting up speakers: Due to changing the layout, I had to order an extension for the JBL speakers so they could reach the back of the wall from the projector due to it moving back. Luckily it was able to be done and I was able to get the surround sound in the space that I wanted.
Testing and playing around with shadow casting: Due to the change in layout, I realised the piece would cast shadows when people would walk in, so I decided to test it by having a dance in the space, I felt it made a huge difference, I felt everything I was seeing and hearing, taking in all the visuals and the music and seeing my own shadow whilst looking at the footage felt quite serene like I was there again in that moment captured.
Alternative set up -
Alternative set up: This is an alternative set up and rough drawn layout which I tested in the bookable space, taking inspiration from rist installation piece I tried the installation as a 2 piece projection. This alternative was for a back up if I couldn’t t do a 3 piece projection. It still carried the same immersive effect.