ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to explore Israeli psychedelic electronic dance music culture (PEDMC) by discussing what is “Israeli” about the Israeli psytrance dance music community. I examine the behaviour and attitudes of “transistim”—Israelis who attend all-night dance parties where psychedelic trance music is played. The parties, known in Hebrew as mesibot, typically are staged without proper permits and participants openly use illicit drugs. Even though they view their participation at mesibot as purposefully defi ant, a closer look at transistim conduct reveals that, paradoxically, their behaviour actually refl ects, as well as counters, mainstream Israeli sociocultural norms.
