ABSTRACT
Through the insider experience of drakko, a DJ and event organiser active in the French and European psychedelic trance scene in the 2010s, the chapter looks at the prominent role of the DJ in the achievement of the psychedelic experience in clubs and festivals. Although many multisensory parameters (sound, visual etc.) contribute to the psychedelic experience sought for by psytrance aficionados, the DJ’s skills and attention to the implicit and changing rules of the scene remain crucial in the realisation of a psytrance event. DJs have to adapt their sets to the specific temporality of the event and to the dancing crowd in attendance. Despite the solitary aspect of DJs’ work, they actually inscribe themselves within a wider collective body in order to contribute to the communal psychedelic celebration. The chapter therefore examines the multidimensional dialogues and temporal negotiations DJs have to deal with in order to precisely allow for the loss of the dancing crowd’s bearings.
