I Love: PLUR

For those unfamiliar with EDM terminology, PLUR is a philosophy and practice in the scene. It’s an abbreviation that stands for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. It’s the foundational idea that we should try to be kind to the people around us, and I really love that mentality. If I see someone at the festival who looks like they’re in trouble, it’s up to me as a member of the community to get them to help or at least check on them. If someone comes to my camp and is hungry or lost, it’s important I make the choice to give them food or directions. We all paid a lot of money to be at the festival, sure, but PLUR is what keeps raves fun, communal, and most importantly, safe. It’s also inspired me to be kinder in my day-to-day life outside of raves, and in a world where people can often choose to be cruel, compassion towards others is a revolutionary, deliberate choice to make.

It’s also essential to trading Kandi, you make the motions with your hand, first with two fingers for peace, then two halves of a heart for love, you interlock the fingers to trade them in an act of unity, and you come apart with respect for each other. It’s a special type of closeness I haven’t found in other music scenes, I’m really happy whenever I can be a part of it <3