Then Was The Beat, And It Was Good. Electronic dance music in Singapore: a case of an emergent post-subculture

Abstract: Electronic dance music has been a subject of scientific scrutiny for the past four decades. Many-coloured global club culture is most often seen as lacking political and social agenda, purely pastime-related occurrence within youth subculture. However, in different cultural backgrounds electronic dance music may play different roles and occupy different places. This thesis researches the case of electronic dance music in Singapore. It is studied a newly emergent subcultural formation in the city-state, which somewhat opposes local mainstream youth culture. The main argument is that electronic dance music can be described as a local expression of a global post-subculture of electronic dance music, influenced by factors such as cultural globalisation, specificities of local music tastes, and cultural and media policies of the state. The work examines factors, influencing the local development of electronic dance music, with a special attention to the nation-building processes of Singaporean state and their impact on popular culture development. An attempt to classify the local electronic dance music scene as a subcultural formation is made. Certain predictions about the possible future of its development are attempted. The study is conducted on the basis of interviews with scene participants and professionals, as well as media and historical analysis. Words: 31,262