Embodied Sound: Feeling the Rave

Rave music often focuses on texture, rhythm, production, or genre. One thing that doesn’t get discussed as much is the physical sensation of sound.

In this blogpost I want to discuss this.

Different frequencies can be felt in different areas of the body. Sub-bass (under 60 Hz) in feet and chest, Mid-bass (60–200 Hz) in the stomach, High mids (2–5kHz) feel more sharp and skin-level, less perceptible but can be felt. Some producers use this intentionally: layering sine waves for chest thump, using harsh metal hits for sharp stabs.

To make music that feels physical, you can:

• Use sine sub kicks at around 40–50 Hz
• Layer with textured percs that hit around 200 Hz for body thud
• Add metallic, plasticky hits in the 3kHz range for skin/tension
• Use gated reverbs, delays, or panning for a sense of motion and proximity

volume is also significant, i want to explore transient shaping and dynamics.

Artists like Ryiji Ikeda, Tenebre, Kercha, and Current Value make music that exemplifies this.

I think focusing on bodily impact is important in my work. If there is no regular pulse texture, weight, shock, friction are left to carry rhythm in a different way. I want to explore this.