“I consider the body a site for joy and resistance, and I see music as the backbone of that.” Artist Lotte Andersen’s entire oeuvre as an artist has been committed to exploring the pure state of pleasure elicited by raving, and music’s inextricable contribution to this state. From 2011-2016, she ran and documented a party in West London called MAXILLA, which embodied all the key qualities of DIY club culture, and in 2017 she launched Dance Therapy; Do it once do it right which explores the transcendence of club spaces by photographing people during ultimate moments of rave euphoria.
In a short film produced by Dazed and YouTube Music (watch it above), the artist explains why those spaces are so inspiring to her. “That rush you feel when you’re in club spaces,” explains the Dazed 100er, “or when you go and see a band, is almost religious, slightly frantic: that’s my sound reference. The speakers come on, and the sound almost hits you.”
In celebration of her place on the Dazed 100, Andersen has chosen her top tracks that will transport you straight to the dance, and bring you into the ecstatic state of mind that only exists in the rave, before bringing you back down to earth. The playlist is available exclusively on YouTube Music – the new music streaming app from YouTube.
The nearly two-hour journey includes electronic classics such as Aphex Twin’s “Ageispolis”, but also hints at Andersen’s far-reaching influences. Tapping into a euphoria felt away from the dancefloor are songs like Sade’s “Love is Stronger than Pride”, reminiscent of the love and unity of a choir of club-goers singing together in the early hours of the morning. Like her artwork, Andersen’s extensive playlist has the power to transport us powerfully to different eras and memories.
Download the YouTube Music app here, and listen to the playlist here.
Director: Buster Grey-Jung
DOP: Joseph Guy
Sound Recordist: Morgan Williams
Groomer: Natalie Shafii
Editor: Somayeh Jafari
Interview: Emily Dinsdale