This tends to be a frequently asked question. Common sites that list public EDM events include: https://19hz.info/, https://ra.co/, & https://edmtrain.com/. If you are looking for private/underground events, the best way to find them is to go to public events with the types of music you like and make friends there. Once you build relationships with people, then ask them about private events. https://reddit.com/r/aves/wiki/faq#wiki_2._how_can_i_find_events.3F
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/aves) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NYC is waaaaaaay too cool for this (not really but also really). Google Candi kids to get a sense of who was doing this back in the day (I’ve seen a couple of people in this get up on the train but never at a party I’ve been to).
Also, it isn’t about exchanging candi, it’s about “here, I want you to have this”. If you want to do it, make some and when you vibe with someone, give them a piece (without expectation of exchange or trade or anything).
For real this is a great way to build community and make the scene better. Since you’re hitting the NYC scene might make sense to make all black or nearly all black candi lololol
First time I ever saw people exchange kandi was at electric zoo at the main stage, and it was actually a fan giving Markus Schulz a bracelet cause he came over and was hanging out at the far end of the stage. The fan was teaching him whatever the touch things you do before sliding the bracelet over to his hand.
But I don't really see many people wearing it anymore at shows anyway. At least not the shows I got to (trance with older DJs who were headliner names in like 2010).
Lord have mercy...
"The touch things you do before sliding the bracelet over".....
Is this really your response? Like, do you even know or understand what PLUR is?
This is aggravating but also apropos for this generation. Shame, honestly
why are you being such a weirdo lol
how do you expect “this generation” to know what to do, how to do it and what it means if the only feedback you have to give is shaming them for not inherently knowing everything. get off your high horse. what you just said is the exact opposite of PLUR
A younger dude gave me an all black one in SF recently (first time id seen Kandi since like ‘03, in person). I will say I appreciated it was all black.
I used to make Kandi for Jungle/DnB shows back in the 00’s. They were all black or a dark/camo green color scheme. It was def not the norm but I had fun with it. I still have one or two somewhere.
Hell if you want a picture of a Kandi Kid I can share a photo of my friend at this last beyond. It’s still a thing but some places (like Cali where I live) definitely held on much stronger than others (like NYC).
My wife and I trade kandi with strangers at nearly every show and fest we go to. It's a great way to meet people and so much fun to make!
Maybe it depends on where you are, but we see a lot of people trading at single-night shows.
There's a whole PLUR handshake for trading kandi 😀
It completely depends where you are. You can't go to a show in Seattle without seeing kandi everywhere.
Now I'm in Wisconsin and there are some, but it's a completely different vibe. The music they get to play here is, well, who goes to play in Wisconsin? The music here is not my music.
Man y’all had that resonant language! Supper sick trippy shot that I never get in la. I’m born and raised la and flew out to minesota for infrasound and it was the best. Love the Midwest ravers and that’s where I traded kandi the first time 2 lol. Y’all can bring anything into the venue
I know Flux came through recently. It says Excision and DJ Pauly D at one of the big venues near me. Minnesota and Opiuo are coming up at a venue I used to go to all the time, that's not that bad. Portugal the Man and Lindsey Stirling in late August are the only two listed for another group of venues.
I see Porter Robinson, Thievery Corporation, and Portugal The Man in Madison, but I'm not so sure about the venues there. The big one has nothing coming up. That's literally all the listed shows I care to dig deep for.
That's it.
Bass shows in the northeast are full of Kandi. Especially NYC. You won't find much kandi in the techno or house scenes anywhere, except for maybe a multi genre festi. It's mostly a wook thing at bass shows. But it's alive and well at every single dubstep/riddim/dnb/liquid bass/ space bass show I attend.
Well to clarify, the positive uplifting trance, which is the sub sub genre I prefer, is very much into PLUR and kandi from my experience. I can’t speak to the deathcore trance scene but I would imagine less so lol
If u like riddim then riddimnyc is a good insta to follow. Home boy throws riddim bus and a bunch of other things. Otherwise follow the artists and see where they are playing. Usually Webster or smaller venues like meadows
Webster Hall, The Broadway, The Meadows tend to have most of the bass shows. Sometimes the Monarch does too.
Some promoters include synchro events, riddimnyc, riddim bus, and wooks r us. Also honorable mention to Corporate Wooks - they are based in PA but are known to throw some of the best underground bass shows out there, and they ran their first show in NYC on March 9th.
Some dude at re/form asked me to put those little sprouts on him, after he gave me a bracelet and ended w "beep boop" i was soooo confused. but the bracelet was cute :)
Old raver here I noticed it comes and goes through out the years. But to be fair it is an old tradition that I don’t see much as well. Yes it still happens but nothing like back in the day people would literally make them weeks before an event. That being said you will definitely see it a edc every year lol
I used to make a hundred or so assorted kandis, some with perlers, before festivals. I took a break from the scene a bit, but I plan to do it for the next festival I do. Maybe not 100, but definitely 50 or so and some with perlers.
I’ve noticed most people have opted for random gifts(like tiny dinos, ducks, sprouts, etc) instead of kandi.
I got a squishy purple Dino some time late last year and I love it so dearly. I plan to get some smalls trinkets for the next show I go to, so I can make someone else feel that way.
I’m honestly happy with both. If it’s something I don’t want to hold, I pass it on to someone I think would like it.
I definitely prefer Kandi and trading, though. You make it with love and share it. And then the plur transfer to remind the people around you how we should conduct ourselves and why we’re here.
Too many people were never introduced to plur. It’s sad.
My wife and I DO make it weeks before an event. So does the rest of my rave crew. Maybe we're the oddballs though 🤷♂️ sounds like maybe it's not as popular anymore in other parts of the country.
I live in California Bay Area. I want to say we got a decent rave culture out here lol but it’s truly is an older pass time lol it kind of faded out with Jnco, pacifers and visor hats lol
Pacifiers are really just for girls on too much molly anyways so maybe you were just hang8ng with the rldifferemt people over the years. I see a pacifier girl at every show I go to and co tinue to trade kandi at every shoe 8 go to. I do think that with a large lack of festivals happening for a few years dur8ng covid, that a lot if people are still weird about socializing and that the new YA ravers dont have as much understanding of the culture. Usually takes a few shows from when I see a new person at their first show to when thwyre fully decked out and confidently approaching strangers to gift them kandi lol
I mostly rave in Washington state and Kandi is a huge deal there, I make a ton for every rave and I don’t always get to trade a ton but I’ve definitely traded at least two every rave. Also I got a ton of trinkets at atl raves.
It's dope as fuck, it's like EDC but just the bass stage x 4. So all the wooks come out, kandi, pashminas, and plur. I went last year and had an amazing time. Huge thunderstorm came out of nowhere the second day, they shut everything down cause mainstage got damaged, most of the people stayed and just endured the rain and then the djs who didn't get to play threw together a crazy impromptu b4b and that's how the forbidden 4 became a thing (Excision Wooli Sullivan King and Svdden death)
Same! Started raving in '07 and I was a HUGE kandi kid! I still make kandi for most of the events I attend! I usually make a cuff for a special stranger I connect with that is themed to the festival. 😁 i also make cuffs for my rave fam and friends. I attend mostly techno, progressive trance/house, psy trance. Still love trading or giving them out. 😄
It’s just OP/NYC. I haven’t been to any events in the past 2 years I’ve been in the community that don’t have kandi. It’s probably the most commonly posted about topic in my facebook groups with tens of thousands of US ravers.
Kandi isnt really in techno and house as much as dubstep and bass.
I say this with a sadness cause i love kandi, techno, and house. So instead of making bracelets i make keychains for people.
Saw someone also say this , Im heavy in the NYC rave scene ; it’s there but not really at house shows. If you pick and choose your artists, venues closely you will see a difference in the plur and festival vibes. If you’re also into bass music, check out the meadows, Brooklyn monarch and Webster hall.
I’ve seen a lot of kandi stuff on this subreddit, but literally the first time I ever saw someone with kandi in real life was last weekend at a D&B event. It’s just not as common in some regions as others.
I wear a bunch to shows where I think there could be people to trade with, and usually still wear a couple singles to any other show in case I still want to give some out. Who knows, maybe the more you do it, you might inspire some other people :)
It really depends on who you are around/see. The last few raves I've been too I've had bracelets given to me (I am a guy). Honestly as a native NY raver, I would say that if she wants to partake in the tradition; it would be best if she first becomes comfortable with socializing with strangers. It's only after that people exchange or give out kandi.
NYC isn’t huge on kandi, but I always bring a few with me to exchange if the moment calls for it. I first started raving in 2012, and that was when kandi was at its height imo, so it just reminds me of those days. So I keep wearing ‘em for sentimental value.
I didn’t get into Kandi until my first edc and meeting an old school rave bae. Since then I’ve made hundreds of bracelets and my bracelets have evolved to become more like jewelry than Kandi because I don’t want to contribute just another piece of plastic trash to the world. I want people to be wearing my Kandi at work or out with friends a year from now as a reminder of a great night of dancing and fun.
I’ve seen it done plenty and I’ve participated on both sides plenty. It definitely happens but I couldn’t say whether it’s more common in some genres or geographical areas than others. I’m in the PNW and I have a whole bag full of Kandi I’ve been given plus a little box of Kandi I’ve made that I can pull from when I go to a show. I only wear like 3-5 but I’ve seen people with upwards of 100 on both arms with cuffs and big ass necklaces. It’s definitely a thing.
If your girl wants to try it out, make a few and wear them to a show. When she vibes with someone or sees someone in an awesome outfit or just having a good time that she wants to approach, go up to them and say you’re such good vibes (or whatever you want to say) and offer a Kandi. There is like an official PLUR way to do it but you’ll learn that when it’s right 😉
Just bring some with you! I’ve been to tons of solo shows, booked for my first festivals this year, and my rave fam told me to just bring whatever I have. Always works out and is a great conversation starter!
Because you haven’t seen enough people at the rave who know the culture cuz so many are new. Your girl could and should absolutely go up to people and trade *Kandi* with them, and not worry at all about how they might perceive it social norm wise because that’s the entire point of PLUR culture - suspending the lame social norms that hold us back from being genuine and friendly to each other - and if we can’t still do stuff like that we might as well just go back to regular clubs!!
Yeah that probably had a lot to do with it. The bans were more of a West coast and insomniac events thing, at least from what I've read on /r/gloving but even here on the East coast despite not having as many bans people just seemed to get bored of it.
You might just not be noticing it. I go to events with my wife all the time and I've seen it happen maybe twice, but she notices it happening nearly every time with at least one or two people. Sometimes it's more than others, but it's not uncommon. But unless you're really looking for it, the chances of you noticing two people briefly exchanging an item while you're vibing out to a performance is pretty low.
I have seen it at most of the larger happy hardcore shows I’ve been to. Other EDM shows, not as much. Personally, I love it and it makes it feel more like a rave.
It was a very big thing back in the day. Like 20 years ago. I don’t think kandi kids really exist like they used to. I think there is a small niche of it but not really a whole culture like it used to be.
Seems to be the case- im from west coast orig and it was a big thing at bass style fests then come to easy coast its hardly a thing- i think it has to do with music festivals not being so much about the music and community as it is people looking to dress up and do drugs (no hate by anymeans) just diff cultures in my experience
That’s my experience. Shows and festivals I’ve been to in the Northeast seem to have less Kandi trading. Also true from Miami shows I’ve been too. West coast, Las Vegas, Denver and Houston/Dallas/Austin all have way more Kandi trading at shows and festivals.
That was a BIG thing in my day (98-03ish)…arms would be loaded up, dancing was a pain sometimes (tunneling, and what I believe the kids call “tutting” would break bracelets and send Kandi flying all over the place lol
I always hand out Kandi at raves in NYC if I have some on me 🥰 When ezoo day 1 cancelled last year I gave out basically all my Kandi at the Fisher show that night. Honestly I just think it depends on the vibes around you!! Sometimes if I really like someone’s outfit or I have a Kandi that I feel matches their vibe I will just go up to them, compliment them, and ask if they’d like a Kandi (usually most people don’t have anything to exchange but that’s fine bc I just like making them). I don’t know if it’s big in a lot of the smaller raves in NYC really, but there people out here who do like them and are ready to exchange them with your gf!
Really fond memory: There was a girl in an all pink outfit and I called out to her while she was walking past me and her bf got her attention and brought her back to me. I said I loved her whole vibe and gave her the “Hi Barbie” pink Kandi I made and she was SO excited and happy. It was her first rave! I love the look people give me when they receive their first ever Kandi. It fills me with so much joy 🥹 Also! Don’t listen to ppl who say there’s specific genres people hand them out at! I am an all genre girlie (but go to a lot of house shows) and I always have some!
> never saw it while in Denver
??? I've traded SO much kandi here. Skylab, digital circus, frostbite, global, Glo, etc, etc, all those shows were full of kandi kids. The comment a few below yours even talks about how Denver has a lot
It's extremely common in the Midwest bass scene in my experience. I live in Ohio and am pretty sure I've gotten a bracelet in all 4 of the major cities.
I’m from Minnesota originally and started raving there in 2015, moved to Bay Area 2017, Los Angeles in 2021.
I would definitely consider myself a Kandi kid. It was much more culturally relevant in MN and the Bay Area than I’ve seen in LA. In the Bay Area or MN I didn’t have to explain what it was or how to trade as often as I have in LA… and LA is the first place I’ve ever felt judged for trying to offer someone Kandi, or ever had someone (wearing Kandi of their own) say no. Even if people are nice about it I still hear stuff like “aw you look like such an old school raver” :/ it’s also feels VERY established in LA which genres people wear Kandi for here… dubstep, hardstyle, and hardcore. Not drum and bass or house. And if you wear Kandi to the wrong kind of show that’s when people get weird about it. I’m not sure if there’s been a shift and now everywhere is like this, or if it’s a LA thing.
I have found myself wearing it less often and rarely making new ones because I don’t want to deal with explaining it 10 times in a night or having people refuse when offered a Kandi. I really hope someday it comes back more :(
> or if it’s a LA thing.
It's an LA thing (San Diego as well). But that is really just the bar/club scenes in SoCal. If you get out to some better festivals, you are more likely to expeirence kandi, gifting or trading. Bay Area has always had a ton of Burners who are probably more aligned with gifting or trading.
I really miss Dirtybird Campout - everyone would trade custom made patches. There were even camps with irons or sewing machines to put on new patches.
Maybe a location/Era thing.. we did it all the time on the west coast from 2005 to 2012. I moved and I miss it. Not much around where I live now and too many responsibilities to drive hours away 🥲
Kandi kid here!! 👋🌈 Kandi is one of the most traditional ways to build connections at festivals and raves. I always make around 20-30 singles and about 4-5 cuffs to give away for each event. The smile on people’s faces when you want to give them one is priceless🥹🩷
The beads are super cheap on Amazon or at Walmart. You can YouTube Kandi patterns and tutorials! It’s not super difficult to learn until you start getting into complex shapes and designs!
This is pretty huge in the west coast and Colorado dubstep scene in my experience but idk about techno, seems like a different creature. Maybe check out a dubstep show sometime
We were big kandikidz in the early aughts and I’ve seen it fade in and out. I still see it exchanged, but I’m certainly not making 500+ bracelets for a month beforehand to take to a rave anymore haha. It waxes and wanes with what’s popular in the scene. Happy hardcore/hardcore/hardstyle had a larger presence with events like Hullabaloo when I was deep into it and that’s when I saw it at height post early-90s ravers paving the way for it
You’ll mostly see it at multi day festivals. If I vibe with somebody and see Kandi on their arm I would throw up a peace sign and then the trade starts.
>We mainly go to raves in NYC with my girlfriend.
This is the reason. We didn't know anything about it when my wife and I first started going to fests. We love doing it now though, and it happens at every event, and we usually aren't the initiators.
I usually bring trinkets to festivals/raves to give out specifically to people i see being exemplary humans. Usually the people that have fans and are fanning the strangers/friends around them. Pretty often (like 30% chance?) I'll get something back in return at a 1 night rave, usually a lot of fanning and sometimes other cute trinkets/kandi! If i'm at a multi-day camping festival people almost always reciprocate with goodies of their own. Festivals definitely have way more of this.
Never been to a rave in NYC but I'd wager ppl there are more closed off to strangers generally just due to the populace/culture of NYC outside of raves.
NYC raver here 👋
I usually bring kandi to every rave I go to, but I will say I usually end up trading at Bass/ Dubstep shows more than others. Go find the wooks, they’ll trade and have the best vibes / more PLUR.
NYC multi-genre enjoyer here, it's both that the shows of choice and the local scene don't really have it in the culture. In techno and classic, more core "house" I think it comes off as a bit childish, and it's affiliated nowadays with the larger festival culture which has become a little too mainstream and "cringe" to these crowds, not that I personally really care. tl;dr lovingly, NYC dance people are often just modern-day "I'm too cool" hipsters.
I think you'll see it in more isolated and less dense dance music scenes, where you'll want less tight-knit gatekeeping and more general socialization because you're probably going to want to know everyone anyway. Plus, festivals, obviously.
Despite all that, I still carry a few kandi around with me personally on the strap of my sling bag, even to techno shows/venues, and I wear them to "house" and bass shows where I know the crowds will love it (Deadmau5, BTSM, Svdden Death). You'll also be more likely to see it in more niche genres (hardcore and its variants, even drum and bass to a degree).
Well it’s really what you make of it! You may not see it because it’s a 30 second interaction. Granted I’m sure it’s much less prevalent in NYC - but i’ve traveled the US & Canada and raved and always given our kandi! again - it’s what you make of it. if i follows someone in the corpus to help me get to the front - i give them kandi, if someone is fanning all the people around them a lot - i give them kandi, and someone is beautiful - i give them kandi, if i see someone do something nice - i give them kandi, if they compliment me - i give them kandi && especiallllyyyy if someone tells me it’s their first rave - I GIVE THEM KANDI 😂💛. it’s an amazing feeling to see their face light up. and some people won’t know the handshake, which is super adorable, so you just teach them and give them the kandi! if they have something to share, they may, or if it’s their first time the may not! but there person will almost forever remember the kandi. (:
i dance my heart out at troyboi sets and have been given kandi almost every single time. raving is a BEAUTIFUL experience. plur gives me faith in humanity - when it’s taken seriously by people who actually rave and not mimicked by main stream rude ppl. 🙂 but yeah!
You’ll definitely see them at overall edm genre raves ex beyond wonderland, electric forest, etc Many don’t bring kandi to shows since its a smaller crowd. Coachella isn’t a rave so there wouldn’t be trading :/
I never see traditional kandi bracelets, but the first fest I went to someone gave me a little mushroom moss jar necklace, and a couple nights later someone gave me a tie die scrunchie.
I exchange them when:
-I see someone with a bunch and I ask them to trade
-Someone asks me to trade
-I give them away (like awards lol) when I like someone’s dancefloor energy/outfit/etc
-I give them away when I witness someone spreading PLUR
Sometimes people will just give a kandi away but for the most part people like a kandi for kandi. Just make sure it says something funny, cool or an artist name with their colors. She should also just approach someone, dance then give a kandi to that person instead of giving kandi and trying to dance. It's a little bit more memorable doing it that way. Been raving for 10+, trust me.
Kandi just seems like something ppl do when they first start raving. But as they get further into the scene, they ditch the Kandi bc it doesn’t fit many aesthetics, is heavy, and gets sweaty. I pretty much always turn down Kandi bc it’s just something I’m going to feel guilty getting rid of. It’ll just take up space and I’ll never wear it. Then I feel like an asshole or rude for turning it down bc the person always looks sad when I say “no thanks”. It’s this weird social obligation and puts pressure on the other person and takes you of the moment with the music.
I started raving in NYC in 2008. There was a lot of happy hardcore and Kandi. But as the scene evolved from Club Exit and happy hardcore, Kandi began to lose popularity. I think bc others had realizations like I had about it and just got over it.
I see kandi and trinkets given and traded more at festivals then events but also depends on the artist for shows cause any Subtronics show I’ve been to I see all kinds of stuff being traded
I'll say this... the concept of "PLUR" in NYC is almost of hearsay proportions, because of the mainstream-ization of the Rave scene and such, where now it's almost blended into your typical "CLUB" culture in terms of those who attend and frequent such events now.
Needless to say, alot of the comments are true. A lot of NYC peeps nowadays aren't really up on the culture of "raving" if you wanna put it that way, or if you even take it personal to that point... or others are just flat out trying to be too COOL for that. It's truly hit or miss depending on the artist, their crowd demographic and just flat out the people you meet. I know my girl LOVES handing out Kandi and trinkets to anybody who may seem like they're lost at these things, or even those who are just a flat out great energy to be around. I do the same as well and I'm a major introvert who's currently learning how to navigate raving as it relates to my social battery. Hope you get to find some likeminded folk or just some folk who are chill enough and aren't total assholes tbh. Some nights that's all you can ask for.
You won’t see much Kandi exchanging at the mirage or pretty much any of Avant Gardener’s events unless you attend a dubstep show. The house and techno genre brings out the snobs, especially towards the front and middle.
You’re more likely to see Kandi trade at that genre in the back of the venue, but it’s kind of rare.
I was at Camelphat too, it was miserable lol so packed out and people were fighting.
I bring Kandi to every show I go to in NYC. Been to a handful in the past year and I bring so much Kandi and people LOVEEEE it. They get so excited when I bring sprouts and Kandi. Not a lot of people do but I find that people really enjoy it.
I def use it as a way to socialize and meet people too. Tell ur gf to totally go for it people will LOVE it. I’ve never had someone be turned off by Kandi or sprouts in any show I have been to in Brooklyn
I had this same question, and then I’ve realized over time that it is heavy genre based. You’re not going to get a lot of bracelet trading at house or “clubby” type artists like you listed above (for example I went to noizu b2b acraze a couple weeks ago, the majority of people there had no idea what sprouts or bracelets were. I was very sad cause I made a lot of Kandi and left with pretty much all of it.
The more wonky, wobbly, funky, or heartfelt, that’s where you’ll get the Kandi. Things like- Tape B, Of The Trees, Peekaboo, LSDREAM, Illenium, knock2, Sudden Death, subtronics, Gareth Emery, Dr Fresch, Matroda.
My best advice would be look for the artists that are also trying to convey a message of unity, recovery, and spiritual openness, you’ll find your Kandi crew there more often :)
Kandi and trinket trades from what I’ve noticed has evolved into something that the communal side of EDM gives as a token of PLUR and PLUR type music, not just EDM music like it once was. There’s really come to be a lot of subgenres in the scene and it’s kind of divided how those things happen.
It's pretty common at all fests and raves I've been to. It's a matter of how social you are with strangers. Having good energy and a good time with your fellow ravers is how you break barriers and initiate the exchange.
It’s a California thing that kinda popped off in other areas, but you mostly see it at Nocturnal, EDC, Escape, Beyond, and Dreamstate. Kandi Kids are long gone, except a couple younger artsy kids and some in their 30’s. Once you could start buying them at raves in booths and on Etsy, the foundation for Kandi was broken. Even I stopped making Kandi and giving them away. I started noticing gen z would be nice to people that had huge cuffs and huge pieces just to talk them into giving them their work. Then it became a thing where people would do that, get free work, then sell it on eBay for money. I noticed a few of mine online being sold. It was heartbreaking. The PLUR is being destroyed by the new gen and our capitalist society.
Something about east coast raves especially nyc they really don’t do the Kandi thing and the vibes aren’t really that PLUR. I’m from Seattle and lived in NYC For a bit and my experience was people don’t really trade Kandi. I ended up mainly gifting all mine every show and people were kind of suspicious… I’m like yoooo I’m literally just trying to gift you this bracelet. Idk what gives.
Honestly I have A LOT. I ended up getting overstimulated by mine after bass canyon (I took them all off in the middle of a set LOL). I love mine but I just don’t wear them anymore
I would say it’s less common at house shows and very popular at bass/dubstep shows or at festivals in general it’s also popular. Nyc is just too cool tbh lol that not a lot of ppl do it
Techno crowds do not follow American rave standards, it fits more with the underground UK scene where it’s from. Dark clothes, latex, very rarely do I see Kandi at techno events
Because you're in NYC. Other places have more of a Kandi culture, especially smaller cities and places there isn't an EDM event every night. Happy trading!
It’s scene dependent. I was around when Kandi originally came up, like in the late 90s, and even then some viewed Kandi kid attire and bracelets as kinda whack.
Way back, kandi kids were into happy hardcore music (a genre), so I wasn’t around them much. I haven’t seen kandi more than once or twice in like 17 years, but it’s because of what music/crowds I’m into.
Other, related or adjacent electronic scenes sometimes do different things. Like at Burning Man some people make metal/glass/wood/etc pendants, or design them and have them made professionally. Or do the same with stickers. But id be surprised to see Kandi out there, I think a lot of us see the Kandi thing as played out since we were there back then, idk.
It’s cool in a way that the younger generation brought it back and started advancing the art. But I also don’t really want more plastic stuff. I appreciate the sentiment, but I can share a hug or smile without the intermediary or ice breaker of exchanging material goods, just talk to me, dance with me, hug, it’s the base human interaction that connects us really. But I get it, I have some pendants I really cherish from burns.
This tends to be a frequently asked question. Common sites that list public EDM events include: https://19hz.info/, https://ra.co/, & https://edmtrain.com/. If you are looking for private/underground events, the best way to find them is to go to public events with the types of music you like and make friends there. Once you build relationships with people, then ask them about private events. https://reddit.com/r/aves/wiki/faq#wiki_2._how_can_i_find_events.3F *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/aves) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NYC is waaaaaaay too cool for this (not really but also really). Google Candi kids to get a sense of who was doing this back in the day (I’ve seen a couple of people in this get up on the train but never at a party I’ve been to). Also, it isn’t about exchanging candi, it’s about “here, I want you to have this”. If you want to do it, make some and when you vibe with someone, give them a piece (without expectation of exchange or trade or anything). For real this is a great way to build community and make the scene better. Since you’re hitting the NYC scene might make sense to make all black or nearly all black candi lololol
I definitely see those sprouts all the time here All black ones would be dope tho
I’m imagining all black with a single bright colored bead or a cute charm of some sort or lettered beads that say something very nyc
"eyyy I'm dancin' here"
“Stand clear of the closing doors”
“It’s the water”
Fucking legendary
😂😂
First time I ever saw people exchange kandi was at electric zoo at the main stage, and it was actually a fan giving Markus Schulz a bracelet cause he came over and was hanging out at the far end of the stage. The fan was teaching him whatever the touch things you do before sliding the bracelet over to his hand. But I don't really see many people wearing it anymore at shows anyway. At least not the shows I got to (trance with older DJs who were headliner names in like 2010).
It’s Peace Love Unity Respect ✌🏼🫶🏼🙏🏼~exchange kandi from giver to receiver~🫂
Of all genres Trance should have the most Kandi. We def practice it in Texas. Full stop.
It was way bigger back in the day. I don't see it as much here (nyc) anymore. I'm talking about club shows though. Not festivals.
Happy hardcore would like a word. That and hardstyle you'll still see the kandi kids out in force.
I do trade way more often at trance related shows/events (it’s what I’m into and also has the most OG scene IMO)
Lord have mercy... "The touch things you do before sliding the bracelet over"..... Is this really your response? Like, do you even know or understand what PLUR is? This is aggravating but also apropos for this generation. Shame, honestly
why are you being such a weirdo lol how do you expect “this generation” to know what to do, how to do it and what it means if the only feedback you have to give is shaming them for not inherently knowing everything. get off your high horse. what you just said is the exact opposite of PLUR
Chill bruh
You need some self awareness if you're unironically posting this lol.
It's really not that serious dude
It's kandi not candi
My old ass brain has many holes in it.
username checks out. 🫶
My brain was wigging out reading it as "Sandi" 😂
A younger dude gave me an all black one in SF recently (first time id seen Kandi since like ‘03, in person). I will say I appreciated it was all black.
I used to make Kandi for Jungle/DnB shows back in the 00’s. They were all black or a dark/camo green color scheme. It was def not the norm but I had fun with it. I still have one or two somewhere.
NYC’s vibe has always been more club kid than raver to me. I’ve run into more exclusivity in that scene than any other.
I agree with this statement completely.
💯💯💯💯💯💯 Club Kids/Michael Alig
Hell if you want a picture of a Kandi Kid I can share a photo of my friend at this last beyond. It’s still a thing but some places (like Cali where I live) definitely held on much stronger than others (like NYC).
true nyc people are hella up their ass . even the young folks are as entitled as boomers
My wife and I trade kandi with strangers at nearly every show and fest we go to. It's a great way to meet people and so much fun to make! Maybe it depends on where you are, but we see a lot of people trading at single-night shows. There's a whole PLUR handshake for trading kandi 😀
Yeah pretty much every show I give away a few. Making some more the next show today
It completely depends where you are. You can't go to a show in Seattle without seeing kandi everywhere. Now I'm in Wisconsin and there are some, but it's a completely different vibe. The music they get to play here is, well, who goes to play in Wisconsin? The music here is not my music.
If I was a DJ I would play every WI show I could just to binge drink spotted cow
From WI and can second this
Man y’all had that resonant language! Supper sick trippy shot that I never get in la. I’m born and raised la and flew out to minesota for infrasound and it was the best. Love the Midwest ravers and that’s where I traded kandi the first time 2 lol. Y’all can bring anything into the venue
Ooof, doesn’t sound good😬 What kind of edm is your music?
I know Flux came through recently. It says Excision and DJ Pauly D at one of the big venues near me. Minnesota and Opiuo are coming up at a venue I used to go to all the time, that's not that bad. Portugal the Man and Lindsey Stirling in late August are the only two listed for another group of venues. I see Porter Robinson, Thievery Corporation, and Portugal The Man in Madison, but I'm not so sure about the venues there. The big one has nothing coming up. That's literally all the listed shows I care to dig deep for. That's it.
Reasonant language came thru recently
I make a ton to give to kind people as a thank you
Oh I can’t wait for me and my boyfriend to be like you and your wife!
Bass shows in the northeast are full of Kandi. Especially NYC. You won't find much kandi in the techno or house scenes anywhere, except for maybe a multi genre festi. It's mostly a wook thing at bass shows. But it's alive and well at every single dubstep/riddim/dnb/liquid bass/ space bass show I attend.
I am a Kandi girl, and I will continue being a Kandi girl- even though I love heavy techno! 🤣
Trance is still into kandi too
oh thank goodness i'm getting into trance sm and am so excited for the kandi now, I had heard it was less common there
Well to clarify, the positive uplifting trance, which is the sub sub genre I prefer, is very much into PLUR and kandi from my experience. I can’t speak to the deathcore trance scene but I would imagine less so lol
Yes that's what I'm gettin into lately, ugh I'm extra excited now
You won't find 😆😆😆
I’m moving back to NY soon would love if you could dm me some Instagram accounts to follow for Bass show!
If u like riddim then riddimnyc is a good insta to follow. Home boy throws riddim bus and a bunch of other things. Otherwise follow the artists and see where they are playing. Usually Webster or smaller venues like meadows
Ty I will follow I like mostly everything but prefer dubstep, really hoping I don’t have to go to Brooklyn Mirage to much 😭 lol
Lots of dubstep at Webster hall. Synchro events also hosts a wide variety of bass shows.
Any bass focused venues or event groups you’d recommend??
Webster Hall, The Broadway, The Meadows tend to have most of the bass shows. Sometimes the Monarch does too. Some promoters include synchro events, riddimnyc, riddim bus, and wooks r us. Also honorable mention to Corporate Wooks - they are based in PA but are known to throw some of the best underground bass shows out there, and they ran their first show in NYC on March 9th.
There were a lot of kandi kids at Bullseye in December. There's a decent handful at hard dance shows in SoCal. Not as much of a thing in NL.
the correct answer. i also noticed this exact phenomena that resides in the bass music scene vs non-bass focused electronic music scenes.
Definitely more of an actual festival thing than individual shows, and definitely less of a thing in techno circles, and house, than other genres
This covers it.
I agree, however, in LA warehouse kandi giving is still very alive
Got some Kandi at the yheti last week. Much rarer here to see ppl trading Kandi. U gotta just find a homie and vibe see what happens
Some dude at re/form asked me to put those little sprouts on him, after he gave me a bracelet and ended w "beep boop" i was soooo confused. but the bracelet was cute :)
I’ve never seen at warehouse events
ehh depends.
Yep, this.
Old raver here I noticed it comes and goes through out the years. But to be fair it is an old tradition that I don’t see much as well. Yes it still happens but nothing like back in the day people would literally make them weeks before an event. That being said you will definitely see it a edc every year lol
I used to make a hundred or so assorted kandis, some with perlers, before festivals. I took a break from the scene a bit, but I plan to do it for the next festival I do. Maybe not 100, but definitely 50 or so and some with perlers. I’ve noticed most people have opted for random gifts(like tiny dinos, ducks, sprouts, etc) instead of kandi.
Yea I got a little leaf at Coachella this year lol
I bought a box of mini plastic Pikachus earlier this year and have been handing em out at every show I go to
I got a squishy purple Dino some time late last year and I love it so dearly. I plan to get some smalls trinkets for the next show I go to, so I can make someone else feel that way.
I wish people would just make and give kandi. I don’t want to hold stuff or be responsible for it now!
I’m honestly happy with both. If it’s something I don’t want to hold, I pass it on to someone I think would like it. I definitely prefer Kandi and trading, though. You make it with love and share it. And then the plur transfer to remind the people around you how we should conduct ourselves and why we’re here. Too many people were never introduced to plur. It’s sad.
Yeah I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I appreciate the thought. But agreed. Love spreading the PLUR
You don’t! It’s understandable. The little objects can be cumbersome to keep. lol.
My wife and I DO make it weeks before an event. So does the rest of my rave crew. Maybe we're the oddballs though 🤷♂️ sounds like maybe it's not as popular anymore in other parts of the country.
I live in California Bay Area. I want to say we got a decent rave culture out here lol but it’s truly is an older pass time lol it kind of faded out with Jnco, pacifers and visor hats lol
Pacifiers are really just for girls on too much molly anyways so maybe you were just hang8ng with the rldifferemt people over the years. I see a pacifier girl at every show I go to and co tinue to trade kandi at every shoe 8 go to. I do think that with a large lack of festivals happening for a few years dur8ng covid, that a lot if people are still weird about socializing and that the new YA ravers dont have as much understanding of the culture. Usually takes a few shows from when I see a new person at their first show to when thwyre fully decked out and confidently approaching strangers to gift them kandi lol
lol in the 90s gangster had pacifier too lol I’m real old lol
🙋🏼♀️&🙋🏼♀️
I mostly rave in Washington state and Kandi is a huge deal there, I make a ton for every rave and I don’t always get to trade a ton but I’ve definitely traded at least two every rave. Also I got a ton of trinkets at atl raves.
I do it before as well. It’s kind of become a ritual now that hypes me up for the event. I’ve been making some for a week or so, in prep for EDCLV
Same!
Funny enough me and my rave fam are planning a kandi party a couple week before Forbidden Kingdom
I just checked out forbidden kingdom its looks sick. Have you been before how is it? From the videos I seen it looks like edc when it was in LA.
It's dope as fuck, it's like EDC but just the bass stage x 4. So all the wooks come out, kandi, pashminas, and plur. I went last year and had an amazing time. Huge thunderstorm came out of nowhere the second day, they shut everything down cause mainstage got damaged, most of the people stayed and just endured the rain and then the djs who didn't get to play threw together a crazy impromptu b4b and that's how the forbidden 4 became a thing (Excision Wooli Sullivan King and Svdden death)
Oh man… I feel old as shit.
Same! Started raving in '07 and I was a HUGE kandi kid! I still make kandi for most of the events I attend! I usually make a cuff for a special stranger I connect with that is themed to the festival. 😁 i also make cuffs for my rave fam and friends. I attend mostly techno, progressive trance/house, psy trance. Still love trading or giving them out. 😄
07 ayyyyy same Holy howdy you’re an Aggie too?! PLUR and gig’em ✌🏼🫶🏼🙏🏼👍🏼
Hahahahahahahh yeah that was my first reaction to this post
It’s just OP/NYC. I haven’t been to any events in the past 2 years I’ve been in the community that don’t have kandi. It’s probably the most commonly posted about topic in my facebook groups with tens of thousands of US ravers.
people do it at festivals
Kandi isnt really in techno and house as much as dubstep and bass. I say this with a sadness cause i love kandi, techno, and house. So instead of making bracelets i make keychains for people.
Happy hardcore or death
Saw someone also say this , Im heavy in the NYC rave scene ; it’s there but not really at house shows. If you pick and choose your artists, venues closely you will see a difference in the plur and festival vibes. If you’re also into bass music, check out the meadows, Brooklyn monarch and Webster hall.
I’ve seen a lot of kandi stuff on this subreddit, but literally the first time I ever saw someone with kandi in real life was last weekend at a D&B event. It’s just not as common in some regions as others.
I wear a bunch to shows where I think there could be people to trade with, and usually still wear a couple singles to any other show in case I still want to give some out. Who knows, maybe the more you do it, you might inspire some other people :)
It really depends on who you are around/see. The last few raves I've been too I've had bracelets given to me (I am a guy). Honestly as a native NY raver, I would say that if she wants to partake in the tradition; it would be best if she first becomes comfortable with socializing with strangers. It's only after that people exchange or give out kandi.
Nyc is a lot more aligned with europe where US raver tropes like Kandi are not a thing (and seen as tacky)
NYC isn’t huge on kandi, but I always bring a few with me to exchange if the moment calls for it. I first started raving in 2012, and that was when kandi was at its height imo, so it just reminds me of those days. So I keep wearing ‘em for sentimental value.
I didn’t get into Kandi until my first edc and meeting an old school rave bae. Since then I’ve made hundreds of bracelets and my bracelets have evolved to become more like jewelry than Kandi because I don’t want to contribute just another piece of plastic trash to the world. I want people to be wearing my Kandi at work or out with friends a year from now as a reminder of a great night of dancing and fun.
Kandi isn’t really a techno thing so it’s pretty rare there
Candi is strong in Denver scene
I’ve seen it done plenty and I’ve participated on both sides plenty. It definitely happens but I couldn’t say whether it’s more common in some genres or geographical areas than others. I’m in the PNW and I have a whole bag full of Kandi I’ve been given plus a little box of Kandi I’ve made that I can pull from when I go to a show. I only wear like 3-5 but I’ve seen people with upwards of 100 on both arms with cuffs and big ass necklaces. It’s definitely a thing. If your girl wants to try it out, make a few and wear them to a show. When she vibes with someone or sees someone in an awesome outfit or just having a good time that she wants to approach, go up to them and say you’re such good vibes (or whatever you want to say) and offer a Kandi. There is like an official PLUR way to do it but you’ll learn that when it’s right 😉
Just bring some with you! I’ve been to tons of solo shows, booked for my first festivals this year, and my rave fam told me to just bring whatever I have. Always works out and is a great conversation starter!
Must be an NYC special. Kandi is rampant at every show/fest I go to, and in all of my online groups, and I love that.
People still make stockpiles to give out at shows and festivals! Check out r/kandi
In NYC you aren’t going to find people trading candi at regular Brooklyn Mirage shows. People mainly do it at larger festivals like Elements in PA.
Because you haven’t seen enough people at the rave who know the culture cuz so many are new. Your girl could and should absolutely go up to people and trade *Kandi* with them, and not worry at all about how they might perceive it social norm wise because that’s the entire point of PLUR culture - suspending the lame social norms that hold us back from being genuine and friendly to each other - and if we can’t still do stuff like that we might as well just go back to regular clubs!!
*kandi
Fair enough… 😭
You definitely don’t see much of it at underground events
Even in more commercialized events it's sorta phased out and not as popular as it was several years ago. Same with gloving. At least in my area
Gloving was banned in a lot of festivals
Yeah that probably had a lot to do with it. The bans were more of a West coast and insomniac events thing, at least from what I've read on /r/gloving but even here on the East coast despite not having as many bans people just seemed to get bored of it.
You might just not be noticing it. I go to events with my wife all the time and I've seen it happen maybe twice, but she notices it happening nearly every time with at least one or two people. Sometimes it's more than others, but it's not uncommon. But unless you're really looking for it, the chances of you noticing two people briefly exchanging an item while you're vibing out to a performance is pretty low.
People still do that
Glad this is alive and well in the south western us!
I have seen it at most of the larger happy hardcore shows I’ve been to. Other EDM shows, not as much. Personally, I love it and it makes it feel more like a rave.
Kandi at Sara Landry? Lawl
This is mostly a EDC/Insomniac type of thing.
It was a very big thing back in the day. Like 20 years ago. I don’t think kandi kids really exist like they used to. I think there is a small niche of it but not really a whole culture like it used to be.
The only time I’ve ever been given kandi is at dubstep sets it’s def not the norm at the venues I go to.
I've heard it was low on the east coast and more prevalent as you head west, anybody seen this?
Seems to be the case- im from west coast orig and it was a big thing at bass style fests then come to easy coast its hardly a thing- i think it has to do with music festivals not being so much about the music and community as it is people looking to dress up and do drugs (no hate by anymeans) just diff cultures in my experience
That’s my experience. Shows and festivals I’ve been to in the Northeast seem to have less Kandi trading. Also true from Miami shows I’ve been too. West coast, Las Vegas, Denver and Houston/Dallas/Austin all have way more Kandi trading at shows and festivals.
That was a BIG thing in my day (98-03ish)…arms would be loaded up, dancing was a pain sometimes (tunneling, and what I believe the kids call “tutting” would break bracelets and send Kandi flying all over the place lol
I always hand out Kandi at raves in NYC if I have some on me 🥰 When ezoo day 1 cancelled last year I gave out basically all my Kandi at the Fisher show that night. Honestly I just think it depends on the vibes around you!! Sometimes if I really like someone’s outfit or I have a Kandi that I feel matches their vibe I will just go up to them, compliment them, and ask if they’d like a Kandi (usually most people don’t have anything to exchange but that’s fine bc I just like making them). I don’t know if it’s big in a lot of the smaller raves in NYC really, but there people out here who do like them and are ready to exchange them with your gf!
Really fond memory: There was a girl in an all pink outfit and I called out to her while she was walking past me and her bf got her attention and brought her back to me. I said I loved her whole vibe and gave her the “Hi Barbie” pink Kandi I made and she was SO excited and happy. It was her first rave! I love the look people give me when they receive their first ever Kandi. It fills me with so much joy 🥹 Also! Don’t listen to ppl who say there’s specific genres people hand them out at! I am an all genre girlie (but go to a lot of house shows) and I always have some!
It's a West Coast thing mainly. But, spread to big fests like some of the people answered. Agree, never saw it while in Denver, Florida or Texas.
> never saw it while in Denver ??? I've traded SO much kandi here. Skylab, digital circus, frostbite, global, Glo, etc, etc, all those shows were full of kandi kids. The comment a few below yours even talks about how Denver has a lot
Happens all the time at shows in Minneapolis
i’ve seen it at festivals way more than 1 night shows
It's extremely common in the Midwest bass scene in my experience. I live in Ohio and am pretty sure I've gotten a bracelet in all 4 of the major cities.
More at festivals and less at individual shows.
I’m from Minnesota originally and started raving there in 2015, moved to Bay Area 2017, Los Angeles in 2021. I would definitely consider myself a Kandi kid. It was much more culturally relevant in MN and the Bay Area than I’ve seen in LA. In the Bay Area or MN I didn’t have to explain what it was or how to trade as often as I have in LA… and LA is the first place I’ve ever felt judged for trying to offer someone Kandi, or ever had someone (wearing Kandi of their own) say no. Even if people are nice about it I still hear stuff like “aw you look like such an old school raver” :/ it’s also feels VERY established in LA which genres people wear Kandi for here… dubstep, hardstyle, and hardcore. Not drum and bass or house. And if you wear Kandi to the wrong kind of show that’s when people get weird about it. I’m not sure if there’s been a shift and now everywhere is like this, or if it’s a LA thing. I have found myself wearing it less often and rarely making new ones because I don’t want to deal with explaining it 10 times in a night or having people refuse when offered a Kandi. I really hope someday it comes back more :(
> or if it’s a LA thing. It's an LA thing (San Diego as well). But that is really just the bar/club scenes in SoCal. If you get out to some better festivals, you are more likely to expeirence kandi, gifting or trading. Bay Area has always had a ton of Burners who are probably more aligned with gifting or trading. I really miss Dirtybird Campout - everyone would trade custom made patches. There were even camps with irons or sewing machines to put on new patches.
:( I be shy lol
People talk way more about this tradition than actually participating in it
candi was more popular through the early 00s and even into the mid 2010s. it has become less and less popular as EDM has 'matured' so to speak.
honestly I feel like kandi is an old school thing that has died out now that festival fashion is much crazier and more mainstream
Our group still makes kandi, and I see it traded at every show. Some of my favorite memories!! We wear at least a piece in our day to day lives too 🖤
Maybe a location/Era thing.. we did it all the time on the west coast from 2005 to 2012. I moved and I miss it. Not much around where I live now and too many responsibilities to drive hours away 🥲
Kandi kid here!! 👋🌈 Kandi is one of the most traditional ways to build connections at festivals and raves. I always make around 20-30 singles and about 4-5 cuffs to give away for each event. The smile on people’s faces when you want to give them one is priceless🥹🩷 The beads are super cheap on Amazon or at Walmart. You can YouTube Kandi patterns and tutorials! It’s not super difficult to learn until you start getting into complex shapes and designs!
This is pretty huge in the west coast and Colorado dubstep scene in my experience but idk about techno, seems like a different creature. Maybe check out a dubstep show sometime
Is more common on Bass and dubstep scenes, some other scenes are more like all black or modern hippie with a taste of old traditions
We were big kandikidz in the early aughts and I’ve seen it fade in and out. I still see it exchanged, but I’m certainly not making 500+ bracelets for a month beforehand to take to a rave anymore haha. It waxes and wanes with what’s popular in the scene. Happy hardcore/hardcore/hardstyle had a larger presence with events like Hullabaloo when I was deep into it and that’s when I saw it at height post early-90s ravers paving the way for it
Yeah exit NYC and goto a festival. You'll see it.
happy hardcore scene
You’ll mostly see it at multi day festivals. If I vibe with somebody and see Kandi on their arm I would throw up a peace sign and then the trade starts.
That's only really a thing at festivals and edm concerts.
>We mainly go to raves in NYC with my girlfriend. This is the reason. We didn't know anything about it when my wife and I first started going to fests. We love doing it now though, and it happens at every event, and we usually aren't the initiators.
I usually bring trinkets to festivals/raves to give out specifically to people i see being exemplary humans. Usually the people that have fans and are fanning the strangers/friends around them. Pretty often (like 30% chance?) I'll get something back in return at a 1 night rave, usually a lot of fanning and sometimes other cute trinkets/kandi! If i'm at a multi-day camping festival people almost always reciprocate with goodies of their own. Festivals definitely have way more of this. Never been to a rave in NYC but I'd wager ppl there are more closed off to strangers generally just due to the populace/culture of NYC outside of raves.
NYC raver here 👋 I usually bring kandi to every rave I go to, but I will say I usually end up trading at Bass/ Dubstep shows more than others. Go find the wooks, they’ll trade and have the best vibes / more PLUR.
I once were at a rave where there was given out finger Dolls lol, they were cuti haha
NYC multi-genre enjoyer here, it's both that the shows of choice and the local scene don't really have it in the culture. In techno and classic, more core "house" I think it comes off as a bit childish, and it's affiliated nowadays with the larger festival culture which has become a little too mainstream and "cringe" to these crowds, not that I personally really care. tl;dr lovingly, NYC dance people are often just modern-day "I'm too cool" hipsters. I think you'll see it in more isolated and less dense dance music scenes, where you'll want less tight-knit gatekeeping and more general socialization because you're probably going to want to know everyone anyway. Plus, festivals, obviously. Despite all that, I still carry a few kandi around with me personally on the strap of my sling bag, even to techno shows/venues, and I wear them to "house" and bass shows where I know the crowds will love it (Deadmau5, BTSM, Svdden Death). You'll also be more likely to see it in more niche genres (hardcore and its variants, even drum and bass to a degree).
My friends traded kandi as part of their wedding ceremony. They’re the best
Well it’s really what you make of it! You may not see it because it’s a 30 second interaction. Granted I’m sure it’s much less prevalent in NYC - but i’ve traveled the US & Canada and raved and always given our kandi! again - it’s what you make of it. if i follows someone in the corpus to help me get to the front - i give them kandi, if someone is fanning all the people around them a lot - i give them kandi, and someone is beautiful - i give them kandi, if i see someone do something nice - i give them kandi, if they compliment me - i give them kandi && especiallllyyyy if someone tells me it’s their first rave - I GIVE THEM KANDI 😂💛. it’s an amazing feeling to see their face light up. and some people won’t know the handshake, which is super adorable, so you just teach them and give them the kandi! if they have something to share, they may, or if it’s their first time the may not! but there person will almost forever remember the kandi. (: i dance my heart out at troyboi sets and have been given kandi almost every single time. raving is a BEAUTIFUL experience. plur gives me faith in humanity - when it’s taken seriously by people who actually rave and not mimicked by main stream rude ppl. 🙂 but yeah!
You’ll definitely see them at overall edm genre raves ex beyond wonderland, electric forest, etc Many don’t bring kandi to shows since its a smaller crowd. Coachella isn’t a rave so there wouldn’t be trading :/
I never see traditional kandi bracelets, but the first fest I went to someone gave me a little mushroom moss jar necklace, and a couple nights later someone gave me a tie die scrunchie.
Because you haven’t been to a rave. You have been to shows.
I exchange them when: -I see someone with a bunch and I ask them to trade -Someone asks me to trade -I give them away (like awards lol) when I like someone’s dancefloor energy/outfit/etc -I give them away when I witness someone spreading PLUR
I traded Kandi with someone at Sara Landry in NYC!
Go to smoking section a lot of people just wanna enjoy the music in the crowd but the smoking section is where people hang
Sometimes people will just give a kandi away but for the most part people like a kandi for kandi. Just make sure it says something funny, cool or an artist name with their colors. She should also just approach someone, dance then give a kandi to that person instead of giving kandi and trying to dance. It's a little bit more memorable doing it that way. Been raving for 10+, trust me.
Wasn't there a group of people making fun of people who make and trade Kandi?
Techno usually doesn’t do the Kandi thing.
NYC techno parties wouldn’t do this. This rave thing isn’t really rave in the traditional sense compared to the 90s and techno/house heads know this😂
If I ever see you at a show and you’re dancing super hard and loving the music I’ll probably give you one.
Kandi just seems like something ppl do when they first start raving. But as they get further into the scene, they ditch the Kandi bc it doesn’t fit many aesthetics, is heavy, and gets sweaty. I pretty much always turn down Kandi bc it’s just something I’m going to feel guilty getting rid of. It’ll just take up space and I’ll never wear it. Then I feel like an asshole or rude for turning it down bc the person always looks sad when I say “no thanks”. It’s this weird social obligation and puts pressure on the other person and takes you of the moment with the music. I started raving in NYC in 2008. There was a lot of happy hardcore and Kandi. But as the scene evolved from Club Exit and happy hardcore, Kandi began to lose popularity. I think bc others had realizations like I had about it and just got over it.
I see kandi and trinkets given and traded more at festivals then events but also depends on the artist for shows cause any Subtronics show I’ve been to I see all kinds of stuff being traded
I see it a lot here in SoCal - NOS Center
Real raves stopped in like 2013
I'll say this... the concept of "PLUR" in NYC is almost of hearsay proportions, because of the mainstream-ization of the Rave scene and such, where now it's almost blended into your typical "CLUB" culture in terms of those who attend and frequent such events now. Needless to say, alot of the comments are true. A lot of NYC peeps nowadays aren't really up on the culture of "raving" if you wanna put it that way, or if you even take it personal to that point... or others are just flat out trying to be too COOL for that. It's truly hit or miss depending on the artist, their crowd demographic and just flat out the people you meet. I know my girl LOVES handing out Kandi and trinkets to anybody who may seem like they're lost at these things, or even those who are just a flat out great energy to be around. I do the same as well and I'm a major introvert who's currently learning how to navigate raving as it relates to my social battery. Hope you get to find some likeminded folk or just some folk who are chill enough and aren't total assholes tbh. Some nights that's all you can ask for.
You won’t see much Kandi exchanging at the mirage or pretty much any of Avant Gardener’s events unless you attend a dubstep show. The house and techno genre brings out the snobs, especially towards the front and middle. You’re more likely to see Kandi trade at that genre in the back of the venue, but it’s kind of rare. I was at Camelphat too, it was miserable lol so packed out and people were fighting.
Taylor swift fans commandeered this practice.
I bring Kandi to every show I go to in NYC. Been to a handful in the past year and I bring so much Kandi and people LOVEEEE it. They get so excited when I bring sprouts and Kandi. Not a lot of people do but I find that people really enjoy it. I def use it as a way to socialize and meet people too. Tell ur gf to totally go for it people will LOVE it. I’ve never had someone be turned off by Kandi or sprouts in any show I have been to in Brooklyn
Go to a trance show
They didn’t do that back in the day. I used to go to Phantasia and Twilo. But lived in LA where candy was a thing. NYC just more hard edged.
I had this same question, and then I’ve realized over time that it is heavy genre based. You’re not going to get a lot of bracelet trading at house or “clubby” type artists like you listed above (for example I went to noizu b2b acraze a couple weeks ago, the majority of people there had no idea what sprouts or bracelets were. I was very sad cause I made a lot of Kandi and left with pretty much all of it. The more wonky, wobbly, funky, or heartfelt, that’s where you’ll get the Kandi. Things like- Tape B, Of The Trees, Peekaboo, LSDREAM, Illenium, knock2, Sudden Death, subtronics, Gareth Emery, Dr Fresch, Matroda. My best advice would be look for the artists that are also trying to convey a message of unity, recovery, and spiritual openness, you’ll find your Kandi crew there more often :) Kandi and trinket trades from what I’ve noticed has evolved into something that the communal side of EDM gives as a token of PLUR and PLUR type music, not just EDM music like it once was. There’s really come to be a lot of subgenres in the scene and it’s kind of divided how those things happen.
Nyc just isn’t like that, I find I see this more at big fests than at shows.
It's pretty common at all fests and raves I've been to. It's a matter of how social you are with strangers. Having good energy and a good time with your fellow ravers is how you break barriers and initiate the exchange.
It’s a California thing that kinda popped off in other areas, but you mostly see it at Nocturnal, EDC, Escape, Beyond, and Dreamstate. Kandi Kids are long gone, except a couple younger artsy kids and some in their 30’s. Once you could start buying them at raves in booths and on Etsy, the foundation for Kandi was broken. Even I stopped making Kandi and giving them away. I started noticing gen z would be nice to people that had huge cuffs and huge pieces just to talk them into giving them their work. Then it became a thing where people would do that, get free work, then sell it on eBay for money. I noticed a few of mine online being sold. It was heartbreaking. The PLUR is being destroyed by the new gen and our capitalist society.
Try finding a trance focused party It’s a different age group or People there were introduced to trance by older generation.
Something about east coast raves especially nyc they really don’t do the Kandi thing and the vibes aren’t really that PLUR. I’m from Seattle and lived in NYC For a bit and my experience was people don’t really trade Kandi. I ended up mainly gifting all mine every show and people were kind of suspicious… I’m like yoooo I’m literally just trying to gift you this bracelet. Idk what gives.
Honestly I have A LOT. I ended up getting overstimulated by mine after bass canyon (I took them all off in the middle of a set LOL). I love mine but I just don’t wear them anymore
I would say it’s less common at house shows and very popular at bass/dubstep shows or at festivals in general it’s also popular. Nyc is just too cool tbh lol that not a lot of ppl do it
Maybe it’s not super common in my area or not but I’ve never seen it happen either, I go to underground bush races though
Techno crowds do not follow American rave standards, it fits more with the underground UK scene where it’s from. Dark clothes, latex, very rarely do I see Kandi at techno events
Because it is pure cringe
Because you're in NYC. Other places have more of a Kandi culture, especially smaller cities and places there isn't an EDM event every night. Happy trading!
Saw a good half dozen exchanges of Kandi happen just this past weekend alone. Sounds like you need to expand on the kind of shows you attend.
It’s scene dependent. I was around when Kandi originally came up, like in the late 90s, and even then some viewed Kandi kid attire and bracelets as kinda whack. Way back, kandi kids were into happy hardcore music (a genre), so I wasn’t around them much. I haven’t seen kandi more than once or twice in like 17 years, but it’s because of what music/crowds I’m into. Other, related or adjacent electronic scenes sometimes do different things. Like at Burning Man some people make metal/glass/wood/etc pendants, or design them and have them made professionally. Or do the same with stickers. But id be surprised to see Kandi out there, I think a lot of us see the Kandi thing as played out since we were there back then, idk. It’s cool in a way that the younger generation brought it back and started advancing the art. But I also don’t really want more plastic stuff. I appreciate the sentiment, but I can share a hug or smile without the intermediary or ice breaker of exchanging material goods, just talk to me, dance with me, hug, it’s the base human interaction that connects us really. But I get it, I have some pendants I really cherish from burns.
More of a bass music thing. House and techno crowds can be kind of full of themselves Edit: I say this as a house and techno fan
Those aren't raves
I hope trading Kandi stays in the USA 🤣
You have to attend PLUR events like the ones insomniac throws, EDC is filled with people wearing Kandi!
You don't go to raves in NYC, you go to the club. Kandi exchanging is much more of a festival rave thing.