Flyer Printing and Techno Music

It is the year 1994 and Tampere, the third largest city in Finland, is freezing cold and dark. But, in this unlikely place, hundreds and sometimes thousands of young, energetic people are getting ready for a night of thumping beats and a frenzy of dance, drugs and music.

The promotions: Mindwarp, Color For Nothing, Plast and Home are names that have stayed in the minds and hearts of the early pioneers to this day. The scene is underground, illegal events are the norm and the party goes on until the authorities find out, then it spreads out, diffuses and grows again. The early 1990's Tampere techno and rave scene was indeed an exiting place to be and grow up.

People travelled from afar, crammed into a bus they don't know where was headeding. Anticipation, mixed with nervousness from the unknown, makes for a great recipe.

It is Elliot Ness who has taken over the scene and brought rave to Tampere. For the next years, known as the golden years of Tampere, 1996-1999, international top names all make their way to this freezing country in one of Europe's little mentioned countries. The show Planet of Love brings names as Jaydee, Choci, Kevin Saunderson and many others to town. The price is 60 Euro's and over 2000 people buy a ticket.

While the rest of the world is listening to Bon Jovi and Metallica, others discover the cassette tapes of The Prodigy, Laurent Garnier and Underworld and feel like something is definitely changing about the way we think and feel music. Teenagers and adults rush to join the dance and get on the train before it leaves.

Over the years the scene grows bigger. Up to four events each week were held as party goers tells their friends about their weekend adventures. Some are tempted by the sneaking around and the diverse legality of the scene. Of course there are those for who the illegal substances which could be found are the main reason they are there, and for many those two are inseparable and part of the same thing.

Incredibly for a relatively small city, the underground scene thrived despite having the entire police force against looking to shut them down. Even more so, because this is a time before the internet was widely available for everybody and way before internet speeds where at any level high enough to use for more than simple information seeking. No web 2.0, no Facebook or MySpace to tell your friends about new happenings in town. Basically the success of Tampere Rave comes down to word of mouth and a very successful flyer campaign.

The University Of Tampere has, as part of graduate study, collected more than 1500 flyer's promoting rave parties from that golden era. All very creative and artful. The flyers were instrumental in getting the word out in high schools and dorms, the main recruiting ground for the scene.

You could argue and probably be correct, that without access to flyer printing, the Tampere rave sensation would never have taken off in the manner or to the extent it did. Clearly demonstrating the importance of flyer's for the "Techno" music scene.