I Went to a Rave and Saw Humanity’s Worst and Best

A real-life zombie meets a fancy angel. An encounter I won’t soon forget.

Techno Rave by the collective Possession, picture by Mariana Matamoros

6 am on a Saturday.

I am lying on the floor next to my friends, completely exhausted from the night of raving I just went through.

The sun is rising, gently warming us as we are discussing vehemently. Who did the best DJ set tonight? The question leads my friends and me into a passionate, endless debate.

As we are arguing in favor of our favorite artist, someone in the crowd catches my attention.

A man, about forty-years-old.

I have seen him before, and he already did not look quite alright. But in raves, a lot of people do not look quite alright. Whether it is their dilated pupils or dazed look, their strange style or just the way they behave, techno parties are places filled with freaks.

Don’t get me wrong, I like being surrounded by freaks — why would I even go to such parties if I did not?

But for this man, it is different.

Warehouse rave party in Paris, 2017. Picture by Nicolas Bresson.