Why PLUR?
I first began going to Electronic Dance Music (EDM) events/concerts, colloquially known as raves, in 2015. This time period would likely be widely considered the height of EDM’s popularity in the “mainstream” culture.
A significant part of rave culture is PLUR, it’s what’s at the heart of the music and these events. PLUR is an acronym for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect (some older ravers probably are familiar with an extra R, for Responsibility, but this was largely dropped in common usage, not because responsibility became less important, but mostly for simplicity).
When you go to a rave, you instantly experience and almost get overwhelmed by the PLUR culture.
The Philosophy
PLUR started as a genuine countercultural ethos — a reaction against the aggression and exclusivity of mainstream nightlife. It encouraged ravers to treat strangers as family, embrace people of all backgrounds, and create spaces free from judgment. The four values weren’t just abstract: they shaped how people dressed, moved, interacted, and even touched.
The Rituals
The most iconic PLUR expression is the “PLUR handshake”: a slow, deliberate sequence of touching hands together in a peace sign, then a heart, interlocking fingers (unity), and then passing a kandi bracelet (the colorful beaded bracelets ravers wear and trade). Trading kandi is central to the culture; each bracelet carries a memory and a human connection. You’re not supposed to buy kandi. You earn it through genuine encounters.
As with any subculture, its a living experience that expands and changes with the times. Kandi has remained a central part of PLUR, but all manner of PLUR trinkets are exchanged, including “sprouting,” named for the original little green sprout you might find clipped onto your shirt, bag, or hair. These PLUR-tokens are given freely and openly as part of the utopian atmosphere and human connection.
For anyone familiar with the five love languages, you can find each one expressed through PLUR culture: compliments and ”I love yous” are freely spoken all around, along with acts of service giving someone water, lots of hugs as physical touch, the time spent with others is as quality as you can find, and yes, gift giving.
What It Actually Feels Like
A rave with real PLUR culture is a genuinely disarming experience. The energy is communal rather than competitive. Strangers make eye contact and smile without it being threatening or predatory. People check in on each other. If you look lost or overwhelmed, someone often appears to ask if you’re okay. Dancing is expressive and unselfconscious rather than performative.
The music, whether techno, house, trance, or drum and bass, functions almost architecturally, creating a shared emotional space. At its peak, a crowd locked into a set feels less like individuals and more like a single organism breathing together. Time distorts. The outside world falls away.
There’s also a tactile warmth to it. Hugs from strangers feel natural, not weird. The dimness, the bass, and the collective release of inhibition create a kind of temporary intimacy that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.