Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House

(Paperback, Main)

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This new and updated edition sees Matthew Collin revist many of his interviewees from the original book, with hindsight casting a fresh eye on the heady events of the second summer of love. When Ecstasy was first mixed with house music sometime during the 1980s, the reaction triggered a diverse youth movement. It affected music, fashion, the law, government policy and other areas of public and private life. This work trails the drug from California, through New York and onwards in the history of Ecstasy and the culture and politics that surround it. This fully revised and updated edition includes the account of the Blair administration using an Ecstasy anthem as its musical theme amongst other examples.

Drawing on a wealth of background research and original interviews with key figures on both sides of the law, Altered State re-examines the causes and contexts, ideologies and myths of Ecstasy culture, dramatising its euphoric narrative from peak experience to comedown and aftermath, and shedding new light on the social history of the most spectacular youth movement of the century.

Reviews

At last somebody has written the real history of the last ten years, and written it with such wit, verve, empathy and profound intelligence. I can't recommend this marvellous piece of work enough. * Irvine Welsh *
Altered State is not just timely; it was crying out to be written * Independent *
Altered State remains the definitive story of the last decade's love affair with MDMA and mucking about in fields just off the M25 * Q *
[A] full-blooded, abrasive exploration of the rise and fall of the ecstasy scene. -- Julian Fleming * Sunday Business Post *
[E]ssential reading -- Rupert Howe * Q *
The first book to forensically document the acid house explosion... It's written with the authority of the first-hander, but what makes the book so compelling is his political perspective. -- Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton [DJ History] * Mixmag *

Author Bio

Matthew Collin is the author of the critically acclaimed books This is Serbia Calling, and The Time of the Rebels. He has worked for the BBC from Georgia and has written for a wide range of newspapers and magazines. He now reports for Al Jazeera from Georgia..