Date Collected: 04/27/2026

Context:

My roommate and friend of three years has been involved in the rave scene for about 5 years now. More specifically, he helps out one of the largest hard techno organizations in the country. He occasionally DJs, mixes, and knows a lot of people in the scene. The organization he works for and the scene he is involved in are more underground; they throw warehouse raves around the Los Angeles area. He was showing me his collection of items he’s gotten from raves and festivals, and these unique cards really stuck out to me.

Text:

My friend was telling me about the deep culture and really interesting community of LA’s hard techno scene. The organization he works with, 6 AM, recently started giving out custom Pokémon-style playing cards at shows. They don’t have any official name yet, but my friend calls them rave cards.

The cards are unique to each event; new ones are made for each night they have shows. Most cards feature a performer, headliner, or crew member specifically from the show you attended. They also feature brief descriptions such as “type: human” or “age: unknown” to build lore about the performers. The special attacks listed are either inside jokes, the DJ’s popular songs, or just funny facts about the character. They range in rarity, with headliners and special guests being rarer and more desirable. Those rare cards are typically printed with foil or holographic coloring to make them stand out visually from the rest. Performers returning to perform at a 6 AM event receive multiple evolutions on their cards. So my friend has some performers with multiple evolutions. You can see that the yNOTI cards are a first and second evolution. There are also other cards, like quest cards and curse cards. For example pictured above, one card jokingly curses ravers for an ever-growing bathroom line that stretches for miles. Another quest card challenges ravers to meet new people and high-five them. My friend says there’s no real benefit or reward to completing the challenges, or to being cursed. It’s just for fun to mix things up.

To get the cards, you need to find “KL,” the organization’s marketing guy, somewhere at random in the crowd. When you find him at a show, ask him for a card, and he’ll fan a deck of cards faces down, and you get to pick one card. The cards are all free, but “he only prints about 50 per event, so you have to find him quick.” He also doesn’t give them out before 2 A.M. because the event hasn’t really started yet, and it would be unfair to give them all away so early. There’s no special quote or saying he says because the sound systems are pretty loud and conversations are hard to hear. “You only get one per show. Once you pull your card for the night, you can’t switch with him or try again that night.”

My friend told me that KL makes the cards himself. He comes up with the designs himself and has a card maker at home; he creates all of them himself. My friend doesn’t think that the idea is completely original. But it might be pretty close to being new or original. KL makes cards for crew members’ birthdays, as well as making enough for the crew. One of our friends who got one made for them didn’t even know about it till they were given out on her birthday. KL pulls the pics from Instagram or online and edits them to fit whatever vibe he is feeling. My friend explained that all the cards are KL’s ideas; he doesn’t really ask the artists or headliners what they want on them. KL definitely takes pride in this and sees it as art. My friend explained that only people who are really into the scene will get cards, because most people don’t know to find KL or that the cards even exist.

My friend has amassed quite a collection; he has about 25 cards, and they only started this new trend last year. People collect these cards and trade them with one another at shows. But again, this is fairly unique to one organization operating mainly in LA. My friend can’t think of any other companies really doing this, definitely not “mainstream” rave companies. We tried finding stuff online about this, but it’s pretty hard to find and also unique to the hard techno scene. Other raves he has been to don’t really have those cards; they have other things.

But he does have a card from another popular DJ, Vendex. That DJ plays in the hard techno scene and is really on top of trends and personal branding. Vendex designed and makes his own Yu-Gi-Oh!- style playing cards, which he personally hands out at events to fans and friends. My friend has one of these, which is one of the coolest stories behind a card he’s got in both of our opinions. He met Vendex outside an event. Vendex was unmasked, and they talked for a while about the genre, scene, and equipment. After, Vendex gave him the card and followed him on IG. My friend has also gotten real Pokémon cards handed to him by other ravers at events. So maybe that friendly community interaction inspired KL to make custom cards.

Analysis:

I got to document a tradition that’s only just beginning to develop, which was really cool to me.

KL rightly sees himself as an artist. He is a true folk artist creating art that is unique to his community. These cards mainly hold value to ravers because they loved that night’s set. But, it could also be because they love the DJ or the card itself. Although he gets paid by the organization, KL doesn’t make any commissions off the cards themselves. They’re for the love of the game and to build lore, community, and excitement. Aside from being an artist, KL is kind of recording the history of his organization. The cards are marked with days, specific performances, inside jokes, and the performers or crew themselves. This memorializes significant events and gives people ways to remember fun events. Also, the only way you could get them is if someone tells you who KL is, you find him, then ask him. Although the cards themselves are physical, the ways you get them and learn about them are not.

These cards are also a fantastic example of bricolage folk art. They recombine elements like Pokémon cards, taking them from a commercial purpose, giving them a memorial and independent meaning. In fact, my friend told me that he’s been given Pokémon cards many times at events long before Pokémon came on the scene. Maybe, that pre-existing folk custom is what incentivized KL to make his cards. Unlike other folk art or collections, these cards create a hierarchy and bestiary of characters, jokes, and people. It shows what’s popular at a certain time, who or what the community values, and what’s worth preserving. As well as categorizing them by type and highlighting what makes each unique. Also, what’s interesting is that the cards are static. You might be pissed you pulled a “low” card or a non-trending artist. But then, 5 months later, that original, pre-fame card is so much more special and valuable once the artist blows up. Similarly, the evolution system rewards and reinforces performers to stay loyal to the company. Of course, the DJs don’t really care much about the cards, but it’s a small thing that does help.

The cards are also anonymous; the backs are unique to each show, but fanned out and in the flashing lights, you can’t possibly tell them apart. The act of choosing one is something like divination. You don’t actually pick the card, with the smoke lingering from the fog machines, neon lights, and dark, heavy atmosphere, you feel like the card has selected you. Especially when you get the one you wanted. I’ve been to shows with my friend, but never picked a card. We typically get there fairly early, around midnight, but even then, the atmosphere feels unreal. It feels magical. The cards only enhance that atmosphere.

Comparing the 6 AM cards to Vendex’s is also interesting. Because 6 AM’s is made by an individual who has minimal connection to the characters he creates and the cards he produces. He doesn’t do it so much for branding, instead its more for the love of the game and to reward people involved in the scene. They’re anonymous and fairly impersonal. The person who draws the card decides the value from context. Vendex’s cards, on the other hand, align more with personal encounters, narratives, and personal branding. He personally creates them and gives them out after meeting people. That’s an important difference from the 6 AM cards. The story of how you met him, the conversation you had, and in my friend’s case, being followed on IG was as important as the card itself.

The cards are difficult to make mainstream. The company branding and personal images aren’t something that a company can easily profit off of selling. KL giving these out for free in a limited number and only to people who showed up somewhat resists the capitalist tendencies to commodify folklore. That is especially important when a lot of the organization’s other marketing strategies (merch, purchasable mixes, and branded collabs) are all monetized. The cards are by the people, for the people.