Trancers Guide To The Galaxy 2014

30 In-Scene Psytrance Country Profiles

History, Activists, Parties, Contacts An annual project by

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WELCOME – EXPLORE THE PSYTRANCE GALAXY welcome to the new edition of our annual Psytrance travel TRANCERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY which aims to improve understanding and communication between the local Psytrance communities on our planet and to make the world a better place.

However everyone and anybody seems to be connected these days through social media, we think, that the worldwide Trance community requires a central place for global trance information.

This is why, on the one hand, the 2014 edition of the Trancers Guide makes massive use of the social web's advantages, specifically expanding the possibilities in the new permanent online section www.mushroom-magazine.com where you have access to many more country reports.

Of course, our new print edition saw some necessary editing. Unfortunately we can not cover all the countries submitted online. But the online TRANCERS GUIDE has numerous countries and also lots of valuable links for anything worthwhile knowing. This is how the 2014 edition of the Trancers Guide makes use of the social web's advantages.

Any country report is online instantly and can be shared with your friends! We invite you to create your own country report. It’s an easy job. Just answer some questions at www.mushroom-magazine.com/editcountry. The online version can be accessed either through mushroom-magazine.com or trancersguide.com.

The word which most of the reports carried is CHANGE. A clear sign that trance on this globe is very much alive, kicking and progressing. Change is life, and life is change, and Trance is part of this life, yours and ours. Innumerable souls on this planet are moving to its beats, creating and partaking in its culture. In this sense, we thank anyone who contributed to this print edition, and also everyone who shared his Trance universe at our online Galaxy.

Best regards, Mat and the mushroom team.

More country profiles you find online at: WWW.MUSHROOM-MAGAZINE.COM WWW.TRANCERSGUIDE.COM

CONTENTS hh Australia DJ Kamos

... 4

hh Italy Marco Novelli

... 39

hh Austria ... 6 Tom Rom & Funny Astronaut

hh Ireland Jon Subsaharan

... 40

hh Belgium Katarína Bartovicová, Joske Vranken

... 10

hh Israel Yonathan

... 41

hh Brasil Marina Tavares

... 11

hh Netherland Back to Mars

... 42

hh Cambodia, Malaysia & Singapore DJ Boom Shankar

... 12

hh Transcend

... 43

hh New Zealand Maia

... 44

hh Croatia Rio & Zeko

... 13

hh Portugal Artur Soares da Silva

... 46

hh Denmark Dj Joel

... 14

hh France Florence Croizat

... 16

hh Finland Inkeri Tähti

... 18

hh North-Germany Chaotix

... 20

hh South Germany Boom Shankar

... 24

hh Wonderland

... 26

hh New Haling Festival

... 28

hh Greece Mike Akida

... 30

hh Seili Mountain Gathering ... 31

hh Boom Festival

.. 48

hh Serbia Zenitgalaxy

... 50

hh Spain DJ Boom Shankar

... 52

hh South Africa Andre Muller

... 54

hh Switzerland ...56 Superkarlo, Corinne, Dr. Magnus Dj Sebastian Kos hh Sweden ...58 Pétur Azgeir hh Thailand DJ Boom Shankar

... 59

hh Hungary Gerely Borbely

... 34

hh Turkey ...60 Ozzycetin

hh O.Z.O.R.A. Festival

... 36

hh U.K. ...61 Rena (Psibindi)

hh India Penelope Mohini

... 38

hh U.S.A. ...62 Kyle Fractaltribe

CREW hh Publishing Company FORMAT Promotion GmbH Holstenstraße 103 22767 Hamburg Germany fon: +49 40 398417-0 fax: +49 40 398417-50 info@trancersguide.com www.trancersguide.com hh Publisher Matthias van den Nieuwendijk (V.i.S.d.P.)

hh Editorial Team Uw Scholz, Roberdo Raval, Matthias van den Nieuwendijk hh Layout Mat Mushroom, Olli Hume-Cook hh Cover Artwork Android Jones, remixed by Mat hh Adverts +49 40 398417-0 hh Distribution mushroom, Psyshop, Area Agents...

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AUSTRALIA – Experience the beautiful psychedelic culture Psytrance culture is still strong in Australia, but the recent years have seen the scene’s taste diversify a lot more. Along with the strong psy, progressive and downbeat/ambient scene, there are also many exciting techno, minimal, dubstep, experimental, house, breaks, glitch hop and IDM artists, meaning the parties always have a great variety of tunes to please anyone’s tastes.

Pic: Rainbow Serpent 2013 Jonathan Carmichael, flickr.com/photos/72249211@N00/

Psytrance culture is still strong in Australia, but the recent years have seen the scene’s taste diversify a lot more. Along with the strong psy, progressive and downbeat/ambient scene, there are also many exciting techno, minimal, dubstep, experimental, house, breaks, glitch hop and IDM artists, meaning the parties always have a great variety of tunes to please anyone’s tastes. Australia’s bush doof scene doesn’t attract your regular bachelor and spinster crew. Bush doofers dance in the dirt and slap the air with laughter and groans that are guttural and freesounding. These individuals have escaped

WEBSITES hh australiens.net hh maitreyafestival.com hh losttheplotfestival.com hh strawberry-fields.com.au/ strawberry/ hh tribeadelic.com hh oztrance.net hh royaldoof.com hh earthcore.com.au/intro.html hh earthfrequency.com.au hh harmonizefestival.com hh dragondreaming.net hh re-gen.org.au hh psyfari.com hh fractangular.com.au

the picket fences and computer screens… at least for the weekend. There’s a tinge of tribal protest in their dress – scruffy dreadlocks and free-flowing music. And of course, some might be under the influence of psychedelic drugs. Strong ones. In Australia, the trend has gained popular and mainstream notoriety in the last two decades with the advent of youth-focused festivals. Walk onto a certain Victorian proprietor’s land towards the end of January, and you won’t spot cattle grazing behind rusting fences. Instead, you’ll see a half-built pirate ship, rainbowcoloured tents and festival-goers dressed up as mermaids and fairies. There’ll might also be nymphs running around.

In NSW, there are festivals such as psytrance extravaganza New Psycle, Earth Frequency and Regrowth Festival; in the ACT, Dragon Dreaming makes an annual appearance outside of Canberra; in central Australia, Wide Open Space brings bush doof grandeur to Alice Springs, with an opening ceremony involving electronica, indigenous performances and a heavy metal stage. These festivals attract people searching for something new — they combine the light and art shows festival-goers are used to with the most cutting edge DJ sets complete with 3D speakers and kinetic technology. They also keep a focus on the indigenous cultures of Australia and psychedelic expression.

hh subsonicmusic.com.au Doofs often rely on word of mouth and so4

cial networking to get invitations out, and reviews and photographs of them rarely appear on major websites. Instead, a mixture of veteran and amateur journalists and photographers document the events through their own blogs and websites. There’s an intimate feeling of community and safety, especially at these smaller events, which sets them apart from mainstream music festivals such as Soundwave or Big Day Out.

LABELS hh Zenon, Weapon Records; Digital Psionics; Illuminati Records; Open Records; Up Records; Secret Psyde Records; Adapted Records; Peyotii Recordings; Universal Dance Records; Airglow Records; Sundance Records; 3rd Eye productions;

PARTIES/FESTIVALS hh Rainbow Serpent; Akasha Festival; Strawberry Fields; Earth Freq; Maitreya Festival; Tribeadelic Ravelation; Dragon Dreaming; New Psycle; Spring Equinox; Indigo Evolution; Subsonic

Text: DJ Kamos Dj_Kamos@hotmail.com facebook.com/alex. kamosbrine

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AUSTRIA – High quality parties, good producers & a healthy scene The Psytrance scene in Austria is one of the biggest in Europe compared to the size of the country.

Its history started before the mid 1990s. Trancers went to events like Garden Eden and Shambala and around the turn of the millennium to Kobersdorf mill and the castle of Landsee. The legendary Sonnenklang festival with around 10 dance floors and up to 8,000 visitors became the highlight of the scene between 2003 and 2007.

Austria's biggest international yearly open air events today are Spirit Base Festival at the border of Austria and Hungary and the F.L.O.W Festival in July – lasting both 4 days. The “Children of the Future” festival of old-trancer DJ Goandi in September marks the end of every outdoor season. During wintertime there is Paradise Winter Festival with its outstanding deco concepts, the Paradise Summer Fes-

SHOPS hh Aurin Fairy Shop 1070 Wien Kirchengasse 25 www.aurinshop.at fairy fashion & more hh Blumen per Lumen 1070 Wien Zieglergasse 88-90 www.blumenperlumen.at Growshop hh Puff and Stuff 5020 Salzburg Müllner Hauptstr. 12 www.puffandstuff.at Head, Grow hh Schall & Rauch im Zentrum 4020 Linz, Bethlehemstr.9 www.schall-rauch.at Head, Grow, Shisha

WEBSITES hh paradise-festival.at hh spirit-base.at hh flow-festival.at hh togethertrance.com hh soundlabpirates.com/ hh aurinshop.at hh cosmic.ag hh otherland.at hh twenty4seven.cc hh weg-erbauer.com 6

tival will not take place in 2014. The beginning of the outdoor season every year is the traditional 1st May free party in Vienna of DJ Kajola and zero gravity – here you meet all fraggles of eastern Austria yearning for the summer that starts this day. The scene in Austria in the last years has been growing and growing – this is the result of high quality parties, good producers and very healthy local scenes. Many local producers like Materia, Aioaska, Mayaxperienca, Ianuaria and Malice in Wonderland had a big international impact and travel around the globe from festival to festival.

Not to forget the Austrian based Record Label 24/7 Records that is leading in its musical genre. The centres of the scene in Austria are Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Upper Austria and Graz. Vienna gathers the most important party tribes and locations. The well-established Cosmic – space disco takes place on a monthly basis in some of the best club-venues of the city.

The Soundlab Pirates tribe launched a successful party series but also Echosphere and Synthesia represent regular psychedelic/progressive events in Vienna.

Lucid Dreams gather the experimental and Dark Psy crowds. The Together Trance Project stands for Fullon and DJ Alezzaro's Progressive Selection for more proggy sounds. Weberknecht organises parties also during the week. If you like spiritually ritualised parties try the Avaloka parties of Manuel and DJ Gobayashi. The central Psy shop is the Aurinshop or Spaceland in Vienna for flyers, info and getting in touch with the Psy crowds. Also Salzburg has a very lively scene with a lot of different events like the famous Otherland parties, in Tyrol Psybox makes a party nearly every weekend and has grown to one of the most successful Psytrance events in Austria. In Upper Austria the biggest events are Mondton, Progressive Selection and Klangbewusstsein, in Lower Austria the

Pic: weg-erbauer.com

Tripudium and Böllerbauer and in Styria the Trikaya and Together Trance, and not to forget the Aum tribe of Vorarlberg.

Famous Austrian Psytrancers are VJ El Geko (Psynema), the Phoenix Fire Dancers, Andi Astronaut, VJ Sikanda, the Extradimensional Space Agency, the makers of the Goa Book - Tom Rom and Pascal Querner, and many others.

Text: Tom Rom (Journalist and psyronmental activist) & The Funny Astronaut facebook.com/tomrom24

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Belgium – Though distinctive all of the genres are represented here The Belgian Psytrance scene varies a bit from most of the scenes in other countries in the world. All of the genres are represented here, however, progressive to a smaller extent. The two leading genres in Belgium are old school/new school melodic Goa (mid 90´s style) and Fullon, both gathering up to 1.000 visitors during their events. If combined together, they can easily attract over 1.000 visitors.

The popularity of Darkpsy/Forest has an increasing tendency, but the events are more underground and having between 100-300 visitors. Both nitzhonot and suomi also have small parties once in a while.

Festivals are very rare because of the high amount of houses scattered through the countryside.The main parties/festivals organizers who regularly organise parties mostly focus on their own style.

Dacru parties are mostly full-on, occassionally presenting old school too, and they belong among the most successful events with 800 to 1,500 visitors.

Their traditional festival is organized in Ardennes once a year.

Fractal Gate is a collaboration of more organisers – Suntrip, Trance Dimensions and Full On Prod – and without doubt their parties can be called legendary on the Belgian scene. The parties always have 2 dancefloors, 800 to 1.300 visitors, delivering and linking together the best of old school Goatrance and melodic Fullon.

WEBSITES hh facebook.com/Suntriprecords hh dacru.be hh facebook.com/fractalgate hh facebook.com/B2Bproductionsonline hh facebook.com/LostTheoryFestivalCroatia hh losttheoryfestival.com/ hh facebook.com/ groups/126969847519 hh facebook.com/GreenTree.

Records hh facebook.com/SitaRecords

DJS hh Electric Lord, Anoebis, Phasid, Yani, Norion, Nemesis & Oonah, Ishtar, Agneton, Dark Euforia, D-THER, Leech, Foose, Inada, Ain Soph, Ferratek.

PRODUCERS hh Digicult, Ephedrix, Bitkit, Agneton, Lani , Antares, Ephedra, Others.

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Pic: Shoot your Shot, facebook.com/pages/Shoot-Your-Shot-photography/117499898335482

Back 2 Basics (B2B) has been organising Fullon parties for wider public for over a decade. Since 2007 B2B has been also hosting its own stage at the famous Belgian Tomorrowland festival..

Lost Theory parties are Forest/Darkpsy with occassional old school, mostly with 400 to 800 visitors. The crew also organizes the biggest Belgian festival Lost Theory, but due to weather and legal conditions happening outside the country, in sunny Croatia. In 2013 the festival had over 5.000 visitors and an outstanding line-up with big names such as Hallucinogen or Laughing Buddha.

Other organizers include Old is Gold & Dance for Life for pure old and new school Goatrance parties for 200 to 800 people, GreenTree with their Fullon and Psytrance parties for +- 500 people and Tribes Gathering which organizes all kinds of bigger events.

Also From here to Eternity & Tibidibidi are organisers doing smaller parties regularely with mixed Psytrance styles in special & cosy locations.

Smaller event with a nice atmosphere, accessible for free for everyone, regularly happening in the city of Antwerp, which combines psybient sounds with a picknick culture is Elektrik Picknick.

As for the labels, the two leading ones and internationally recognized are Suntrip Records and Dacru Records. For Suntrip 2014 is a special year, as it exists a decade. Within that period, it became the leading world's melodic Goatrance label. The 2014 releases

include albums of Filteria, Shakta, Goasia & Ra. Dacru Records belongs among the world's leading Fullon labels, cooperating with artists such as Talamasca, Electric Universe and U-Recken.

Other internationally known labels which should not be missed include Green Tree Records (previously known as Ganja Tree Records) which is smaller label focusing on creative Psytrance and unique downtempo/chillout and Sita Records which was founded back in 2009 and brings blasting Nitzhogoa & Nitzhonot.

Also Lost Theory Records, releasing Forest Trance, has already a good reputation. Other labels releasing cds include Goa Madness Records, Goalogique Records, Cronomi Records & Megdroom Records.

One of the 2014 most important launches include Thomas Moon, a solo project of a former guitar player/producer of Lani. His new sound remains to be influenced by psychedelic experiences, but has a smoother tempo, resulting in a highly atmosperic music.

Text: Katarína Bartovicová, Joske Vranken facebook.com/katarina.bartovicova facebook.com/joskevranken facebook.com/pages/Anoebis/202926626775 Joske aka Dj Anoebis is manager at Suntrip Rec.

BRAZIL – The hottest Psytrance scene If you are looking for stunning places, beautiful people and hot weather, you will love Brazil! On the last NYE happened the biggest festival here in Brazil and one of the world's most important, Universo Paralello Festival.

The organizer is Juarez Petrillo, one of the DJs that brought Psytrance parties to Brazil. The main floor is dedicated to this genre, with the best artists inside and outside the country. Universo Paralello was my best festival!

I saw a lot of Psytrance projects that I was looking for a while. The place is one amazing beach at Ilha de Pratigi, Bahia The weather is so hot, something around 40° degrees, so don’t forget to drink a lot of water! The festival only happens twice a year. On the next NYE Juarez probably will make his other festival, 303 art Festival, at Caraíva, Bahia. Another three festivals will happen in the next time. Terra em Transe, at Praia dos Garcez, Bahia. Jacunda, at Amazon, the jungle of Brazil. ReveillOz, at São Paulo; which belongs to Dêfo Estilo Espiral.

In February is Carnival time with some good options of festivals. The best-known is Soulvision Festival, at Altinópolis, SP. I went there for the last three years. There are some new options for this holiday; one of them is Zuvuya Festival, at Goiás, from Cymatic Lab. In the next year will happen Solaris Festival, at São Paulo; that belongs to Pedro Vidigal, from Infinity Music.

We have festivals every month where you can find a lot of Psytrance but also Goa Trance, and all styles. In March happens Shivaneris Easter Festival; at São Paulo. The festival started last year, but is growing a lot. In April happens Festival Mundo de Oz, one of the best festivals in SP! The organizer is Dêfo Estilo Espiral. The location is one beautiful waterfall! You will find a heavy music style, like Dark and Forest.

In June starts the winter and the festivals don’t stop. In July I will go to Festival Alternativo do Kranti, at Chapada dos Veadeiros, GO. Goiás has the best festivals in Brazil and this one is very traditional! The organizer is one of the first people to work on Psytrance parties in Brazil.

The first Psytrance DJs were Swarup, Ekanta, Rica Amaral, and DJ Feio. They also made the first Psytrance parties. They are the best Psytrance DJs next to Burn in Noise, Zumbi, Altruism, DJ Pedrão, DJ Pin, Mental Broadcast, Rosa Ventura, Alexandre Zaghini, DJ Edu, Diksha, Patchbay. There is also a new generation of Psytrance DJs, to name some: Earthspace, Shekinah, Twelve Sessions. All these projects are always playing at the best festivals around the world. The most important labels are

pic: Murilo Ganesh, facebook.com/muriloganeshfotografo

Vagalume Records and Mosaico Records.

In August we have Respect Festival, at SP. The organizers are Rosa Ventura, Alexandre Zaghini and DJ Edu. September is the beginning of spring, the perfect weather! Minas Gerais doesn’t have beaches, only beautiful waterfalls and one of the best festivals of the country, Samsara, at Uberlândia. In the same month happens Earthdance São Paulo! In November happens Shiva Trance Festival; made by some of the organizers from Shivaneris Easter Festival.

Text: Marina Tavares Colaboratter of Psicodelia, the biggest website about Electronic Music in Brazil, and worldwide websites. Writer of the label On Music. marina5686@yahoo.com.br

ARTIST hh Burn in Noise, DJ Pin

LABELS hh Vagalume Rec, Mosaico Rec

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh Universo Paralello Festival

WEBSITES hh Psicodelia, Soulvision Festival, Festival Mundo de Oz

FUN STUFF hh Don’t forget to taste Catuaba, one sweet drink that you will find only here... people say it`s aphrodisiac...

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CAMBODIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE Hidden gems in the region giving you the chance of experiencing a more authentic vibe

Pic: Boom Shankar

Cambodia Cambodia had some parties already as well, the biggest one being Totally Resurrected Festival which took place for the second time last year near Ko Kong (close to the Thai border) but is unlikely to happen again. Still Sihanoukville has seen smaller parties for 12 years. I hope that Cambodia and Burma too will attract some people willing to organize events as both countries have everything a perfect Psytrance party needs! In addition the Meta House in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Phen throws smaller events from time to time (funnily supported by the German Goethe Institute!) and Anjuna Villa in Siem Reap is the perfect place for smaller parties and for hooking up with your fellow Psytrance mates too.

Malaysia Being a country of cultural diversity and with a huge Chinese, Muslim and Christian community, the country is very open minded when it comes to travellers from abroad. The Psytrance scene is rather small but fully dedicated in the cause of promoting this alternative culture. The season of 12

2014 featured the second edition of a 3 day festival near Kuala Lumpur, organized

by Epic Tribe from Kuala Lumpur. Belantara Festival was a beautiful family style party in the middle of the jungle but still easily accessible from Kuala Lumpur. It featured the creme de la creme of Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai Djs, and the usual suspects from Europe, who hibernate in Asia, were the cherry on the cake giving the festival a truly international vibe but with a full underground and uncommercial approach. Belantara will take place again in 2015, probably end of January.

Singapore Being a tiny and very conservative business oriented country, Singapore might not become the next Mecca for Freaks, but wherever there is restrictions there are usually some guys pushing hard for acceptance of alternative cultures. This means there are still occasional parties which are fully psychedelic in nature, but due to law limitations don’t last so long.

The Djs and artists you usually come across when partying out are Radzy from Epic

Tribe who also represent BMSS Records in the region plus By the Rain, a stunning Chill Out producer who rocks big time as well with his Psychedelic output. In addition, Thesuperglo, Meyo or Oddicon are probably the most well known Djs. In Singapore, Om Project is a very active promoter and Purple Hexagon Records is involved in many events as well. Nstomp, Ayi, Modicum, Psy Yang and Psychonerd are probably the most known Djs. The laws regarding drug use are very strict!

Malaysia and Singapore both still have the death sentence for drug trafficking. Cambodia on the other hand has a very relaxed policy especially regarding weed. Though there has been some pressure of western countries you can easily find what you are looking for and normally nobody cares what you inhale or consume. Mushroom shakes are widely available too, as are all other substances.

Text: DJ Boom Shankar BMSS Records / Transition / SUN Festival soundcloud.com/ boomshankar-bmssrecords

CROATIA – Psytrance is still kind of an underground movement Growing psychedelic scene. Here nature wins. Psytrance in Croatia is still somewhat of an underground movement. Croatia is a small country situated on the eastern shores of the Adriatic sea, with pristine nature landscapes and beautiful seashores. Our economy is not on par with the beauty of our nature, so we can say there is no large profit in the organisation of Psytrance festivals.

The scene is relatively small, if we compare it with other, larger countries.

The scene is being led by enthusiasts from Osijek, Zagreb, Rijeka and Pula.

Somewhere in the middle of the nineties new djs appeared on the scene (Marino, Ganesh,Val Vashar, Kobayagi, Bifel, Nesho), bearing gifts in form of psy sounds. Some of the major productions of that time were Mokk, Shuma, Vox and Parrket. Several years later, new names appeared and the developing scene, namely Plasma Corp, Psilocybian, Hotep, Deimos, Koorie, Neonsky, Riodario and others. The first Psytrance festival was Media Mediterranea which was held at sites around the city of Pula (Barbariga, Marlera, Levan Island) whose driving force and main organiser was Dj Marino, the revered founder of the Psytrance scene in these regions.

Later came festivals as Future Nature (also in Pula), Free Spirit (the island of Cres), Underwater Overground (Šibenik, Hvar, Pula – RIP brother Sheky), Life Celebration (Pula), Lost Theory (Deringaj), Modem (Primišlje), as well as some smaller festivals in Osijek, Knin, Rijeka (Mune), between those named before.

The organisers of the oldest ongoing

Pic: Kris Deplaedt • allnighters.net

Pic: Kris Deplaedt • allnighters.net

festival in Croatia, Future Nature, decided to take a break this year, and the other major 3 festivals are held one after the other in the following order: Life Celebration festival, from 10. to 14. July (with Cosmosis, Quantica, Zyce, Aes Dana, Journey, Sonic Wave Control, Vertex, etc.)… it takes about 200km and 1 & half day to the start of Modem festival, starting 15. and finishing 21. July (with EVP, Reality Grid, Tron, Grouch, Malice In Wonderland, etc.), and about 100km and 1 day till the start of Lost Theory festival, which lasts from 22. to 28. July (with Koxbox, Rastaliens, Laughing Buddha, Hux Flux, Ajja, Braincell, Earthling, etc.).

When we’re talking about Croatia’s club scene in the last 20 years, we can say party events are fairly regular. We must acknowledge Rijeka’s young and growing Psytrance scene, as in the last couple of years we’ve seen a rise in Psytrance Dj’s and events.

Text: Rio & Zeko (Riodario,N.S.,LCF,..) soundcloud.com/riodario

WEBSITES hh facebook.com/Mrunpage hh myspace.com/plasmacorp hh trancepleme.com hh ministarstvo-psihodelije.com hh pistolerobreaks.org hh zvuk-prirode.hr hh lifecelebrationfestival.com hh future-nature.info hh modemfestival.com hh vashar.com

Pic: Kris Deplaedt • allnighters.net 13

DENMARK – A growing scene in the north The Danish scene has developed a lot the last couple of years. Denmark has always had a big amount of producers and within the last years, the amount of new Trance producers has exploded.

This has also resulted in new labels like MindDesign Records and 432 Records founded by Phaxe, Morten Granau, Vice and Dj Joel are the results of the explosion of the scene. Progressive is the dominating music style, but the last year dark psy and hi-tech has started to move fast, but it is still very underground.

The party scene is huge compared to the size of the country and new organizers pops up on a regular basis. Lately there has been a big change of the crews organizing the events, which has given the scene a needed fresh blow of air. The parties are mainly concentrated around Copenhagen. At Psytrance parties you will find people from all layers of society.

The party scene is not dominated by the typical hippie type, but a mixture of all kinds of people, which makes the scene quite colourful. The type of people at the parties varies a lot depending on which organizer is doing the party. Some parties has dress code restrictions, typically regarding heavy tattoos.

It is a well known fact that some festivals has been “invaded” by large numbers of Danish people, due to the lack of Trance festivals in Denmark because government restrictions and heavy prejudices towards psychedelic music. Especially the “fitness guys” with their big muscles and lightly dressed blondes with silicone breasts standing on the dance floor. Some people dislike this, but some people also see it as a beautiful thing, that our music brings people from different cultures together, which opens up an opportunity to learn from each other. At the end of the day, we are all made of the same flesh and blood and we are all here to dance and have fun, no matter how you look. And this describes the Danish party scene very well.

Text: Dj Joel (Spin Twist Tesseract) booking@irismusic.dk facebook.com/dj.joel.rowdy 14

ARTISTS

DECO & ART

hh Phaxe, Morten Granau, Vice, O.T.B, Flowjob, DJ EMok, DJ Joel

hh Bohemian Groove, Ambient Technology, Trancers Paradise, Twisted Universe

LABELS hh Iboga Records, 432 Records, Dynamite Music, MindDsign Records, Triptonite Records

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh Elements, Area 55, Playground, Psy Olympics, Tuben, Crunch

MORE PARTY INFO hh Preferred music style in Denmark: Progressive hh Parties are starting and closing when? 23:00 - 06:00

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FRANCE – the public accepts Psytrance culture and lets it grow Unleash into the magical dance of FRANCE musical note and flow into the groove of EVOLUTION...

Up for a change ? France is bowling and it is time that we realize we can be the change we want to see in this world. This country is going through a real awakening whether it is in event organization, artistically or politically.

At least one party if not more is being held every week in a natural and/or an unusual location, bars are being besieged creating a real « Before » culture. There have been parties organized by Gaia Concept, on Sunday, driving more than a thousand people. There are new festivals being created.

Unfortunately, this year, will be Hadra’s last festival in the beautiful mountains of Lans En Vercors. There has been a feminine touch blowing over the movement. More women organizing parties, artists name figuring often on the line up, being lives or DJ’s. Social causes are being defended and money collected to help out different humanitarian organisations. Artistically, some old comers are making a true come back, creating new labels, production studios and organizing parties.

The «new school» with its new and fabulous energy is creating a new mainstream, sharing and respecting the old ideologies.

Parties have been coordinated between the old and new school and had extremely strong and positive results. Boundaries outside the movement are being broken and the public is accepting the Psytrance culture and making space for it to grow. Mixture of genders at parties is often heard. Electro, progressive, house, dark Psytrance are often played in the same night. People from the «Free» movement are joining in. The population is getting tired of politics that cannot hold up to promises and on the contrary let the extreme right take advantage of the situation. The politics have tried to go against the entertainment workers and bring out a new regime for this particular statue, trying to make the hard situation of working in the entertainment field even harder. Anyway, a solution to the large economic hole has been taken into consideration. Instead of finding new solutions, outside their boundaries and usual thoughts and patterns. In periods of crisis, there is an openness for a new vision offering changes and ideologies by the masses. This is also the time when the best artists are being discovered and a real 16

Hadra Festival - pic: Bobby C. Alkabes, www.bobbyalkabes.com/

creative movement can emerge. There are rumours that this is on the way. The worldwide manifestation for the legalisation of marijuana has had some extremely positive feedback in France. This could be a pacifist solution to France’s economic burden and gang fighting.

It is up to each one of us to take the responsibility to realize we are part of a whole and that we all need each other to make the switch as comfortable as possible.

That everyone's ideas, opinion and thoughts have to be listened to. This is no time for ego, competition or domination, there is no better or worst, we are all in it together. They are just differences but those differences are actually advantages. They are what make us human. Ideas can come from the music, the legalization of marijuana, from the autosufficient villages… All ideas are good.

We are artists of our destiny, of our life and to a greater degree of our community and civilization. It is up to us to decide how we want to design it and what legacy we want to give to the new generation and to the children. Our world is a beautiful place and we do need to take care of it.

Text: Florence Croizat (Limpts) French Editor for the Psytraveller Magazine Mushroom Magazine French area Agent

ARTISTS hh Talamasca, Hiligh Tribe, Total Eclipse, Hyperfrequencies, Klement, Absolum, The Antidote, Tikal, Aes Dana, Atyss

LABELS: hh Electrik Dream Music Label, Ultimae records, Mandala records, Bus Records, Hadra records

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh The most important party organizer is Gaia Concept. It has been throwing parties for more than twenty years. However, Gaia Concept do not have a festival and Hadra festival still remains the number one festival in France. Due to political change, this year will be there last one, so not miss out.

DECO & ART hh Artistes Associés, Organik Garden, Artistes Associés, Les Lucioles, Art Manif, Cosmo Vision

WEBSITES hh Forum Trance Goa hh France Psytraveller Magazine hh Trance Project France

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FINLAND – Magical forest parties in the nightless summer nights Finland has been known for crazy forest parties and crazy indigenous psychedelic music, and the scene in the country has extended roots in the old-times Goa culture. However, and especially in the music, the European currents have reached the shores of Finland as well, and alongside the traditional psychedelic punks Texas Faggott, Squarefeet, Freakdance Records, Antiscarp Records and others there have come out numerous artists with a straight out Psytrance production.

The ones to watch out for, among others, are Evocatone, Vertical, Rye Smugglers, Nebula Meltdown, Kirna, Cosmic Delusion and Soladria, and some of them you can also catch frequently playing abroad.

Deejays are also active and performing in Finland as well as abroad. Those you should definitely go to listen are Tim Duster, Yonagual, Miazu&Polly, Dogora and Terva for example. The Finnish party culture is very active in other fields too. The decoration collective Flowers of Life has already established themselves at international festivals and the newcomer DekoTukos are following with their amazing innovations.

Many performance groups have also come up recently, among them Luovius and Mood for Hoop.

Finnish Psy people also travel a lot – you will meet them in most of the European festivals and you can’t really miss a Finn in Chapora in Goa as Finnish people escape the freezing northern winter to warmer latitudes like India. Finland still has a small scene, but a dedicated one. However, many people are interested in the scene and the music and the parties gather a lot of audiences these days. Last summer we saw the biggest dance floor ever when 10.000 people stomped in a park in middle of Helsinki to the tunes of Tristan and RajaRam in a party produced by Thirteen Production.

The parties are many and especially in the summertime you can find a party almost every weekend in most big cities, such as Helsinki and Tampere. The underground movement is especially strong in the Helsinki area. At underground parties there is also techno, drum and bass, dubsteps and other genres, with Psytrance being the biggest.

The most notorious party organizers at the moment are People of the Butterflies, Aura, 7th Heaven Lab and Goa in Helsinki and Futuristics in Tampere, but numerous smaller collectives and groups arrange gatherings in the urban underground venues as well as in the forests.

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Pic: Photographer unfortunately unknown

Though a small country by population, we still have 3 different festivals during the short summer. Kosmos Festival took place this year for the first time in early June and will continue next year with their three stages and healing area. Lawatanssit in the end of June will feature Psy line up and many old school names from Finland and abroad.

Metsäfestival will take place in July with a massive international line up.

All in all, Finland has become one of the Psytrance destinations in the world. But be warned, this applies only in summer – Finnish winter is also freezing the party scene, but not completely, as you can find cozy cottage parties every now and then

around the Finnish country side in the winter too, along with numerous club events in city environments.

WEBSITES WEBSITES:

hh kosmosfestival.fi hh www.kosmosfestival.fi hh lawatanssit.com hh www.lawatanssit.com hh metsafestival.fi hh www.metsafestival.fi

Text: Inkeri Tähti facebook.com/johannainkeri johannainkeri@gmail.com

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NORTH GERMANY – Rebirth, Commercialisation, Fragmentation

Just back from the Psy Experience with a tan, after last year's deluge it was Caribbean and really nice. Equally good news from the Hai in den Mai by the Waldfrieden team which once a small summer startup has grown to a proper festival. Respect.

There is not much news this year really, rather it seems to be a year of rebirths as the remake of the Vuuv and the new New Healing festivals show (both with new management). We hope for success. Also good that the Freqs of Nature festival has re-established itself and now ranks among the most beautiful events of the summer.

The experienced Goa fraggle can count on the tried and tested, for example the Antaris celebrating proudly its 20th anniversary this year. We will help partying, you can be sure about that. The longest-serving party which has retained its spirit and where the freaks of the first hour are dancing. Unabated popularity is enjoyed by festivals as Waldfrieden, Psycrowdelica or the W.W.T. events (Psy Circus, Indian Spirit) too. Not to forget festivals which apart form many other musical styles keep the Goa flag up. On top, of course, the Fusion always proofing to be the lucky pull, from the ticket raffle alone or the Bachblueten festival and the Zurück zu den Wurzeln festival deep in the heart of Berlin. Let's stay in Berlin because in the cold season we also want to get bass-ed.

Besides heaps of commercial piss-take Goas featuring expensive entry and tacky lineup there are interesting locations as well as 20

the well-known KitKat Club, the M-Bia, the Malzfabrik or the M.I.K.Z, where you can enjoy great parties again and again. The yearly highlight on Psylvester, the Odyssee, probably THE new year party in Germany one really should visit.

In good old Hamburg apart form the Juice Club, still run by OV Silence, the Catonium commends itself as as permanent location.

Good organiser teams are e.g. the Elbelfen and the Psy Spirits Team: the Spirit of Moksha was grand. Of course, I cannot mention all well-known and good people here, the list would be endless, sorry. The same 'not much of news' applies to the north German hinterland: at Lueneburg, Frank with his Holographic Universe parties still does well and the Garage is still under construction after danger of collapse. Kiel remains firmly in hand of Johan and Baum.

At Luebeck Traumwelten are called for and at Bremen Leon swings the ceptre with his Hundertmorgenwald. Also, the Ding Kollektiv makes itself heard. Too bad that many Goa organisers would rather go commercial than mind spirit and good lineup. The continual fragmentation of the scene really makes me sad. In the old days, everyone danced to good

Psychedelic Circus 2014 – pic: Akisutra Projekt

Behind the first impression of nothing new in the north you become aware of beautiful events, a 20th anniversary and unabated popularity, but also fragmentation

WEBSITES hh mushroom-magazine.com hh goabase.net hh psyshop.com hh antaris-project.de hh vuuvfestival.de hh wald-frieden.de hh psytraveller.net hh chaishop.com hh interzone-pa.com hh wald-frieden.de

Text: Chaotix facebook.com/marc.chaotix

hh antaris-projekt.de

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VUUV FESTIVAL – Rebirth of a legend VuuV is back! After a well-deserved creative break, Germany’s oldest Psytrance festival celebrates its glorious rebirth, featuring all we love and more: an amazing opening to cheer the cream of the international Psytrance scene, lit up by the legendary VuuV laser-show, a state-ofthe-art soundsystem to blow you to bliss, the world’s most exciting artists of light, fire and music doing their magic – and of course YOU there on the dance floor to celebrate with us!

Combining fresh ideas and beloved traditions, they will elevate the VuuV to yet another quality level. With their new decoration concept for the festival site, the days will be just as magical as the nights – so better expect to walk around four nights and days with a big grin on your face and a sparkle in your eyes. We can’t wait!

LET’S VUUV TOGETHER. vuuvfestival.de facebook.com/vuuvfestival.de facebook.com/ events/729268270418406 Pic: Heribert Seeger, Licht & Schatten

SHOPS NORTH GERMANY

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hh Handelsturm Thai-/ Chillkissen & more Fashion, Eso Living www.handelsturm.de

hh Bong Bong 22525 Hamburg Kieler Str. 563c 040-67381508 Head, Glasbläserei

hh Der Acker Growshop 12277 Berlin Großbeerenstr. 171 www.der-acker.de Head & Grow

hh Om Shankari 22765 Hamburg Hahnenkamp 12 040-3903847 Fash, Head, Jewel

hh Scorpio Headshop 41061 Mönchengladbach Bismarckstraße 19 02161 / 2940420 Head, Piercing www.scorpio-shop.de

hh Absinth Depot Berlin 10178 Berlin Weinmeisterstraße 4 030-2816789 Absinth

hh Udopea Headshop 20357 Hmburg Schanzenstr.95 www.udopea-hamburg.de Grow, Smart, Head, Herbs

hh The Headshop 40213 Düsseldorf Burgplatz 2-3 01211-8549003 Headshop, Schmuck

hh Kaya Growshop 10437 Berlin Schliemannstr. 22 +49 (0) 30 4478677 Grow, Head

hh Günstiger Headshop 31135 Hildesheim Roonstr. 1 www.smoketown.de Head

hh THC Headshop 01099 Dresden Alaunstr. 43 www.thc-mfg.de

hh EasyGoing 35745 Herborn Westerwaldstraße 4 www.headshop-easygoing.de

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SOUTH GERMANY – a blossoming scene targeting global sound It all started back in the mid-90s: Influenced by the first full moon gatherings in Switzerland, promoters such as Legende or Druidenzirkel started the Goatrance movement in the South. DJs like Cosmix or Matthias were among the first ones who gained international reputation, uniting Trancers throughout the region. Munich became an international centre of the movement in the mid-90s when Natraj Temple, South Germany’s first Psytrance club, opened.

Pic: Boom Shankar

This was the place where SchmoX family was founded, still one of the biggest promoters and deco teams in the South. Around Stuttgart, the Goa Noah open airs used to be the biggest back in the days, as well as the Gathering of the Tribes in Frankfurt. Also there were countless underground events in the Black Forest, in caves or on the hills of the Allgäu, around the lake of Constance (Bodensee) or in old castles around Heidelberg. Nowadays, the scene is blossoming

WEBSITES hh sangomarecords.com hh schmox-family.de hh villanachttanz.de hh gotec-club.de hh facebook.com/AliceImWummerland hh facebook.com/sangomarecords hh facebook.com/kannibalenmassaker 24

with dozens of parties every weekend, from Psytrance to Progressive to Dark and Forest, sometimes easy to find, sometimes more hidden as fully underground. The hotspots are Heidelberg and Mannheim, the Bodensee region with Constance or Ravensburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Freiburg, Munich in Bavaria and Frankfurt or Darmstadt in Hessia. Promoterwise, SchmoX Family, I.B.W., Weltenbummler, Freshbeatz and Alice D in Munich and Bavaria, Jesus Raves and Harlequins in the Heidelberg area and BMSS throughout Baden Wuerttemberg and the whole region or, if you head further North, Marburg Virus or Bohemica in Hessia, are the ones throwing the most known events in the South. The Kannibalen Massaker is one of the best known festivals in Bavaria, which used to combine Trance with World and Alternative music, but nowadays consists of two festivals: the Kannibalen Massaker and the World Music Festival. In addition, the Psychedelic Happiness Festival in Bavaria is worth mentioning as the organizers party for

a cause: usually all income is donated to social projects, showing that Psytrance is more than just a hedonistic lifestyle. Alice in Wummerland in Mannheim is becoming one of the biggest parties throughout the year with more than 2000 people attending each edition. This party series takes place twice a year in the MS Connexion and has hosted all big and small artists you can imagine, guaranteeing the perfect reflection of all our scenes trends. Speaking of clubs or regular venues, the Villa Nachttanz in Heidelberg or the Gotec in Karlsruhe are locations worth checking out! Label-wise, BMSS Records and Sangoma Records are on the forefront of releasing music from a wide spectrum of psychedelic sub-genres, achieving a deep impact on the global sound. Regarding producers, Datacult, Android Spirit, Ioshua, Atma, Sequoya, Frechbax, Zeamon, Ri-Moticon or Sonic Tickle are well known, but there is no South-German Sound yet such as e.g. Hamburg with its offbeat sound. There is a big Psytrance output via DJs such as Daksinamurti, Boom Shankar,

Alexsoph, Sgary, Saltaux, Padawan, Takttrauma or Tamasukra and Marco Scherer, Fohat, Psypha, Flo Phone, Cosmix, Okin Shah or Anam Fio are well known for their Progressive sound. There is also a big Dark community clustered around Munich with Joshi or Mutaro. On the other hand, Stargazer, Zeitteiler, Yoachim Augenstern, Minimus and Diadora are well known for their exquisite Chill Out sets. Regarding decorations, Noffi Art, SchmoX, Jamas or Freshbeatz are heavily booked throughout the year and visual artists such as Vjane Juladi or Sumishii Aran are quite active with full 3D-mapping, interactive installations and stunning performances.

The legal situation regarding drugs is still very strict, so make sure you don’t drive under the influence of any substance as controls before and after parties are very common. The police has the right to make sweat tests if they have any doubts you might be sober, so watch out! In clubs, security usually checks for age and for any illegal substances.

In case you haven’t been partying in South Germany - now is the time! The landscapes are astonishing, the climate very warm, the families united and our food (and the beer!) is as well supayummy!

Text: Boom Shankar facebook.com/DjBoomShankarBMSS www.BMSS.eu www.soundcloud.com/ boomshankar-bmssrecords

SHOPS SOUTH GERMANY hh Grow-Bonn 53111 Bonn Franzstraße 37 www.grow-bonn.de Grow hh ProGrow 58455 Witten Cörmannstraße 25 02302/1799995 Urban Gardening hh Near Dark Gmbh 53773 Hennef (Sieg) Bonnerstr. 11a 02242874160 head/grow wholesale www.neardark.de

Pic: Boom Shankar

hh BONG Head- & Growshop 60594 Frankfurt Elisabethenstr. 21 069-624242 Head, Grow, Smart, Shisha www.bong-headshop.de hh Neutral 60311 Frankfurt/Main Fahrgasse 97 069-59609591 Head, Smart, Grow, Shisha www.neutral-ffm.net neutral-ffm@gmx.de hh New Asia Headshop 68159 Mannheim, F1, 10 www.new-asia-headshop.de Head,Shishas,Absinth

hh Planet Blunt 76646 Bruchsal Wilderichstr.13-21 planet-blunt.de Head- & Growshop hh Holzkopf 90403 Nürnberg Albrecht Dürer Str. 35 0911 - 2857000 Spiel, Jonglier, Eso holzkopfnbg@arcor.de Head, Grow hh Grashüpfer 97493 Bergrheinfeld Hauptstr. 69 Textildruck, Head, Grow www.grashuepfer.eu

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WONDERLAND – with freshly detailed infrastructure 21.-24.08.2014 – Waldfrieden, Stemwede-Wehdem – Germany

Wonderland is a well-established name of the European festival summer – however, this year’s program stirs excitement even amongst long-standing fans.

When the Waldfrieden Wonderland lineup was published some months ago, longstanding fans and newbies agreed: This is special – and it’s gonna be huge! Have a peek at the music program yourself…

Apart from a great variety of sound, reaching from deep and driving Psytrance to Progressive in all its shades plus some delicious Techno acts, there is a whole world to explore beyond the dance floor. As the central part of the festival location is owned by the Waldfrieden crew, they have much more possibilities to create a great infrastructure than events that are constructed

26

within a few weeks. For instance, there’s now a beautiful Healing Area at Wonderland which offers yoga, shamanic excursions to inner space, reiki massages, and sweat lodges. Another notable novelty is the hammock Chill Out tent by Eureka where you can experience the laid-back side of Wonderland. The small but very exclusive shopping area in the valley offers a range of organic foods, clothes, jewelry… and even a hairdresser for the most daring party heads! The promoters keep up the good, old ‘fresh fruits for free’ tradition and promised that dressed-up visitors will receive a little

present. Apparently it’s all about the details this year: Surprise performances have been announced just like free hot showers for the festival guests.

Wonderland supports arrival via public transport, the closest train stations are Lemförde and Rahden, each connecting to the main travel routes. From Thursday a free shuttle bus will pick you up and bring you to the festival. Early arrival is definitely worth it as the official warm-up party starts at 6PM! www.wald-frieden.de

27

NEW HEALING FESTIVAL – Authentic Energies 25. - 31.08.2014 – Preddöhl/Prognitz – Germany

The NEW HEALING FESTVIAL offers its visitors a unique mix of topics, ranges of experience and a sound-musical programme way beyond the commercial ambitions of the tran(c)sformationindustry.

It is about vibrations and has been since the beginning of time. The big question is, what has this got to do with us ? What are we and primarily why are we here?

By all means we are here to love us and our potential; to realize our own vibration. Looking through history shows that we are on an explorer's voyage at each given time towards new lands; towards new lifeforms and new experiences. Therein nature supports us with her treasures, her presents but also with permanent impulses.

Occasionally quantum leaps happen only because through considerable and extensive input of courage and willingness to risik as well as: through the application of special methods.

The psychedelic party culture knows of these secrets at least some of the original party pioneers knew about the mystery of Elysium and you still find significant traces of this genuine metaknowledge to the left and right of the since then welltrodden paths of the habitual user.

In the meantime the times have changed dramatically. Everyone faces new challenges which also call for new ideas, methods, ways, but above all: new decisions.

The NEW HEALING FESTVIAL offers its visitors a unique mix of topics, ranges of experience and a sound-musical program28

me way beyond the commercial ambitions of the tran(c)sformation-industry.

A competence team of experienced and motivated light, sound, and love warriors collects many authentic beings and targets specifically those who are carried and and inspired by a clear vision of peaceful and friendly communal together; those activists and enthusiastic ghost souls who know how to set sustainable and valuable

impulses for the general good.

The programme of the NEW HEALING FESTVIAL presents the best, most innovative, most authentic energies; embedded in a modern stone circle-monument of galactic harmony. Become part of this new movement of the Neo New Age and discover your path towards your cosmic home. www.newhealing.de

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GREECE – many new talents and upcoming Djs Since 1991-92, Psytrance parties have always been around, popping out the golden years of 1993 2000. Then the years of glorious Samothraki Dance Festival arrived between 2001 and 2003, when over 30.000 people, from 80+ nationalities gathered on Samothraki island to celebrate the start of the international outdoor festivals' era in Greece and the birth of a festival that left a mark on the global psychedelic community's consciousness, as one of the best events of its kind.

Pic: Labis La, facebook.com/LabisLaPhotographer

In the coming years (2004 - 2012) only few festivals managed to attain international status and establish a name in Greece too.

Surely Butterfly Festival (2005 - 2007) and Aurora Festival (2008 - 2012) were two of them, inviting many artists to each edition and attracting thousands of people. Amorphia came back in 2010 and since then, they blast Greece with monthly events! Presenting classic & headlining artists but also many new talents and upcoming djs. Amorphia was the one team that re-presented the massive decoration concept at parties, inviting Flowers of Life, Vortex, BOTN and others, to create an amazing atmosphere!

Amorphia organize some of the biggest events in Greece at the moment. The newest and most promising Greek Festival is Free Earth Festival, to be presented for the second time from 14–18 August 2014.

The festival is a joint venture of Amorphia 30

& Akida and with the support of many international festivals, crews, labels and agencies. 2014 festivals of Greece are: Earthdrop on July, Free Earth & PLUR & Seil Mountain Gathering – all 3 in August!

The sounds played nowadays in Greek parties are mostly day time psychedelic Trance ("Fullon") & night time psychedelic trance ("Forest"). I don't like categorizing, Trance for me is one and united and different forms are good for different times!

Afternoon Trance ("Progressive") has also a part in the scene, mostly in Thessaloniki parties but recently also in Athens. Some of the most important artists and djs of the Greek Trance scene are (in random order): Doc, Orestis, Archaic, Rideen, Conwerter Zik, Kulu, Dr Sammy, Ordo Ab Chao, Dark elf, Full Face, Hi Profile, Krama, Mindphaser, Teo. The best deco teams of Greece are BOTN based in Thessaloniki and Nikoxil based in Athens.

WEBSITES hh amorphia.gr hh facebook.com/ItThePlace hh cropcircle.gr hh flyingagaric.com hh no-more.gr hh psyshopdruid.blogspot.com hh amorphia.gr hh midiradio.net hh diceradio.gr hh facebook.com/Travellers.

FestivalGuide

Text: akidapromo.net/ facebook.com/mikeakida

SELI MOUNTAIN GATHERING – A new era of festival in Greece 27. – 31.08. – Seli Ski Resort – Greece

1500m height, more than 100 artists in 5 days & 6 nights in the North of Greece, including a massive amount of features & facilities never seen before in the country’s history after Samothraki!

Movement Recordings & Movement Dark Roasted, the main edm labels responsible for the major trance, techno & house events in the North, present SMG, a very unique and non-commercial gathering, meant to be an opportunity to wave good-bye to summer and welcome the coming indoor season with all artists having contributed to the previous one together with new add ons from artists sharing the same ideas trying to raise the scene & provide a never-seen before organization in Greece.

At the foothills of Vermio, you come across Veroia, the capital city of the regional unit of Imathia. It’s about 14mi/24km far from the ski centre.

It’s a place full of historical and archeological sites and with Byzantine churches, looking really impressive.

The National Ski Center of Seli is the second largest in Greece and one of the best-organized. It is situated at the southwest part of Vermio in 1500–1900 m height. Seli is a very cosmopolitan ski center and attracts thousands of visitors from all over Greece. It is 95 km far from Thessaloniki, 24 km from Veria, 20 km from Naoussa and 74 km from Kozani.

Visitors from Athens & Thessaloniki have the chance to come to ‘SMG’ via shuttles departing from Athens & Thessaloniki and returning back at the

end of the event. Minibuses will be also available from the center of Veria city for transporting people to the Seli Mountain Gathering. For visitors from abroad, in collaboration with Filippidis Travel Agency & Ticket4All.gr we have a very special offer. All foreign visitors can contact info@ticket4all. gr via email to book their trips with free ground transportation from SKG Makedonia Airport in Thessaloniki to Seli Mountain Gathering! For visitors arriving by car, local authorities & municipality of Veria will provide road-signs & assistance for easier routes to the mountain!

SMG opens its doors for campers on the 25th, music starts on the 26th, and the official opening is on the 27th, let's you get introduced to the new location. The SMG program which starts on the 27th and runs till the end featuring Chill Out, Ambient & Dub, with Yoga to Prog Trance for noon & Psy/Forest after midnight together with showcases of dance, juggling & more. SMG encourages everyone to come prepared with 'enhanced' costumes - while during the SMG organized catering, café/bar, chaishop/Healing Area are offered 24/7.

A special market/expo road will be featured next to the Main Stage, where all visitors are able to have a taste of talent/skills, art creations &

showcases of local & international artists & designers, from clothing to jewelry, hair styling & make-up art, alternative art forms & healing Yoga/ Reiki! Do not miss the chance to visit the extreme playground area of Seli Mountain Gathering, that gives the chance to all extreme sport lovers to enjoy mountain biking & hiking, paintball, archery, climbing & a variety of special activities!

Hot showers & WC units will be available in all areas of SMG, from camping area & rooms, to bar/catering & market. A huge parking lot will be available also for all visitors arriving with cars. Fully-organized catering, café & bar will be available with all kinds of coffee, snacks, finger-food, grill, traditional flavours as well as exotic cuisine will be provided to all the visitors! For the best possible care & safety of all visitors, crew & artists, in collaboration with Tsiflidis Security, a huge team of security will be ‘online’ 24/7 in ALL areas of SMG as well as the national rescue team & the Red Cross, for a unique experience in Greece! 3733 Special Deco, installations VJ & mapping by: Looney Moon (IT), Delta Process (IT), BOTN Team (GR) selimountaingathering. movement-recordings.net 31

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UNITED KINGDOM

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15: Hai in den Mai Wonderland

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07: Midnight Sun

The Festival Maps list big international festivals which are presented from mushroom magazine and make no claims of being complete.

04: Life Celebration Festival

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13: Blackmoon Festival

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11: Boom Festival

14: Hadra Festival

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ITA

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SWITZ ERLAND

17: Sonica Festival

AUGUST

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JUNE 01 Tree Of Life

11 BOOM Festival

JULY

12 VUUV Festival

18.-25.6. • Izmir, Turkey electreelife.com

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ESTONIA

4.-11.8. • Id.-A-Nova, Portugal boomfestival.org

7.-10.8. • North-East-Germany vuuvfestival.de

02 Freqs Of Nature

3.-8.7. • Niedergörsdorf, DE freqsofnature.de

LATVIA

13 Blackmoon Festival 20.-24.8. • Italy blackmoonfestival.com

03 Spirit Base

LITHUANIA

3.-6.7. • Rajka, Hungary spirit-base.at

S U R

14 Hadra Festival

21.-24.8. • French Alps hadra.net

04 Life Celebration

POL B AND ZEC H UKRAINE 10.-14.7. • Pula, Croatia lifecelebrationfestival.com

ELA

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VUUV Festival New Healing Festival Antaris Project qs Of Nature

15 Wonderland

22.-24.08. • Stemwede, DE wald-frieden.de

05 Antaris Project

11.-14.07. • Stölln, Germany antaris-project.de

16 New Healing Festival

25.-31.8. • Preddöhl, Germany facebook.com/newhealingfestival

06 Ayata Festival 17.-21.7. • Turkey ayatafestival.com

17 Sonica Festival

28.-31.08. • Italy sonica-dance-festival.eu

07 Midnight Sun

16.-22.7. • Vaeroy, Norway midnightsunfestival.net

08: F.L.O.W. Festival

ROM ANIA

OZORA Festival

CROATIA IA SN INA BO D AN EGOV RZ HE

MONTE NE-

27.08. - 31.08. • Greece facebook.com/ selimountaingathering

09 S.U.N. Festival

19 Psy-Fi Festival

10 O.Z.O.R.A. Festival

20 Beat Patrol

22.-27.7. • Hungary sunfestival.info

28.08. - 02.09. • Netherlands psy-fi.nl

29.7.-3.8. • Ozora, Hungary ozorafestival.eu

BULG MACE ARIA DONIA

GREECE

18: Mountain Gathering 01: Tree Of Lfe

30.08. • Austria beatpatrol.at

TUR KEY

HU 10:

SERBIAALBANIA

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17.-20.7. • Wiener Neustadt, AT www.flow-festival.at

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18 Mountain Gathering

08 F.L.O.W.

MOLDO

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SLOV 03: Spirit Base AKIA

06: Ayata Festival

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HUNGARY – change had positive effects on Hungarian scene Although the international breakthrough ties it to the 1999 Solipse, Goatrance was already present in Hungary next to techno, acid and house in ‘93-’94 It was mainly thanks to OLEG (Deepsmile / S.U.N. Festival), LAKI LU (Cinetrip / Skylab), KENGURU and JIRZIJ (Psybaba Records) and their enthusiasm and dedication to the style that the first parties were organized and taken to exceptional places like the Neo-baroque Széchenyi Medicinal Bath, the largest medicinal bath in Europe or the 10,000 capacity Danube Beach dating back to 1938, Budapest’s trendiest disco club or a several hundred year old Buda crypt.

The open-air parties started spreading in the second half of the 90's: from spring to autumn more and more outdoor gatherings took place in the wilderness, in scenic environment, mainly by a lake (Dunavarsány) or on the banks of a river (Halásztelek), to mention just two legendary ones.

And while essentially the biggest artists came to pay their respects at Hungarian Psytrance events, the local scene also bore its own top guns like AURAFOOD, KALUMET, IRGUM BURGUM, TRIPPY HIPPIES, PARA HALU, INSECTOR or CHROMATIC. These are the foundations O.Z.O.R.A. Festival began on, proving to be a landmark in the life of the Hungarian Psytrance scene stepping out into international limelight. One of the unique features of the gathering is given by

WEBSITES hh y-production.org hh facebook.com/pages/PsyBaBaRecords/51669858055 hh facebook.com/Avatar.Events hh goa.hu hh facebook.com/deeprogevents hh facebook.com/FutureTribeBookingAgency hh facebook.com/theproblemchildren hh records.vmind.net hh facebook.com/ groups/114209892085821/ hh facebook.com/pages/V% C3%A9greP%C3%A9nt ek/162173882907 34

the location itself, which is a space that continually, with each new year, keeps evolving, growing with long-lasting structures and installations where today some of the most singular lectures, theatre and circus performances, movement and healing courses are held and the ever-expanding visionary art exhibitions colour the powerful Psytrance/ Fullon sounds.

And though many felt sad when the organizers went their separate ways, the debut of the S.U.N. Festival last year, organized by the team leaving Ozora, made it clear that the change definitely ad a positive effect on the Hungarian scene.

Considering that the two festivals follow each other, and because of the contrast between them - think of the mainly progressive-based line-up and more Oldschool styles of the gathering characteristic of the S.U.N. team - they complement one another.

An addition to the extensive local offer is also the Inner Waves Festival (earlier Inner Sanctum) organized in mid-July, mainly moving along the Dark Forest strand, while its 4.49 strength lies not only in the amazing surroundings but also in the outstanding Hungarian performers.

Naturally, as in many other places around the world before, two years ago Hungary also saw the number of psytravellers and festivalgoers reach a critical mass and the scene, which had been entirely

underground until then, suddenly experienced a stupefied reaction by society and the authorities when faced with such an unknown phenomenon. Luckily however, following the 2012 power-demonstration, the Hungarian police only conducted traffic stops and identification checks last summer — It’s important to note here that Hungary has one of the strictest drug laws in the EU and driving under the influence of alcohol is also handled with zero tolerance by the authorities. Naturally, it’s not just during festival season that you should visit the country since there are several parties in the countryside or Budapest every week with international and local artists organized by the Hungarian veteran and upcoming labels like Y-Production, Psybaba, AvatarEvents, goa.hu, Deeprog, Future Tribe, DaBudapest, Visionar Mind, Rf-crew, Thermal Team, VégrePéntek! or Labirythm. As for the gourmets — we can only say that the famous Budapest ruin pubs have another star next to the much-loved Hungarian pálinka: and it’s the carefully home-brewed craft beers, up to 20 different kinds to choose from in some pubs.

Text: Gerely Borbely facebook.com/olrajtovics

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O.Z.O.R.A. FESTIVAL – A unique festival experience 29.07. – 03.08.2014 – Dádpuszta, Hungary

O.Z.O.R.A. stands for an exciting festival vibe from another dimension – have a look at the lineup, it speaks volumes! However, the festival in Hungary is just as popular for all the entertaining and inspirational stuff going on beyond the dance floor.

O.Z.O.R.A. Festival – Pic: Shahar Ratzenberg, facebook.com/Shaharrzphoto

For instance there is the Chambok House, a place for intellectual and spiritual input.

Daniel Pinchbeck, Graham St. John, Olivier Bernard, Damarhur Tigrilla and Raja Ram have been announced for this year, among many other artists, musicians and activists.

The daily round table talks, which proved to be very popular last year, will continue this summer. Another area is the Dragon Agora, a part of the festival that is spectacular only for its architectural beauty. The wooden Dragon has grown, and it accommodates yet another house: The ARTibarn. The name speaks for itself, as the place will accommodate many workshops like glass-blowing, body-painting, board games, textile, ceramics, and re-art. Speaking of art: The Art Gallery is another essential part of O.Z.O.R.A. The large exhibition area is crowned by the Tower of Visionary Art, a structure that symbolizes the colorfulness of the visual culture of the scene and trans36

forms it into a psychedelic playground experience. Besides many great works from psychedelic and visionary artists the Art Gallery presents live painting, workshops and lectures with Android Jones, Ihti Anderson, Pap Norbert, The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art, Jake Kobrin, Emma Watkinson, Subliqida, Lele Cosmo and Tony Cuboliquido, Biosand and many others. Performance art and acrobatics are represented by more than 100 international circus artists who shall deliver a continuous spectacle. Last but not least O.Z.O.R.A. makes significant progress towards sustainability this year.

More than 400 green outdoor toilets will be built on the festival site, replacing the portable ones used previously - and the transport of them, as they had to be replaced twice a day which resulted in a lot of CO2 pollution. The advantage of these facilities is that they do not need to be

emptied and, based on rough estimates, 80% of the waste can be used to fertilize the fields around the festival later on.

Sounds exciting? Tickets are still available on O.Z.O.R.A.’s beautiful website, as well as via hadra.net and, for UK folks, on accessallareas.org – Arrival via public transport is easy and comfortable, as the crew organized extra coaches for the train from Budapest to Simontornya. It departs from Déli Pályaudvar (Southern Railway Station) and usually stops at Kelenföld Railway Station in Budapest. From Simontornya there are shuttle busses for around 3 Euro. Of course there’s also a shuttle from Budapest airport, a shuttle from Italy and busses going straight to Lost Theory when O.Z.O.R.A. has finished – check it out on the website! www.ozorafestival.eu

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INDIA – Psy Scene on a real smooth high If countries had assigned personalities, then India would suffer from multiple-personality disorder, but not of the negative kind. Rather, the many faces of this country mesmerize the souls that visit.

For the wise traveller, who knows which places to explore and which ones to avoid, a trip to India can be an esoteric experience facilitating mental expansion.

Goa was the drop that started the flood of psychedelic music. The first hippies arrived in the 60’s, bringing with them rock music, and Eight-Finger-Eddie helped light the torch of the hippie parties. The 80’s saw the shift to the electronic genre and with the influence of artists such as Goa Gil, the 90’s witnessed the birth and the rapid spread of Goa Trance. In the 2000’s authorities imposed a ban on outdoor music after 10 p. m. and last year there was another serious crackdown on outdoor parties and bars in Goa. This lead to a rise in the number of silent parties, where the party-goers wear headphones to bypass local laws...when there’s a will, there’s a way.

Although EDM remains the genre that is played and preferred by a majority of the population, there’s been an increase in the number of native Psytrance artists. Spinal Fusion, the head of Profund Records, is one of the top Psytrance Djs. There’s also Karma Konnect, who owns Shivlinks Records. He’s performed at the Full Moon Festival, as well as the Solstice Festival. Abduction Investigator is a project that’s being pushed by two artists, who’re are

ARTISTS hh Psycho baba

LABELS hh Blue Moon Records

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh Beyond Spirit Festival, Shiva Squad Festival, Mountain Madness

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh www.whatsupgoa.com hh www.mypartytravels.com/india/ goa-beach-parties hh www.festivalsherpa.com hh www.bluefrog.co.in hh www.facebook.com/ArudraFestival

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attempting to use psychedelic music to activate chakras and assist inter-dimensional travel.

Then there’s Terra Moto, an internationally renowned producer in darkpsy.

At the moment, the Indian Psy-scene is on a real smooth high. Sphongle’s Simon Posford aka Hallucinogen kicked off Twisted Records India tour early in the year. Agartha Records Label Promo Tour 2014 had Crazy Astronaut doing a five city tour in February.

A slew of festivals just happened; there was the first edition of the Himalayan Music Festival, held near Dharamshala. This was followed by the Cokabana Teknival Festival, held in Kasol, which is known as the Mecca for those who care for pot and tokes. Next came the Kundalini Festival, set in the exotic hills of Manali; if there was one festival you should have attended, then this was the one.

Parvati Peaking, held in the Parvati Valley aka the Amsterdam of India, is considered to be the mother of Psytrance festivals. One thing for sure, one does not go to the Parvati Valley for the natural beauty, if Malana Cream, rings a bell, then you’ll have understood.

This year, the good party folk of Delhi, have put on their Psytrance dancing shoes, since there’s a Psytrance gig every alternative weekend.

Progressive-psy is ruling the roost. Neelix will

be playing at the famous Blue Frog in Delhi and Mumbai. And there’ll be a pre-party at Haus Khaus Village featuring GMS & MAD MAXX. Pebble- The Jungle Lounge in Bangalore, has attracted Raja Ram, Sesto Sento and Avalon, to name a few. Pune has a number of clubs such as One Lounge and, Stone Water Grill which hosts incredible Psy-parties.

To experience the best side of Goa, start booking tickets for October. Visit Hilltop, an open air location which turns into a mini-utopia when the music’s playing. Club Westend is another cannot-miss hangout. Anjuna, is lined with quaint beach shacks that play Psytrance all day, every day. Shacks such as Curly’s, Hippies, Sonix and UV Bar are very popular. Unlike in most parts of India, in Goa shacks, one can pull out one’s joint and smoke. No one will flinch, and if you run out of the ‘smokables’, ask the waiters, they’ll hook you up with your heart’s desires. By December, the party scene is in full bloom, so visit the Sunburn Festival, which celebrates a range of musical genres. If you want to explore the less commercial side of Goa, go to the south side which has sublime beaches such as Palolem..

Text: Penelope Mohini edit by mushroom magazine penelopemohini@gmail.com

ITALY – from a long story, changes over the years From mid 90s Goa Trance music and events have started spreading.

Definitely the most important and the oldest music project is ETNICA and PLEIADIANS both formed by Italian duo Max Lanfranconi and Maurizio Begotti from Milan. They have been spending most of their lives on Ibiza (Spain). They have been producing quality Psytrance for about 20 years and playing on tours at every corner of the world. They are even today considered one of the best live projects in the global scene.

Nowadays the most talented and famous Italian projects are ILAI for full-on psytrance, HYPOGEO for dark-progressive and ELEGY for pure progressive psy style and some others projects. These young artists have beed launched by various crews, that over the years have built up some of the greatest parties.

Today some of the active crews are QUARION TRIBE, NAC, DIFFERENT REALITY, MONKEYSEXPLOSION, BELIEVE, GOA PROJ., FREESPIRIT, EUDAIMONIA, PSYFLY and others.

Regarding music production, some important labels have been born and the best known are NEUROBIOTIC, MAGMA, PIXAN, VELENO, LOONEYMOON, MMH, BLUEHOUR, MENTALDROP and more.

As far as events/festivals are concerned, worth mentioning are BLACKMOON, SONICA, HUMAN EVOLUTION, SUMMER CELEBRATION, GOALAND.

It can be surely stated that the Psytrance scene in Italy is in continued evolution and there are often projects coming in and going out.

Text: Marco Novelli DJ / Producer / Event Organizer jimmy9dj@hotmail.com

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IRELAND – the people tend to gravitate towards deeper styles The Emerald Isle can truly be described as a jewel in the crown of Western Europe. Rolling hills, lush green forests and miles of breath-taking coastline make it an ideal setting for psychedelic shenanigans. Arguably one of the greatest assets in Ireland is its people, who within the realm of Psytrance tend to gravitate towards deeper styles and away from the more obvious, commercial choices.

This manifests with bookings like Fagin’s Reject, Southwild and Giuseppe featuring at any number of the legal and “semi-legal” events organised across the country. 3 am curfews in clubs have driven the scene underground in two distinct ways. Promoters will often host big name internationals in a legally sanctioned club environment but arrange a private after-party for friends (old and new) and family. The preference, however, is to hold mini-festivals and bespoke events in remote countryside locations; this is where the magic of the Irish Psytrance scene can be enjoyed to the fullest.

A good example of this ethos can be found on a visit down south, where EARTHSTAR GATHERINGS not only host regular club nights in Cork city, but also the excellent Dream Gathering festivals which incorporate the scenic nature and free spirit that best encapsulates the Irish scene. Northern Ireland is left to the very capable hands of Lah Narrad and his TONGUE ON THE ROOF crew, who host some of the most laid back, tripped out and enjoyable parties on offer anywhere in the country. With a huge emphasis on quality music and friendly vibes, these are a must for any psychedelic traveller! And a trip to the west of Ireland would not be complete without paying PLANT a visit at one of their truly magical events, such as Psychedelic Samhain or 40

Sundown Gathering.These events, though underground, are completely accessible in very special locations away from prying eyes. Promoters such as NEUTRONYX, PTCONNECTION, and SPUD have all built solid reputations in the capital city, Dublin, where on any given weekend you might enjoy world class events featuring top local and international talents.

Dublin based label SUBSYSTEM RECORDS is a great illustration of an Irish entity that has extended its reach beyond local shores. SUBSYSTEM RECORDS has enjoyed global success with releases from artists such as Gaspard, Kabayun, Illegal Machines and Occular.

Psytrance culture has been firmly established in the Irish music community for well over a decade via household names like LIFE FESTIVAL and TRIPLAG MUSIC. More recently however, we have seen a resurgence of activity though newcomers like MISTIQUE DÉCOR, MAKLANAKA ART and GALACTIC GROOVE RECORDS, all of whom are representing psychedelic media in a world-class fashion. This weaving together of both new and established threads, bundled with an uplift in the Irish economy, cheap European flights, excellent internal transport links, and amazing food (and drinks!) all make Ireland a very exciting place to visit and one that should feature highly on anybody’s list of psychedelic destinations!

WEBSITES hh life-festival.com hh subsystemrecords.com hh earthstargatherings.com hh triplag.com hh Producers: Astara, Bionic, Dogarian, Hanuman, Harmonic Frequency, Jocid, Kriya,Liftshift, ReBoot, Supergroover, Tulpa, Whrikk hh DJ's: Ainur, Anand, Annunaki, Anti Shanti, Backflash, Bart, Darzid, Dogo, EDS, Fatcat DePousse, Fluffy, Gnome, Jiggi, Kalanarmada, LSDave, ManDraQ, McManus, Mart Fader, Nilezz, Oczean, Polo, Polzitiv, Psylatino, Psychonotik, Riches, Saaf, Satyr, Shaggedelic, Shawnodese, Tila, Viris, Wichuri, Z and Zen. hh Labels: Boom Records, Psyde Effect Records, Ozmali Records, Retroshaman Records, Sourcecode Transmissions

Text: Jon Subsaharan soundcloud.com/ subsaharan facebook.com/subsaharan

ISRAEL – State Of Trance For more than a decade Israel has been one of the main destinations for Trance music. All ads in the state for this music started around the mid 90s.

Since then Trance started getting more and more conscious party-goers who wanted to experience the 24 hours of constant rate.

From distributing flyers to directions by phone-voicemails to the Internet age, the scene has undergone a process of development and awareness into the 2000's. Today, the Trance Scene is bigger than ever! From the 24h UnderGround parties of 500-600 people to 3 day Rave with more than 10k in the middle of the desert or up in the green North.

Today, Israel is without a doubt the most spoken target of Trance Music around the world. If it's by the main productions known as "Moksha" (S.U.N Festival), "U.N.I.T.Y Festival", "Groove Attack", "Solaris", "Psilosiva" and by the Underground projects that keep the pure vibes secretly and pure.

On the other side, we have a row of artists that represent the three letters "ISR" on every event around the globe such as: Ace Ventura, Captain Hook, Ritmo, Symbolic,Vibe-Tribe, Freedom Fighters, Bizarre Contact, Perfect Stranger, X-Noize & Major 7, Sesto-Sento, on the biggest labels as well with a huge history behind each and every one of them.

As far as we can go, we GO !

There are 2 main booking agencies as well, "Fm-Booking" & "Sonic Booking", their work has gone way beyond Israel's border.

It's really a FULL HOUSE here :) But as the time's have changed, so have the politics around the parties as well.

The POLICE are against our Freedom to party around Mother Nature's "back yard".

To get a permit for a rave or even a 24h party is almost impossible, the authorities have become really really strict about having Trance parties. And the sad part is it's getting worse from party to party. Ticket prices have risen because of these matters, people are really pissed off but refuse to understand the organisers that are making every effort that can be made. Even the oldest organisers are really struggling to bring us the High Class events we are used

pic: Doof Festival

to. But as far a I can say from "Behind the Scenes", we don't need to be worried… they will NEVER stop :) The Summer has begun, the HEAT is rising and we have lot's of beautiful parties on our way! So if after the European Festival season you feel a need to visit one last location to taste the "Israeli-Core" … we are definitely your next stop!

May we ALL have a wonderful Festival Season & come back home with memories for the years to come!

Show Love, respect the Nature, feel the Vibes & never forget to Smile :)

ARTISTS hhAstrix, Captain Hook, Perfect Stranger, Infected Mushroom, Azax Syndrom, Psysex, Bizarre Contact, Ace Ventura, X-Noize, Astral Projection, Ritmo, Loud, Skazi, Sesto Sento, Lish, Rocky, Hujaboy, Ultravoice, Atomic Pulse, Sub6, Visual Paradox, Yotopia, System Nipel, Mindwave, Yahel, Weekend Heroes, Easy Riders, Yotopia, Aerospace, Oforia, Shulman and many more.

FESTIVALS hh Doof Festival, Satya Festival

WEBSITES hh www.isratrance.com Text: Yonathan

hh www.psytraveller.net/israel 41

NETHERLANDS – Variation is the key In 2014, Psytrance in The Netherlands has been diversifying, with more crews making events in various styles of music. You can now find parties with Progressive Psytrance, Dark Prog, Dark Psy, Forest and even faster styles like Psycore and Hi-Tech. As well, more parties of good quality are happening across the country.

Pic: Yura Moonlights Photography

A new addition to the international Psychedelic circuit is the Psy-Fi Festival taking place in August. With an impressive line up, it promises to include The Netherlands in the agenda of European festival goers. Another festival that is traditional is the Solstice Festival at the Ruigoord in June. Also with an international and local line up, it is one of the highlights of the year.

Amsterdam has yet another classic open air made by Bom Voyage on Kingsday in April (previously Queensday). With foreign and local artists, this party is a unique gathering that is still free for all. The same crew also makes club parties with a varied music program and an eye for detail in visuals and decoration.

Focused in Progressive Psytrance, Samskara organizes monthly events for a faithful following at Club Lite in Amsterdam, either on Sundays or Fridays. More organizations in Amsterdam are Trance Orient Express giving monthly parties at the Ruigoord church, DAF and their famous free outdoor parties, Trancending, Equinox, Namaste, Innervisions and Hightech Pleasures.

Around the country you have The S-Xperience with big events at Vasim in Nijmegen, Pyschedelic.FM in Delft, Global Aura in Eindhoven, 3rd Bit and Progress in Trance in Leewarden, Twisted Extractions at Baroeg in 42

Rotterdam, Grass Events in Breda, Area 52 in Utrecht, Kosmic Fusion and Shut Up & Dance in The Hague, Stichting Vrij Feesten in Hilversum, Psy-Experience and Up Projects in Groningen.

Many people enjoy Progressive and Full On in The Netherlands, but Dark Psy, Forest and Dark Prog are rapidly becoming more popular. Other styles that are gaining attention are Psycore and Hi-Tech, played in the parties made by N2O. All this musical variety is boosting the number of local artists. There are new and known producers: Astara, Bionic, Dogarian, Hanuman, Harmonic Frequency, Jocid, Kriya, Liftshift, Odr, Ozmali, ReBoot, Rev, Supergroover, Tulpa, Whrikk and Zen Mechanics.

And several DJ's: Ainur, Anand, Annunaki, Anti Shanti, Back to Mars, Backflash, Bart, Bluestorm, Darzid, Dogo, Dr. Vinni, EDS, Fatcat DePousse, Fluffy, Fluofreax, Gnome, Gopa, Hikuri, Ions, Jiggi, Kalanarmada, LSDave, ManDraQ, McManus, Mart Fader, Nilezz, Oczean, Paul B, Pim, Polo, Polzitiv, Psy Clone, Psylatino, Psychonotik, Resi, Riches, Rob, Roland, Saaf, Satyr, Shaggedelic, Shawnodese, Tila, Viris, Wichuri, Z and Zen. Parties are often well decorated by deco and visual crews who excel in what they

DRUGS hh THC is allowed in small amounts. Mushrooms are illegal, but truffles are still allowed.

SHOP hh Kokopelli Warmoesstraat 12 1012 JD Amsterdam fon: +31 (0)20 4217000 www.conciousdreams.nl

WEB SHOPS hh www.zamnesia.com hh www.wholecelium hh www.shayanashop.com hh www.azarius.com

do, like A Thousand Errors, Anahata Project, Chi Deco, DAF, Locus Pocus, Nuns with Guns, RandR, Spiral Spectrum and Vaya Con Dia's.

Text: Back to Mars facebook.com/djbacktomars soundcloud.com/backtomars backtomars.net

TRANSCEND – connecting people & art on European dance floors 2013 saw the birth of Transcend Trading, a Dutch based company born from South African roots, bringing with it a new concept for the psychedelic dance floor. After last years successful collaborations, Transcend will again be combining visionary art and handcrafted projects, interactive & live art, 'interconnecting' people and art in all its forms on some of the most prominent dance floors of Europe.

Pic-credit: RandR Projections @ Cosmic Freak Show Rene Beining will perform a live spray art paint session at Freqs of Nature (DE) creating a unique commission for Transcend Trading while Janis Lipstovs (WorldBridger) will rig out the Transcend Art Space with his décor.

For S.U.N. festival RandR will provide an extraordinary visual experience and live acts will include a Janis Lipstovs art sculpture.

Carin Dickson and her South African Artescape team will do their magic on the dance floor of The New Chapter of the legendary VuuV. An exclusive Carin Dickson exhibition will take place in the Transcend Art Space on that dance floor combined with a black light installation by Steven (Ozmali) Hekkeleheikever.

For the 2nd edition of Psy-Fi in The Netherlands Transcend is proud to be collaborating with the infamous Neil Gibson to create a "3D Gibson Galaxy”. Steven (Ozmali) will once again join Transcend with his black light installations to frame the Gibson Galaxy. Dineau, the kitchen that rocks!, will create Raw Art Food.

This time round the Transcend Art Gallery will be illuminated by projections from the Portuguese based, Tree of Light.

Throughout the entire summer tour digital works by graphic artists Julian Graham (Aumegamega) from South Africa and Erl Dekker (Error) will be on display.

Transcend Trading is also supporting the re-establishment of the Greek psychedelic trance community and again joins the Free Earth gathering i n Ancient Olympia, Peloponnese. Free Earth has entrusted the market management to Transcend who is putting her artistic spin on the entire market area for a new psychedelic ”shopping” experience.

Transcend spotlights humanitarian projects worldwide. One of these projects include, “The Rubber Project” from the townships of South Africa founded by Austrian artist Sikaa Hammer. Transcend is constantly on the lookout for new, innovative, artistic projects supporting less fortunate global communities.

If you are interested in sharing your projects please contact us at: info@transcendtrading.com.

LINKS hh www.transcend-trading.com hh www.artescape.co.za/ hh www.rubberproject.com hh www.dineau.nl hh www.tree-of-light.org

FACEBOOK hh Neil Gibson Creations hh Bodypaintlily I.N.Love hh aumega-mega hh Fullmoon Art hh ozmali hh treeoflightart

TRANCEND ON THE FESTIVALS hh freqsofnature.de hh antaris-project.de hh sunfestival.org hh vuuvfestival.de hh free-earth-festival.de hh Psy-Fi.nl 43

NEW ZEALAND – home of enchanting range of Psytrance events Lush forests, rugged mountains, relaxing hot springs, long sandy beaches - no wonder New Zealand is such a popular destination for travellers, psytrancers and fans of The Hobbit. Spring and summer (November to April) in these South Pacific islands offer an enchanting range of Psytrance events, from small bush doofs to the full power multi-facetted transformational festival experience.

The Golden Bay – Nelson area has become a mecca for Psy parties in New Zealand, and you’re likely to find an outdoor doof happening most weekends over summer.

Luminate is currently the largest Psytrance flavoured event, set in a stunning mountain location in sunny Golden Bay, late Jan-early Feb. This environmentally conscious festival attracts several thousand travellers from around the galaxy for an 8 day immersion in alternative and psychedelic culture. Featuring in the recent Bloom documentary on global transformational festivals, Luminate appeals to a vibrant diversity of those seeking mind expanding stimulation. Circus performers, workshop presenters and a cranking tribal drum circle complete the heady mix.

New on the scene with a successful first event last year, Twisted Frequency looks set to kick new years off in style, with everything from high tech and dark psy to dubstep and live music. Alien Nation has been running for 13 years, serves up a tasty menu of psytrance to dubstep, takes place in February in a scenic location close to Nelson, and has a faithful following of hundreds of hedonistic alien freaks.

Many smaller bush doofs thrive by offering a broad range of electronic genres, and specialise in a homegrown, grass roots feel and a friendly vibe. Discombobulation in mid Jan is a good example offering a genre surfing line-up of all

sorts, by a scenic river close to Takaka. On the south island’s west coast, Karamea festival offers a mostly dub, roots and DnB lineup.

In Christchurch the Massive crew have a long history of outdoor events every Solstice & Equinox, with genres including Psy, Techno and House, whilst the Psy-Pirates run great little Psy-doofs such as Voyage and Primordial.

NZ producers with intergalactic reputations include Antix/Fiord, Pitch Black, Grouch, Tom Cosm, Isaac Chambers and Mr Squatch. WizdumB founded Cosmic Conspiracy Records in 2003 and also produces as Tripinstumble.

Maori culture has inspired many in the art of poi spinning. Home of Poi has a great selection of all things spinning and twirling with fire, glo and uv versions. Circulation Festival in Novem-

ber offers a wide range of circus workshops.

Jugglers Rest in Picton is a cool backpackers to stay at welcoming party freaks and jugglers alike. Wharariki Beach campsite is a good base to explore Golden Bay and enjoy this focal point of alternative living.

Home to Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, you can take a tour around various film locations throughout NZ. Track down party toys, info, and buy tickets at any of the Cosmic stores in the major cities.

Text: Maia – Organiser and cofounder of Luminate, Psytrance dj, sacred activist, lives in Golden Bay, grows organic food and cuddles her two pet pigs.w

WEBSITES hh luminatefestival.co.nz hh twistedfrequency.co.nz hh aliennation.co.nz hh massivenz.com hh circulation.co.nz hh antixlive.com hh cosm.co.nz hh cosmicconspiracy-records.com hh jugglersrest.com hh whararikibeachholidaypark.co.nz hh cosmiccorner.co.nz hh homeofpoi.com 44

both pics: lightstyle

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PORTUGAL – An epicenter of psychedelic culture Psytrance has a love affair with the Portuguese country. When in 1994 the first Goa trance party happened in Portugal few would guess that nowadays the country would be a super power of Psytrance on a world scale. Thousands of people attend trance events on a weekly basis, the biggest festival of psychedelic culture (Boom Festival) takes place here, there's a wide variety of djs, producers, labels and fans from all walks of life.

20 years on since its advent in Portugal, Psytrance helped shaping several generations.

And it keeps growing and blooming!

Several reasons have contributed to it. Beautiful landscapes with mild weather year round, permissive laws that decriminalized individual substance use, easy licensing for outdoor events, friendly culture and groovy people to party with!

It is impossible to mention Goa and Psytrance without mentioning Good Mood, the organization behind Boom Festival, that kicked off the scene here back in 1994 and with regular events since 1996. Later on, Hipnose productions brought in variety and new music, and in the North of Portugal Quest 4 Goa was the most active. Several organizations came to life in the following years. Some examples are Crystal Matrix (organizer of Freedom Festival), Samaveda, Psy Art, Fusion Productions, Cosmic Gate Festival, Free Flow and hundred others. Some are into the revivalist wave and they're doing ZNA Gathering.

All these psychedelic gatherings influenced small crews to organize parties. On a national scale, Lisboa and Porto are the epicenters, smaller scale cities such as Covilhã, Leiria, Aveiro, Coimbra, Bragança to name just a few hold crews with regular events and their own artists.

On the music level, local trancers are no different from the current trends of music: there are people for all tastes! Dark and high tech is active, forest lovers keep growing in numbers

Pic: Pierre Ekman, pierreekman.se/

while the full-on lovers still have an attraction to the Israeli vibes. Progressive crowd is varied and it also gathers people from techno and house scenes, while the open mind trancer takes it all. Goa trance is now back again, after the late 90s when it went forgotten, smaller crews are now building upon the new and the old.

Portugal, a country of 10.5 million (plus 5 million emigrants) is at the very core of Psy culture. Its brother country Brazil has the biggest population of Psytrance fans worldwide and the whole scene was born in Goa, a territory that was Portuguese for 500 years. On the

festival level, Boom Festival has been writing the compendium not only about Psytrance but also about contemporary psychedelic culture gatherings: on arts, culture, music, interculturalism, psychedelic science and sustainability.

With such synchronicities, there's something psychedelically special going on here!

Text: Artur Soares da Silva facebook.com/ artur.soaresdasilva

WEBSITES hh www.boomfestival.org hh pt-pt.facebook.com/cosmicgatefestival hh pt-pt.facebook.com/Fusionproductions.Porto hh freedomfestival.eu hh facebook.com/ZnaGathering hh visitportugal.com

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BOOM FESTIVAL – Big Bang of sustainable festival culture According to the dictionary, a boom is a ‘sudden increase, as in popularity’. In this respect Boom Festival really started a boom: A truly multinational boom of sustainability and eco-friendliness in the Psytrance scene.

Pic: Pierre Ekman, pierreekman.se/

Hands down: Boom has been and still is a major quality standard for the world of Psytrance festivals, not only in terms of party pleasure. Take compost toilets, for example. Today they are all over the place. But 8 years ago? It seemed to be some kind of exotic eco-art installation when 20 of those wooden, elevated booths popped up at Boom in 2006. They made history: Six years later there are 186 of them, they are the only system at the festival. And obviously they are becoming more and more popular at other events, as well.

It’s a boom – and a perfect example how the psychedelic gathering with the same name is much more than an open air party - It’s a vivid example for sustainability.

The philosophy of Boom is based on a ‘reuse – recycle – compost’ mantra. Looking at the architectural aesthetic of the festival, from the monumental dance temple to all the other areas with their countless small details, it is surprising that the last edition was build from 70% recycled and reused materials, including almost 50 tons of plastic and 45 tons of wood.

Looking at the sophisticated infrastructure, it’s just as surprising to know that areas like the Liminal Village and most of the workshops and offices in the background are working ‘off the grid’, in other words: They are powered exclusively by renewable energy from the site.

The awarded greywater treatment system at 48

Boom might well spark another eco-trend. It’s 100% organic, takes advantage of evaporation and pollutant-absorbing plants, and allows the festival to clean 100% of the wastewater from shops and showers.

Another world is possible - Beautiful words, yet they call for action. Boom successfully demonstrates how it can work: In 2012 peo-

ple from 116 different countries gathered at the festival, making it the most international event of the scene. They left with an experience that goes far beyond some epic party moments, they left with a takeaway-message that started a boom of sustainable culture in harmony with our planet! boomfestival.org

Pics: http://tinyurl.com/ImagesByAdamTaylor

O N E N E S S | M U S I C | A R T S | E N V I R O N M E N T | C U LT U R E | LO V E

IDANHA-A-NOVA LAKE – PORTUGAL

THe Festival Of PsychEDElic Culture W W W . B O O M F E S T I VA L . O RG F B - B O O M F E S T I VA LO F F I C I A L PA G E

YO U T U B E • B O O M W E B T V 49

SERBIA – crossroad of the cultures Unique experience guided by the Balkan spirit. Serbia is located in South-east Europe and with its seven million population makes one of the hotspots of this part of the world known for its beautiful landscapes, Mediterranean climate, excellent food, hospitality and good quality music scene.

Trance pioneers who started this genre in Serbia were young clubbers known as Xperiment Org. This organization, where some of its members are still active nowadays, are the most responsible for bringing trance music to Belgrade in 1994.

Serbian Trance musicians influenced and shaped global music scene as did some pioneers of Serbian Trance culture.

Some as Alternative Control, Frequed Frequency, Species, Prosper marked the beginning of the Trance culture and performed at various festivals around the world. Psytrance culture is even an important part of Serbia's biggest brand - Exit Festival, an award winning summer music festival officially proclaimed as the 'Best Major European festival' at the EU Festival Awards in January 2014.

During the several years around the 2000s, Serbia’s one music clubs was voted as one of the top five places for Trance music in the world. Its name was Barutana club, situated inside the Kalemegdan fortress, historical park fortress in the centre of Belgrade, near the confluence of the river Sava to Danube. On fortresses on the Danube, you will discover some of the most magnificent remaining fortresses in Serbia, with a unique look at the formidable strength required to create them. Barutana’s cave-like interior and the terrace was a true attraction – for Djs and visitors. Despite economic and political problems the country has faced in the past two decades, people of Serbia still keep cheerful spirit, and faith in better future. Moreover, psychedelic music represents one of the best music scene in the country and is successfully preserving its tradition.

Text: Zenitgalaxy Bojan, DJ, party organizer, label owner, working in ngo zenit creative society soundcloud.com/djmanda 50

ARTISTS

DECO & ART

hh Zyce, Ectima, E-Clip, Talpa, Lyctum, Middle Mode, Man Machine, Sonic Entity, Sideform, Dash, Sattwa, Gammy Yagammi, Kanibal Holocaust, Jesus Raves Ascent, Tropical Bleyage, Pion, Solar Kid, Sound Control, Magnetik. Alternative Control, Frequed Frequency, Species, Prosper

hh Zenit Creative Society, Wicket Forest deco team, Synthetic Evolution, Saša Prokic Deco, TamTam fashion

LABELS hh Tesseract Studio, Ultiva Records, Psymoon Records, Ultragroove Records, Zenit Galaxy Records

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh Exit Festival, Forest Sound Festiva, Elektro Bašta

PREFERRED MUSIC: hh Progressive Trance

PARTY DATA hh Entry free: 3-6 euro hh Beer: 2 euro hh Water 1.20 euro hh Attendance: 200-1000 people hh Traffic controls: Blood alcohol test by traffic police on the street only. NO drug tests

CURIOUS hh Vampire is the only Serbian word which was accepted worldwide.

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SPAIN – ideal for hibernating and kickstarting the season The ideal country for hibernating through the winter and to welcome the open air season.

Spain is actually the country on the Trance map with the first open air festival kickstarting the season as well as the last ending it.

Transition Festival – Pic: Boom Shankar

Transition Festival, around Easter, near Seville in Andalucia, is the first festival. It is a cooperation between BMSS Records from Germany and the Transition crew from Almonte. It saw its 6th edition this year, attracting more than a thousand travelers from all around the world who united in Trance for 6 days and danced to the tunes of Atmos, Lucas or Penta. Transition will be back in 2015, make sure you join if you want to start the season early and are up for an underground family gathering in the amazing nature of the National Park of Donana.

The second festival worth mentioning is Connection Festival which takes place in the beginning of October, in Andalucia as well. Whereas Transition is the kick off, Connection which is organised

by Red Dust is the closing festival.

Temperatures will still reach more than 30Âş, making it the perfect spot to finish the open air season. Connection focuses more on Goatrance rather than Psytrance, the perfect festival for the lovers of the oldschool vibes. This years line up hosts artists such as The Muses Rapt, 52

Transwave or Pleiadians alongside local talents and international friends.

The third festival worth mentioning takes place in between: Furthur Festival kicking off in early summer is located near Madrid, Furthur has a far more holistic vision, combining Trance with World Music, bands and performances.

This is a very special event organized by people who want to go for a different approach and have succeeded with it for more than a decade.

Beside these rather big events there are countless smaller open airs and indoor events throughout the year. Being known as a very psychedelic city (which is perfectly reflected by the art of Gaudi) Barcelona is clearly a hotspot for our scene. During the summer months the city and its neighbouring areas host regularly smaller events done by different crews, but the area is unfortunately still lacking a bigger festival.

La Gomera, an amazingly beautiful Hippie retreat since the sixties still has this special vibe going on which is

peaking in the Panorama Parties which are usually held during full moon, something truly authentic and worth checking out!

When it comes to artists, producers and labels Spain is becoming more and more well known on the global circuit.

Producers such as Lupin, Painkiller, Ying Yang Monx, Hypnoise, Psycho Abstract, Mekkanikka, GMS, Keemiyo, Mutiman, Yar Zaa or immigrated artists such as Etnica and Pleiadians who live on Ibiza and Djs such as Hell Blau, Jana, Fluoelf, Lord Flames or Basslion are wideknown and rocking. Labelwise consider Nutek or Maharetta as being very active.

Because of the financial crisis, and no one has money, entrance fees or drinks at the parties are usually very cheap.

The situation with drugs is very liberal.

Still, be careful.

Text: DJ Boom Shankar BMSS Records / Transition / SUN Festival soundcloud.com/ boomshankar-bmssrecords

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SOUTH AFRICA – Growing phenomenally and busier than ever Psytrance has continued growing phenomenally since inception in the “early days” of the 90’s, with the long summers in Cape Town, this year has been busier than ever. During the short winter period, indoor events will be buzzing in every major hub in the greater CPT region.

Pic: Photography, Pic:: Aumega Boom Shankar Pic: Aumega Photography, facebook.com/Aumega.photography

The epicentre of this culture has been busy this season, with outdoor day events as early as June and Aug hosted by Sirius, a growing trend of progressive international events over the last 2 years. The usual suspects Alien Safari continue hosting their annual Sprung, Flying Circus & Masqued Ball events, Vortex rebranded their annual events to Open Source & Parallel Universe, with Rezonance NYE, Earthdance & Origin still being the largest events of the season.

Well established Groovy Troopers, The Village, Beartrap, MMD, Psynopticz, Afriscot, Ultranoize, Mind Cultivation & Organik have continued growing and has hosted some of the most anticipated events this season featuring the very best local and international artists. Local squat parties and private gatherings have been on the rise, and this year has also seen the birth of a few promising new event companies, starting to make an impact of their own.

54

The progressive wave has continued, with the weekly Equinox gatherings a standing feature. Equinox, Love & Light, & Sirius have hosted some of the biggest international progressive acts this season, consistently pushing production to a new level as well.

In Durban, Psyforia & Festivals Of Light have been growing at a steady pace. In JHB, Fu-Cha, Tswaing, One Festival, Revolution NYE, Teknotribe, Psyology & Red Eye continue hosting bigger and better events. In the Eastern Cape (PE), Earthdance, Wacky Woods, Vertigo Festival & the events at the Gwaing River mouth still feature prominently.

& Ital amongst many more…

Labels like Nano, Timecode, Kaos Krew Records, MMD, Nexus and Psyology remain unhinged in global psychedelic music culture, making a great contribution to psychedelic music globally. Some of the more recent local production talents have featured strongly this .

WEBSITES hh psymedia.co.za hh 3am.co.za hh cttp.co.za/ hh facebook.com/pages/Kaos-Krew-Records/284833368238402 hh callapizza.co.za hh aliensafari.net

This year some favourites made a welcome return to SA shores, alongside a host of new artists, including Captain Hook, Class A, Antispin, Sinerider, Symbolic, Mad Maxx, XSI, Aviation, U-Recken, Eartling, NOK, Pixel, Loud, Easy Riders, Audiomatic

hh intothevortex.co.za

Text: Andre Muller

SRI LANKA – Small island, BIG trip Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, you can hear her breathing.

The scene in Sri Lanka is Mushrooming and has imminent potential, The Island has a crazy natural landscape and so much to explore and the landscape represents a lot of our favourite psychedelic music.

The scene is young and just emerging but we find that it is also key to have a purpose and the vibes that are forming reflect and feel like something amazing is about to happen on this small island. We have an emerging psychedelic art scene and there’s loads of of new talent coming forward. Events are organized in smaller scales by groups of individuals who are single handedly driving the scene forward.

There is unimaginable natural beauty to enjoy and we feel that psychedelics and proper psychedelic festivals can help to keep the islands natural beauty unchanged, we hope that more and more Psychedelic travelers converge to paradise island. The Atman tribe has organized some epic memorable events at some mind blowing locations including Tangalle & Arugambay and we look forward to much much more from them. The Atman festival was a special event and one f the very first of its kind that happened on the island on a large scale. Spirited records has also been coming forward with some great new talent as well as some healing vibrations of their own. SPIRITED, a collective of three multi-cultural and multi-talented artists who united their visions to give birth to an amazing new Live Performance. A collaboration project between Austria and Sri Lanka. They

Pic: The Bludge

organized a mini festival at the beginning of this year. The island is full of natural wonder and you can pretty much organize your own little gathering in solitude. Vantana Vuchithra records, has also been organizing smaller scales events of their own with the likes of Deminiac Incomniak. The big ears movement has an acoustic experimental session every Saturday in colombo, they are a collection of young musicians who experiment with sound and play live sessions for small audiences.

WEBSITES hh atmantribe.com hh spiritedsounds.com hh vantaravichitra.com Text:

Bludge sala@thebludge.com thebludge.com/

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SWITZERLAND – Dancing in the clouds, trailing chimeras Psytrance is booming in Switzerland where you can feel the Psybass very close to the stars at the little big parties. It is a crazy Psyland with two sides, the French part with hard psychedelic over 146 bpm and the German part with shaking ass psychedelic around 140 bpm. If dragons, elves and trolls became alive then surely here. breathtaking locations in enchanted forests, near weatherworn ruins of castles and among majestic mountain tops lets you forget the real world quickly.

WEBSITES hh mysticalforum.ch hh goatrance.ch hh goa.ch hh visionofhemp.ch

CLUBS hh ampereclub.ch hh tunnelclub.ch hh emottion.ch/stairsclub-web hh ugbuelach.ch

FESTIVALS hh Summer Never Ends, One Love Festival, Burning Mountain, Reisefieber, Accoustica Open Air, V.I.R.U.S., Visionen Im Raum Userer Sonne, Psychedelic Carneval, Mystica

INDOOR LOCATIONS hh kulturfabrik.ch hh sedel.ch hh rotefabrik.ch

pic: Superkarlo

ARTISTS hh Liquid Soul, Ajja, Braincell, Solar Spectrum, Gaspard, Electrypnose, The Peaking Goddess, Psyberpunk, Terranostra, Sebastian Kos, Solaris, Müstik, Cosinus, Tezla, Midimal, Digitalist, Drumatik, Subconsciousmind, Braincell, Biotec, Sensual Squeak, Rastaliens ...

LABELS hh Flying Spores Record., Aphonix Records, Peak Records, Freak Records, Moonloop records, Underground Sound Promotions, 2to6 Records

DECO hh 3d-Deco-Team, Nils Psyberpunk, Trudi's Tribe, Extreme Inflatables, Waldwichtel, Mountain Beat Culture, Mag-Design, Psy Wizzard 56

But once 5.000 freaks are storming a deserted valley, the idyll - exactly what needs to be preserved - evaporates. As everything is very close and open space is rare, except in the high mountains, it is hard to even find party locations. Additionally excessive bureaucracy and exorbitant costs make life difficult for organizers. On the other hand, eco-culture and quality are held very high in the country as well as nature’s intense protection by law and the government's influence on big parties’ infrastructure does have advantages for visitors: Swiss parties are usually superbly organised.

Yet, the last edition of the Summer-neverends-Festivals visited by more than 10.000 enthusiasts did indeed mark a new visitor peak but also met with infrastructural limits. Therefore it will only be taking

place every two years, which makes sense.

Sadly enough, entirely disappeared has the Somuna-Festival, high up above the Emmental and only accessible by rope way. Yet, Marbachegg is still one of the most exciting locations at all. In 2014 the One-Love-OpenAir will newly enchant the legendary witches dancing site Bellaluna, lastly hosting the disrupted Atmosphere-festival.

In terms of trance Switzerland has both the variety and the extremes. French and Italian Switzerland are no white spots on the festival-map any longer, though not as active as the German part. In the German part a lot of organisers are focused on off beat and progressive parties or to the other extreme of the sound scale hitech/psycore.

Many established crews in the bigger cities have moved to organise technoid, progressive parties. In the French and Italian part

SHOPS hh BREAKshop Concepcion Gschwend 9015 St. Gallen Gaiserwaldstraße 16a www.breakshop.ch Head, Grow, Shisha hh Secret Nature GmbH 3600 Thun, 3011 Bern secret-nature.ch CD, Herbs, Smart

pic: Superkarlo

twilight Psytrance, darkpsy and forest music are still going strong in the underground.

Despite this, in the long run, it will remain difficult to lure international party guests, because a Take-Away-Pizza costs 14 Euro - an awful lot of money many materially uninspired fraggles do not want to spend. Therefore, the local trance scene stays very much local within the forested underground. More than 300 people are already perceived as too commercial to achieve the homely atmosphere of a decent open-air. On the opposite one should realize that Zurich remains to be the location of Europe's largest street dance, where many a Goaheads temporarily joins other tribes of the electronic dance music, where many different genres fuse into one bubbling mass up to one million dancers. In terms of guests this Psytrance party had been the largest by far, ever, however it's history. In the wake of this mega-parade, to be sure, there still thrives Daydance, for example, soon to have 10 editions, and the beautiful young Phoenix-Festival. Which as the

Burning-Mountain-Open-Air has found new managers in the makers of the UG-Club and grew despite beyond 1.000 guests within a few years notorious rumours. This open air is directly located at a small, ice cold glacier river (called Inn), in one of the most natural landscapes and in immediate neighbourhood to the Swiss national park.

Indeed, the Alps with their many innumerable variations are still worth a longer visit and offer the best setting for manifold discoveries. If you shop in a supermarket, expertly circumnavigate the many speed traps and sleep in the '1.000 stars'- hotel then even Switzerland becomes affordable. Above that there is plenty of free fresh fountain water, hardly any theft, it's not seldom that you meet helpful natives. And sometimes, while secretly looking around during a party, you will become astoundingly aware that really not one single guest is simply standing!

So, whoever wants to explore Heidiland certainly encounters weird perfectionists with rather a hang for eccentricity, but will be able to party so heartily and ecstatically as almost nowhere else on this globe.

hh Hanf Tempel GmbH 4056 Basel St. Johanns-Vorstadt 18 www.hanftempel.ch onlineshop hh Werners Head Shop 8005 Zürich Langstrasse 230 www.wernersheadshop.ch Head & Grow hh Grünhaus AG 8048 Zürich Herostr.7 www.gruenhaus-ag.ch Head,Grow hh Fourtwenty.ch 3011 Bern, Kramgasse 3 3063 Ittigen, Worblentalstr. 30 Grow & Head hh Nachtschatten Verlag www.nachtschatten.ch Publishing Company

Text: Superkarlo, also Corinne, Dr. Magnus, Dj Sebastian Kose edit by mushroom magazine

57

SWEDEN – Discover the magic of the Swedish forest!

The Psytrance scene in Sweden is growing right now as weeds. One can practically find a party every weekend in this big country.

One can practically find a party every weekend. In southern Sweden the SFA (Skåne Party College) and MOA Experience offer progressive and a little Fullon often aided by our progressive Danish neighbours. In Gothenburg, several new organizers have come up: 'Northen Lights' (mostly progressive and a little Psy), 'Electronic Culture' (mostly progressive and Psy), 'Connected Network' (mostly Psy and Fullon); The Genesis Project (mostly progressive Trance) which run the 'Genesis Festival'. Flexible is the oldest active organizer and still has traditional celebrations on Christmas Day and May Day on the old ship 'RioRio'. The 'SkrimmelSkrammel' crew have a few parties every summer, typically with first class dark prog, and darkpsy live acts plus wicked DJs. Momento Mori, Love Darkness, Carpe Noctum & Tivoli Massacre (Altius Birthday) offer top notch darkpsy and awesome deco! In the Stockholm, Techno State are the biggest organizer making big parties with internationally known Fullon and progressive acts; for more psychedelic, progressive and zenonesque tunes, SPDIF make good treats with phat lineups, and for darker forest tunes, check 'Mind Gamers'!

During the summer parties move out to the fantastic Swedish nature. The first big outdoor party is 'Daylight Open Air' (May), then 'Love Forest', an annual hippie gathering for 4 days (late May). In early June there is 'The Dance Of The Planets' in southern Sweden, a spiritual Psytrance gathering for all ages, and 'Rhythms and Tones 58

with Blue Hour Sounds offering first-rate psychedelic music. In Midsummer, the huge 'Forest Star Midsummer Festival' (20-23), an incredible celebration in a magical Urla forest near Hjo. A a fine tradition has become the smaller '~ Safari ~ Return to Mission' outside Stromstad. In late June the 'Connected Network' has 'Connected Forest' in the Gothenburg area. In July there is the 'GENESIS FESTIVAL 2014', packed with international live acts at an old military airbase. A week later there is 'Hur Gör Djur' in the southeast of Sweden, 4 days full power psychedelic celebration of the darker kind!

At the end of July you have the 'Connected Network's' biggest party: 'Connected Experience' outside Gothenburg.

On the same day 'Mind Gamers' have their recurring event 'Once Upon A Time' in Stockholm. Also check the darkpsy event 'Momento Mori', outside Gothenburg in early August. The season's conclusion, 28th of August, is 'PROJECT EVERGLADES', 4 days in a magical forest between Gothenburg and Oslo offering more or less the entire spectrum of Psytrance. The lineup features both international acts such as Ital (CHI), Sonic Species (UK), Paracozm (BR) Noctilus (DE) plus our Swedish acts such as: Hellquist, Alter Nature, Altius etc..

Psy-Sweden is happening this summer. It is truly magical to be standing and stomping to psychedelic tunes in the Swedish forest.

Hope to see you there soon BooM! 3016

PARTIES & FESTIVALS hh Project Everglades, Forest Star Midsummer Festival, Genesis Festival.

ARTISTS hh Hellquist, Locig Bomb, Artax, Procs, Derango, Hallucinogenic Horses, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Atmos, Hux Flux, Leenuz, Triptaktik, Nangijala, Diffus, Altius, Cyko, Makadam, Kluster, Krumelur, Human Blue, Son Kite, Vibrasphere, Ticon, Ibojima, Imajica, Andromeda, Tegma, S-Range, Vance, Solar Fields, Etnoscope, In Your Phase, Grydemix BK, Wizack Twizack, Medecinmannen, Beyond Value, Shamantra

LABELS hh Hypnotica Rec, Troll´n´Roll Rec, Horsepower Productions, Creon Rec

TRAVEL hh Good connections to south Sweden with buses and trains! hh A law in Sweden says that you are allowed to camp anywhere for 24 hours. So a tent is a good option :)

Text: Pétur Azgeir petur.junior.asgeirsson@gmail.com edit by mushroom magazine

THAILAND – a change of people, spirit and atmosphere A warm climate, beautiful beaches, a shanti lifestyle and the astonishing friendliness of the locals have made Thailand and especially Ko Phangan one of THE places.

Since the first Full Moon parties at Had Rin beach, back in the late 80s or early 90s, there has been a massive increase in the number of people! Psytrance gets more and more replaced by Techno, House and Minimal resulting in a change of people, spirit and atmosphere.

The best parties are scattered around Ban Tai on the south coast of Phangan. Ban Sabaii is the perfect balance between Psychedelic and Progressive and has a very positive vibe!

Leung and Jo Moontribe are also responsible for Thailand’s New Years Eve festival, the Experience Festival on the neighbouring island of Ko Tao which rocked big time in 2013/2014 with more than 2k people.

Halfmoon Festival takes places twice a month, set in beautiful jungle. It features mostly Progressive Trance artists and attracts around 2500 people. Shiva Moon, one of my favourite spots, also twice a month, is a smaller and more psychedelic party with a large number of freaks. Black Moon recently moved to another location in the centre of the island, worth checking out! Finally, there are the notorious Full Moon Parties on Had Rin beach...worth checking out once, but maybe not twice.

Previously all parties were free but nowadays they charge around 300-600 Baht (8-15 Euro), an exception is Ban Sabaii which is still free. Best place to meet all your friends before, during or after parties is still the 7/11 (Ban Tai). Another place to chill out and meet other people is Baylounge (between Ban Tai and Had Rin)! Another hotspot is Ooze Bar in Bangkok, in a street parallel to Ko Sarn Road.

It is a small open air bar run by Jacky and his family who is also the organizer of the exceptional Moon Mountain and Valentrance, only recommendable to those who really like Psychedelic and don’t mind being stuck on a raft in the middle of a a stunning lake near Kanchanaburi (3 hours north of Bangkok) in the middle of a lush natural reserve for 3 days. If this sounds tempting, connect with the Ooze Bar. It takes place around xmas and around mid February usually, but dates

pics: Halfmoon Party (top) and Ban Sabai (bottom)

are subject to change. A maximum of 200 people, up to 10 rafts towed together, a massive sound system plus excellent djs: one of the best parties!

A new festival is Lost in Paradise (between Bangkok and Kanchanaburi) in a beautiful coconut tree forest, organised by the Psyhead Community from Bangkok plus their friends. The 2nd edition will be 16-18th of January 2015!

The best known artists are Sabaii Sabaii who is nothing but a legend as he kicked off the whole scene in Thailand, Jacky, Leung, Koi,

Note and Tripical who both write their own music as well as Tripical Note, and all the foreigners who got stuck in Thailand such as Jo Moontribe, Apnea or Suddha plus many many more.

Keep in mind that the drug laws are very strict! Better check your bags twice, don't consume in public, be careful!

Text: DJ Boom Shankar BMSS Records / Transition / SUN Festival soundcloud.com/ boomshankar-bmssrecords 59

TURKEY – Kickstart into Psy Culture Back in March 2006, a full solar eclipse was not the only thing that hit Turkey with a bang - that legendary festival “Soulclipse” was the kickstart of Psytrance in Turkey. A lot of young promoters had started to sustain this ever growing movement with small underground indoor & outdoor events all over the country.

Today, the biggest organisation there is 'Tree of Life festival' (organised by U-Recken) with already three successful editions under their belt. The festival is taking place every year in a mind blowing forest location called 'Karagol Lake' near Izmir with visitors from all over the world. With its high quality level of production, this festival is definitely one of the better festivals out there on a global scale. Starting this year Tree of Life is also organising a brand new festival called 'September Ritual' in Kastro Beach, right on the shores of the Black Sea with lush forest and a lake, only two hours from Istanbul. Both events are organised by Tree of Life Festival & Mind Manifest Project - an organization company of Tmx Mind with 10 years of experience and numerous outdoors (Shanti Mind, Elemental Evolution Festival to name a few).

Tmx Mind is also one of the most talented night music DJs in Turkey today. Right after Tree of Life, you can go for a swim at a new festival with a real 'ONE LOVE' vibe, called 'Freaks in Love' featuring some really good international and local artists located at Pamucak Beach of the ancient city Ephesus in Selcuk/Izmir, organised by Sami Sami, supported by his friends enamoured of psychedelic culture.

But more great festivals will take place this year in Turkey. The biggest one, 'Ayata Festival', for the first time in July 2014, by a very lovely Turkish crew - all well experienced and professionals in the psychedelic scene. The festival area is located in Gökçeova near Dalaman Airport, 1750 meters above sea level at the top of Sandras Mountain in the Muğla region of Turkey and feature a great international line up. Two more festivals are taking place in September.

One of them is 'Shamballa Festival' 60

TRee Of Life – pic: Allessandro Ragazzon

which is going to be the 2nd edition this year, on the beautiful rocky Cappadocia Area, (organised by Psysari – a local organizer, promoter & DJ since early 2000; also one of the former organizers of 'Psy Files Festival' and Orhan Kalender - who has been responsible for numerous indoors & outdoors in Turkey since early 2000). Another nice one is 'Psy Boutique Festival' (formerly 'Sundance Boutique') founded in 2010 by Bahar Canca & Judit Langer - a smaller yet really friendly gathering with quality line up on a beautiful beach located in 'Butterfly Valley', south of Fethiye - a place that, in three words, you can say is

no less than heaven on Earth.

Turkey is a gateway to almost every country in the world. You can find cheap direct flight rates to many of the touristic areas such as Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Dalaman, Ephesus, Cappadocia and so on. The Mediterranean climate, tasty food and warm hospitality of the locals make it a perfect place to visit during festival sessions every year!

Text:

by Ozzycetin ozzycetin@gmail.com www.facebook. com/ozzycetin84

UNITED KINGDOM – Home to Psy-Trance The UK scene has certainly evolved over the past 10 years. Home to a multitude of popular psyartists and labels, the scene has continued to flourish, thanks to an injection of fresh energy from today’s younger rave generation, fused with the experience of Psytrance veterans.

London still remains the epicentre of the UK scene. Parties continue to thrive most weekends in clubs and squats. It is not uncommon to see multiple well-known parties advertised in one weekend, which can be a headache for promoters, but the revellers end up being spoilt for choice! Most line ups consist of home grown UK and international favourites, and parties accommodate for most psy sub-genres. Artists are now being brought together through collaborative organisations such as ‘Psy-Sisters’, a unique collective formed of female artists, with a vision to support and promote one another through online platforms and events. Social media also plays a big part in connecting the psy-scene through specialised online groups and forums. It is now easier than ever before for party goers to access information about the scene and events.

The UK’s passion for psychedelic music has also expanded to regions outside of London. Scenes have spurted and evolved in Bristol and North England.

In Bristol the psy-community has a strong family vibe between the various local crews, who share a vision to take Psytrance to the next level through well organised and professional events.

The legendary Tribe of Frog, Planet Shroom and Triplicity crews have been hosting colourful and spirited parties for many years. Other regular

pic by Psibindi

parties include: Jellyfish, Quantum Bleep, Psyanide, Psyberdelica and Psypirates. A few free parties have also manifested with thanks to Ninja Hippies and Psychedelic ResistDance.

Dance floors can get packed with up to 1000 revellers attending the larger events.

In Northern England events such as Illuminaughty, Kanyini and Tribal Sphere keep the psy-scene alive and kicking, and in the far South party goers can expect a good old stomp at Tribalistic and Psycho events hosted at popular venue ‘The

Barn’ in Portsmouth.

Over the years, popularity of Psytrance in the UK has experienced highs and lows, just like any other dance genre. However, with an influx of new, young energy and continued dedication from the old skool ravers, the UK scene will continue to blast dance floors for generations to come.

Special thanks to DJ Tetrasound, Bristol and Reshma Biring (Resh Media) for assisting with this review.

Text: Rena (Psibindi) DJ, Vocalist and Producer signed to UK based label Aphid Records

ARTISTS

LABELS

PARTYS

hh Amethyst, Aphid Moon, Beardy, Champa, Continuem, Dhuna, Dickster, Eat Static, EVP, Gelika, Hypnocoustics, Juno Reactor, Killerwatts, Kraken, Lorraine, Lucas, Mark Day, Matt Lorraine, Mechanimal, Mentalogic, Miss Piskey, Neill Moore, Nuky, Occular, OOOD, Orchid Star, Psibindi, Psyana, Psycommando, Psymmetrix, Renegade DJ, Sati, Sinerider, Sonic Species, Touch Tone and many more

hh Alchemy Records, Anuki Media, Aphid Records, Arkona Creation, Bom Shanka Music, Catawampus Records, Cyan Fuschian Promotions, Dream Creation, Free Spirit Records, Higher Taste Project, Kundalini Records, Liquid Records, Mutagen Records, Nano Records, Psy-Sisters, Psynon Records, Revolve, Triskele Management, Twisted Records, Wild Things Records, YSE Records, Zero 1 Music

hh Acid Monkey, Astral Circus, Atom, Chrysalid, Cohesion, Earthdance, Elixir of Life, Group 4 Peas, Inspiral, Mad Dreams Made Actual, Omniscience, Pan Galactic Space Disco, Pendragon, Psy-Sisters, Return to Source and more

POINTS OF INTEREST: hh Head down to Camden, London, for culture, markets, food stalls and alternative shopping

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Resurgence The US is a unique area of the world for Psytrance. Due to the number of cities separated over a large geographical distance, the culture is spread around the country. You can find Trance gatherings all over throughout the year, featuring diverse sounds and aesthetics unique to each area. Still very underground, communities are tight knit and support one another.

You would recognize many of the same faces after a few parties in one area. There is a thriving culture of local homegrown DJ’s and producers. Parties mostly feature these acts and fly over one or two acts from elsewhere in the world. This provides opportunities for those aspiring to increase their involvement within the scene. You can find all varieties of Psy parties. Outside the scene must be creative to avoid complaints and unwanted attention.

The northeast is resurging with new energy.

Many long time Psy organizers have retired, making way for the next generation. Led by Fractaltribe (MA), Respect Gatherings (NYC) & Radial Engine Tribe (NY), each crew has their own open-air festival during the summer and indoor events throughout the year. Fractaltribe is known for large-scale immersive atmospheres while featuring a smooth variety and flow of psychedelic

ARTISTS hh Kabayun, Lunecell, Mubali, Merkaba, Nikroma/Kromagon, ManipulatioN, Parus, Bodhi, Progress, Random, Smoke Sign, Primordial Ooze, Braindrop, Ghreg on Earth, Annunaki, Tectum, CinderVOMIT, Justincaseboy, Ascension, Luuli, Coral

ARTISTS hh www.geomagnetic.tv, Anomalistic Records, Pure Perception, Auraquake, JellyFish Frequency Recordings

DECO hh Nephil9, Global Village, Fractaltribe, Wizart Visions, Neural Patterns, Holetribe, Krikett, Psynesthesia Deco

WEBSITES hh www.facebook.com/groups/ eastcoastpsytribe/ hh www.fractaltribe.net 62

music throughout the event with Psytrance as the pinnacle. Respect Gatherings focuses it’s sounds on progressive/Full on with funky driving basslines and is driving the scene in NYC, while Radial Engine Tribe is known for high-energy dark Psy & suomi with parties that can last for days on end.

There are 2 crews in the southeast: T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi’s features its 11th annual edition of Equinox based in Deerfields, NC. Pure Perception puts on 'Welcome to Pangea' in the Appalachain Mountains (south of Asheville, NC) and is it’s 7th year - both intimate gatherings, which can reach up to 600+ people.

In the Midwest check out Spacecamp Psyfari & Mindoutpsyde (Iowa), Chilluminati & Cosmic E.g.g (Minnseota), and Eldritch Crew (Indiana).

As to the west coast: In SoCal, Moontribe Collective are famous for their parties in the Mojave Desert. Psytribe are known for their annual campout events Spring Freakuency & Halloween’s Psychedelic Freak Show featuring international headliners & Funktion One soundsystems. Pulsar puts on regular events in the SoCal area.

There is an abundance of Psy up in NorCal as well. Pulse SF organizes many club parties. Red Marines, a Russian crew, brings over Parvati style and night acts. Symbiosis

produces a large festival with multiple electronic music genres and has several international Psytrance headliners. You can also catch Goa Gil play 24 hour sets at Party Baba’s events.

Deco & psychedelic art are prominent. Tapestries and stretch fabric are popular and a few homegrown deco artists are brought around the country such as Nephilnine Deco (NY) for her UV lycra installations and Wizart Visions (NY) for her extrasensory tapestries. Global Village Productions bring well-known airbrush lycra installations.

Neural Patterns (Texas) creates impressive geometrical UV string art installations and stages. The emerging deco concept that is picking up popularity is projection mapping and digital art. Digital artists Android Jones & Sam Farrand (NH) are 2 to keep an eye on who produce astonishing visual images.

Zebbler (MA) is the video mapping mind behind all visual stage setups “Shpongletron” and has gone on multiple tours with Shpongle.

Text: text contribution by Kyle Fractaltribe edited by mushroom magazine KyleRober7@gmail.com www.facebook.com/ thefractaltribenetwork

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