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India (Goa)

Text: Sam @ Chaishop.com

The clock seems to have been turned backwards in Goa. Last season was brilliant. Unlike many previous Years the vibe came back, the political (police) situation relaxed, parties were pumping like in the early days and many people returned happy home after the season.

Goa is not a place for schedules. Parties are usually announced a couple of hours before they happen. So there’s no festival dates we can give you but the direction to make your way to Vagator, Chapora or Anjuna – the rest will come by itself!

Links / Contacts:

 

Israel

Text: Sam @ Chaishop.com

Israel - the land where psytrance is mainstream - is full of parties, labels, music, trance freaks. There’s too much to say so let’s keep it to this: Yes, mega events of more than 10,000 people are still happening as well as many small underground events. Yes, there are police problems with many parties but the trance crowd never gives up. And yes, the israeli music output is more popular then ever flooding the world with fresh psychedelic sound. Come and enjoy!

Links / Contacts:

   

Mexico

Text: Sam @ Chaishop.com

Mexico had an amazing trance explosion during the past few years. Trance developed in high-speed which unfortunately also brought a couple of bad things: Strange party people that see trance more as a fashion then a way of life. High Event prices. Too much events. Police Problems. Corruption. Fights. Etc... Still party promoters more interested in the music and culture than the money are trying hard to make special parties happening. Lately the signs improved and people are optimistic for a better future. Surely Mexico has an amazing energy with it’s rich history, cultural mix and great locations. I guess what needs to happen is a split between “fashion trance” and “underground trance”.

Directions: Most parties happen around Mexico City but also the caribbean area around Cancun has developed a small scene as well as some other cities all around Mexico. Parties with international artists happen nearly every weekend. Big techno-trance-house festivals are happening as well and attract a couple of 10,000s. Don’t forget that half of Mexico lies over 2000 meters high so bring warm clothes for the night. Besides of Mexico City (one of the biggest cities in the world with over 20,000,000 people) you should not miss to visit Yucatan, the history rich caribbean lowland rainforest section.

Links / Contacts:

 

New Zealand

Text: Fergus (fullom@paradise.net.nz), Pied Piper Paul

The Land of the Long White Cloud or Aotearoa in Maori has a coast line bigger than the U.S of A. With warm mild summers & winters that are cool in the Nth to cold in the Sth of the south island. It has a population of only 4 millon ppl & a land mass that’s greater than the U.K but smaller than Italy or Japan. It’s own special flora & funa found no where else giving it a great biodiversity - N.Z is green & clean with wonderfull nature, clear running rivers & lakes. temperate rainforrests, fertile plains, high mtns & volcanoes plus hot pools to relax in. You can spend days at beaches & see no one, all this adds up to some killar party spots!! Oh also a great place to vist & explore.

The New Zealand Psy Trance scene is small but is growing & spreading up & down both islands. It’s been in Auckland for some 6-7 years as has the Cyberculture crew who have indoor parties every 6 weeks at club Galatos (on the K rd next 6 Sept) and engage in outdoor parties from December to March. Last outdoor party Dreamweavers attracted a nice International crew (Bitmonx,Pied Piper Paul Sally Doolally,Lunaspice and others). Their style is progressive to "full-on".The party is a tribute to Mike who sadly died 3yrs ago, a friend & super cool dancing doorman (R.I.P). The Antix Bro’s are friends and Manta records is also run from the same office (151 Karangahape Rd or K rd for short!). This is where you’ll also find Cyberculture Records so if in need of music clothes a Trancy haricut or just to find out whats going on around the country head there 1st from the airport. The staff are helpful & friendly.

Further down the island in Wellington you will find the "Full-OM" crew who hold regular indoor parties. Their tend to focus more on the 'Full-On" and fluro side of Psy Trance. They are looking at getting some small outdoor parties happening in December. Check website for details.

In the new year expect to find New Zealand's biggest Psy Trance party (with other zones as well) called Visionz. Last year it attracted about 5000 people in a stunning location at the top of the South Island. It’s run jointly with the help of the Cyberculture crew + their kick-arse 40k Dynacord & E.V sound rig! It is a nice party with a laid-back vibe and the main dance floor is pretty much Psy Trance from Full-On to Progressive. A little bit for everybody!

Further south in Christchurch, the Otherworld crew who are just getting their feet and running good, strictly Psy Trance parties. Indoors at present but hopefully some outdoor action come summer. The Aliennation party is due to be held in February outside somewhere near Christchurch. It will be a Psy Trance affair a collaboration from the Full-Om and Otherworld crew. Their last party attracted 500 up for it punters and probably more next year.There are also partys held in & around Napier in the Nth isle & at New Years there’s the Alpine Unity put on in the Southern Alps though this covers all forms of Electronic music (so not only Trance) with it’s 5 stages

Parties:

  • Oct 25, 2003: Tribal Shift (open air), Sydney
  • Nov 28-30, 2003: 10 year anniversary festival (open air), Victoria
  • NYE 2003: Visionz, top of south island
  • February 2004: Aliennation party, near Christchurch

Links / Contacts:

 

South Africa

Text: Delphi Carstens, addition by Pied Piper Paul

If the world’s trance-hotspots had to be graded in terms of music, scenery, and dynamism then Cape Town would get top marks. Long and glorious summers, spectacular mountain ranges, amazing vistas, and a host of inspired local talent make Cape Town one of the world’s best-preserved trance secrets.

One glimpse of the city’s magnificent Table Mountain is enough to convince even the most skeptical that this is one of the world’s most powerful places. Those searching for the perfect outdoor trance party need look no further. Featuring the strongest accumulation of Lye Lines in the Southern-Hemisphere, Cape Town is an absolute seventh heaven for Trancers on a spiritual tip. What’s more, under the guidance of fabulously talented and tuned-in local producers, record labels, artists and organizers the local scene has positively flourished over the last few years. Matching any international standard, the local scene produces some of the world’s finest, and most original music. What’s more, the Cape Town scene offers punters a chance to experience outdoor parties that are second to none in terms of energy, diversity and setting.

Between late September and the beginning of May (the duration of the balmy local summer), weekends are action-packed with incredible trance gatherings. Professional organizers like Vortex and Alien Safari, record labels like Nano, Timecode, and AfroGalatic, as well as intimate party organizers like the Groovy Troopers, FreeRange, MAL events, Crystal Vision, and Zulu Warriors are all active during this period. Each of these tireless organizers contributes a unique spirit and collectively they’ve built the local scene into a haven for trancers and psychedelic travelers.

Cape Town-based recording artists like Rinkadink, Shift, Damage, Protoculture (and a whole lot more) have also done their bit for the local scene, gracing it with innovative beats and rhythms that are on par with the best that the international scene has to offer. Speaking of which, Cape Town also happens to be the regular haunt of a host of global trance stalwarts such as Etnica, Tristan, Talamasca, Alien Project, GMS, Skazi, and a host of others who come year after year to experience the delights of Africa’s southernmost tip.

Covering trance’s entire spectrum of styles and adding a distinctive local flavour, the scene here is truly matchless. Each of Cape Town’s many seasonal outdoor gatherings offers punters a chance to experience a sense of intimacy and dynamism that’s seldom to be found anywhere else in the world (where scenes are often jaded and parties are often oversized, overcrowded and impersonal). Rarely playing host to more than 3000 people, Cape Town’s trance parties stand out because they are at once sweeping and powerful, whilst retaining the quintessential watermark of true psychedelicia - a sense of magic, togetherness and playfulness.

Set in a radius around Cape Town, local outdoor revels really make the best of the magnificent and unspoilt surrounds. Always impressing foreigners (who never ceased to be amazed by the impressive settings and easygoing local punters), venues are always varied. Cape Town’s psychedelic adventurers may find themselves dancing in a forest glade with a pumping sound-system one week, and tranced-out on a mountain pass with astounding views the very next. Fairy-tale gorges, pristine rivers, fruit orchards, hilltops and un-spoilt beaches are favored settings and organizers are frequently pulling out the stops and coming up with amazing surprises to tantalize punters, who often dress up to suit the occasion. Dance-floors are spacious and often perfect – never muddy and seldom uncomfortable. Parties are always safe, camping is encouraged, and amenities like loos, food, beverage, and clothing stalls, free water, etc, are readily available. Each party is an outdoor adventure – with plenty of musical fun.

With such an abundance of magical natural settings, Cape Town’s party nights are always mysterious and enchanted, carrying the energetic and enthusiastic dancers (who are renowned for spending almost the entire duration of a party on the dancefloor) over into beautiful sun-kissed mornings and hazy afternoons of thumping bliss. When the sun gets too hot, dance floors frequently get shaded and sprinklers come out to woo sweltering dancers into dancing a few more hours.

Here, at the tip of Darkest Africa, the true spirit of tribalism has truly goaded the local trance scene into pushing out some of the most amazing gatherings – the likes of which haven’t been seen on this planet since the Paleolithic.

Travellers shouldn’t be intimidated by Cape Town’s far-flung party settings - they are always accessible. Locals and backpackers-lodges are always willing to help out any traveler that needs a lift to a party and rides back to the Mother City are easy to come by once the music has wound-down.

The trance tribe that’s rapidly burgeoning under the shadow of Table Mountain is all-inclusive and is truly welcoming to all travelers and psychedelic journeyers.

Even during the cold season (which is actually quite mild and brief) weekends are filled with wonderfully spicy warehouse and club events, offering party-goers a wide variety of choices and styles. For the adventurous there are year round activities such as hikes, diving, mountaineering, and chances to go on a safari to other parts of South Africa.

If you’re still not convinced, then bear in mind that Cape Town is one of the world’s most inexpensive (and beautiful) travel destinations. When you arrive, all you need to do is grab a copy of local electronica magazine, Movers and Groovers, and start planning your weekends out. Get ready to have the time of your life – Cape Town is without doubt the definitive psychedelic safari capital of the world.

Besides of Cape Town there’s a small scene in Johannesburg (JHB) where Mikey Dredd and his Mushroom Mafia did now start monthly club nights. In the cost resort Durban also a small scene is developing with parties counting about 300-400 guests.

Parties:

  • Nov 1, 2003: Vortex, close to Cape Town
  • Dec 6, 2003: Infected Mushroom, close to Cape Town
  • NYE 2003: Prism (Vortex & Alien Safari), close to Cape Town
  • Jan 31, 2004: Vortex + Nano Rec. + Twisted Rec.
  • Apr 10-12, 2004: GMS Easter Party, close to Cape Town

Links:

Photo by Sam
Mexico

Photo by Sam
Chaishop Tour 2003, Mexico

Photo by Sam
Chaishop Tour 2003, Mexico

Photo by Sam
Chaishop Tour 2003, Mexico

Photo by Sam
Mexico City

Photo by Sam
Mexico City

   
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