TRANCE, GOA PSY TRANCE & GLOBAL DANCE MUSIC pt2
I love Psy-Trance music because its multi-layered. It lifts you up to a feeling of ecstasy. It is very much world music with its spiritual Asian and African undertones but its also hypnotic, meditative and brings you up on a high of elation.
But most of all, it makes you want to dance!
Last weekend I had two sets of friends over and up until now they were used to me playing my hippie-dippy shit, as they call it. But this time we drank lots of wine and I played them some Transglobal Underground followed by some Goa Psy-trance and to my surprise they all loved it.
One of my friends, I don't think he would mind me describing him as a more mature person with sophisticated music tastes, liked the tracks I was playing because of the world music influence running through them.
My two girlfriends who came over and had had quite a few drinks that night just loved the beats and we danced around my living room like crazy people.
This year I am 54 years old and this music is making me feel like a teenager again; I love it. I would still describe myself as a hippie but I'm evolving into a modern version of the hippie ideal. Psy-trance music is Hippie Kushi!
Below Source: trancerepublic.org
WHAT IS TRANCE MUSIC?
Trance Music defined?
"Very often when you ask real trance music lovers, they will tell you that it is not just music, but it is a feeling and a lifestyle. Here is one such person!
"Trance is part music, part feeling. You listen to certain tracks on a regular basis because of the feelings you associate with it." – Brendan
Trance is not just any other music, it is music created with a lot of emotions. Just check out the lyrics of Above & Beyond's "Lonely Girl".
Weirdly, listening to these emo songs gives you a feel good factor.
Another reason is because of the lifestyle aspect of it. Real trance fans are some of the most unpretentious people you will find on the planet. They are friendly, they look out for one another during events and there is a genuine chemistry between people when they all get connected to the same music in the club. The slang word PLUR (which stands for Peace, Love, Unity and Respect) is synonymous with the trance crowd. They are also one of the most fiercely loyal fans in the world, hence the term, Trance Family. If you do not believe me, you can believe this global media giant.
A more practical reason is because the music is fast and energetic. Which serves as a good workout or wake up music in the morning. The reverse is true with Chillout Trance, as it helps to wind down your day. It is a fairly versatile music genre and can fit in many people's life."
The Trance Music confusion
"In recent times, music became harder to categorise due to a fusion of styles. With the popularity of commercial EDM music, comes the emergence of Big Room Trance (which is a fusion of commercial EDM sounds and trancey sounds). Many celebrity DJs point out that because trancey elements were used in the music production, it can be considered as trance music. In fact, they call it trance version 2 and beyond! So how do you know what is trance now?
The litmus test. If the track uses hypnotic rhythms and sounds and helped you reach a heightened consciousness without the use of external stuff, then it can be considered as trance. Else, its not. It is that simple.
You can also be mathematical. If at least 51% of the track is represented by "trancey elements", then it can be considered as trance.
How and where to explore more about Trance music?
Situation 1 – The total beginner
With today's technology, it is really easy to discover more about the music. Just search "trance music" in Google or YouTube and you will be flooded with tons of trance tracks and mixes that you can listen to. Spotify and Mixcloud all serve as good platforms to discover trance music as well. Just note that there is no quality control of the music that are published on these sites.
You can also find quality trance mixes from the TR Podcast section on the homepage of the Trance Republic website.
Situation 2 – The Initiated Trancer
Once you have developed some preference with some of the sub-genres of trance, you can start to follow the music produced by DJs that appeal to you. This will usually be the DJ's podcast or soundcloud page.
You can also find quality trance music through dedicated online radio stations, such as DI.fm or ah.fm. Music is curated and compiled by music directors who supposedly know their shizzz, so the quality is generally on a higher level.
One of the best ways to explore trance music is to experience it in the club. Check out the event listings from your local clubs or follow the trance community in your area. On the homepage of the Trance Republic website, you can find the updated trance events happening in Asia.
Situation 3 – The Traveler
For the ultimate experience, flying overseas for a trance music festival will be a check on the bucket list. "There are many reputable music festival brands, such as Luminosity or FSOE. The combination of music, venue, beautiful surroundings, crowd, DJs, lighting and show stage will leave a big impression in your memory for the rest of your life."
Next year I am going vagabonding (long term backpacking) around the world. Long term travel needs a theme tune. My I-Pod will be full of my favorite psy-trance tracks. My hippie kushi theme tune for the future.
Source below: www.psynews.org
History and the uprising of Goa trance
"DJs of the late 80's had often used DATs for their DJ sets, but the preparations for the show were hard and time-consuming. According to Steve Psyko (he was also one of the first Goa DJs), the DJs would often cut-out the parts of the songs mixing them with other tracks, in order to create a mega-mix which would be played at the parties later on. The use of vinyl records was not practiced because of the risk that the vinyl could actually melt due to high temperatures. Ray Castle recalls one time when DJ Sven Vath came to Goa with all his records, in order to become "Techno pope of India". However, that didn't work out well, because you just have to be used to DATs on such high temperatures.
Paul Chambers (British Goa trance DJ) recalls his trips to Goa and the very first electronic music parties that were held there. There were no more than 200 people on those events. The decorations were really colourful but not numerous and there were a few black-light lamps around. The first police raids occurred during the 1990. but the situation became better in 1991. and 1992. It was during these years, that the first hype and rush to Goa had started. The number of people on parties noticeably increased, and the numbers were from 500 to 1500 visitors. More and more people were coming to Goa, especially from Israel and Japan. With the increasing number of tourists that arrived to Goa to dance, consume drugs and live a free life, the whole underground feeling started to fade, and the music itself started to become more and more popular. This was even more supported by numerous English and other European DJs and publishers, which resulted in first releases in the 1993. The release which was probably the most influential for Goa trance uprising was the Project II Trance, released by Dragonfly Records. This release featured artists like Gumbo, Genetic, The Infinity Project, Total Eclipse, Mandra Gora and others.
Except for Goa trance in India, parties started to occur in other parts of the world, and the most known ones were in Byron Bay (Australia), where many hippies found their new place for Goa trance, since more and more tourists were visiting Goa and the scene was booming. In England, the first Goa trance parties were organized in London and Manchester. It was interesting that almost the very same DJs performed in Goa and in England, and the visitors were mostly the same in the both areas. It was just a matter of season where the caravan will be settled.
After Goa trance found its place in electronic music scene, many new artists, publishers and DJs had emerged. It would take a lot of time to mention all of the names which took part in the scene during the six golden years of Goa trance (1993-1999). Because of that, we will mention only some of them:
Perfecto Fluoro
Blue Room Released
Matsuri Productions
KK Records
Krembo
Trust In Trance
Platipus
Harthouse
Kox Box
Green Nuns Of The Revolution
Slinky Wizard
Technossomy
Shakta
Ray Castle
Steve Psyko
Fred Disko
Rickard Ahlberg
James Munro
Dominic Lamb
Sven Vath
Tsuyoshi Suzuki
"Many DJs participated in several projects at the same time, like the New Zealander Ray Castle who was a member of Rhytmystic, Masaray, Insectoid, Mantaray. Also, there was Ofer Dikovsky who was a member of Phreaky, Omputer, Tandu, Indoor, Sound Pollution, Oforia, Pigs in Space."
"The music in that period (1993-1999) was characterized as psychedelic trance-dance. That term was mentioned even earlier and it was often used as a title for parties. The tracks became longer than earlier, so the average track was around 8.30 minutes, and the tempo was around 145 BPM (beats per minute). Generally, the BPM range can vary from 120 to 160. The structure of tracks mostly had the same pattern, so almost every track had an atmospheric intro, 4/4 rhythm which was followed by oriental and eastern melodies, acid sounds (the legendary TB303) and vocal samples (mostly taken from SF movies).
The climax of the track would usually emerge around 5th minute, although some tracks didn't follow that pattern. Iconography on parties, CD covers and T-shirts was mostly related to Hindu and Buddhist motifs. There were also science-fiction motifs (mostly aliens, UFOs and other characters), colourful psychedelic fractals and drawings.
The end of Goa trance music occurred in the period between 1998./1999. with the newly formed psy trance sound which was rather minimalistic comparing to Goa trance, containing less melodies, shorter bass lines and sharper kicks with emphasis on psychedelic sound effects. Many Goa trance projects started to fade, while others formed within the psytrance genre. Although, some other projects kept their former names while they adjusted their production to the present trend. One of such examples is a legendary Goa trance project – Etnica. Many publishers also followed the change, and one of the biggest trance labels, TIP records was renamed to TIP World. TIP Records used to publish Goa trance (The Infinity Project, Doof, Psychopod…) while TIP World started to publish new projects like GMS, Logic Bomb, 1200 Mics, and others.
Goa trance sound of the new millenium
Since I've already written about the history and the uprising of goa trance, this time I've decided to devote more attention to the reincarnation of goa trance music which has emerged in the new millenium. I am sure that I shouldn't write too much about the basics, but in any case, if you did not read the introduction about this theme, I recommend you to read History, uprising and the climax of Goa Trance. The Neogoa synonym is mostly used as an abbreviation of a popular phrase New School Goa which has already become common between the people in the goa trance community. It defines the whole spectrum of goa trance sound which was created after 90's.
The exact birth date of neogoa cannot be determined, but what we can use to mark the first steps into neogoa are the publishers (labels) which started to promote and release the very first new school goa trance music by a new school pioneer artists. One of those was a label from Finland, Tranceform Records, which released the first neogoa album called Anima Mundi, written by Ethereal back in 2003. Besides them, there was a Greek based label called Unicorn Music, which released a few goa trance and nitzhonot releases during the same year.
One year later, a Belgian label Suntrip Records published their first album: Filteria – Sky Input, which helped the label to build the foundations of neogoa sound, and to present itself as a pure new school goa trance publisher. Also in 2004, a well-known Kagdilla Records presented their first uptempo neogoa compilation: V/A – Pure Planet, while the Finnish Tranceform served us with the Ypsilon 5 – Binary Sky album.
It is very important to note that the year of 2005 was marked mostly by re-issues of classical goa trance albums, a trend which was also present in theprevious two years. According to this schematic, several re-issues have been presented, such as: Sandman – Witchcraft, Orion – Futuristic Poetry, Asia 2001 – Amnesia, and Indoor – Progressive Trance, Prana – Geomantik one year earlier. Concerning some new artists in 2005. Suntrip Records published their first compilation called V/A – Apsara, which presented names like: Goasia, Filteria, Radical Distortion, Lost Buddha, Ka-Sol, names which today represent leading artists in this genre. Also, one of the best artists that Suntrip Records presented in 2005 is Khetzal with his wonderful album Corolle (Khetzal – Corolle).
We could say that the year of 2006 was a turning point in a sense of distribution of the new goa trance style, because during that year the publishing of cheap mp3 releases was popularized on the Internet, so spreading the new sound became simple and best of all – available to everyone. A new publisher in the scene – Metapsychic Records was surely accountable for that. Their new compilation Pyramidal Trancendence (Lost Buddha, Astrancer, Travma, Mindsphere, Afgin) is, according to many fans of this genre, even today the best showcase of neogoa style. Then, there was the first release from Lost Buddha – Ataraxia EP. Besides Metapsychic Records' releases, Unicorn Music presented the album Radical Distortion – Regenesis, and also a split album Goasia vs. Omegahertz – Purple Energy 2. In the same year, Suntrip Records presented a full length release Ka-Sol – Fairytale, and a second Filteria's album Filteria – Heliopolis. Israeli collective Old Is Gold also released Afgin's album Afgin – Old Is Gold."
"The year of 2007 was a year of mp3 releases, when this form of released albums and compilations reached it's peak. New labels and new artists were emerging quickly, and the fans of this genre were practically overwhelmed by the new releases. On the other hand, Suntrip Records presented their new CDs: Goasia – From Other Spaces (album), Dimension 5 – Transdimensional (remastered), and their second compilation: V/A – Twist Dreams. Metapsychic Records announced their first full length albums in 2007, and the first artist who got to release was a Turkish producer Mindsphere with his new album Inner Cyclone. The second album featured on Metapsychic Records was the one from a Croatian producer, Vox – Innerpolarity which was also in a free mp3 form. Along with the above mentioned, they also published their second compilation V/A – Human Hyperactivation, which featured two tracks of Croatian neogoa projects – Liquid Flow & Brain Technology. The Lost Buddha project (the co-founder of Metapsychic Records) released his another EP in the same year, and a full length Lost Buddha – Untold Stories (2004-2007) which contained some of his unreleased tracks. In Israel, Old Is Gold collective released their new compilation Golden Vibes 1 & 2. The scene became richer with a new label from Austria, Phototropic Records , which releases it's first album Nolax – Persistence 2.0. Besides these, Kagdila Records published their second part of Pure Planet compilation, and the Canadian net-label Ektoplazm published a couple of EP releases. In the end, it's worth mentioning that the 2007 was marked both by a great and bad news. The good one was the revival of the cult Flying Rhino label, while the sad one is the closing down of a young and perspective Metapsychic Records, which is covered by a rather long drama.
The year of 2008 was full of great releases by Suntrip Records, which started with the compilation V/A – Sundrops (Light In Motion). The same label published an album of the legendary Norwegian duo: Ra – 9th. Austrian label, Phototropic Records, released six albums: Amithaba Buddha – Goa Gate, Nolax – Persistence 2.0 (remastered issue), Zolphinia – Utopia, ArmagedDance – Dimension Surfers, Pandemonium! – Muinomednap! (side project Filipe Santos aka Lost Buddha) and a nitzhonot album Agneton – Horizon In Your Head. Besides the mentioned releases, there were also V/A – Jelly Marbles, and Amitahaba Buddha – Psyramid EP. Old Is Gold label from Israel released the third part of the Golden Vibes series, and Shivlink Records published V/A – Goa Times (Now And Then) which featured some of the old goa trance classics, together with neogoa tracks. Some of the notable EPs which came out in 2008 are those from a neighboring Serbian label Ultiva Records: E-Mantra – Signals EP, and Amanians – Induced Experience EP. Canadian Ektoplazm presented Magic & Witchcraft – Misty Shades EP in the same year, in a form of free release.
During the year of 2009, Suntrip strikes back at Phototropic with a significant number of releases in one year. Suntrip launched a bunch of interesting releases: Afgin – Astral Experience, E-Mantra – Arcana, Filteria – Daze Of Our Lives, Merr0w – Born Underwater, Radical Disortion – Psychedelic Dreams, and a MP3 album: Filteria – Remixes + Unreleaseds. The Russian Zvukotronika Records published two new free albums of a Russian project ArmagedDance: ArmagedDance – Homo Astricus & ArmagedDance – Kray Neba. In the same year, Ultiva Records released an album :California Sunshine & Har-El – Dark Side Of The Brain, while a Croatian project Liquid Flow made his first album for Kagdila Records, Liquid Flow – Presence. Newborn online label UAF Records (UAF – Underground Alien Factory) released it's first full length issue: SETI Project – Tribal Trance, and three free EPs: Goalogy – Secret Tales EP, NK47 – Outer Space Shaman EP and PharaOm – Awakening Bodhisattva EP. When it comes to compilations, the 2008 saw a lot of interesting releases, such as: Kagdila Records' V/A – Pure Planet Vol. 3, while Phototropic Records launched V/A – Artificial Sun, V/A – The Sitting Goddess and V/A – Ya Wichna. Moonquest Records from Romania published their showcase compilation V/A – Organic Vision. Israeli Cronomi Records presented some new names on their remarkable V/A – People Walk Funny compilation, while a newborn labels Sita Records and Ezel-Ebed Records launched V/A – Nitz-Ho-Goa and V/A – Alternative Colours, respectively.
The first half of 2010 was marked by a great album from Ukrainian project Alienapia – Goapocalipsis which was released by Ukrainian goa trance label Space Baby Records. It's also worth to mention great albums by a Polish project Artha – Influencing Dreams which was released on Israeli Cronomi Records as their first full length album. Also there was the second album from Goasia: Goasia – Dancing With The Blue Spirit on Kagdilla Records. For this year, Suntrip Records prepared two sister-compilations: V/A – Energy Waves & V/A – Temple Of Chaos where the main point was to present a difference between the positive and dark atmospheres in the neogoa sound. Turksih label Ezel-Ebed published their second compilation V/A – Elixir Of Life, while the guys in Phototropic published V/A – Goatronika. During this year, the second album by Amithaba Buddha is expected (Amithaba Buddha – Myself In The Mirror), and the second album by Nolax: Nolax – Turning Point. On the other hand, UAF Records & Ektoplazm have introduced some new names through their new EP issues: Beast303 , Somnesia, Grand Cheff, InnerSelf, Sky Technology and others. Cronomi Records presented the introduction to Artha's album in a form of a free online Mp3: Artha – Fluori Dolby EP. Nitzhonot forces from Sita Records also released their second compilation: V/A – Protozoa and announce debut Goalien album."
written by Richpa Source: www.psynews.org
And now we come full circle and back to where my introduction to psy-trance began, with Goa Gil:
Below source: en.traxmag.com
Goa Gil and Mahant Prem Giri Ji Maharaj, 1998
"At the start of 1971, Goa Gil, now named Baba Mangalanand, takes part in Khumba Mela – a pilgrimage that gathers several millions believers. "There, in our camp at Juna Akhara, I was given further initiations, shaved my head and had a mystical experience that anger me forever". "After the Kumbh Mela I went to the Himalayas, to seek out a great Yogi I had head of at the time, to request some teachings."
"At this point, the young American has been travelling the world for two years and has been around wise elderly Hindus for more than one. Nothing matters but spirituality and self reflection. In December 1971, he receives an aerogram from his old friends asking where he was, telling they want to see him, asking him to come to Goa. "I decided that I had to go and see them for Christmas."
After making his way to Delhi, Mangalanand (aka gil) makes his way to Goa. "When the universe gives me hints, I try to follow them. I am living my karma… My Destiny if you prefer." "When I got back to Goa, things had changed! There were more people and small gatherings around bonfires on Anjuna bech nearly every night. People played on drums, flutes and guitars, and I played too. It was a really powerful experience, as due to my higher meditations in Himalayas". Music came through him, giving "blessings" to all who listened: "It was then that I understood the power of music as a tool to transform consciousness and empower people through it's Blessings, and even to take the audience to high states of being".
Music and parties took over the indian beaches. Tourists came by the dozens to celebrate what Goa Gil calls "The Cosmic Spirit."
Goa, 1974
Around this time, the Anjuna beach is populated by the heirs of the hippy culture, the young sâdhu has many ideas and projects. What he learned with the Hindus fuses the party culture as Gil realizes "the power of music." Thereafter he dedicates his life to conveying the teachings he received "using music as a vehicle of transmission". His goal: "Empowering the youth with a spiritual vision, and thereby making the world a better place."
In 1974, one of Gil's musical collaborators of the time, Fantuzzi and his Butterfly Family published a small booklet of poems, drawings and son including one from Mangalanand and give the credit to Goa Gil. "In those days people hand names like that, there was Amsterdam Dave, Kashmiri Robert, Bombay Brian, etc… And since i was Gil who stayed in Goa, I became known as Goa Gil, and the name stuck ! This was long before the techno and trance music started. It was still in the time of acoustic music, even before the parties".
Gil discovers the transcendental and unifying power of music, he organizes his first parties and settles for the stage name of Goa Gil. He sees music like a way to "to go into a trance" and the party as "a suitable vehicle to transmit ideas and knowledge." Music is not electronic yet but the basis of the rave concept are here.
Throughout the 70s, Goa's beaches fill up with tourists that end up settling in. It is the birth of a powerful counter-culture. The ocean, palm trees, dolce vita, jam sessions around the fire, beautiful sky and of course… drugs. Western preoccupations could not be further away.
In Goa, visitors confront their ideas and their creativity to the Indian spirituality. Goa Gil is one of the best examples. The party hedonism mixes with piety and spiritual questioning. Psychedelic culture will feed on that mix like nothing before. As of today, Indian culture still has a major role in the psychedelic world. Thanks to Goa, aum, chakra, karma are now embedded in the ravers' vocabulary.
As time passes, Goa's nightlife constantly grows bigger. Psychedelic rock guitars are slowly replaced by synthesizer, while in the West, electronic music is developing. In 1975, Goa already dances to the sounds of Kraftwerk and Propaganda, "this kind of mainstream music that came to us."
According to Gil, "Goa turned 100% electronic in the 80s" thanks to new comers "like the French, DJ Laurent and Suiss DJ Ruedi, who were among the first ones to mix electronic music in Goa". In his mix, he incorporates dance music and psychedelic rock. The sound may have come from the West but the atmosphere and the inspiration was from nowhere but Goa.
"There were no parties like ours anywhere else in the world Goa Gil remembers as he strokes his endless grey beard. They expressed our ideas and our dreams." It is the birth of parties with heavy basses, good vibes, dark dancefloors and fluorescent paint.
Goa becomes a place for experimentation. Ravers tripping their heads off stumble upon monastic Indian sâdhus. The modern rave spirit is being shaped, the one we find today in many events around the world and that people usually associate with the Spiral Tribe.
Full consciousness, letting yourself go, sharing, free party, self-organization, mutual respect, anti-materialism, all those values come together in Goa and create a ground for a new way of thinking and partying from the meeting between western tourists and the Indian people. The community gets bigger, the message improves and spreads: Goa Gil finds the magic.
The Golden age and the birth of Goa's trance music
"The first tourists were mostly Swiss and French but Christmas 1988 saw the arrival of many tourists from the United Kingdom. I met talented people like Youth and Raja Ram, among others. They had already heard about te parties and me! We welcomed them and they become part of our family discovering our scene, our spirit.
It is a powerful shock for the musicians who discover what Goa is about musically. They start to produce sounds that fit with this spirit even once they are back in the UK. Transcendence seeking, tribal inspiration and dance culture are what they thrive on. Youth gives birth to Dragonfly and Raja Ram to T.I.P Records, Goa Gil humbly says: "I did not create anything on my own, it was them, it as an entire community. We were trying to make the perfect music for Goa's beaches."
Their music is derived from EBM and the acid house that starts to flourish in West in the late 80s, rather it has rounder bass lines, faster rhythms and an obvious preference for mental atmospheres. In addition to the old affection of psychedelic rock for the tribal kick, the folk and sound.
The first tracks they produce also encapsulate the whole Goa philosophy. They are filled with acoustic sounds or religious atmospheres that echo the community's values and its quest for transcendence and edited with effects of every kind. Vocals, prayers, mantras or philosophical texts will later make their way into trance music.
The early 90s are Goa's golden age. The atmosphere is "crazy and authentic". Everyone in Goa is swallowed in a creative and positive spiral, the region becomes a tourist attraction. The deserted place that the young Gilbert found when he first arrived is now a crowded beach that never sleeps.
Eventually the utopia falls short, magic seems to be so volatile. "When the locals and local authorities understood that there was money to make out of it, they started to monitor Goa's nightlife, he proceeds with a darker tone. They then created a situation where it was not possible for us to make parties by ourselves, there had to be a local bar owner or some kind of local person involved in taking permissions." History always repeat itself. On top of that the locals start to be fed up with the permanent "boom boom boom", and write letters o the newspapers, creating a kind of hysteria with a section of the local Catholic population about the evils of these "Hippie Full Moon Parties".
In the 2000s, Goa almost became a first class tourist destination. Party goers came from all around the world to get smashed in what almost looked like conventional parties. The hippy aesthetic is still there but the spirit is slowly dying as the early bohemians of Goa start to make their way home. The government's intervention might be questionable but it made Goa the first state on GDP per inhabitant in India.
The spirit and the atmosphere are not completely dead though, and it still influences electronic music and the rave culture. Ibiza is a good example but Burning Man, the freetekno movement and most of the trance festivals are also on the list. None of the above mentioned can ignore its affiliation to the Goa years and Goa Gil and his friends.
Goa Gil wears many different hats. Artist, priest, event organizer, philosopher… But it is his DJ sets that made him famous. He has always pushed back the limits with ever longer sets. 12, 24 hours, sometimes even more. And everything is on tape ! But none of that would have been possible without meeting Arian McAvoy a.k.a. Nimba.
The young french woman becomes his partner in music and she will never leave his surroundings. Their psychedelic all-night longs sets were not nights be missed. Together they create the duo The Nommoswhich has left a burning mark on the psychedelic culture.
About his sets Gil explains: "Playing music is my way to worship the Universe and the Cosmic Spirit. I set up my puja, say my Mantras, plug in my hardware and the Ritual starts"
"Mixing all night long is what I do and what I have always done." Therefore he rarely will ever appear on any line-up. He prefers to play along, with Ariane, and that way he "can take the crowd on a mystical musical journey and bring them to where music and dance meet Divinity.."
How is that possible at this age? We can already hear the scandalmongers and their rumours, but Goa Gil is not the kind of guy to chemically boost himself up. "By the Blessings of Guru Maharaja I have become the man I am today, and is through his Blessings that all of this is possible!"
"Har Har Mahadev! Jai Ma! Jai GuruDev! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namo Narayan", he repeated.
"In the spiritual path, nothing is possible without self surrender. In that spirit I have become a servant of the Divine. I do not work for myself but for the greater good of the Universe and Life itself. If there is something in front of me, that the Universe shows me that needs to be done, I do it without question! It is my Duty".
Today, Goa Gil still regularly tours around the world. Brazil, Japan, California, South Africa and few festival appearances… His schedule is quite busy but he still finds time to rest in India a few months every year. "India is my spiritual home and my spiritual family is there".
He does not endorse all the evolutions of the trance scene but he assures that he does not play "tracks older than a year." He receives the tunes he plays from the artists and labels he has been working with for a long time, and of course the many artists who also send him tracks with hopes that he will play them in his sets."There are so many good producers these days, amongst my favourites are Sectio Aurea, Dark Whisper, Dog of Tears and Fractal Cowboys." If there are no Ace Ventura or Ajja on that inventory, it is because Goa Gil belongs to another strand of trance music: "I do not have time to listen to what everyone is doing these days. I have listen to many kinds of techno and trance music during the last many years and what I play now is the new evolution of all of that, the way I see it."
Clearly darker and harder to get into, Goa Gil's music is meant to capture minds and bodies in a storm of effect, frantic rhythms and psychedelic noises. The artist sees dance as a form of "active meditation". With high BPMs and captivating sounds, Goa Gil tries to generate intense sensations in his public.
Goa Gil is the perfect answer to those who try to demonize ravers and their spirit. He is not only the spiritual father of the latter he is also a priest. This unexpected combination shows how virtuous the rave movement is and its profoundly pure and generous intentions. The man, who never saw DJing as just playing records, has now a fatherly view on ravers all over the world. "The spiritual part is primordial in the rave, he says with a caring and positive stare. The music must allow for inner development not become a business object."
When asked about the party's bad sides he replies: "People evolve at their own pace; we all live our karma and you need to start somewhere. I can only hope that people are on the right path and that rave has not evolved to simple concept of people just taking drugs." Before concluding: "The point is to learn to control yourself, to do your best and convert negative situations in positive energy."
Before concluding: "The Art of Living is to be like the Alchemist. Just like he transforms lead into gold, we must learn to transform all negative situations into positive situations to make the world a better place.
Since the beginning of time mankind used music and dance to commune with nature and the Spirit of the Universe. We are using trance music and the trance dance experience to set off a chain reaction in consciousness. This is what we call : "Redefining the ancient tribal ritual for the 21st century. dance is active meditation. When we dance we go beyond thought, beyond mind, and beyond our own individuality. This is the essence of the trance dance experience."
So, I leave you the only way I can, by letting the music do the talking. This has been my homage to Trance, Goa Psy-trance and Global Dance music:
Next time: Vagabonding preparations pt4
Hippie19Kushi
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