What's with the trance scene these days?

[themagicmushroom]

EDIT/DISCLAIMER: I know that a few ppl on this board attend doofs... This thread is not meant to offend anyone, I just need to vent and ask Qs (i started going to HHC and cheesy club trance partys in '01, discovered psy around 2002, went to my 1st doof in 02, then into dnb and breaks, full time psy-trancer since 2004, just so you know where i'm coming from... yes, I'm a newbie.)

Has the psy scene always been this much of a shit-fight? I always thought it was about you know, peace, love, social and environmental activism, and, of course, dancing. I almost cry when I venture onto the forums at australiens these days. It's an ego-centric slagging match. I mean, it's about fun and positive energy right? right? well, apparently not anymore.

I turn up to partys, put the effort in to make them work, generally as an unpaid volunteer and get abused at the gate by ppl leaving because the musics not "good" (dark) enough or the decor is not up their alley? People wander round freaking out and getting embarresed because a friend of theirs has been shouted acid for the first time, and is "making a scene" (the dudes having a ball and is letting go for probably the first time in their life....)...

what happened to the concept of a temporary autonomous zone? Whats with the small huddles of ppl talking to noone they haven't met before? Whats with the scenesters who cut out ppl who haven't been in the scene for more than 2 years? I don't get it. g-heads, ice junkies and alcohol? WHAT THE FUCK is psychedelic about ice? For that matter, what the fuck is psychedelic about DJs egos, promoters bitching about the crowd they pulled (specifically bitching about newbies who are HAVING A GOOD TIME AND HAVE A POSITIVE VIBE) and drunk bogans harrasing women WITHOUT BEING PULLED UP ON IT???

I'm not gonna ditch it yet, because sometimes the shit blows over and the party-ppl come out to play... But those occasions are few n far between these days. In fact, I'm gonna get into promoting my own small partys, and I'm curently designing a website for my crew, with a msg board for the punters. I wanna build a new scene w/o the crap, without the 24/7 dark-as-satan music (which IMO is part of the problem, some ppl just pick-up that vibe a little to much, and start incorporating the evil side of psy into them selves. Why not the positive? I mean, dark music's got its place in the journey, but dark sunrise sets? WTF? samples of babys screaming?? I remember one newcastle party that was playing all this violent imagery on the visuals, and over-heard a conversation where they were debating wether or not to play snuff films? WHAT THE FUCK!?!

I'm not in this scene to be underground or elite, I'm here to dance my arse off and meet NEW ppl. How can I do that if the psytrance-elite cut said new ppl out before they even know them? Fuck, I could go on, but i'm getting angry dwelling on it.

Some questions. Was it always like this? where are the hippies? and is it even worth trying to rescue or should I just leave it alone and go back to tripping alone and with mates?

BUT I WANNA DANCE UNDER THE STARS, PLEASE TELL ME I STILL CAN, SOMEWHERE.

maybe the true dancers have moved on? If so, can someone hook me up with their partys? I PROMISE I'M IN IT FOR THE LOVE.

Or is this just whats known as 'jaded', and i'm just looking for something that was never there to begin with?

sorry about the rant, i hope i didn't offend anyone, peace and love to all

"To the universe belongs the dancer. He who does not dance does not know what is."

[-]Mikee[+]

Edited July 1, 2006 by themagicmushroom

[-YT-]

"To the universe belongs the dancer. He who does not dance does not know what is."

Most of the Hippies are in Adelaide Mush I can see the point you make with in the scene itself and the dodgy parties and patrons etc. I imagine its all about the crews organising the partys and the types of ppl those certain crews & partys pull, and also the constant fighting between orgainsers etc. The scene here is full of Love and has little to do with meth/ice/alcohol and is very much about the Music, dancing, freedom of individual personal expression, coming together with similar people and celebrating the dance, not about how fucked up one can get... Sounds a bit sad when there is complaining about new faces especially when alot of them are very interesting and good ppl, And i really enjoy the diversity and meeting so many interested and swicted on beings.

I encourage you to start promoting your own small partys and take them in a more positive direction/energy, and to look for those special Doofs which are out there but getting harder to find. Dont give up

[alkatrope]

Hahhaha man you oughta meet Rich and Sam-I-Am

Yeah you're learning the ways of the jadedness, alot of us end up there

ps Newcastle doofs sound ok music-wise - down in vic we're bombarded with cheese (we have ozzy hehe) and there are few parties that play a decent amount of dark.

But also down here we don't seem to experience as much shit as up north, the bitching and fighting and elitism, drunk kiddies etc (although there is a little).

[Rev]

Well its certainly in NNSW

this area seems in a distinct senescence

wheras SE qld is in a growth phase

i suspect its cyclical...

[apothecary]

I turn up to partys, put the effort in to make them work, generally as an unpaid volunteer and get abused at the gate by ppl leaving because the musics not "good" (dark) enough or the decor is not up their alley? People wander round freaking out and getting embarresed because a friend of theirs has been shouted acid for the first time, and is "making a scene" (the dudes having a ball and is letting go for probably the first time in their life....)...

what happened to the concept of a temporary autonomous zone? Whats with the small huddles of ppl talking to noone they haven't met before? Whats with the scenesters who cut out ppl who haven't been in the scene for more than 2 years? I don't get it. g-heads, ice junkies and alcohol? WHAT THE FUCK is psychedelic about ice? For that matter, what the fuck is psychedelic about DJs egos, promoters bitching about the crowd they pulled (specifically bitching about newbies who are HAVING A GOOD TIME AND HAVE A POSITIVE VIBE) and drunk bogans harrasing women WITHOUT BEING PULLED UP ON IT???

I'm not gonna ditch it yet, because sometimes the shit blows over and the party-ppl come out to play... But those occasions are few n far between these days. In fact, I'm gonna get into promoting my own small partys, and I'm curently designing a website for my crew, with a msg board for the punters. I wanna build a new scene w/o the crap, without the 24/7 dark-as-satan music (which IMO is part of the problem, some ppl just pick-up that vibe a little to much, and start incorporating the evil side of psy into them selves. Why not the positive? I mean, dark music's got its place in the journey, but dark sunrise sets? WTF? samples of babys screaming?? I remember one newcastle party that was playing all this violent imagery on the visuals, and over-heard a conversation where they were debating wether or not to play snuff films? WHAT THE FUCK!?!

The first doof I decided to go to outside of the NNSW area (which have usually been good to me) was the Convergence party at Ourimbah state forest.

We dropped some good 'cid expecting the party to be a mindblowingly good time, especially considering it was free...

I know how you feel TMM.

I don't really have anything against people drinking, but when people come into the bush, get smashed, begin setting off bad vibes and leaving their drinking refuse...

We only met a couple of interesting/nice people over the course of the night...mainly because just as the cid was kickin in, the music turned dark and we began freaking out (which has never happened to me before ever, on any psychedelic)...

I have never heard such shit in my entire life. Who is coming up with this truly evil music, and why? What purpose does it serve? My poor bastard friend had dropped cid for the first time, and was definitely not handling well by about 11pm, I had to take him out into the bush away from the music and get him distracted by the acacias...

Evil sounds, strange beats (not in a good way), and even more fucked up visuals on the screen. I think there must have been close to ten sound systems, and even the one in the car park was scaring the shit out of me.

And like you said, people pick up on that vibe! So the negative energy really multiplies...

In the end at about 3am, we gave up on trying to get some stomping in or meet any cool people, and drove up to the next campsite so we could enjoy the remainder of the trip in peace.

The bush up there is beautiful, with an amazing energy of its own, but really I don't think I want to go doofing around these parts ever again.

I shudder just thinking about parts of that night...

[spiders]

I think the whole scene lost it a while back so i guess im already jaded. I mean parties just arent the same nowdays - although i havent actually been to one for a while.

But once it was all about peace, love and ekkies - nows its all about looking good and making sure everyone else sees how good you are at the melbourne shuffle.

Bring back the old days - docks, hardware, etc...

[Pelinster]

Please don't think I am trying to negate the energy of this thread, and let me say that I know squat about raves/doofs/etc.. I am actually more aligned with the metal scene as a muso/listener, but I have an open mind (try to anyway ).

But my question is, who are the dark psy-trance artists?! I want to get some!

I only heard music of this kind for the first time at EGA during Krusty's dance workshop. Some of it was so darn evil! I love dark music. Not completely all the time of course - I like stuff that is really dark, but it has to contains some kind of contrast. I only truly experience the beauty of a touching melody if it rises from darkness. Probably to do with my past, as I see myself as someone who has risen from darkness :D. This is probably why I love Progressive/Death/Melodic Metal.

I have searched and searched for stuff of this kind, but I wonder if it is really even 'psy-trance' because I haven't been able to find anything even closely related. I have found dark stuff simply under the label of 'electronica' but it must have been old as it contained overused samples/drum loops that I have already heard 100,000 times in other songs .

Any help with this, even just the name of a song or two if not an artist, would be appreciated.

Sorry to side track a bit..

[ferret]

neuromotor, mandalavandalz, n3xu5, talpa and odd harmonic all scare the bejeezers outta me eek!

[findbuddha]

I've heard a fair bit of psytrance and the closest thing I've heard to evil music is samples of Slayer lyrics .... can someone please tell me some evil artists? Talpa scary?????

[alkatrope]

Hehe with the exception of some old N3xu5, those artists are far from dark

Some nice dark albums I'd recommend are:

Electrypnose - Le Tireur Des Ficelles

Grapes Of Wrath and Meteloids - Tits On Fire

Claw Vs Paranoize - Deadly Alliance

Kindzadza & Friends - 13 Dimension Ceonnection

Para Halu - The World Of Peace

And pretty much anything from Parvati Records is great (Naked Tourist album being an exception imo).

[Pelinster]

Thanks guys, I'll get on to that.

[spiders]

i cant really think of any psytrance that sounds evil in the way that some of the other styles can - check out diesel boy or Concord Dawn from NZ. I guess that more nasty, sassy spankie music though...

When I heard Lab 4 at earthcore a couple of years back i nearly exploded with the pure evol of the whole thing, but i saw them again and they were utter shite...

[PD.]

haha, Concord dawn are fuckin awesome. I suggest everyone check them out.

also, Astral projection, old but good.

Edited July 3, 2006 by Passive backseat demon engine.

[Salviador]

For starters, im new and optimistic and idealistic.

Secondly, if you say you can only do a certain kind of drug at a doof then you are being one of those scenesters and close minded people who have a rigid view of what an ideal doof is. People who take too much of anything lose consideration for others, then they may cause people to become uncomfortable, but hey doofings about fun amongst other things isnt it?

In my experience, when i think that i know how something SHOULD be, then that leads me to a) become disappointed that it is not like that clash with people who have a different view. When countries know that they are right, and other people are wrong, wars happen. When one group is right and the other group is sure theyre right too, fighting occurs.

The future belongs to those who will take hold of it. For me, doofing is constantly changing, the best things about it that i like, are that its out doors, that i meet people randomly, (tho not all the time) and i always learn something, even if it is confronting .*sometimes the experiences are scary and unpleasant* but i think that is a positive thing, coz it shows me im being too rigid.

[Rev]

id rather a big thumbs up but thisll do -

to Salviadors comments

I have never heard such shit in my entire life. Who is coming up with this truly evil music, and why? What purpose does it serve?

Evil?

no - it depends on what your definition of "evil" is

Dark n twisted destructive insanity is not evil, it is dark n twisted destructed insanity

and its an essential part of a balance whole

I crave dark psy

its the place i want to be at at 3-4 am

battling demons, sloughing off the psychic exoskeleton

its a celebration and invocation of life in chaos and transformation

and then the light returns with the other side of dawn

and then its time for reintegration as the dawn set progresses to the morning set which is a celebration of life in balance

if i dont get my dose of dark then its just doesnt feel right

Evil is...

ignorance

and

Cheezy belgian happy hardcore

[mesq]

Great post rev.

I really like Dark, psychedelic music in the middle of the night... yet I would not call it evil... I love it. It's twisted it's psychedelic and it reflects what I used to like my psychedelics to do to me as well...

At night time at a doof I believe its important to give people the oppurtunity to express those pent up shadow aspects of ourselves in the form of weird sounds and dance... And as a result I love to play music that helps people engage in aspects of their psyche that are brought up by very weird psychedelic musics...

People who wig out over music, and actively complain about it to everyone and anyone, need to realise that "this too will also pass" and that it is in the way you deal with the onslaught of the music that the true understanding of what this music does to the dancefloor, to the human mind etc etc...

There is alot of music that I do not like at parties, but I do not let that become a reason for me to start freaking out... I use that time when there is music I dont like to go and experience nature, to socialise... to go off by myself and meditate on why the music is making me feel bad...

In response to who are the Dark artists... I liked some of Ferrets and Alkatropes suggestions

I would add

Try do a search for these record labels on www.saikosounds.com or www.psyshop.com if you are after dark musics....

Doof Records

Parvati Records

Inpsyde Media

Noise Poison Records

Sanaton Records

Trishula Records

Schlabbadeurst Rekkords

Cosmic Theatre

Cannibal Syndrome records ....

Mistress of Evil Records

I believe these record labels represent some of the better more intelligent "Dark" Psytrance

Don't forget to check out Gi'iwa Productions new compilation of Fresh Funky weird Psytrance available soon from all good retailers....

www.giiwa.com

If anyone is interested I will be playing chunky nighttime goodness at a Party in NNSW in august... In fact its a whole "dark"party !!

No wiggers.

[simon_marklar]

i've been in the sydney psy scene from pretty much day dot. It has changed alot but one constant thing is the people who come into it, experience something, then think that every doof must be like that. They're not. each one is its own entity, to be evaluated not by the memorys of past stomps but by what you did this time. Some are going to be worse than others. Some are nothing more than a ditch party, a bunch of speakers in the mud with some a handful of people. the sydney scene is going though a period where the old promoters have lost too much money to keep doing this as they have been, and the new guys are just starting to figure out how to do things properly. but in order for them to learn that they have had to make mistakes first. there are some good parties coming soon, espeically one on november 4th (which is one day before my 30th birthday! yay!)

Yes, there are alot of jaded people. they are in any scene. and yes, people do tend to stand around in groups thesedays. but hey, here's a suggestion. go up and start talking to them. If they are looking at you weird, well, lets break this down. they are at a party in the bush. they are on a probably on psychedelic drug... now, why on earth would they be keeping to themselves, or looking strangely around the place? hmmm i wonder...

for example im a very shy person, usually very introverted at a party. if im not dancing im standing around listening/looking. once people start talking to me they're supprised and comment "oh i didnt think you would be like this at all!, you're really nice!"... the problem is on thier end, not mine. im enjoying myself, they mis-interpreted that enjoyment. but once we start talking everything cool. im trying to say something here but it seems so obvious i cant see it. ouch i ran into a tree.

as for people complaining about the music... well, just laugh at them. I learnt long ago that if i dont like the music, i can go for a bushwalk, swim or chat. there are lots of different sub genres of psy thesedays that its hard to please everyone, espeically if they have thier heads up thier asses.

dark psy... bores me to tears most of the time. my best friend runs illuminati records and he's about the only night DJ i can stand for extened periods, because he knows how to vary the sound, so its not just relentless pummelling and mindless synthfarts. but that doesnt mean i dont like night time psy. tech trance is my love and i will be helping bring it back soon if all goes to plan - to those that think dark psy is dark, i direct your attention to "thing" by the delta. (shitty mp3 low copy doesnt do it justice, but the wolves howling in the background throughout the track has freaked plenty of people out... not to mention when the baby starts screaming/crying ) thats a dark, scary track when you hear it late at night in the bush. it would be even scarier if we were in europe with wolves somewhere in the forest with us! :D

but you have to understand, in sydney dark psy is a reaction to the progressive bore that came before, which was a backlash against the cheesy isreali shit we got bombarded with before that. Basically young kids who fell in love with the style, couldnt get gigs anywhere else becuase of politics... so they put their own parties on, with the music style they like. whats happening now is that they realise they need different sounds and the splinter that was happening before (where you would get prog only or full on only parties) is healing, and we get a nice journey. the Scorb party was an absolute success in that regards according to all who went (i was looking after the bubs so i couldnt go )

there are dodgey people in the scene just like every scene. but a party is what you make of it. dont ever forget that. if you see bogans making women uncomfortable, dont bitch about it, do something about it. if you dont like something, you are always free to have ago yourself and try to dfo better. there are heaps of people willing to help. about as many, if not more than the amount of people who are prepared to bitch..

[simon_marklar]

The first doof I decided to go to outside of the NNSW area (which have usually been good to me) was the Convergence party at Ourimbah state forest.

what you went to was put on by the old sydney techno crew... they used to be very much into thier amphetamine and industrial machinery etc, some very fucked up but very creative people there... whilst it had a psy stage, most of the music there is hardly ever (make that never) heard at your average psy trance doof...

i couldnt take acid at one of thier parties. the music is too harsh for that...

[mesq]

whats happening now is that they realise they need different sounds and the splinter that was happening before (where you would get prog only or full on only parties) is healing, and we get a nice journey. the

Thats why I like QLD parties... they are diverse musically and always have a journey to the flow of programming...

[alkatrope]

Oh another 'dark' psy album I've been listeneing to alot recently and would recommend;

Ghreg On Earth - Sigilweaver

[themagicmushroom]

Secondly, if you say you can only do a certain kind of drug at a doof then you are being one of those scenesters and close minded people who have a rigid view of what an ideal doof is.

to an extent sure, however doing 1,4b in ther bush 300ks from a hospital is fucking stupid. OD at a rave, your in hospital in 10 mins. The guy I found PASSED OUT IN THE BUSH AT FRACTAL 3 looked blue as fuck to me... took me 20 mins to bring him round, take him back to the party... what does he do? FUCKING REDOSE IN FRONT OF ME! The dude almost died already! WTF? Cardinal rule for drugs.. set and setting. Doofs are unequivically the wrong setting for G. IN MY OPINION. I'm not a nazi, I just don't want ppl ODing at partys that I help run. Because that makes ME legally and, to a certain extent, ethically, responsible. Wanting ppl to party reasonably safely makes me a scenester? Cool, I'm a scenester then. Deaths fuck it for the rest of us.

essential part of a balance whole

I crave dark psy

its the place i want to be at at 3-4 am

battling demons, sloughing off the psychic exoskeleton

its a celebration and invocation of life in chaos and transformation

and then the light returns with the other side of dawn

and then its time for reintegration as the dawn set progresses to the morning set which is a celebration of life in balance

if i dont get my dose of dark then its just doesnt feel right

exactly. NOT 24/7 165 bpm smash smash thump thump bend bend smash smash music. IN BALENCE.

dark is part of the journey

the sydney scene is going though a period where the old promoters have lost too much money to keep doing this as they have been, and the new guys are just starting to figure out how to do things properly. but in order for them to learn that they have had to make mistakes first. there are some good parties coming soon, espeically one on november 4th (which is one day before my 30th birthday! yay!)

sept 30 - the awakening. should be kick arse! come checkout our chill stage and our movie tent/area. (brought to you by "the entheogen DVDs")

go up and start talking to them. If they are looking at you weird, well, lets break this down. they are at a party in the bush. they are on a probably on psychedelic drug... now, why on earth would they be keeping to themselves, or looking strangely around the place? hmmm i wonder...

for example im a very shy person, usually very introverted at a party. if im not dancing im standing around listening/looking. once people start talking to me they're supprised and comment "oh i didnt think you would be like this at all!, you're really nice!"... the problem is on thier end, not mine. im enjoying myself, they mis-interpreted that enjoyment. but once we start talking everything cool. im trying to say something here but it seems so obvious i cant see it. ouch i ran into a tree.

point taken

as for people complaining about the music... well, just laugh at them.

That'd be no fun..... then I couldn't complain about the dark music...

the Scorb party was an absolute success in that regards according to all who went (i was looking after the bubs so i couldnt go )

Yeah, I heard it was fantastic, my lift pulled out on the saturday was amped too...

there are dodgey people in the scene just like every scene. but a party is what you make of it. dont ever forget that. if you see bogans making women uncomfortable, dont bitch about it, do something about it.

I do.

if you dont like something, you are always free to have ago yourself and try to dfo better. there are heaps of people willing to help. about as many, if not more than the amount of people who are prepared to bitch..

we've been working fulltime at 90% of the partys that we go to... Done either decor or the chill area at D-sypha tha code, Erisian, Awakening 05, Fractal 3 (15 hours on the fucking gate in the rain....), Elixir 7... + many more.... We're gearing up to do our own productions this season...

[/promotion]

sry if i sounded snappy in my responses... bit tired right now....

Peace to all (and bed for me.)

Mikee.

Edited July 4, 2006 by themagicmushroom

[apothecary]

There's a lot of stuff here I agree with. Most of it.

My bad. It appears I attached the label "dark" to the music being played at this party (that appears to not even be a doof) and you guys are defending something I've probably never even heard before.

I wish I had spoken to you before heading to the party, simon! Would've saved me a lot of effort.

People who wig out over music, and actively complain about it to everyone and anyone, need to realise that "this too will also pass" and that it is in the way you deal with the onslaught of the music that the true understanding of what this music does to the dancefloor, to the human mind etc etc...

There is alot of music that I do not like at parties, but I do not let that become a reason for me to start freaking out... I use that time when there is music I dont like to go and experience nature, to socialise... to go off by myself and meditate on why the music is making me feel bad...

I reckon that's a pretty unfair way of putting it...

Firstly I am immensely aware of the power and duration of the psychedelic experience, so not only did I deal with it without complaint (only even mentioning it in a seemingly appropriate thread about the trance scene) but I also managed to help my friend along.

Also, I feel it wasn't really a matter of like or dislike in my case, nor a matter of "dose" of a certain type of music at a certain time. Like simon said this is the only music that was being played at the party, all night long.

Our attempts to get out into nature or socialise were both foiled by the fact that there was literally no escaping the music. The cool people we met at the beginning of the night seemed to melt away as the music turned, being replaced by aggressive and loud people of a different sort.

As I mentioned, even in the carpark there was a soundsystem blaring this stuff.

Meditation in the presence of this music? Forgive my skepticism :/

Again. It seems you guys are defending something different to what I experienced (my fault) and I'd challenge you to handle it in my shoes

As for going in with preconceptions on how the night would/should unfold, I went in with nothing except excitement at another day and night of my life and a 10 strip. I left my fate in the hands of the night and as always I accept what came and what is to come.

The only mistaken assumption I made was that we were attending a psytrance party, when rather we stumbled into something else.

[Rev]

just Re: scenesters

ive never been able to make it to that level

in the doof scene im a nobody from nowhere who does anonymous things on the dancefloor

im far to committed elsewhere and too distant to be closely involved in any scene i cant access via PC

ive found many parties confronting or disappointing and yeah ive bitched

but also i go away and realise my own negativity and preconception had a role in making that party shit for me

and thats a valuable lesson ive gotten from it i must keep on relearning

just to open up to it. experiences outside the comfort zone really make you face your prejudices and your tendency to label people and events

In retrospect ive often realised that if only i had of approached a situation with an open mind i would have seen its true value

if i hadnt nitpicked on technical failings of organisers or whatever and just cut them the slack for the job they do and im not prepeared to do but benefit from

its easy to get jaded when you think uve seen it all, some kind of seniority complex

but it also seems to blind somewhat from the avant garde of creative juices happenning here and now

its easy to condemn what happenning now as crap and have 20/20 hindsight to the past on what was good

but its harder to be open enough to see good shit for what it is in its own time.

youve got to be careful or you just turn into an old wigger

[simon_marklar]

whats with this quoting crap? where's my previous quotes? makes it hard to understand...

sept 30 - the awakening. should be kick arse! come checkout our chill stage and our movie tent/area. (brought to you by "the entheogen DVDs")

wikked! i'll be there... im playing sometime at that party.. they havnt told me when tho, but i have faith in tquest - they are the best, most professional... and they are teh nicest people ever!

That'd be no fun..... then I couldn't complain about the dark music...

hahaha

I do.

we've been working fulltime at 90% of the partys that we go to... Done either decor or the chill area at D-sypha tha code, Erisian, Awakening 05, Fractal 3 (15 hours on the fucking gate in the rain....), Elixir 7... + many more.... We're gearing up to do our own productions this season...

[/promotion]

sry if i sounded snappy in my responses... bit tired right now....

Peace to all (and bed for me.)

Mikee.

Fractal 3... so you got screwed by sprouts too eh? sprouts used to spend ages bitching to me about what he saw as problems in the scene... then turned around and did just about every one of them to me... others had similar stories...

doing it yourself is the best way, helping others usually leads to being screwed around, unless its an established promoter with a good rep (even then it can go belly up easily). if you need help with anything gimmie a yell, if i can help, i will (baby permitting, of course )

%simon

[indigo264nm]

Newcastle doofs are def good. The Revealing Mind crew has probably thrown some of my most memorable parties, as I haven't ventured to any parties outside my region i.e. NNSW or other states.

I'm new to the scene, and don't go as often as I'd like to - went to my first party 2 NYE's ago and have had some great times since.

The music has gotta be dark at night methinks, like Rev said. It's those twisted chaotic mindbending sounds that feed the night time insanity and then when the sun comes up and the music changes it becomes a whole new level to the experience.

I also don't think Talpa is dark.

One thing I've got to mention is about a fri night-sun arvo I went to last year that kinda killed the vibes (Simon, you mentioned this to me once before as well)... it was DJ's mixing too much prog and not giving any motivation to actually stomp around. Infact I did not dance much over that weekend, more just wandered around in a mangled acid haze - which was somewhat enjoyable but I really do love dancing to live music - be it dnb, acid, electro, house or psytrance.

Also I need to mention that I actually enjoy having a beer or two at a doof, especially when it's summer. Alcohol can be good in combinations, and sometimes I find some alcohol great to lower the inhibitions and lock me into a dancing frenzy (like last NYE - didn't leave the floor from 2am-6am)... as long as people can control their drink, don't overdo it, and clean up after themselves.

Amphetamines (especially crystal) has become a part of alot of scenes, as shit as it is. Not much we can do about it I guess.

My 2 cents worth of rant is over.