Not As Fun As A Record Shop

It’s that time again. Shopping for new music has to be one of my least favourite things to do. Well, of course it is fantastic when you find a gem, but sifting through the masses of very average (or worse) music out there these days is often more a chore than and adventure. Times have changed and sitting in front of a computer sifting through it all is simply not that much fun.

I do miss the days of going to the record store. You would run into other DJ’s you knew, even if they played a totally different style of music, and there was a sort of sense of community there. The guy behind the counter that knew you would often have a couple of disks stashed for you because he knew you would want to hear them first and they had maybe only 2 copies.

Of course, vinyl has become too expensive to produce for most psytrance, but since digital has taken over, there is now an endless supply of very average stuff flooding the market. Not just psy… but everything.

But there is some great stuff out there. I’ll spend the next few days completely immersed in searching, often getting grumpy after listening to samples of 200 tracks and finding 4 or 5 great ones. Ok, yeah, so I am picky. But I don’t like to play stuff that doesn’t totally rock.

Funny Moon Festival 2013 is just 12 days away, so I must stop writing this and get busy. I’ll update some of the choice stuff I find in a week or so.

Funny Moon Festival Update

The site

It’s less than a month away now. I am looking forward to this event in a very big way. Alternate Reality will be playing (that’s VJ Baby K and I) as well as a host of other great dj’s and live acts. You can find out more about us as a DJ/VJ team here. It starts on the 11th of July and for 4 straight days you’ll hear some amazing psytrance and meet some fantastic people. And of course enjoy Baby K’s amazing visuals.

I have been in touch with the promoter, and the site looks amazing. There is a 18th century castle on the site. There is an outstanding camping area and loads of parking. There will be a chill out area with food stalls and clothing shops. The main stage will feature, as always, amazing decor, but this year there is also a laser show as well as Baby k’s twisted visuals. The weather has been great, with days in the high 20’s (that’s like 85 if you are not a celsius fan), the open fields are dry and perfect for camping.

There will be fire and bubble workshops with lots to do if you want to get away from the music for just a bit. If you ever need any help, you’ll find an info point in the castle garden nestled among the 18th century statues.

The site is compact and easy to get around. No 45 minute walks between venues, the bar and the food. Of course the jewel on the crown of Funny Moon is the people who go to this festival. I have never met a nicer crowd of people at any event.

Entry is cheap at only 45 Euros for all days or Friday 40, Sat 35.
There are even lower prices for Eastern Europeans (Cz,Sk,H,Rom) 30-euros (for all days) Friday 25, Sat 20. But you’ll need to show ID or passport. The promoter is just keeping it fair to those that can afford more.

The forests

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. No mater if you are out and about traveling or on the summer festival trail, make plans now. It’s not hard to get to either. Driving is the easiest way. From Vienna take the E59 toward Jihlava then Autobahn 1 towards Prague Exit #10 on E50 – Direction Plzen… Exit #26 on E48 direction Karlovy Vary, Exit 20km before Karlovy vary on the right side – Libkovice / Valic, take your First right- Next left – you are there.

If you want to get there on public transport, you’ll need to get a train or bus to Karlovy Vary in Czech, and get a taxi from there, which should cost less than £2o. Just tell the driver you want to go to Valec. Trains and busses go from Germany, Pague and Vienna. Be sure to bring a tent, sun screen, something warm for the nights and lots of smiles.

You can find out more about funny moon at www.goabase.net

The Castle at Funny Moon Site

Woods, forests and open fields

Cohesion Club at 414 Brixton London

London has a lot of psy-trance events. On any given weekend you will usually have a choice of at least 2 parties to go to, usually many more. Many are outstanding, others… well let’s just say that there is sometimes room for improvement. I don’t want to say that any are better or worse than others, it all just depends on what you are after, what kind of music you like and what kind of comfort level you want in a venue. Besides, there are plenty of websites about the London scene where you can get exactly that kind of information.

One great night that is always fun and always filled with smiling faces is Cohesion at Club 414 in Brixton. It’s easy to get to, always has great music, offers a cafe for those that want munchies  and even has an outdoor terrace upstairs for smokers. It happens every first Saturday of each month. If you are visiting London and want to find a party that will always be good, make sure you check out Cohesion.

There is invariably a positive upbeat crowd here, and the DJ’s are well-chosen to rock the place. Yes, of course you’ll often find me playing there too.  Club 414 is easy to find, it’s on the Victoria line tube and the club is at 414 Coldwater Lane, just around the corner from the tube stop. Hope to see you on the dance floor.

Funny Moon Festival 2013

So it’s that time of the year again, the summer festival season. Ya gotta love this time of year. Outdoor events lasting for 5 days, meeting amazing people and hearing outstanding dj’s and live acts playing in nature. It is always amazing to see whole mini cities built up for the purpose of a great party. And how everyone helps out to make the event great.

We will be playing at Funny Moon Festival in Valec, Czech Republic from the 10th to the 15th of July. This is one of the nicest crew of people I have ever played for, and those that attend are no different. Great music, stunning location (this year it is by a castle) and lots of smiling faces. If you can make it to this part of the world around this time, I highly suggest you be there.

The info is at :: http://www.goabase.net/68708

Switching Websites

A very long process indeed, I am in the middle of changing websites. It will give me a chance to update content regularly as well as list any new upcoming gigs.

It is a pretty long process, going through 12 years of photos, gig dates and weird comings and goings. So if you happen to stumble upon this site before it is ready, just bear with me. It is probably best if you just subscribe, so then you can get regular updates, new mixes and see if I will be playing somewhere near you.

Remember – Trance is the Answer