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Australia’s psytrance and doof scene is fast gaining momentum, attracting people from all walks of life and moving beyond its connotations with hippie stereotypes. Pulse's Sally Westlake finds out more.
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The velocity calms for a voice to rise from the speakers, “How can we exist but not in terms of flowing in direction? There may be only this now, this individual now, and now and now and now…”. The energy re-consumes, and you’re dancing blissfully in a trance until a man in a pink wig jolts you awake by offering you something brownish in a crushed up bottle. If this scene sounds familiar, then perhaps you too have been to the other side; somewhere in the Australian psytrance scene.
It’s an interesting time for Australia’s psytrance and ‘doof’ scene, essentially niche and underground events that have begun to grow in both popularity and media attention. For many people these events are an important, safe environment for free and true expression, and this vibe really depends on the crowd.
It’s true; multi-day camping in often isolated and harsh conditions, combined with total inhibition and intense psychological music banging 24-7, is not for everyone. It’s an environment that breaks down walls…and some people have weird shit behind their walls.
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It’s generally the ‘hippie’ subcultures who frequent these parties, but you have to wonder what draws a stereotype typically associated with worn guitars and daisy chains to one of the most extreme genres of electronic music. Further, what’s attracting the broader streams of the Australian population?
“I think the scene has grown to a point where there is an oversaturation of clubs and events that are just following the same formula,” says Earthcore founder Spiro Boursine. “The outdoor scene doesn’t have a formula. It creates a whole new world for people to escape to and have the time of their lives. The sense of adventure is still a huge drawcard.”
In 1993, Boursine and a crew of 200 like-minded friends from the underground Melbourne scene headed into the Australian bush, which then grew into what is now considered the country’s biggest bush doof some 20 years later. In a sense, Boursine and his first crew of Earthcorers gave birth to an entire scene. The Australian doof community has since grown to include names as big as Strawberry Fields and Rainbow Serpent, as well as countless of independently run parties in every state across the country.
While the mainstreaming of these events is a concern in the traditional psytrance community, it’s unknown whether keeping these events exclusive is either sustainable or necessarily desirable. As long as newcomers have an open mind and respect for the scene’s integrity, perhaps the more the merrier? Pick up your rubbish, don’t be annoying and do not by any means be suppressive. Wearing an awesome costume also helps.
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Boursine sees the expansion of the scene as a positive: “It has been great to see a new generation of doofers who have a genuine love for the music and the scene. It’s easy for older party folk to get jaded and cast a shadow over people but in reality, the new generation are injecting new life and energy into the scene.”
Charlotte, a good friend of mine and a passionate doofer, probably sums up what draws many people to the scene when she says; “the freedom of self-expression, the lack of judgement and the escape from society always lures me…the people, the music and the vibe allows you to let go of the daily grime and re-connect with yourself, like a musically enhanced meditation.” Her comment reminds me of a mantra: “Trance isn’t just music, it’s a state of mind.”
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Rob Bennett, a leader of trance seminars and workshops across Germany and Europe provides the best insights on the subject.
“We all have a deep longing and need for ecstatic experience,” he says. “We spend a great deal of our lives thinking, planning, talking, reading- being rational. Even when we take time off we tend to fill it with activities where our brain waves are predominantly within the rational; thinking beta frequency range. We need a break, time-out from concentration and rationality. We need to experience states of trance or ecstasy in our waking lives, as a balance to all that thinking.”
Meditation, chanting mantras, guided imagery, hypnosis and yoga are among the methods humans have developed to help reach the Alpha state, however according to Bennett, the oldest practice is the “trance dance”.
It may not be something we think about consciously, but our love of the ‘ecstatic’ and trance-inducing dance could be in our blood and bones. You know that uncontrollable urge to get yourself to an all-encompassing soundsystem and dance the night away (even when you have work in the morning)? Our earliest ancestors felt that too. In many primitive societies, ecstatic dance rituals were an important part of life. Many are still practiced today; the Australian Aboriginal unity dance, the Sufi whirling dervishes, and the Masai of Kenya’s Adumu dance.
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Imagining our ancestors stomping around a fire, swaying into a feeling of oneness, reminds me of experiences at psytrance parties. The perfectly torn clothes sold at doofs might be expensive, but barefoot stomping around the fire is alive and well. It just has more lasers now. There is something inexplicitly tribal about these gatherings. Maybe it’s nature’s release bringing us back to our carefree roots, or perhaps it’s the psychoactive substances that has people rolling around in the dirt.
It’s true that any music that really resonates with someone could probably induce such a state, and while I can definitely get pretty ecstatic via techno and other flavours of EDM, psytrance parties seem to be just made for it. It is called ‘psytrance’ after all. It induces a psychological trance, man.
As Jack, a visionary artist with ten years experience in the scene says, “The really good psytrance artists take you on an adventure. They have specifically set up their set to take you and your mind to a different plane. It’s intelligent music made by intelligent people for an intelligent purpose - there’s intention to the music.”
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There is a reason doofs are known as ‘transformational festivals’. A strong emphasis on sustainability, well-being, performance, art, workshops and seminars are just some of such channels on the sidelines of the dancefloor.
As Jack says: “Some people go there and get bombarded to open up, and at the end of a four day festival they’re like ‘Whooooo!’ and running around in the mud. Then they go back home thinking, ‘Oh god, what was I doing?’ Well, you opened up!”
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The amplification of the scene also brings to it new talents like progressive psytrance duo Triforce, whose mystic overtones and trippy visual shows have made them popular in the NSW doof scene. They even scored a spot on the Strawberry Fields festival last year.
When asked about their transition into the scene, their response highlighted the appeal for both musicians and their followers.
“The very act of disconnecting from the capitalist consumer machine that is western society and returning to nature to transform through ecstatic dance is inspirational and empowering on any level.”
“The freedom and connectedness you experience dancing with a huge group of open minded, barefoot nature lovers is transformational...after our first experience we felt very strongly that it’s where we needed to be.”
If you too feel the pull to join in, break down your walls and experience the psytrance induced state and spirit of these events, all that is required is that you come with an open mind and respect for the vitality of the scene. For many of us feeling the weight of those sturdy walls of established culture, an ecstatic trance under the stars is just what we need to survive…and thrive.
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