The psytrance industry is a motley collection of small businesses that don’t always play well together; allegations of misconduct are commonplace in this scene. These petty disputes are frequently made public on big international forums like Isratrance, particularly when disgruntled artists, lacking any other method of recourse, decide to expose shady label owners for non-payment. Obviously the camaraderie experienced on the dance floor does not always extend to backroom business dealings in this subculture. Is it because so much of this business is conducted for small amounts of money over international borders? I can’t say for certain, but there seems to be no love lost between many of the major movers and shakers in this industry.

Case in point: this exchange found on the psychedelic.be forum. Here we have a discussion between Saikosounds and Psyshop, two of the largest (if not the largest) psytrance mail order shops. Both offer in-house distribution for labels (more Psyshop than Saikosounds, really) but there isn’t much of an exchange between them. This is compounded by the rivalry between Psyshop and Wirikuta, another European distributor that deals with Saikosounds. As a result, there are many titles that are available in one shop but not the other–a big pain in the ass for psytrance fans with broad interests. Do you suppose they might work it out amongst themselves to provide a better customer experience in this era of plummeting physical media sales? The answer can be found after the break. Continue reading the rest of this post »

Wombatmusic is the “experimental downtempo playground” of Kristian Thinning Andersen, a Danish producer behind the well-known tribal trance act Elysium. After releasing much of his back catalogue for free download, Kristian returns with a new video for a track taken from Wombatmusic’s live tour in 2009. Here is “World Of Modern Science”:

Be sure to visit the Wombatmusic homepage to download the first album and recent live set in MP3 and WAV format.

All Stars Festival – Deco by Neuromantix

Welcome to the 2010 edition of Ektoplazm’s annual North American Festival Guide. Here you will find a listing of various outdoor gatherings at least somewhat associated with the psychedelic trance subculture in Canada and the United States. Many more festivals will be added to this list as details are announced!

Spring Into The Future – May 21/22/23 (Upstate New York)
Facehead, Progress

Faeries & Fools – May 22/23 (Crystal Creek, B.C.)
Gaudi, Adham Shaikh

Lightning In A Bottle – May 28/29/30/31 (California)
Ott, Bluetech, Booka Shade, Heyoka

Alchemy – May 30/April 1/2 (California)
Procs, Aphid Moon, Progress

Sacred Earth – June 4/5/6 (Wisconsin)
SouthWild, Parus, Progress, Shapestatic, Annunaki

Horizons – June 9/10 (Colorado)
Android Cartel, Erphun, Random

Coalesce – June 11/12/13 (Ramblewood, Maryland)
Shane Gobi, M-Theory, Monastic Squid, Cimi, Primordial Ooze, Progress

Orb – June 10/11/12/13 (New York)

Gemini – June 11/12/13 (California)
OOOD, Ajja, Chromatone, Mubali, Aerosis, Enertopia, Ekoplex

Entheos – June 18/19/20/21 (B.C.)
Androcell, Adham Shaikh, Basilisk

Om Reunion Project – June 15/16/17/18/19/20/21 (Ontario)

Red Marines – June 18/19/20 (California)
Cosmosis, Parus, Jahbo, Encephalopaticys, Progress

Desiderata – June 23/24/25/26/27 (New York)
Jaia, Transdriver, Encephalopaticys, Andromeda, Phatmatix, Wizack Twizack, Filteria, Ekoplex

Astral Harvest – July 1/2/3/4 (Driftpile Valley, Alberta)
Heyoka, Narcophone, Blue Lunar Monkey

Shaman Tales – July 2/3/4/5 (Ontario)

Sacred Seed – July 9/10/11 (Cherokee Farms, Georgia)

Space Gathering – July 9/10/11/12 (Quebec)
Southwild, Ekoplex

Motion Notion – July 15/16/17/18/19 (Drayton Valley, Alberta)
Ace Ventura, Bluetech

Vayeb: Day Out Of Time – July 22/23/24/25/26 (Colorado)
Androcell, Witchdokta

Eclipse – July 23/24/25/26 (Quebec)
Koxbox, Perfect Stranger, D-Nox & Beckers, Xerox & Illumination, Duca, Hyper Frequencies, Aerodromme

OpenMind – August 5/6/7/8 (Quebec)

Shambhala – August 4/5/6/7/8 (B.C.)

Worldbridge – August 6/7/8 (Cherokee Farms, Georgia)

Psymply Psychedelic – August 13/14/15 (Pacific Northwest)
Process, Secret Society

DICA – August 20/21 (B.C.)

Burning Man – August 31 to September 7 (The Playa)

El Hal – September 3/4/5/6 (Quebec)

Harvest – September 10/11/12 (Ontario)

Equinox – September 17, 18, 19 (North Carolina)

This is version 1.26.

Festivals in bold featured Ektoplazm, Drumlore, or Omnitropic live acts and DJs. Interested in booking Basilisk, Ekoplex, Clone, Aerodrömme, Akhentek, Farbo, Neto, or Neuromantix (a Toronto-based psychedelic arts collective; deco pictured above) for your event? Contact us soon as dates are filling up!

Festivals with a strike through the name have been cancelled or seem dodgy (based on previous event reviews) and should be treated with caution.

Consult last year’s guide for more festival links if you’d like to get ahead of the game or watch the following web sites for more festival announcements: AtlPsy, Saint Jean Basstiste, Brainfest, Psytribe, T.O.U.C.H. Samadhi, Another World, Symbiosis, Beheshto, and Venus. Apparently Gaian Mind is not taking place this year, nor is Natura by the looks of it.

Tips and info welcome. Leave a comment below or use the contact form.

What is your favourite North American psytrance festival and why?