Dear fellow psychedelic pilgrims,

It's a great pleasure to announce that preparations for the next Vortex Easter Outdoor Trance Adventure are coming together beautifully. As many of you probably already know, the December party marked a concerted effort to return to the tighter, more intimately woven style of psychedelic happenings. Granted, there is a place for all shapes and sorts of trance festivals, from big to small and dark to light, but in order to recapture the spirit of the type of party in which we wholeheartedly believe in, certain changes have had to be made. Thus, by limiting the amount of tickets available, the organizers strive to achieve an event that will run as close to optimum as possible whilst still being able to gather together the core of those who are true to the spirit of trance. And, as a collective gesture, you the partygoer are a vitally integral part of this movement.

Simply put, a psychedelic experience is something, which allows you to experience yourself in a new way, and as such we have been hard at work putting together an exciting otherworldly cocktail of psychedelic sights and sounds to tease and inspire your sense of imagination. Typical responses to such a deeply subjective experience may include sensations of timelessness, depersonalization and renewed innocence. But the inexhaustible beauty of this most enigmatic of social phenomena lies in the fact that no two experiences are the same and each individual has the freedom to ascribe meaning to the experience as they see fit.

A crack of light opens up. Water laps rhythmically at your now blissfully naked feet. Curiosity tickles your unspeakables. As you close your eyes in disbelief you feel yourself greeted by the embrace of a strange breeze thick with fynbos pheromone soup. An ocean of deep hypnotic booming sounds swell up beneath you. A spontaneous wisdom hidden inside you whispers "this feels right". You feel yourself leaning forward into a bewildering void of pulsating potentiality. Trusting a slender golden thread of intuition you surrender your hopes and fears to the unknown and dive into a synchronously heaving crowd.

You find yourself surrounded by a carnivalesque menagerie of power animals with ultra violet zodiac signs elaborately inscribed on their foreheads. Confronted by this beastial play of shadows and light you feel a fresh wave of wonderment that verges on the point of almost being terrifying and consequently sense the guardians of your ego begin to resist with nightmarish rational ferocity. But then, all of a shimmering sardine, a warm hand gently comes to rest on your shoulder. A stranger standing beside you makes eye contact, smiles and reassures you that they are giving all of this away because it's an open secret. What? This is ridiculous. A great jolly glowing laugh begins to escape your belly. Ten thousand horse's hooves break into a thunderous gallop. Breathing a boundless sigh of relief you tenderly run your fingers over the reverse side of life's tapestry in graceful contemplation. You feel yourself buoyed by the melodic meanderings of a million birds swimming together in song. The intense presence of the moment seems to condense slowing time down to a delightful trickle. Celestial cymbals strike shattering in a sonic shower of resplendent harmony. You find yourself in a state of rapt absorption. You begin to feel a marvelously liberating affinity with everything around you. Even the most ordinary of things are charged with a miraculous inter-dependant energy in this infinitely vast field of relational flux. A supernova erupts, the final death throw of its violent subwoofer sending shockwaves reeling across the universe. Object and subject merge in one effortless act of ecstatic knowledge as life reveals itself to you.

Dawn. A whale breaches, reverently saluting the beat of the beeeg drum. An intoxicating cacophony of sounds surge to fever pitch. And you realize that we have everything we need, tumbling together in sumptuous self sufficiency. You are surrounded by your dearest friends. The sun kisses the groaning goosebumps on your skin as you inhale the familiar scent of coconut suntan lotion. Bikinis, sarongs, silly hats, boardshorts and vegetarian biltong. Ah yes my friends, a divinely lekker and moist humdinging heartickle jol awaits us. Hope to see some of yall at the friday night connection party in the headspace tent. Aweh my psychedelic freedom fighters, let's get open. May the beauty making power of love be alive and dreaming within you.

Sincerely,

Your comrade in the ongoing psychedelic adventure,

Freeswim (aka Strandwolf).

"Psychedelic Trance Parties are engineered experiences, usually by multiple sets of consciousness to create conditions that are favorable to the expansion of awareness. They are used to orchestrate individuals to awaken to a new concept, awareness, or to cross paths with a particular teacher or teaching event. Event Strings are catalysts to connect individuals with new concepts and energetic transfers that re-grid an obsolete mental model. They are most commonly used to shift awareness within the initiated light workers who are the vanguard of human destiny."

"Since the beginning of time mankind has used music and dance to commune with the Spirit of Nature and the Spirit of the Universe.... We are trying to use Trance Music and the Trance Dance Experience to set off a chain reaction in Consciousness.... Through the Trance Dance Experience hopefully people will become more sensitive and aware of themselves, their surroundings, the crossroads of humanity, and the needs of the planet.... With this Awareness comes Understanding and Compassion. That is the need of the hour, and the true Goa State of Mind!!!" (Goa Gil)

Trance parties for us are about the connection of the conscious whole through the expression of dance & only the true intentions of the organizers & musicians allow this to take place. Now producing two outdoor parties a summer on the first Saturday of December and Easter Weekend, Vortex Trance Adventures are on a mission to bring you pure & real psychedelic experiences, produced with an attention to detail that you have come to know and expect.

Due to the nature of some of the parties last season the Vortex Trance crew have decided to adopt a different approach to parties this summer. We will be limiting the number of people who attend so as to make the party more special and to keep it underground. We hope to recapture the magical spirit, atmosphere and vibe of the truly dedicated, evolving underground.

There are a limited number of official festival T-shirts still available from the Vortex Easter 2009. These T-shirts are being offered for sale on SA Band Merchandise web site for R100.00 (incl. shipping). This offer will only continue while current stock last, after which the price will return to the normal R120.00 (plus R35.00 shipping). Take a look at the T-shirts on the SA Band Merchandise Website.

» Vortex CD compilation coming soon! Stay tuned....

» New Vortex video available for your viewing pleasure. Check it out.

Ted Levin's new website - beautiful handmade crystal pendants. Commissions are welcome - bring your own stone/crystal to set!

» Compilation series compiled by Digital Lama.

» Latest release from IONO Records. Compiled by General Juice.

» Vortex artist Indidginus' album Feast or Famine is available on sale now! The album explores the funkier, groovier, slower side of psytrance, & it works as well on the dancefloor as it does at home ;)

» Vortex Psychedelic Clothing now available....