[damon]

Just came back from 4Q and still trying to figure out what has happened there  ;D (still comparying it to Gemini and realising those 2 events can't be compared …. I think) ….

Spent most of the time@chill area (catched all Ultimae heroes, Aligning Minds, Nod, some KiloWatts and Gift Culture; missed few artists I wanted to hear). Main stage didn't do too much for me (except Deet's opening set and Solar Fields on Sat. morning) – heard better music while sitting by the fire/laying in a tent in our camp  then while I was in the stone circle – Braincell – so so, Rastaliens – so so too, EVP in the morning sounded better.

I'm pretty sure Kevin and Ritesh will provide quite different reviews heheheh.

The most complex (not quite sure if that's the the best description hehe) american psytrance festival. VERY mature crowd. Kids friendly. What other people keept saying in the past “Gathering of the tribes”.

Chill space was filled with surreal spandex and string compositions which, combined with great lightning, made it look “futuristic/extraterrestial imho). Stage itself was lacking ANY deco which was a big dissapointment for me. And the sound. Definately they could let it play louder (especially during the day).

Main stage looked and soundedmore than ok.

Will post som pictures tommorow.

And one more thing: Murphysboro Shawnee Cave's Death Path has it's sister in central Pennsylvania  >:(

[Aligning Minds]

Also just got back- muddy, tired, but satisfied. The event was great- but just as Damon said- the volume on the chill stage (where we played) was ridiculously low. There was no power, no depth, no excitement in the sound. This led us to play a set that we were less than happy with, as it's hard to get emotionally invested when working with a sound that fails to convey what you (as an artist) intend to convey. Whoever was running the sound had extremist views on not offending someone (whoever they were), no matter what. That being said, the event was still AMAZING- the people, the deco, the activities and music were exceptional. I had the time of my life. Everyone still played great sets despite the weak sound, and at the Stone Circle peoples were in constant full effect- the energy and collaboration made for a magical experience. To all who were there- thanks for existing.

[damon]

Despite the sound issues your set still sounded great. And your mc! Great voice indeed  8)

[cosmicvibrations]

definitely loved your set, guys!
review will come later :] i'm draiiiiined

[nodsamadhi]

it definitely seemed like the chill area volume was lower than it had been in the past, unfortunately :/

damon, you should have just taken the shortcut 🙂

[damon]

it definitely seemed like the chill area volume was lower than it had been in the past, unfortunately :/

damon, you should have just taken the shortcut 🙂

I tried 4 different paths leading to mainfloor  😛 It wasn't that bad.

What almost killed me on Sunday morning was the trek to the top of the hill to get my car  ;D (we were camping all the way down by the Hemlock Hole).

[HARDKORNATE]

And one more thing: Murphysboro Shawnee Cave's Death Path has it's sister in central Pennsylvania  >:(

HAHA.

Looks like you got your excercise one way or another 😛

[damon]

HAHA.

Looks like you got your excercise one way or another 😛

8)

[nodsamadhi]

What almost killed me on Sunday morning was the trek to the top of the hill to get my car  ;D (we were camping all the way down by the Hemlock Hole).

we walked all the way to the entrance from the north crook area to try and get more mead around 3am wed night / thursday morning

we were very disappointed when we got there and they were closed 😛

[Energon]

Psy stage had some of the most amazing deco I've seen. The DJ booth looked like a mystical portal to a magic land… fantastic. Props to Julien Seyer on the tapestries. I'm with damon on his assessment of the chill stage setup. There was just a single tapestry hanging behind the booth. They had a lot of neat geometric yarn constructions, metal sculpture and fabric all over the chill area… so that made up for it for the most part.. I can't wait to see some pics… I myself didn't take any.

I caught most of the chill stage music on Thurs, Fri, and Sat afternoon from the comfort of my own campsite. After that I was asleep.  Definitely some amazing stuff although I rarely checked my sheet to see who was paying. I believe Ben Light-o-Matic played some great tabla beats for 30-45 min… KT and Igor did a great job too, right up my alley. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed with Aes Dana… I was expecting fresh 110-120 bpm stuff similar to “Lysterata” from Opus Iridium, what I got was much more chill. Also… he played over half the tracks off Asura's Life Squared as well as Distant System and some other familiar tracks. Maybe if it was louder I would have been more impressed, volume was definitely low on both stages. 😀

Of the Psy I heard I was very very very impressed with Scott's sunrise set… about as close to perfection as it gets… highlight of my weekend. Coral also played some amazing morning music and I liked the tail end of Digitalist's set, as well as the guy who played after him. (who I didn't recognize) The first two DJs who opened up Friday night played a lot of good 140-145 stuff but I wasn't overly impressed with some of their mixes. I completely missed everything on Sat night since I was resting for an early departure Sun morning.

So the big question… did anyone else come down with whatever intestinal illness seemed to get passed around on Sat night / Sun morning? YUCK Lawrence was saying that a lot of ppl got food poisoning from eating @ the Starving Artists place and were lying outside vomiting. I don't think that was it since Carli got violently ill on Sat night and Leo on Sunday morning. Neither of them ate the meal plan. I myself just came down with whatever it is this afternoon and I had to leave work early. Check out the tribe thread below… we weren't alone. My guess is some sort of contamination in the water… very unsettling.

http://gaian-mind.tribe.net/thread/0a491711-fad0-493d-8e52-7654a96098ef

That being said GMSF was one of the most fantastic times I've had to date. The venue and all the activities tied everything together in a magical way.  There was a great variety of ppl of all ages as well as children. Thumbs up!

[nodsamadhi]

Of the Psy I heard I was very very very impressed with Scott's sunrise set… about as close to perfection as it gets… highlight of my weekend. Coral also played some amazing morning music and I liked the tail end of Digitalist's set, as well as the guy who played after him. (who I didn't recognize) The first two DJs who opened up Friday night played a lot of good 140-145 stuff but I wasn't overly impressed with some of their mixes. I completely missed everything on Sat night since I was resting for an early departure Sun morning.

the guy who played after digitalist was….scott! 😛

the guy who played before digitalist was dragon, if that's who you were thinking of.

i had a great time overall…minor brush with the sickness on my drive home but i got by with just a minor fever which has subsided after a good night's rest. gaian mind is always one of the highlights of my summer and this year was no exception – it is always wonderful to gather again with so many of the familiar faces who come back every year and the new friends they bring with them

this year was unique for me in that i managed to bring some of my festival experience back home to post online – pictures are on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nodsamadhi/sets/72157605779958488/

and a recording of my dubstep set from the chill stage thursday night is on my (mostly-complete) website:

http://www.djnod.net/?p=19

big thanks to the gaian mind crew for all their hard work on making this festival go off!

[damon]

and a recording of my dubstep set from the chill stage thursday night is on my (mostly-complete) website:

http://www.djnod.net/?p=19

Thanks.

[Ascension]

I'll write a full review later, but I don't know how this party can ever be topped.  The vibes were amazing, so many happy, unique and friendly people.  The music was so good I don't think I could say enough good praises about it from now until the end of the universe (seriously!) to do it justice.  If there could ever be a definition for a musical connection between the artist and the crowd, Rastaliens PA sunday would be it.  It was definitely one of those sets that took on a higher meaning than just sound coming from the speakers.  I really felt a unity between everything around me- the music, the people and nature, something that was truly beyond words.

[Ascension]

Regarding the sickness: aparently there is some stomach flu going around those parts.  It had nothing to do with the food or the water.  I got sick sunday night after I returned home so I know for sure it wasn't food poisoning (it doesn't take that long to kick in).  Someone posted in more detail about it on isratrance

[Energon]

the guy who played after digitalist was….scott! 😛

the guy who played before digitalist was dragon, if that's who you were thinking of.

Oops, I must have gotten Digitalist and Dragon mixed up  ???

[Author]

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