Spring Edition - Mushroom online

64 HISTORY
Pakistan, Afghanistan - to enact
new strict drug laws in exchange
for billions in aid to them from the
U.S. But, until then, we could merrily
smoke and trip and mushroom and
whatever just about anywhere, and
especially at the parties - it was all
legal then!
And there were no „no topless/
nudity“ laws then, so every day at
the beach many of us were naked,
the girls topless, a fun smoking and
tripping scene at all the beaches each
day! Party all night, beach all day - life was a
beach. The big bands in the 80s, there was Front
242, Nitzer Eb, Yello, Skinny Puppy and many
others experimenting and forging new electronic
sound-styles. In the 90s until now some of the
major players were T.I.P./The Infinity Project (Raja
Ram and Graham Wood), X-Dream, Juno Reactor,
Eat Static, Man With No Name, Doof, Green Nuns
of the Revolution, Astral Projection, Hallucinogen,
Total Eclipse, GMS (Growling Mad Scientists),
Infected Mushroom, Astrix, 1200 Micrograms, Eskimo.
Each of these bands had their own special
unique style, all producing a series of amazing
traxx that conjured up extra-special vibrations
and magical moments on the dancefloors all over
the world.
The BPM Story
Until about the mid-90s, the beats per minute
were much slower, 120 - 125 bpm was common
through the 80s, and 140 was a fast track. Then
in the early 90s there was a sudden switch, a big
speed-up and suddenly 140 was a slow track and
145 became the ideal dancing bpm. Which is
better? Well, below 140, you dance and move
your body in a different way, more expressive.
Some say it has more hip movement, a more
fluid body motion. But there is a special power
and dynamism in dancing at 145 bpm, a different
excitement level than at the slower bpms.
Both have their magic.
The SFX Years
Also around the same time as the bpms speeded
up, it became a fashion for some years to make
traxx with no melody features, instead using only
sound-effects on the top of the bass’n’kick-drum
bottoms. Producers who had no musical training
could now come in, lay down a strong dancey
bottom, and simply add a variety of SFX on the
tops. Riktam and Bansi of GMS were the first
DJs I heard play an entire set of only SFX traxx
(late 90s) - not a single melodic track. And then
it became a trend, a force, for about five years at
the parties, it took over. But it ran its course, there
are still some traxx like that now, but not like it
was then.
From Hippie Dress To Fluoro
In the 80s, there were still people who hand-made
special fantasy party outfits for every party, much
of it hippie-inspired, flowing dresses, long scarfs,
turbans and headgear, make-up. Then in the late
80s fluoro party clothes arrived on the scene,
psychedelic patterns on synthetic leggings and
tops - a whole new fashion line had started. It
was everywhere, day and night and not just at the
parties. It heightened the psychedelic atmosphere
of our scene. But today these clothes are virtually
gone, most people at the parties now just wear
normal clothes. There are still a few of us holding
out and wearing psy clothes - especially in Goa,
but not in the rest of our Trance world.
pic: Goa Book