Feb 26, 2020
DJs Gil and Laurent @ Goa Beach Party, South Anjuna Beach, 1991
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DJs Gil and Laurent @ Goa Beach Party, South Anjuna Beach, 1991
Goa Gil, the unbelievable story of trance music's spiritual father At 64 years old, Goa Gil is an historical figure: one the oldest DJs in the world but also one of the most effective. His speciality: hallucinating twenty four hours sets, on tape, using hi-tech, dark psy and all the craziest sounds in psytrance music. The last one was the Ozora opening performance on July 30th, this picture probably describes it better than any words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzs_7qvm3HA The artist – who is also a sâdhu (a saint in sanskrit) – dedicated his life to “raise awareness through music”. It is in that quest, between the 70s and the 90s, that he and his companions shaped the spirit of the modern rave in the continuity of the hippy movements. Their model was an inspiration for many, like the Boom Festival, Burning Man and legions of other ravers around the world. Goa Gil's story begins in San Fransisco in the 50s but his adventure really starts in 1967. He is 17, his name is Gilbert Levey and he is putting up posters for a living. He does that for a legendary gig in San Fransisco: the Family Dog, where groups such as Santana, Velvet Underground, Jefferson Airplane or Grateful Dead used to perform. He lives in that 60s/70s rock universe, surrounded by artists like Steve Miller, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles or Janis Joplin - “who was a good friend”, amongst many others. "I was in the right place at the right time, as I got to see most of the well-known musical artists of the time performing live, from The Beatles, The Sone, Pink Floyd and Sid Barrett, and on and on and on... All of that is part of my history, and part of who I am. It also helped to shape my musical tastes". As he narrates us through his life, Goa Gil presents an imposing flyers collection (in which we found this gem). “Woodstock, the Family Dog, the summer of 1969... It was the psychedelic culture's golden age in San Fransisco. But the movement was already coming to an end.” Gil feels that the positive energy that made San Fransisco what it was, is slowly leaving: “All the magic that was there since 1965 met an abrupt end in December 1969.” A few months after the Woodstock climax, a black man dies, stabbed by a Hell's Angels biker at a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, this marks the last times of the peaceful atmosphere carefully created by San Fransisco artists. From San Fransisco to the Indian mountains: the quest for “magic” It does not take more to Gil to go on his way to find this “magic”. He is 18 when he heads to India, the perfect destination for all the dreamers, pacifists and all the party goers of the Western world at the time. He remembers : “I bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam then I went through Europe to Morocco, from there I went across Noth Africa.” From Istanbul, Gil took trains and buses through Turkey, Iran, to end in Afghanistan. “I only paid 30 dollars for the transport, food and hostels! It was really cheap at that time in 1969.” In Afghanistan, he meets an Englishman who becomes his travelling partner. “He had already been to Goa a year prior to our trip. He told me about the fabulous and deserted beaches... So I decided to accompany him to Goa. We went from Kabul to Karachi and from Karachi we got a boat to Bombay then another to Goa”. At this point, the young American has been travelling the world for two years and has been around wise elderly Hindus for more than one. Nothing matters but spirituality and self reflection. In December 1971, he receives an aerogram from his old friends asking where he was, telling they want to see him, asking him to come to Goa. “I decided that I had to go and see them for Christmas.” The revelation After making his way to Delhi, Mangalanand (aka gil) makes his way to Goa. “When the universe gives me hints, I try to follow them. I am living my karma... My Destiny if you prefer.” “When I got back to Goa, things had changed! There were more people and small gatherings around bonfires on Anjuna bech nearly every night. People played on drums, flutes and guitars, and I played too. It was a really powerful experience, as due to my higher meditations in Himalayas". Music came through him, giving "blessings" to all who listened: "It was then that I understood the power of music as a tool to transform consciousness and empower people through it's Blessings, and even to take the audience to high states of being". Music and parties took over the indian beaches. Tourists came by the dozens to celebrate what Goa Gil calls “The Cosmic Spirit.” Gil discovers the transcendental and unifying power of music, he organizes his first parties and settles for the stage name of Goa Gil. He sees music like a way to “to go into a trance” and the party as “a suitable vehicle to transmit ideas and knowledge.” Music is not electronic yet but the basis of the rave concept are here. Throughout the 70s, Goa's beaches fill up with tourists that end up settling in. It is the birth of a powerful counter-culture. The ocean, palm trees, dolce vita, jam sessions around the fire, beautiful sky and of course... drugs. Western preoccupations could not be further away. As time passes, Goa's nightlife constantly grows bigger. Psychedelic rock guitars are slowly replaced by synthesizer, while in the West, electronic music is developing. In 1975, Goa already dances to the sounds of Kraftwerk and Propaganda, “this kind of mainstream music that came to us.” According to Gil, “Goa turned 100% electronic in the 80s” thanks to new comers “like the French, DJ Laurent and Suiss DJ Ruedi, who were among the first ones to mix electronic music in Goa”. In his mix, he incorporates dance music and psychedelic rock. The sound may have come from the West but the atmosphere and the inspiration was from nowhere but Goa. “There were no parties like ours anywhere else in the world Goa Gil remembers as he strokes his endless grey beard. They expressed our ideas and our dreams.” It is the birth of parties with heavy basses, good vibes, dark dancefloors and fluorescent paint. Goa becomes a place for experimentation. Ravers tripping their heads off stumble upon monastic Indian sâdhus. The modern rave spirit is being shaped, the one we find today in many events around the world and that people usually associate with the Spiral Tribe. Full consciousness, letting yourself go, sharing, free party, self-organization, mutual respect, anti-materialism, all those values come together in Goa and create a ground for a new way of thinking and partying from the meeting between western tourists and the Indian people. The community gets bigger, the message improves and spreads: Goa Gil finds the magic. The Golden age and the birth of Goa's trance music “The first tourists were mostly Swiss and French but Christmas 1988 saw the arrival of many tourists from the United Kingdom. I met talented people like Youth and Raja Ram, among others. They had already heard about te parties and me! We welcomed them and they become part of our family discovering our scene, our spirit.” They start to produce sounds that fit with this spirit even once they are back in the UK. Transcendence seeking, tribal inspiration and dance culture are what they thrive on. Youth gives birth to Dragonfly and Raja Ram to T.I.P Records, Goa Gil humbly says: “I did not create anything on my own, it was them, it as an entire community. We were trying to make the perfect music for Goa's beaches.”
Már egy ideje meghalt...
R.I.P. az öreg hippi mindig megtancoltatott...
🙏🏼🤍🤍