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Features Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!

Global Gathering 2007: Reviewed Reported by Adam Symbiosis / Submitted 01-08-07 21:47 Another year, another Global Gathering. The end of July saw the return of what could be the country’s biggest and favourite dance music festival back at its home of Long Marston Airfield in leafy Warwickshire. I was there to find out if it could live up to expectations, from Faithless to Calvin Harris to Paul van Dyk and more, was this to be the best Global yet? What a build up though! With Stratford under a foot or two of water the weekend before, Sky News predicting a wash out and even the BBC claiming the festival was cancelled things were certainly going to be interesting. Announcements, podcasts and animations from the promoters worked hard to quell the masses and many were ready to go with a quiet sense of satisfaction. Statements claiming the site was unaffected by the deluge and that there was good drainage across the area, shot out across the internet and the chatter over the threads spoke of excitement. As always the train was busy, thanks to great planning, sorry no planning, from Chiltern Railways but the electric buzz round the carriages made up for the cramped conditions. Arriving into Stratford-upon-Avon we were confronted with a wall of Transport Police and Inspectors waiting to catch out anyone silly enough not to have bought a ticket. Getting through quickly and after grabbing a bite to eat we jumped into a taxi and made the short 5 mile journey to the festival site, a disused airfield, complete with abandoned planes sited by the entrance. The queues to collect tickets looked horrendous, even with quite a few windows open and though we got through quickly later we were to be told of waits of up to 4 hours just to get in! Luckily we had no such wait and in we went past Toby and his chums (see here) and into the already muddy site, boots straight on then! We had been directed to camp in the yellow zone, though this was already full up so we trudged past 3 other packed out zones only to find a queue to the overspill area. Stopping us from going through was a jobsworth and his supervisor, who were refusing to let us past. They nearly had a fight on their hands when they directed us to go to the “empty green area” only for us to be blocked by a large group already coming round from the (in reality) packed out green area. The amassed group decided to camp where we stood, much to the annoyance of the supervisor but with no choice of anywhere else to set our tents up and no way they were going to move everyone, an uneasy truce settled on the scene. It was now getting on for 8 so we made our way into the main festival area. My thighs were already aching and in some places the ground had caved in even more making the going treacherous. Inside and conditions weren’t much better with standing water, churned up areas and mud, inglorious mud. Maybe the under soil drainage wasn’t working. It seems some of the crew weren’t working either as neither the Polysexual Terrace, nor the Contagious Clubwear stage was in operation — leaving some punters, DJs and dancers very annoyed. It transpires that the team decided it was too wet for them to carry on and so they went on strike. At least they’d managed to put up most of the rest of the venue and indeed the main stage. And it was there we went. Faithless was the one band I was looking forward to over all others this festival and after the amazing spectacle of Daft Punk atop their radiant pyramid last year I was hoping for a repeat, especially if that meant I’d have to drag my slack jaw off the floor. Sadly it wasn’t to be. Though they played their hits, kicking off with Insomnia and dropping into the mix tracks like We Come 1 and Bombs, I felt the set lacked energy, direction and power. I wasn’t feeling their groove and that wasn’t just because I couldn’t lift my feet to dance. I had been looking forward to seeing Calvin Harris for months too but with half an hour to go after Faithless, I thought I could fit in a quick trip back to the tent. What a stupid idea that was with the going getting worse as more people filed into the venue. Getting back an hour later it was reported to me that he had actually been booed off the stage! Now I can’t confirm that directly but I would have loved to have seen it only for the comedy factor. Never mind, onto Paul Oakenfold, one of my DJ heroes. But again I didn’t stay long. Wedged in between some boring progressive trance was Grace’s Not Over Yet, easily the highlight of what I heard by the past master. It didn’t influence me to stay any longer though and we made a quick escape to find sanctuary and the saving grace for the night — The Strongbow arena. Solid floors! Strongbow on tap! An amazing DJ playing some wicked tracks! Was this real, was I still in the same festival? Yes, Strongbow and their DJ Kissy Sell Out saved the day. There was energy and party people, some dirty, driving tracks and funk laden sounds and as I said before a floor, no wonder the queue was snaking out and around the site as people clamoured to be part of it. Thank you Strongbow, you saved my night. Make sure you catch up with this jewel in the festival season crown, one that seems to get better and better each year, at Creamfields and V Festival later on in August. Getting up the next day was no mean feat, though it was one that was ably helped by a couple of scousers who decided we weren’t playing our music loud enough and that they should play exactly the same CD just at more than double the volume right outside our tent. Certainly not conductive to snoozing in any way. Up we got to chat and direct them back to their tent before getting our heads down again to catch a few more zeds. Breakfast a bit later consisted of the worst pizza (sorry, warm bread with cheap cheese) I had ever eaten and at £7 for the privilege I felt more than a little ripped off but as the best of a bad bunch I didn’t really have much choice. Now I’m sure I remember slightly more upmarket stands last year and the food in some places at Antiworld was top notch but I could find nothing coming up to the standards I had hoped for. Disappointing. I’m sure it can’t be too hard to vet some of the vendors to ensure some quality or better still, here’s a suggestion, get someone like Chai Wallahs to come down and provide great food at a reasonable price. It’s clear on talking to some clubbers that just because they bought it in no way meant the food was nice. Back into the festival site after an hours wait and onto Alex Kidd in the Polysexual tent. The sun had been shining and some of the surface water had evaporated leaving only the very deep and wet areas still a problem, I was hoping the sun would shine more and we’d be dry by later on. Not that the Kidd was helping with his tough love. Hands in the air, banging his head against the speaker next to him, jumping up like a loon, you got to give it to the guy the energy he puts in is phenomenal and if you weren’t wet with sweat from dancing just watching everyone else should have got you hot and sticky! The Contagious stage was finally up on the other side of the site and Garbo was rinsing it out to a quickly growing crowd. Were they there for the music or were they there to check out the Contagious dancers strut their stuff? Eye candy indeed and the music wasn’t too bad either, haha! With the chiming of 6pm came the roar of the Red Arrows shooting over the heads of the amassed and the start of David Guetta’s set. I was a healthy distance away but could still see clearly as they executed some amazing manoeuvres — arrow head and diamond formations, a love heart and near 90 degree turns, inverted flying and close flybys. This display had it all and it was seriously impressive over the 15 minutes we all craned our necks to see, in fact I would have watched for even longer had it continued on but the excitement was all to short and I got back to trudging around. I spent what seemed an age wandering round checking out the various areas including catching up briefly with David Guetta at the main stage playing Higher State Of Consciousness and his new track Love Come Again before I went to get changed and headed back for the next big act, Basement Jaxx. It had begun to rain again and all the hard work the sun had gone to was quickly being washed away as puddles formed and the ground got softer and softer. The music from the Jaxx went along the same lines as Faithless the night before, rejigged, remixed, whatever. I danced along and sung my heart out to Oh My Gosh, one of my favourite Jaxx tunes but again like the night before the music just didn’t inspire me, I just couldn’t feel it and we ended up wandering away about halfway through the set. Later on that night I got a chance to see The Edison Factor playing a live set. I had been expecting James Lawson and Matt Wiiliams to play a collection of just their own tunes but instead they kicked off with On The Edge and went through some real anthems like Meet Her At The Love Parade, Free Your Mind and For An Angel. The energy they had and the wonderful display of instrumental flair with Matt on the drums and James on the guitar as they twisted those classics into their own made me goggle. What talented musicians! This is what live hard dance should be all about and I look forward to catching them again soon. Missing it myself, I also heard that later on, bridging the gap between Hixxy and the Tidy Boys, Yoji Biomehanika stole the show. Now anyone that can go from hardcore to hard house and play Aha’s Take On Me and Tom Jones’ Not Unusual alongside tracks like Hell House 20 on the way has to be alright in my books. He also managed to fit in an extra 15 minutes for reasons that will remain a secret yet always the showman he still ended on a massive high. Top stuff! I had instead wanted to wrap up the night catching the stellar cast in the Godskitchen tent. Kicking off with Armin van Buuren we positioned ourselves as directly in the middle as we could. The mud bath outside had deteriorated to swamp standard in some places and inside it wasn’t much different making it extremely hard to dance, though people were still determined to enjoy themselves especially when the opening chords to Champagne Supernova drifted over the speakers and the tent erupted with nearly everyone singing! Why was the sound quality so bad though? It was as if speakers towards the back of the room were constantly cutting out and even moving to the front brought only marginal relief for Communication. Maybe they needed more power or someone’s car stereo perhaps. Paul van Dyk was notable in his absence last year, though on the strength of his techno-ish, progressive, I’m-not-sure-what-to-call-it set maybe that wasn’t a bad thing! Maybe that’s what drove three idiots to climb up one of the pylons. Maybe not, but they did force the music to be stopped for quite some time and I’m sure the bottles that were flung at them from below couldn’t have been that enjoyable. Boos rang out around them and whatever they were trying to achieve, they can’t have succeeded. I couldn’t stand it anymore and made my way off for a well earned and dry rest before coming back to see Above & Beyond for the first time. Three words (thanks to Basement Jaxx) – OH MY GOSH. I’ll be honest with you, I’m fed up of being at trance nights that get constantly harder as the night wears (or should that be drones) on. I’m all for tough, driving tracks but where’s the melody, where’s the euphorics? They were here in full force tonight. I wish I could tell you what was played but I was dancing too much, getting so completely carried away with the music, that I just don’t remember. All I can convey to you is just how good their set was and that I am now itching to see them again! In all though despite the highlights (and they were very high) of Kissy Sell Out and the rest of the Strongbow arena, The Edison Factor, Above & Beyond and the Red Arrows, this was overall a disappointing festival. A lack of any provisions for the inclement conditions, expensive but poor catering facilities, rude security staff with questionable people skills (we wondered what these people actually did for the rest of the year), sound problems across a range of tents and a complete lack of seating arrangements all led to an uncomfortable and boring weekend. They say a promoter’s game is to get as many people in though the doors, entertained and in comfort, for as little money as possible — but times are changing. Air travel is cheaper by the day and new festivals are springing up across the UK and the continent alongside the well established Dutch extravaganzas. Let’s hope the big guns take note and start to try and concentrate a bit more on production, the experience and attention to detail — not just on bigger and bigger line ups to try and outsmart punters to relieve them of their hard earned cash. With SW4 next and a wait to see if Creamfields wants to be reviewed the festival season is in no way over. Here's hoping there's plenty more surprises to come! Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By Adam Symbiosis: Godskitchen Xmas Party: Reviewed The Big Chill: Reviewed Tiësto at Victoria Park: Reviewed Lilly Allen: Reviewed Digital Society May 2009: Reviewed The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments: From: bear grrrr on 2nd Aug 2007 07:15.44 Very fair review. I left global happy beacause i had had a good time(I blatantly refuse not to have a good time when it costs me £150). Unfortunately it could of been sooooo much better. I will not be going back next year and I think people should give there hard earned money to festivals who are not all about just making money. From: Si T Fi on 2nd Aug 2007 09:52.07 A good review. I had a great time, but that was chiefly due to having got freebie tickets and VIP to the back of the strongbow rooms (free food and free cider). Yes the mud ruined it, yes they should have done more to cater for that. Shame you missed out on the Bedrock tent- it rocked hard, easily the best on site all weekend. From: esupforit! on 2nd Aug 2007 10:28.52 cant really get fairer than that...have to agree,the stronbow rooms and bedrock were the best ares/arenas by far,dance valley next year for me. From: E.X-P on 2nd Aug 2007 11:48.37 Fair comments. I had a good time but it could have been improved by adding the little touches you'd expect from a festival that charges you so much for tickets, beer and food. I'll go again but they need alternative pathways/entrances to reduce waiting/walking times; better security and better quality for money than the £3.50 Tuborg! Oh yeah, and turn up the volume! From: ED_case on 2nd Aug 2007 12:52.45 Well written Adam! I share pretty much the same sentiments. Was good seeing you down there though From: Andy Dunford on 2nd Aug 2007 13:04.29 Above & Beyond are usually awesome - when not playing at Turnmills. From: treesa on 2nd Aug 2007 16:56.25 Very accurate review. Absolute wrongn of a festival. Dance valley only from now on From: MissyT on 2nd Aug 2007 17:31.01 Good review, except i liked Paul Oakenfold's set.... So the reason why you couldn't remember Above and Beyond's tracks was cos you were dancing too much hey...?? hmmm..!!! Thanks for a fun weekend. From: Mauzie on 13th Aug 2007 13:05.34 You guys over there in the UK are so lucky to have such awesome big outdoor festivals with such big name d.j.'s *sigh*. I would just hate for my boots/shoes/whateva to get all caught up in that mud But I for one, would have loved to have seen Above and Beyond. Paul Oakenfold would also have been a good one to see. I've seen Armin van Buuren (totally blew me away with his set when he came to South Africa) and I've seen Paul van Dyk too, but not Basement Jaxx either. Such a selection, guys, you must have had a fab party

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