A Tribute To Psychedelic Music & Culture
…. It all started back in 2000.After spending years travelling & partying around the globe, Mike and I.Mike met back in their homeland (each one with his own past and participation to the electronic dance music),shared their experiences and shared the same thoughts.Thoughts how to find a way (finally!) in their country (Greece) to co-operate with each othe
r a...nd create something that it will build one more step for the love they have to music and to organize a gathering that will bring all the artists in one dance floor like never before.Then they first visualized the forthcoming of the first international electronic & dance music festival of Greece. The island of Samothraki was always their inspiration and one of the most ideal places for a festival of its kind to be held.The island is a strong electromagnetic gate and during the ancient times,the great rituals Kaveirian were held there,gathering the most important philosophers,scientists,kings,shamans but also people from different nationalities,color or religion.Alexander the Great was consived during the Kaveirian mysteries since his mother was the high priest ,”Olympia” and his father the king “Fillipos the 2nd”.The main aim of the mysteries was to purify the soul and initiate the participants to the mystical universal knowledge. The August Full Moon of the year 2001,was the start of this voyage.Our plan was to put Greece into the international map of dance music festivals.Only 3 months before the preparations started and late June the promotional plan began with not more than 10 countries supporting the festival promotion and presales. Our target was to gather 4000 party animals of the globe to the island,despite the hard circumstances in Greece. Unexpected more than 7000 people arrived on the festival venue to unite and to celebrate the full moon for 3 nights and 4 days.The festival came up to be an absolute blast,getting the best credits worldwide (“my best live act ever” Simon Posford, official website).3 after parties happened and the celebration ended almost one month after the official end of the festival. The door opened…Samothraki Dance Festival 2002 had the best potentials and has been the biggest production in the history of psytrance festival scene.The message it was one”lets make something like never before”.We wanted to place up the standards of the production and to push psychedelic music and culture,that we love, to new horizons by introducing it to a wider audience.The second festival hosted more than 50 live performances and more than 120 dj sets of the cream of the international electronic music,in 3 differend music stages,4 nights & 5 days under the blasting sound of 180KW in total.The festival gathered more than 12.000 people from over 50 differend nationalites incl the 1000 production members (volunteers, artists, crew, workers, supporters, organizers) and 1000 guests,who alltogether made a new age version of the anciend Kaveirian mysteries!More than 25 countries supported the production during the 6 months preparations,from Brasil to Japan to UK to Mexico to South Africa to USA to Greece.After the finish of the festival an official afterparty was organized,60hours non stop music,including most of the artists that performed in the festival and more.
2003 was the final piece for the full circle to be completed.After having the experience of the previous festivals,we knew what we and the people wanted.We worked more than 8 months,having a network of 120 ambassadors and information points,in more than 45 different countries worldwide.The last Samothraki Dance Festival was 10 days of a multi-cultural interaction(including 48hours after party) and had an attendance of 10.000 people from over 80 nationalities.The festival itself was marked into the global psychedelic community consciousness as one of the best events of its kind. A big thanks to all the people globally that have been to the festivals,from the Artists to you,from A to Z. (SDF Organizers)
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Sola Luna 2001 - A milestone in greek festival history
.. In the past years it was quite about open air trance parties in Greece. The reason is the strict and aggressive anti party / anti drug policy of Greece. Lot's of parties have been cancelled, smashed, organisers jailed etc.. This made party organisers afraid of organising bigger open air parties. The Sola Luna crew finally tried a quite organised and connected approach by cooperating with a lot of officials and a major festival company. And it worked out: No police problems on the festival and a general positive outcome both to festival people and locals! Sola Luna happened on the beautiful island Samothraki. Samothraki is a small island in the north eastern agean see close to Turkey. It is of volcanic origin and is actually the second highest Greek island after Crete. It's a very beautiful island and due to it's remote location and the lack of sand beaches still quite ignored by tourists. The party happened on a camping place. The camping area had enough trees for shadow which was important since Greece is hot in summertime. The main dancefloor was set on a field at the beach, a mountain panorama in the back, the sea in front. You could actually swim while listening to the music or even dive! The second floor was a five minutes walk under some trees. Actually the better location since you had shadow while dancing. The best location I've seen in my trance party live! Organisation was remarkably good for a first party in this scale for the organisers. Security was friendly, toilets were beeing cleaned quite often, trash collected and removed directly after the main floor finished, etc.. Of course there were a few things that could have been better like the somehow displaced chairs in the chill-out but these can be forgiven in my opinion. The music on the main floor was good although it included a lot of the typical artists that you experience on international events. Those were in general not that suprising but surely this music was what lot's of people wanted. Interestingly there were no israeli artists (if I remember right) and no germans on the main floor! I don't want to name highlights here because I was not there all the time. What could be improved was the sequence of the artists! On the second floor there was a quite diverse program ranging from house via dub via technorock to ambient. It was a good idea but also here the sequence was not that good and the atmosphere could have been improved. Only rarely more than 100 people at a time were in the second area. The vibe was amazing. The people were very friendly and happy. You constantly heard screaming from the main floor, that floor often had a few thousand people dancing. The Greeks were nice as well and counted probably 50% of the visitors. All together I estimate the size of the party between 6000-8000 people. (www.chaishop.com)
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Το πολυαναμενόμενο Sola Luna Festival που έγινε μεταξύ 31 Αυγούστου και 3 Σεπτεμβρίου στη Σαμοθράκη, ήταν αναμφίβολα ένα event χωρίς προηγούμενο στη χώρα μας, τουλάχιστον όσον αφορά τη συγκεκριμένη σκηνή της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής. Αυτό που είδαν τα μάτια μου (στο τι άκουσαν τα αυτιά μου θα αναφερθώ αργότερα) ήταν η πολυσυλλεκτικότερη και μακράν η πιο... ethnic συγκέντρωση νέων ανθρώπων που έλαβε ποτέ χώρα εντός ελληνικών συνόρων. Οι διοργανωτές μίλησαν για περίπου 6000 άτομα, και δεν υπάρχει κανένας λόγος να μην τους πιστέψουμε εμείς, αφού στο “ήσυχο και απομακρυσμένο” μέρος που έστησα τη σκηνή μου 3 μέρες πριν την επίσημη έναρξη του festival υπήρχαν την Παρασκευή 31 Αυγούστου περίπου 12 άλλες σκηνές σε απόσταση αναπνοής!
Άνθρωποι όλων των φυλών, αποχρώσεων και ενδυματολογικών προτιμήσεων αντάλλαξαν εμπειρίες, απόψεις και... μυρωδιές σε έναν περιβάλλοντα χώρο όπως η Σαμοθράκη που ούτως ή άλλως αποτελεί πόλο έλξης από μόνος του. Ολίγη φυσιολατρεία, ολίγη οικολογία, μπόλικη φιλολογία γύρω από αύρες και “ενέργειες του σύμπαντος” και έτσι πρόχειρα σας ετοίμασα το προφίλ μιας μεγάλης μερίδας των ανθρώπων που κυκλοφορούσαν το τριήμερο αυτό στους χώρους του δημοτικού camping της Σαμοθράκης.
Ο χώρος είχε μοιραστεί σε 2 stage, όπου στο πρώτο το μεγάλο κυριαρχούσαν οι ήχοι της psy-trance, ενώ στο μικρότερο δεύτερο stage ακούσαμε από house, ethnic, ambient, freestyle μέχρι reggae ακούσματα. Περιττό να πώ πως η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία του κόσμου προτιμούσε καθημερινά το 1o stage, ενώ το 2o φιλοξενούσε συνήθως περίπου 100 με 150 από τους συνολικά 6000 φιλόμουσους νέους!
Κατά τα άλλα, παντού όμορφα θεάματα, ροφήματα, αφεψήματα και... ανομήματα! Η παρουσία της Αστυνομίας ήταν διακριτικότατη (απλά ρύθμιζε την κυκλοφορία έξω από το camping), η παρουσία της Interpol μάλλον ήταν από την αρχή ράδιο αρβύλα, κι έτσι εντός του camping με τη χαλαρή επιτήρηση των ανθρώπων της security σίγουρα κανείς δεν πρέπει να ένιωσε καταπιεσμένος! Πολλά συγχαρητήρια αξίζουν λοιπόν στην ομάδα security και φυσικά σε όλη την οργανωτική ομάδα του Sola Luna Festival, για τον άψογο τρόπο που οργάνωσε το event και υποδέχθηκε τόσο κόσμο σε ένα μέρος που ποτέ στο παρελθόν δε γνώρισε τέτοια κοσμοσυρροή. Κλέινοντας οφείλω να παρατηρήσω πως όποια ανθρώπινη δραστηριότητα και να γίνεται στη Σαμοθράκη, πάντα το νησί θα κλέβει την παράσταση. Αν τυχόν δεν το έχετε επισκεφθεί ως τώρα και αν δε φοβάστε το περπάτημα, βάλτε το από τώρα στους μελλοντικούς σας προορισμούς! (www.avopolis.gr)
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Every year for three years now Samothraki Island in the Thraki Sea off the coast of Greece has held an incredible trance gathering where participants from all around the globe unite and dance to an amazing line up of pure trance sound. The Island boasts some of the cleanest crystal water pebble beaches and spectacular waterfalls surrounded by a nature reserve filled with giant sycamore trees, goats, lizards and other small fauna; but that is not all the island has to offer. The Port Kamariotissa has an array of coffee shops and restaurants and the Island is speckled with cute hotels, campsites and guesthouses tucked into the landscape. In fact only three thousand locals inhabit Samothraki and the island has seen man 1085 years before Christ. It was told in Greek Mythology that Poseidon swam here and climbed the mountain to the second peak where he built his throne and watched the Trojan war from there. One of the most spectacular parts of the Island is Mt. Fagari, meaning moon in Greek. The mountain is 1610 meters high and looms over the land like a God. Once volcanic and a strong energy vortex, Mt Fagari now rests and brings water to the entire island from deep lakes under the ocean. The water flows down solid rock faces creating quite an impressive show towards the ocean beneath. For a trance party, the place is magical. It was believed that Plato and Pythagoras were once here performing secret rituals up on the mountain where they contacted the spiritual world. Not much has changed on the island since then. Still some ruins remain and its natural beauty is unchanged. Then come Mike A. and Mike S. into the picture. They had met at Boom while traveling and had a vision to put on a huge festival in Samothraki. Bringing back the ancient culture that once took place in Greece. After a lot of hard work and investing all their time and money they finally partnered with the municipality on the island and brought us the first Samothraki party. It was a great success. People gathered here from around the world. The music was good and they proved they had what it takes to create a great ripple that turned into thundering wave. Samothraki back then was one of the most talked about parties in the world. The next year people came back, again the party rocked and the third festival came into being. This year we had gotten here early. Camped on one of the serene beaches and waited for the festival to begin. More and more people trickled off the ferries from the mainland into the camp area. This place soon became full of colorful crowds, cars, campers, vans and decoration. The market area was really well organized all at one end of the festival and lit up by authentic Chinese lanterns creating a pleasant ambiance. Lots of colorful stores filled the area where one could buy quite a large assortment of goodies including clothes, decoration and accessories. Food was in abundance and one could get anything from vegetarian, sushi and traditional Greek food and deserts. Refreshments filled the bar areas around the camp. More than eighty percent of the people were international and twenty percent Greek. The line up was filled with top names like GMS, Dino Psaris, Hallucinogen, Koxbox, Tristan, Bamboo forest, Edwardo and many more. People were here for the music. That is sure. Alex Bone was the main decorator and an extraordinary artist in the scene. He did the second years chill out area. He created some marvelous mushrooms on the main floor together with paintings set in a natural flow with the nature. No lasers and a more natural theme engulfed the central arena. Tribe of Frog did the Chill out under the guide of Arash Atman a major part of the Samothraki production. They came on site and built fifty butterflies, set them in the trees with other structures and a large backdrop behind the stage. There was a nice environment at both stages and from a far it looked like a little wonderland. All was prepared. The stage set up by two pro stage managers, John Chester from Dragonfly and Peter Digital. The people ready. The music was about to begin. With the sun setting when the first beat came in the crowd roared and the stomping began. Two days passed under the sun and stars while the music thundered at 150K sound straight into the sea. Then the shock came. Police with dogs raided the camp. They had come with a court order under the reins of an Alexandropolis judge who has made it her mission to stop the festival. The organizers did everything in their power to stop them but could not. Holding their own lives on the line to keep the party going. There was no stopping the police. They arrested several people and took them off to the courts in Alexandropolis. Mike S. went there with a team of lawyers to help people with the trials and most came out with small bails. People at the festival were shocked. Their freedom had been broken by the police. There was paranoia around the camp and lots of rumors went around but most people were unfazed and didn’t really care about the police. No one really knew what happened and the party amazingly went forward and on schedule. With no one sure of the police and the given that some under cover agents were still in the camp some mood in the festival dropped for a day but the dance floor was always full and rocking. The two Mikes did everything in their power to stop these raids. They contacted every connection they had in Greece, higher even than the authorities that were chasing them. Still they could not calm the storm. Still the festival went forward. Two days later almost at the end of the party, the police came back. The intent to stop the party. They again arrested people and took them off for small amounts of nothing. They didn’t stop the party. The organizers made sure of that and in a way they won. The main stage never stopped and the music was brilliant and the crowd full of energy. Then a storm hit Samothraki Island while God cried and washed the dirt and grime away. People scattered into their tents and hid for the night and the rain settled in the morning. Most of the masses left that day. No one was sure of what was going to happen. Was there going to be an after party as promised? Were the police coming back? For a while the camp was silent. Again the organization pulled through and the after party began. They set up a different theme around the chill out area with a modified system. The sound rocketed into the camp. Smiles grew on the faces in the night and the music continued. Two days of beautiful party atmosphere with around two thousand people. Good music and a strong bonding well needed. The music will continue. Samothraki will be back. The police never came back to the camp during the after party and freedom hung like a flag in the air while the people smiled and enjoyed this special place and the music they love. (www.chaishop.com - mushroom magazie)
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Samothraki Dance Festival Core Crew
Event & Production Manager: Mike (Oblivion)
Promotion, Sales & Production Manager: Mike Akida (Akida Promo)
Main Stage Manager & Trance Artists Bookings: Marios Ekseiriou (The Grain Society)
Chill Out Stage Manager & Chill Artists Bookings: Arash Atman (Electronic Soundscapes)
Creative Designs: Artemis (Let Us Play Creative)
Technical Manager: Kostas Margas (Kyttaro)
Press Office Greece: Argy Echosense (Proto Thema)
Transportation Manager: Basilis Sakelariou
Administration: Manos & Yiota
Samothraki Dance Festival Production Team Members
Promotion & Sales: Amin (Access All Areas) 2001-2003
Decoration: Alex (Bone) 2001-2003
Stage Manager: Chester (Dragonfly Records) 2001-2003
Waste Manager: Thomas (Germany) 2001-2003
Door Manager: Stefanos 2001-2003
Stage Manager: Tolis Q (Quantized Recs) 2001-2003
Stage Manager: Daniel (Sunrise Zone) 2001-2003
Site Management: Greg (X-Studio) 2001-2003
Door Manager: Euri (Sunrise Zone) 2001-2002
Stage Manager: Peter Digital (Digital Structures) 2002-2003
Main Stage Manager & Trance Artists Bookings: Dinos Z. (Bluebuzz) 2001
Trance & Chill Artists Bookings: Stavros (Svmix) 2001
Progressive Stage Manager & Progressive Artists Bookings: Andreas (Sunrise Zone) 2002
Sound Designer: Ian Ion (Koxbox) 2002
Stage Manager: Mark Black (x-Cure) 2002
Site Management: Nick Ladd (Glade Festival) 2003
Stalls Manager: Kevin (Sol Festival) 2003
Website Support: Mike Akida 2001-2002, George 2003
Office Support: John 2003
