Do you remember as a young child when you read wonderful stories and watched TV-movies that were full of mystery, magical adventures, excitement and astonishment, and getting that feeling of wanting to escape from the real world to actually become part of the fable? That feeling of wanting to believe we can escape reality and join the world of fairytales, to a place where we can leave the stress and pace of our everyday doesn’t have to be a wishful dream, that place really does exist. But before you can go there, you will experience a mass of excited emotions, with endless days of that squirmy knotted feeling inside your tummy with the anticipation of the upcoming experience. As you begin your journey escape, and travel closer towards the core of the Earth, you get this knowing feeling that you’re almost there; you can’t lose yourself just yet, you have to listen real carefully, then at once you feel it as you hear it, ‘The Hills are Alive with the Pound of Music’ – you have arrived at Earthcore!!

Thirteen years in the making, we in Queensland were blessed with the second coming of Earthcore’s Annual Global Carnival to the beautiful majesty of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. With the weekend that kick-starts the summer season of parties, the massive music and lifestyle festival certainly proved to be the biggest and best dance party experience of our region. The weather Gods indeed ensured the sub-tropical climate would complement the stunning surrounds in the vicinity of Cruiser Park at Peaks Crossing where the multi-staged event was located. Not too harsh in weather extremes, the lush rolling hills adorned with many a shaded mass of trees not only allowed for protection from the peak of midday sunlight but provided a magnificent backdrop to partake in the weekend escape.

Not a rain cloud in sight, or the blue bolt of striking lightning the rumble or crack of thunder, the drive out to destination Earthcore was in total contrast to the journey last year. With the ‘getting there’ directions spot-on to those published, the signage this year too was clearly visible, assisting those who prefer to trust their gut instincts in taking the doof-travelling trail. Access into the priority and general camping areas were set up ‘smarter’ this year, ensuring no thoroughfare along the edge of the staged and market areas, with general camping located much closer to the action. There was plenty of open space and shaded areas to set up camp wherever took your fancy for the days ahead. The maintenance of the grounds, the clearing of the rubbish, and the upkeep of all the amenities right down to the toilet paper and soap supply as well as the refilling of the water tanks for wonderful showering is to be commended.

The amazing members of the Queensland Ambulance Service as well as the voluntary Rave Safe crews on stand-by were a comforting presence should they at all have been required. Market stall central this year lined the same side of the passage from the local stages to that of the mainfloor, again with everything on offer to both fully clothe and nourish the body as desired. From all sorts of bright and colourful attire – skirts, pants, tops, dresses, even footwear, one could be made over from head to toe with the latest of hair decorations, palettes of vibrant eye shadows, temporary tattoos, or be adorned with all matter of jewellery, body decorations and glow wear. Whether you preferred the tropical flavours of cold juice to the aroma and kick of hot coffee or chocolate beverages, to the enticing flavours of international cuisine or recapturing childhood memories with the more junk-style carnival foods, again preferences were varied and well-catered for. Okay so not to be overlooked that’s the incidentals taken care of, but let’s get on with the show.

As always, nothing short of a top-class production, the Earthcore HQ production crew with the enlisted assistance of equally capable Queenslander counterparts hit the mark recruiting the likes of EFX Lighting, Ampt Productions, Squiffyvision, Pi-rate and OE World, who provided the dazzling out-of-this-world lighting and visual spectacles. Complete with the Monster Mainfloor featuring all wonders of musical delights from dub and hip-hop, breaks, electro, to hard dance and psychedelic trance, our local heroes in Polysonic, Drop & Liquid Bass, Virus vs. Rudebwoyz, and Bear Essential feat. Jilly provided everything from mantric tribal techno rhythms, raw jacking funky house, deep hypnotic minimal house, to breaks, broken beats, acid, glitch and booty, more electro, progressive and hard trance, to the sublime and uniquely different that would satisfy any discerning hunger for aural indulgence.

Generally the Friday night provides the calm before the Saturday night storm when the Internationals are brought in to grace the Monster mainfloor, however this year for many the Polysonic and Virus vs. Rudebwoyz stages that kicked off in the early evening was the essence of the Earthcore party; this is one event where pacing oneself is absolutely essential! Arriving at the crack of dawn Saturday after having met up with my crew and set up a comfortable posse, still made up from my previous gig engagement the lure of Emok (Phony Orphants) playing the Polysonic stage got me. Satisfied I was familiar with the surrounds and would be able to find my way with night-fall, the beautiful ambient goa tunes that Emok was spinning as nature awakened, captured and instantly connected me to that sense of being in that special secret place that happens only in fairytales. The chills as I became lighter with each melody and beat were something I hadn’t experienced since being there a whole 12 months prior; and now as I write this look forward to next time, but I’ve only just begun, so I must continue with the here and now.

Resting and catching up on much needed shut-eye, and socialising with regular friends and newly formed acquaintances was the order of the day before hitting the stages in the evening. This year each of the DJ consoles at each of the smaller stages were housed in Indian-style tee-pees. Not conducive to great observation of any sort of performance antics behind the decks, the protection of the equipment from dust-storms created from the dirt-floor stompers or indeed Mother Nature was smartly taken care of, not to mention minimising the glare of the potentially powerful sun rays. Each of the stages was independently decorated creating a unique ‘feel’ and visual experience, especially in the evening traversing from one dimension to the next. The Chill Stage was set up with the familiar Bear Essential ‘lounge area’ complete with leather recliner lounges, a rocker, bean bags, mattresses and cushions, for those wanting to enjoy the chilling ambient from the comfort of the outback lounge-room. A perfect alternative for the long trek back to base for those who couldn’t muster the energy, or indeed who weren’t equipped with such comfortable items. The Polysonic (Friday night) and Drop & Liquid Bass (Saturday night) stage was cordoned off with the help of a long-ago fallen tree trunk that provided great side bench seating for those who liked to watch, or even film, the dancing action that seemed to be non-stop. The Virus vs. Rudebwoyz stage looked amazingly awesome with dreamy visuals cast onto 3 screens; the only stage to have been able to host the spectacular visions of Majex (more later).

Clearly not being able to physically make it to every stage for every DJ, by all accounts, ALL the locals on ALL the stages played amazing good quality sets, delivering something a little different, mixing up classic and fresh tunes, perhaps going outside the usual comfort zone to really let loose; after all it was the perfect event to let oneself go. The Rudebwoyz – Erther & Operon in their 3 hour Saturday 4am set were paid credence in that they “played some absolutely sublime tunes”, and “indeed know how to lay down some technical beats!”
Of the Drop & Liquid Bass sets of Saturday night, standout sets as indicated by many forum-posting ITMers went to Murray Antill (aka Stormboy) LIVE, Scott Walker, Michael Mayer, and Dave Basek, with Mark Brias and Valli Lee also rating a mention. Scott Walker’s set had people who didn’t know him, asking who he was, clearly “evidence that his set captured people, not just those who already know his DJing!” With a dodgy start and enduring his set with a mixer malfunction, Michael Mayer’s “groove and ease of his set was just the mind-calming groove I needed, I really got into it!” Mayer was described as delivering absolutely perfect sounds at the 2am timeslot, with punters really digging his tunes once he picked up the tempo; with some serious phat acid basslines, providing for some the track of the year, “the last hour of his set was the best music I have heard for a long time.” Though with a 3 hour set, it seems many didn’t stick around to capture the same enjoyment others felt, with a few expressing his performance as a letdown. Dave Basek pumping out “some lovely house”, played “the most competent and well structured / programmed set (I heard) all weekend; the best thing was he played 100% of his own productions; the best morning set.”

At the Monster mainfloor kicking things off for me AB Didgeridoo LIVE, as a must see artist provided great afternoon tuneage as things gently warmed up with the surrounding outage of sound. Lowkey & Nude having played the week before in Victoria received a fabulous response from the mainstage goers and were pleased about “not fucking up anything” in their early evening performance, as they delivered “a brilliant and highly polished performance, setting the mood perfectly for the rest of the night’s proceedings.” With a minor change in timeslots stepping up to crank the mini Thumpenstein 60K sound system (20K less than the real thing), was our very own EC QLD co-producer in CY. Delivering one of the most amazing true psychedelic trance sets I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing as it’s actually being belted out, CY was the perfect support leading up to the first of the International superstar DJ’s. An awesome track selection, that has left many of us begging to be enlightened with some of the tune ID’s, his set took us on a real smooth journey with just the right amount of peaks and troughs in his ‘futuristic’ styled set.

We interrupt and venture over to the Virus vs. Rudewboyz stage where in the lead up to midnight a true spectacle was being set up, the rural fire brigade were parked behind the stage with a rather large perimeter petitioned off, preventing pedestrian traffic in preparation for the show. The show, what show? At the stroke of 12 midnight, the most amazing spectacle of fireworks high into the night-sky sparked the start of a truly different visual feast, in Majex. Two very attractive men adorned in equally stunning designer suits in all black and white, is not the attire you’d expect in the middle of the bush, and for sure many were completely unexpecting what was to follow in their show. Apparently 3 years in the making, what can only be described as unique and majestic, Majex LIVE complete with magic, illusions, amazing tunes and fantastic fireworks, took us on a magical fantasy as they provided the most wonderful out-of-this-world show one can only dream about catching at such an event; for a moment I thought I was in Las Vegas. To all that were intrigued, we’ve been told to wait patiently, huge things are being planned for the next instalment of Majex. Taken to another dimension momentarily, their timeslot clash with CY had my dashing back to the main stage to jump on the last wave of CY’s set.

Back at the Monster mainfloor and the ever-impressive and hugely popular John ‘00’ Fleming wowed the main stage with his uncanny knack of delivering the perfect set as he does every time he graces the decks. Passionate about the psychedelic scene which takes him back to his early Goa days, on this occasion the International favourite who is probably best known for his progressive trance flavoured sets, totally smashed it releasing a full-on high energy boshing psy-trance set. Building a perfect set, with the most amazingly powerful and mind-blowing build-ups and drops, with his extremely smooth and tight-as mixing, his production was described as “freakishly off the hook.” J00F single-handedly took the vibe of the main stage to a whole new dimension, dishing it out a lot harder than many were expecting. Providing the best 2 hours of psy-trance quality tunes, the QLD J00Fers United certainly gave respect back to John, showing him he certainly rocked our Earthcore world.

Next of the Internationals to rock the Monster main floor, and certainly no stranger having played at every respected and massive psy-trance event on the planet, the Godfather of Psychedelia, Australia’s own Raja Ram. Displaying his 66 years of broad and awe-inspiring diversity of musical talent, no other musician of the same calibre within the electronic world of psychedelic trance comes close – when it comes to his multifarious offerings in a single performance – Raja is the Grand Master! Accommodating some last minute minor changes, allowing us the pleasure of an additional half-hour of Raja playing the Main stage, we were witness to as always, an amazing show at the perfect time of sunrise. Incorporating a DJ set with live instruments and his vocals ala any of his 1200 MICS productions, Raja’s antics behind the decks coupled with highly energetic driving tunes infused with heavy-metal rock at times has to be seen to be believed. Even priceless was the fact his wife was amongst the crowd of dirtfloor-stomping punters as the crisp quality of sonar waves pierced through the dawn of day’s atmosphere sending the vibrations through us, adding to the stimulating aural overload.

With 2½ hours of the Raja Master, I was able to dash back and forth between the main stage and that of the Virus vs. Rudebwoyz stage, to catch segments of another notable International guest in Nick Sentience. Having blitzed his way through the Hard dance scene and securing his stance well and truly in the world of electronic dance music, Nick is a huge and exciting star in the UK and around the globe. Whether he’s playing live or spinning the turntables or CDJ’s, Nick always delivers unbelievably raw driving energy that you can’t turn away from – if it weren’t for Raja I wouldn’t have left at all during his set. A supporter of his Nukleuz-style harder edge sets, Nick recaptured my admiration for him with his delivery of the best psy-flavoured hard trance set I’ve heard him play in a while. It was a wonderful pleasure to be able to ‘go off’ as Nick cranked the sound system at the break of day; he really should incorporate more ‘true psy-trance’ into his sets, cause this guy really knows his craft of DJing and does it wonderful justice.

Following from Nick at 5:30am, the JT Effect competing with Raja Ram and Hired Goonz (live) at the Main floor, absolutely ripped it. Despite being well past their usual bedtimes, these guys were obviously in their element, energetically throwing down a mix of classic hard- and psy-trance tunes in high-octane fashion. Having the time of their lives when most folk at this point were feeling weary and dreary, this very effective hard dance duo has gone from strength to strength with their electric on-stage performances and musical diversity. Good on you boys, you totally rocked your Earthcore debut!

The final Headlined International to play the Monster Main floor from noon Sunday, DJ Krush, the youthful looking 44 year old Japanese guy is a rare freak of nature when it comes to his talent! He’s a uniquely gifted producer and DJ with a superb skill in composing. For a man who refers to his production of music in the sense of giving birth, it’s immediately evident he’s a little bit different. Before returning to Australia for his Earthcore debut much of 2006 has seen Krush busy in the birthing suite of Tokyo, conceiving, gestating, and finally going into labour in preparation for displaying his proudly born gifts.

”I’ve been making more tracks for my new album, delivering babies after babies of sounds. Long & difficult delivery, quick & easy delivery, going back & forth the delivery room called studio everyday. This time, my job is to give new life to the children I’ve delivered in the past. Can’t promise you how they are going to rebirth, but I’ll keep delivering. It’s about time I started to feel the need of a midwife, but sill ok. I can still hold my babies by myself. Few more push & it’ll be done. Look forward to meeting them.”

For an entire hour Krush who aside from creating his own family of tracks, also produces for the small & silver screen, from movies to commercials, played an amazing ambient trip-hop set that from the distance echoed beautifully as the Sunday blossomed. Wanting to take a glimpse of this Eastern marvel, as one of the first DJ’s to ever ‘use turntables and a mixer as live instruments’, I ventured up to the main stage to view for myself his incredible you-have-to-see-to-believe actions at the decks, and in good time too just as he started to dirty the trip-hop with a bit more grinding hip! At this point bodies were stomping the ground to a lesser tempo than any hour previous, but every single soul was captured in the grip of this amazing musician; it was an amazing closure to the International visitors before Mr Earthcore closed proceedings spinning the final set.

As the saying unfortunately goes “all good things must come to an end”, and while the entire Earthcore experience feels at times like a make-believe fairytale, we are blessed that such a wonderfully marvellous event really does exist. Thanks to the brilliant not-so dreamy ambitious mind of Spiro Boursine and his amazing crew, that over the years has stood by and supported the Earthcore legacy, now having reached its thirteenth year of production. With an uncertain immediate future as often happens with the investment of time, effort and energy in nurturing the growth of a ‘teen’, I certainly hope our once a year escape into the majestical and ethereal realm of Earthcore is something we can all look forward to time and time again.