We are off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of … Maitreya! Leaving the inner sanctum of Melbourne late Friday afternoon we had an abundance of energy cruising down the Hume. Despite heavy rainfall the whole journey, which by the way was a good indication of what was to come, we made it in one piece for the Friday night festivities.

Maitreya Festival for me is a highlight of the year and this year included the likes of Protoculture, Zen Mechanics, Ace Ventura, Perfect Stranger, AMD, Aphid Moon and Dick Trevor just to name a few. The quality and quantity of artists that they bring to the table match, if not exceed all other psytrance orientated festivals in Australia.

Finding the seemingly last piece of inhabitable ground in the confines of the festival near a huge gum tree at the front fence, we settle ourselves and breathe a sigh of relief. After trying to construct our tent and shelter in the dark for a while, we eventually decided to ditch that idea and go for a wander. Ozzy was playing at the ‘Peace Pad’ stage with an energised and ferocious crowd. Being the first night of the festival, people are obviously excited and enthused about finally being there at the party and getting their boogie on.

The Rockit Stage had a chilled-out vibe about it with some bands playing some soothing rhythms for the crowd. Staying at the Peace Pad stage until the music stopped at two am was a good move, Deutronium and Terrafractyl delivered the musical goods while I got acquainted with some new friends. It was a fantastic start to the weekend.

On Saturday we toured the festival to see what was on offer. The amount of food stalls had definitely increased since last year, with food for any taste. There was also a large pavilion for those seeking respite with free massages on offer. The market area also hosted the world’s largest sage stick, which was burning most of the weekend. Also, psychedelically painted gnomes and mushrooms dotted the landscape.

The art this year was sporadically situated, with a lot of it consisting of a morbid horror movie type theme with dolls heads and the like, which was interesting to say the least. I did notice Stephen Allen’s The Pelt of Pythagoras Muse, which is a black-and-white sprawling image which I admire.

After waiting for seemingly forever for the music to start, the marching band finally came gallivanting around the festival signaling the official open of the festival. Rythmik kicked things off at the main dance floor, Maitreya Stage. Rockit Stage was putting out some seriously twisted psychedelic vibrations on Saturday, turning every sound into a mind-melt of glee. Saturday was a beautiful day with sunshine and a cool breeze, but started to deteriorate later.

By the time the tempo seriously was thumping on Maitreya stage with Aphid Moon, the festival grounds became swamp-like and the festival got aptly renamed by a few punters “Mudtreya”. This was no understatement. As anyone who went will tell you, making it through the gate to the main stage was an arduous task of trekking through half-metre deep squelching mud and rugged terrain. This definitely added to the fun of the party. Everyone embraced the weather, the mud, the environment and had a ball with it.

Saturday night was a night of epic proportions. Being the only night with music going right through, the people who embraced the dark muddy conditions were paid off with an insane line-up of full-on psytrance through the night. Dick Trevor’s set was marvellous, with pumping, throbbing basslines with bass drops that were explosive. AMD pushed through the darkest part of the night with some slick dark beats. The dancefloor was slippery which made dancing very interesting – a constant balancing act with Mother Nature, combined with the powerful music of AMD, was an insane combo.

After a well-deserved break back at camp, I arose for three hours of Protoculture at five-am. The South African psytrance dynamo played a wicked set, combining melodic forces with driving basslines and flawless transitions combined to make it a memorable set of the weekend. Playing the Protoculture remix of Binary Finary – 1998 was mind-blowing; with too many high fives too count. His melodic ‘morning trance’ influence was supreme for the sunrise set of the festival. Zen Mechanics followed on with his take on modern psytrance, with less melody and more intricate percussions bringing us into a wet and wonderful Sunday morning in the Australian bush.

Andromeda – the closest galaxy to ours and also the name of the Swedish progressive trance lord who was a late addition to the lineup – came on the decks at around 10am. His set was my favourite of the festival. It was a journey from start to finish, constantly bending beats and with no massive bass drop or melodic interlude, his set progressed intensely into pure ecstasy.

He dropped the track Sensations which was a bomb, and he led into Ace Ventura’s set at the end with darker, higher BPM music. Ace Ventura is also a favourite and lived up to my high expectations. His set had darker elements with a faster groove really bringing out the crowd. Arguably, he demanded the most attention of the punters with the dancefloor packed and absolutely pulsating with energy. With his slicked back hair, dark sunglasses and magnificent track selection, he was a class act through and through.

The day progressed with even more insane music, with Bitmonx and Mapusa Mapusa playing a more funky groovy kind of progressive. Although the music didn’t let up the weather started to deteriorate very badly with tornado like conditions later in the day. This did not deter Perfect Stranger from playing his trademark kind of techno/progressive, lifting the spirits of the few who remained clinging to what remained of their jackets and minds on the dancefloor.

Monday had a disaster zone-esque feel to it. Literally having to wade through lakes to get anywhere, only the dedicated (and the bogged in!) stayed to soak up the last day of the festival. DJ Emok was top of Monday for me. Head of Iboga Records, he knows his music and he put on a show. Johnson & Haske also provided some danceable progressive through the day.

Despite the abysmal weather conditions, a positive attitude and the awesome music prevailed. With energy levels up and holding the mud at bay (barely), the festival was a success with many having a yarn to spin and an adventure to tell. This yearly festival is a personal favourite and I am counting down the days until the next one. I am excited for the prospect of next year, the music, the people and the vibe. Maitreya is something that needs to be experienced to be believed.