Sun, ´roos and Didgeri-doofs in Australia

For many people, Australia is a faraway land that they know very little about other than what they have seen on television. What most people don’t know is that beyond the colourful people, amazing scenery and nature and beautiful climate lie some of the best trance parties and festivals in the world!

Trance has Australia pretty much covered, with most major population centers hosting a trance scene of sorts. From the more traditional and well-known centers of Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay/NNSW and Brisbane, right through to the tropical North in Cairns and the far West in Perth- there are thriving scenes which all offer different kinds of locations, vibes and party experiences.

There is no dominant style of music at Australian parties- there is generally a good mixture of full-on, progressive, chill, electrotek, house and other styles, ensuring all musical tastes are catered for. Recently, local music has been coming into its own, with many artists in high demand on a global scale and a definite developing “Australian” sound.

Apart from the more well-known names like SunControlSpecies, Sensient, Space Tribe, Mr Peculiar and Fractal Glider, who have toured extensively throughout the globe, fresh artists such as Tetrameth, Shadow FX, Autonomech, Jigsaw, One Tasty Morsel, Psyboriginal, Hefty Output and Pondscum are forcing people to stand up and take notice of Australian music.

They are complimented by a strong contingent of DJs Australia-wide as well as a large base of local labels including Zenon, EPP, Gi’iwa, Open, UP Records, Tribeadelic and Illuminati Records.

The climate in Australia makes for parties all year round; because of the size of the place, you can literally travel around the country without a break in the parties for even a single weekend! Most of the action occurs in the summer months in the Southern part of the country; from November to March there are some serious parties and festivals happening in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and around the Byron Bay area.

Cairns would be an exception to this rule, with its warm winter temperatures and pumping outdoor scene keeping Australia busy while most of the other states are in hibernation for the cold.

The 2006/2007 summer is easily one of the biggest yet for Australia- the sheer volume of festivals this summer is amazing, with a diversity of acts from all corners of the globe second-to-none.

While we may have seen the last of the Earthcore gigs in 2006, 2007 will see the 10th anniversary of the institution that is Rainbow Serpent Festival, quite possibly one of the best festivals in the world today. Renowned by artists, DJs and festival-goers alike, the 10 Year Anniversary (held on the weekend of Australia day in January) promises to be the best Rainbow Serpent yet.

Other festivals in summer include Tribeadelic NYE, Matrieya Festival in February, SuperFreak, Exodus and Earth Freq in Byron Bay and closing the season up - Akasha festival in late February.

So as you can see, Australia has firmly established itself on the global Trance stage, with a scene and vibe that is distinctly its own and a freshness not seen in many other scenes around the world. The Australian people are very welcoming and will endeavor to make sure any visitors to the country are well looked after and party hard! We hope to see you down here soon; there is a whole lot more going on than you think!