Psy-trance in the Netherlands has been spreading its wings for a very long time. It began at the Ruigoord, the squatted village that later became legalized. This pioneering era was also felt in the club Trance Buda, where local DJs hosted regular nights. Meanwhile, psy-trance was also morphing into an underground scene while the old squat the Silo pumped wild psychedelic parties in its basement.

With the closing of the Silo, the scene moved to the Elf, the squatted embassy of Belgium that for three years became the glowing light of psychedelic trance. Housing up to 300 seasonal members and many travellers from everywhere in the world, the Elf made an impressive imprint in the Dutch psy-trance and opened it for international trancers, bringing the very spirit of Goa to the Netherlands.

With the increasing control against underground parties, the scene went overground and nights are now usually held in clubs with early closing times. This policy brings pressure to organizations, which operate mostly with local artists due to the high risks of hosting short parties. As well, these parties often clash with outdoor illegal parties, which can be fun, but make it harder for international artists to be included in the line-up of well organized events.

Still, some organizations are having the courage to bring international artists and we are seeing a growth in the quality of party production and line-ups. Organizations operating regularly in Amsterdam are Art of Noiz, Prog as a Frog, Namaste, Ruigoord, Trance Mafia, Bom Voyage, Tranceformers and Bleep Bizarre. In the country we have Rootz, E:volved, 3rd Bit, Shut Up and Dance, Children of Ganesh and Cosmic Combination.

The Netherlands has been in the global map of top-notch producers since GMS came along. Our most respected artist at the moment is Zen Mechanics, due to release an album this year and many are developing their craft as well as releasing tracks and albums, such as Fitalic, Liftshift, Mad Contrabender, Aerophobia, Cyrus the Virus, Zebra -N, Jocid, Stikka, Tzolkin, Rebelix, Bassid, Boobytrip, Rev and The Wizard.

In the 2008 we are seeing an increase in the number of official open air parties. Although receiving a permission from the government is no easy business, some organizations are working against the clock to bring open air events to our spring and summer. So far, only the Ruigoord can yearly organize the Solstice festival, which runs for two days and marks the shifting seasons in June. As an alternative, some organizations are joining larger festivals which are mostly commercial, but can offer a stage exclusively for psy-trance.

Holland also has an outstanding annual event on 30th of April to celebrate the birthday of the Queen. Amsterdam becomes the great focus with a series of open air parties and Bom Voyage is the psychedelic star, holding its ninth edition this year. Queensday is a traditional day attracting international public and international artists who come to play and enjoy, surely an event to be included in the global trancer's agenda.