Top of the range parties in SWITZERLAND

And the beat goes straight on & on" may be an appropriate phrase to describe Switzerland's Trance history which started in local parts of the country in the early nineties and has been spread out in to every corner of the country.

The German part of Switzerland has the most active scene, followed by the Swiss French, and finally the Italian section. The styles of trance varies within these parts. For big events with melodic Full-On and sophisticated Progressive Trance, check out the Swiss German part. For more twisted night sounds, the Swiss French part will offer you the gateway to insanity. The Swiss Italians like it more underground and dark.

The number of promoters, increasing up until the last two years, now seems to have stabilised. Some organizations stopped their activities while others merged to create stronger collectives. The most important organisations include names like FrakaSound, Kokopelli, Rumpelpilz, and DMT.

The realisation of ideas by constructive minds resulted in many unique & thrilling outdoor and indoor experiences. "Mental soup", the countries pioneer DarkPsy festival took place in the Swiss-Italian Mountains and FrakaSound's "A Fairy tale", an indoor held in an eye-teasing romantic chateau, became a legend.

The canton Grisons (Graubünden) turned out to offer brilliant unspoilt spots for festivals in the mountains. Four of the international outdoor events took place there, including Atmosphere Festival, the highest European outdoor Psytrance event at nearly 2100m above sea level.

A handful of quality Swiss labels are gaining worldwide recognition by releasing outstanding music, such as Peak or Kumquat. They take care of talented local artists like Electrypnose or Andre Absolut. Swiss artists can be found frequently in the party lineups all over the world.

Generally at a very high production level, Swiss music ideas found their way in to every psychedelic music genre, often released on well established music labels - like Liquid Soul's debut album that was released on Iboga in September. With DJ Martin they run Earsugar, grooving the crowd with highly addictive live acts. Freakulizer has a new album in progress and founded his new electro side-project Khainz. More on the twisted side are Yab Yum (Peak) and Digitalist (Dropout & Devilsmind Rec.). Other up-and-coming Swiss artists include Rumble Pack, Midimal, Mason Cellester and Orgon Flow.

Switzerland also offers some of the finest DJs, technically very skilful and with the instinct to rumble any floor, e.g. QED, Müstik, Nygma, Jackomo and Fidimohnius.

Switzerland has a very active musical scene, though many more cultural elements can be discovered, at parties as well as in larger cities. Those of you who like to buy clothes, CDs, or psychedelic souvenirs, keep your eyes open for nomad merchants traveling around the festivals. Popular shops include the Natraj Stand (clothes), the Sam Smiler Stand (CDs) or the Klangwerk Psy-Cafe. In major cities check out Secret Nature (Thun), Avarox (Bern), Dj-Corner (Lucerne) and Aladdin (Lausanne). They have a diverse selection of goods and will help you find flyers for the any planed events.

However one thing remains constant wherever you party: The party freaks are one of the best crowds on this planet; smiling happy, freaky-dressed people. This has made many international artists fall in love with this scene.

Now you've got enough info and hopefully want to explore the Swiss scene by yourself.

Every info concerning parties, artists and scene news can be found on top up-to-date websites.

Let us guide you through the Swiss psyscene with its unique locations, special freaks and high quality events - Check it out party people…

Shops

• www.secret-nature.ch
• www.spaceshirt.ch

Links

• www.swisspsy.ch
• www.mysticalforum.com
• www.klangarena.org

Text

Nygma

Passionate long term trancer, DJ
nygma@frakasound.com

Support & Fotos by:

Tuso

klangarena association, DJ(ResQ)

djResQ@klangarena.or

Date: June 18, 2007
Text: Nygma
Photos: Tuso
Taken from: "Trancer's Guide to the Galaxy 2007 magazine"