HILIGHT TRIBE TOUR www.hilight-tribe.com MEXICO, Vera Cruz   2008/03/21 CUMBRE TAJIN CUMBRE TAJIN 2008 Every year around springtime in the sacred city of El Tajin, on the east coast of Vera Cruz, the Cumbre Tajin Festival gathers large crowds. It is one of Mexico's biggest cultural and musical events, attracting thousands of people. Cumbre Tajin involves artists, craftsmen, healers, dancers as well as alternative therapies, workshops and conferences. This event mainly focuses on preserving Mexico's various cultural identities and allows an encounter with the Totanacan people who are the guardian protectors of that region and it's cultural riches. Before setting foot on the mexican soil, the tribe transitted from Paris to Frankfurt. IN the waiting hall before taking the flight to Mexico, two other travellers recognized the group and came to introduce themselves. They were trekkers and mountain guides and had settled in the Chiapas Mountains. They described with enthusiasm their magic impressions of the Chiapas mountains and pre Columbian heritage, the Oaxacan landscapes or the simplicity of life with the Huicholes. After their arrival, the Tribe settled for the night in a hotel downtown Mexico City and the next morning jumped on a small Aeromexico jet to Porto Cruz where a lift brought them to the festival. The massive size of the event was a surprise for everyone in the band. Each area was filled with native colors, ethnic designs and authentic people. The whole perimeter of the festival was divided into separate stages or spaces called Nichos: Indigenal Art Center, Nicho de la Tierra, Ethnic Voices area, Purification area, native games and sports and even a Rhytmorama floor with Nyabhingui beats! That first day, the band unloaded the music material in the Nicho de la Musica Backstage where many artist were preparing to play on the massive main stage. The tribe then made a move to the Namaste Tent to meet up with the Namaste crew (J.Michel, Allok, Meroll and her Mom, Amu, Christain Etc…). They come every year from Ibiza to Cumbre Tajin with Half a ton of equipment and decoration to recreate the magic "Namaste" atmosphere that has realmed over Las Dalias every summer for the past ten years. At their arrival in the Namaste tent, the Band was welcomed by Allok and Jon Michel "AAAH!! Finally! After all these years! The dream of bringing you guys over to play in Mexico has now become a reality. We're all thrilled that you made it! Now let's go to the Totanaca Healing area to pay respect to our spiritual hosts." The tribe followed Jon Michel and Allok past an entrance where two women welcomed each visitor with their swinging incense pots: " K'ahshen!" (hello in Totonacan) Behind the entrance, a whole area was filled with healers, sacred shrines, medicine people and Temascal tents (Sweatlodge). Each member of the tribe was discovering a whole new world. The native cultures were well represented here, their vision is that of a harmony with the forces of nature, that's what the tribe is trying to learn and spread out through natural trance music. The tribe gathered up and sat around the sacred fire with some Totonacas. J.michel who by now was aquainted with local traditions, gave us an element to offer to the fire. This area was like another dimension linked to a massive festival taking place on the other side of it's protecting wooden walls. MEXICO, Vera Cruz   2008/03/20 CUMBRE TAJIN part 2 On the way to the other side of the festival Greg and Seb passed by a Huichol healer. He invited them to visit his hut which was filled with traditional artwork from his culture. At one moment the Huichole man showed us a wooden cup with multicoloured beeds and mystic designs. As he turned the cup in his hand in a circular manner, a 3d vision of a peyolte popped out of the cup like a mirage! The man's shamanic laughter stayed in our memories till today." Meanwhile Ludo and Rishnu were learning totonancan vocabulary with the incense swinging women at the entrance. "How do you say Hello?" -Decimos "K'ahshen", hi hi hi!" y hasta luego se dice Aaste chaale! -How are you? :"Nikou lal bat khan?" - Fine, how are you ?: "Wish na nikoulale bat na khan klema!" -Thank you: "Kin la kashmantida" "Kintikoukan is the name to design the Cosmic Force or the gods." After lunch, the weather was hot and the sun was blazing. The tribe chilled out in the Namaste backstage tent with the relaxing sounds of the various world music artists performing on stage. At night fall it was Hilight tribe's turn to animate the full on Mexican crowd with their World trance set. As various themes from the four corners of the tribal world were played, the crowd gradually got up and started dancing full power. The set lasted 2hours and also included some special psychedelic tribal rhythms. At the end of the gig, J.michel came on stage to salute the band and announced the next night's performance on the nicho de la musica mega stage. The crowd cheered back and whistled with their arms waving in the air… The next morning the crew got up early for sound check on the big stage. The tribe's challenge would be to play in first part of Vera Cruz' most famous band:Café Tacuba. The festival was expecting it's highest peak of visitors that day which by the end of the afternoon attained 100 000 people. Vanessa, the band's guide, led Greg, Ludo and Romain(hlt_manager) to the press conference taking place in a special building dedicated to that effect outside the fest. The musicians were seated on a mini stage with a table and microphones while twenty reporters were seated by rows in front of them, asking the boys about the origins of the band and it's sources of inspiration. The journalists were thrilled with the Natural Trance concept and Hilight Tribe's involvement in the World Roots Vision of life. Night time took over and the tribe was in the backstage while some Mexican musicians introduced them to their amazing "horse jaw guiro". "The horse jaw guiro has a special "golpe" (hit). You can scrape the stick on the teeth to obtain a loud guiro sound and by pounding it, you obtain a loud clapping sound, that's why we choose the horse skull." At that same time, on the big stage, a tribal act was taking place linking Aztec decorations and costumes with Ethnic instruments and electronica. A wink of an eye later the tribe was on stage and ready to play. Before the concert started there were approximately 30 000 people on the dance floor. The tribe ignited their set with a tribal song which lit up the fire. The next tracks were a voyage in the upcoming Trancelucid album, filled with psy-trance rifts and breaks which revealed to be a boost for the Mexican dancers. In this magic atmosphere of sophisticated light works and sound systems , the tribe played for 90mn, with a very warm feed back from the audience. The band ended with "Didge Daz" like an ultimate ride on the cumber-tajin wave. Once the material was cleared from the stage, the group was invited in a Tv transmission truck which was broadcasting Hilght Tribe's set on mexican television. The truck was filled with screens, cables and electronic material. The tribe was tripping on how the whole process was taking place, It was their first time in Mexico and yet their message was already blasting through the medias! The team enjoyed that now moment, knowing that the next day they had to leave this beautiful region and go back to old Europe, where their new album and 2008 tour was awaiting. Nevertheless they promised to come back soon and blast again!! PORTUGAL, Idhea Nova   2006/08/01 Boom Festival A city of sound and lights organized around a magic lake? Pushkar, Pokhara or Tso Pema? No, this time it' s happening here in Europe in Idhea Nova, Portugal. The Boom festival has united a decisive mass of people who have gathered and joined their energies. This cosmogony of balinese towers, giant sound systems, healing areas and sacred fires reveals to be the ultimate gathering in Europe in which our culture is fully represented. Thanks to this visionary happening, our tribes meet again, grow and open new doors! Hundreds of artists are continuously shifting turns during six days and are entertaining thousands of people from around the world.The main dance floor is a multicolored tent with a 20meter high bamboo temple like construction which attracts the majority of the people.It is among the freshest spots in the fest. offering shade and humidified by water vaporizers. On top of the hill, the chill out's big balinese tower dominates the whole fest.From up there you can observe the cosmogony of the event. Cross the lake on a bridge, you reach the Sacred fire floor dedicated to live performances. Every night, Ethno sounds and accoustic trance till the break of dawn. Electronics and rainbow culture are now gathered in a Festival vast enough for everyone to co-exist. PORTUGAL,    2006/07/30 Arrival at the Boom. The tribe had travelled through the Spanish pampa all night before crossing the portuguese border. At dawn, the team stopped in a small village for gas and food."Locals were surprised to see our thirteen member crew.Like in Acid Test when the Pranksters got out of their fluodelic bus in the mid-west with their day-glow outfits." sais Greg(guitar).Two hours later, the last stop before the boom was Castillo Blanco.The village and it's authentic inhabitants seemed to belong to old Europe."Boombastic" was written on the front page of a local newspaper.The Boom represented a major happenning for this part of Portugal, such a large quantity of people was good for local shops and workers. We asked directions to a few villagers, then our convoy drove the last miles before reaching the gates of the festival. The boom entrance was divided in many lanes to channel 35000 people and their vehicles.Past a White gate, big wooden balinese towers dominated over thousands of people going from one area to another.The party was organized around a lake and the place was gigantic. Professionals had worked months to elaborate these bamboo structured towers with lights and massive decorations. Fountains were used as aquatic screens for projections.Sola the decorator had used more than 20 000 fluorescent dots for her aboriginal deco. Lead by efficient staff members, the tribe settled in the artist camp near the lake.Bathroom, shower and restaurant were very well organized.That night,Seb(drummer) was sitting on a hill, watching the moon rise over this magic land.Lights emanating from the different dancefloors gave a shining glow and sounds whirled through the hills. SPAIN, Villafranca to Idhea Nova   2006/07/28 Ibiza to da Boom "So what's our next destination?" asked Mathias (sound engineer) to our manager Romain. -A party in Villafranca near Barcelona. "Who's the organizer? -Pablo from Astrobiotic shop. That gig should allow us to chill out and make some connections in the area before cruising off to the Boom. The two HLT summer tour vehicles had just gotten out of the ferry from Ibiza to the mainland and heading towards the Barcelona suburbs. Our crew was composed of thirteen people and it felt like being on a field trip. Villafranca was the name of the party place. Accommodation was like in a boarding school. The spot was like a summer camp in which decorations and sound system were being installed. While checking out the spot, Mathias (Sound engineer) was amused by the school ground atmosphere "Ah! Now I get it, we're playing in a psychedelic party taking place on a playground with freaky kids! sounds fun!" Pablo, the organizer brought us to his house located on a nearby hill-top for a good meal. Pablo seemed to be quite eccentric and original. He had invited his full power Catalan crew and before even starting lunch it seemed the party was already ignited. The tribe got to the party place for sound check and a few hours later was blasting their full on set in front of a very cool Spanish audience. A feeling of freedom pervaded the Hilight musicians who always enjoy this part of Europe for it's Sun, Tolerance and Allegria! The Natural Trance set lasted 2hours and the audience supported the 145bpm tempo with enthusiasm. A local DJ then shifted the musical tendency towards a more psytrance groove and the line up went on till the next day at 10am. That morning the heat knocked everybody out and it took a few moments to gather our energy and to jam off to Portugal in direction of the long awaited Boom Festival. Someone slid a killer Shanti Matkin cd and the two vehicles drove off in direction of the Spanish Portuguese border. After driving all night, the sun was rising over the horizon when the tribe reached Portugal. By that time the crew was a bit drowsy but boosted by the idea of finally arriving in Idhea Nova, the closest village to the festival. SPAIN, IBIZA   2006/07/15 Ibiza tour Preparations for this amazing tour had started mid June2006. Our list of missions included renting a 9seat minibus, selecting adequate instruments, checking the music gear and rehabilitating Kosmik hoboes’ good old’ 4x4 in order to be ready for a 7000km psychedelic tour! this up-coming tour was to cover Ibiza, Barcelona, Boom and Morrocco. The tribe was eager to return to Ibiza s true counter culture. Still today, that island is one of Europe’s most important poles for those who seek an alternative way of life. Back in the sixties a critical mass composed of thirty nationalities set its’ base there and since then the movement has continued throughout new generations. The former folk hippie parties have now evolved into trance and tribal happenings. Tuesday at sunrise, our ferry reached San Antonio port: a fully urbanized sea resort for zonked tourists.We quickly jammed out of there and headed towards a more pleasant destination: breakfast in Sta Gertrudis. As the tribe was sitting in a Spanish tienda that first morning on the island, we were uplifted by the luminosity , the hills were covered by green fluorescent pine trees. Vegetables and fruits looked real and people were friendly. Eleven years had passed since our producer had first “ordered” us to come and see with our own eyes what a beautiful haven for freaks this place was. Unfortunately, since those golden days, many sharks had been on the case and the big highway being built in the south of the island definitely appeared like another menace to preserving the richness of the spot… We moved in the house we had rented for the whole crew. Later on that day, when the heat came to be less pounding, the team got motivated for a Benirras beach sunset expedition. For the past 30years, that beach has been a meeting point for generations of local freaks, travellers, drummers, DJ s and dancers who all come for that special sunset... In 1995, a giant stage had been set up under the stars with 2000 people on the beach and the “Hilight” was to play it’s first live performance. Our tour started the next day.The tribe was invited to play an acoustic set at Alok’s chillout in the midst of the crowded hippie market. At noon, the thermometer announced 35 degrees Celcius, hot enough to be sweating before the gig even started. As we got prepared to play at the hottest moment of the day, we were happy to see many of our friends from around the world...Ossel and Kunkyen, our Hispano tibetan tutors came to give us a good vibe as well as other buddies from Italy, Japan, New Zealand or Goa. We then played a full on tribal set, with reprises from artists like Guem, Mamady Keita, Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, and also our own acoustic compositions such as Samba trance, kuku, greg didge etc… The atmosphere was ecstatic! Just before our performance, a magician called Ridou did his show. He had seen the band live in festivals back in france and had realized how all his new acquaintances on the island were actually old friends of ours…Most unfortunately, a week later, he crashed his motorbike between San Carlos and Santa Eularia, and very sadly didn t recover from the shock. Peace to his soul. Twenty four hours later, the tribe was booked for the Namaste night in Las Dalias for another outdoor acoustic set. The setting: Rajasthani decoration, Moroccan kaidal tents, sub tropical vegetation, Indian veggie food, and a full power dance floor… During those kind of events, you meet many people living on the island full year round, but also travellers who have been coming here for ages. Four days after, we were at DJ Celli's house for a recording session. Like many artists in Ibiza, Celli has installed a professional studio in his house. His schedule consists in creating tracks and selling them to labels, then being booked to perform in various parts of the world. From Mexico to Japan, Russia or Brazil, the trance movement evolves around the globe, constantly in search of innovation and inventivity. Precisely what a Natural trance team needs in order to evolve musically and technically. Friday July 28th, we were to play at the Manumission party in the "Privilege". Since our first meeting in 1997, Mike and Claire have always supported our ideas and music. Back in those days, they had nicknamed us the Jesus-6. Today we were playing as the Hilight tribe.Mike welcomed us in person and made us feel at home('really generous of him since the Guiness book of records recognizes the Privilege to be the biggest club in the world!) The tribe played at 5am in the "vacca-loca" room, supported by a dynamic crowd. When the concert was approaching to an end, Manumissions' androgeneous crew made their appearance. The least you could say is that there hidden secrets aren't a secret anymore. We then saluted the Spun records delegation present that morning and returned back to home base. Our ultimate gig in Ibiza that season was to take place in the Las Dalias trance venue organized by Ibidelic and supervised by Chris. Modern decorations, nice lights, authentic people and excellent Dj's were to compose that evening's menu. The tribe played tight and the dancefloor gave us all their energy and more. That night our special guest perfectly integrated the show with his supersonic Jews harp and his overtone singing. The night turned to day and while we packed the material in the morning, the vibes became dark. A violent incident had occured due to a drunk driving man who was trying to run the security guards over for having thrown him out of the party.The man was the son of a VIP dude and had vengeance in his heart. Fortunately he was stopped before hurting anybody. The last episode to this Ibiza chapter was an awesome trance party in the campo just like in the good old times. We camped their with our gear and were overwhelmed by the sound of DJ.Riktam's killer tracks. Greg later confessed, "It was great to connect with Riktam from GMS and discuss the possibility of a common performance allying our two bands.A blasting perspective!". Simultaneously, HLT drummer Seb had rumbled in the dancefloor's rising dust,"At least the parties are still happening and the scene has survived past repressions from the authorities. We had played in a free party near that spot years before" Now, time had come to say goodbye to the island and head on to our next destination, the BOOM festival 2007! GERMANY,    2006/07/06 Fusion Every year in early July,near Berlin,the Fusion festival attracts thousands of people from all generations.This event's concept is a fusion of the sounds and performances of today.A multiplicity of concerts, shows and happenings all take place in an ex-east german air base transformed into a massive party land. In order to get there, the tribe went through belgium to Liege where a paradisical spot was prepared for us to camp out. The next day we drove up to north germany and finally reached the Fusions'"know man's land" territory. The first thing that struck us in this fest. was the huge amount of people and the immense space where large numbers of soundsystems and dancefloors were installed to host various kinds of concerts or shows.Gigantic and weird,Fusion seems like a fantastically organized chaos.The large flow of alcohol available on the site fortunately didn't trigger any violent or dangerous behaviour from the audience."Fusion is an open door to freedom of expression and to an alternative way of life" says Greg from the tribe. Food was adapted to all diets, from veggies to meatloaves. Programs were distributed all over the site so that people could organize their time and artist selections.Another tribe member said,"the site was so massive that by the time you got a hint of what spot was worth the shot and after walking acres searching for it, the event was almost finished." That's probably why the organizers insisted on passing those line ups to every person in the fest. Apparently, the site has been bought by the organizers and during half of the year functions like a small town with it s fusion cars, houses, kitchens and even a recycling department where every machine, car or engine is rehabilitated. As we searched for the trance floor and moreover, Anand's Tchai Tent, in order to settle the band's camp, we were guided by a huge white, full moon which was in reality a hot air balloon illuminated by a white spot light! We asked the direction to the trance floor and drove our truck towards a small point which a few minutes later turned out to be our chosen area. Before Sunset we had settled our camp behind Anand's majestic Morroccan tent and were ready to explore and enjoy the fest. In the next 24hours, we had seen underground bands from all over europe, specially selected for the event.Artists such as Ojos de Brujo, Orange or Ezekiel were there to share their message and talent with the german audience.A day had passed and now it was time for the Hilight Tribe to get ready for the show. Thanks to a tight german sound team, the material was ready for action as the Dj preceeding our set played his last groovy electro tracks. The tribe was now on stage ready to blast and we were honored by the presence of a tibetan monk who came to the mike and made a speech in favor of the tibetan cause. Ludo thanked him in tibetan "Tou chi chay kusho la", (thank you dear monk)and the sound of the tibetan trump launched "Free tibet". At that precise moment, the dancefloor became the theater of whirling, smiling and dancing figures moving in harmony with the mantras and rhythms played in that song.Among the next tracks, Samba trance stimulated the crowd with it's latino impulse,Mescaline reassured the heavy dudes with some growling guitar rifts and M.H.D. united all the styles thanks to its' alien hybrid formula! People we had met in Brazil,India or Israel who had only heard our CDs were now able to see us live and be part of the happening. Over the past 8 years, the Hilight crew had played in some of the excellent parties germany had to offer,from Munich to Frankfurt or Hamburg but it was crucial to be part of the Fusion 06.The high vibes shared with the public during this fest were like a spark to the fire.In all of the next festivals where we played that summer, people present at the fusion followed the flow all the way to ireland's life fest, boom in portugal and morrocco's rhythms of peace end of august. This made the conection between us and our audience even stronger and the summer evolved into an epic moment in our lives. IRELAND, Near Dublin   2006/06/15 Life Festival It was our first time in Ireland.We reached Dublin airport under a sunny blue sky and were greeted by two members of the staff, one who helped us load the material in his chevy van and another who looked like Free Wheelin Franklin'.Greg and Ludo were cargoed in the back of the truck while the others hopped in the freak brother's sports car and we all hit the road for a 45km drive in the shining Celtic landscape. We reached the fest and beyond the main gate were amazed by the long alley adorned with gigantic trees and rich vegetation. The next thing we knew, we were at the foot of a giant castle around which the event was to take place.The artist back stage was like a royal dining hall with 5m high majestic sculpted ceilings, huge paintings and big windows. Half of the people at the festival weren't Irish hailing from all over the world, but the locals made us feel at home with their hospitality.Fernando, the main organizer had come with his Spanish staff working in coordination with the Irish team. We were soon joined by Rinkadink, Shane Gobi in the back stage.It was a pleasure to see the Alchemy team after all these years of running into each other in various gigs around the world. We were all scheduled to play that evening, and while the band was chilling outside in the park, we enjoyed Rinkadink's inventive set.Then Shane Gobi ripped up the dancefloor with his signature sound pumping through the powerful Function One sound system.The tribe was up next and the audience immediately responded to our ethno tribal introduction.The air was electric during our "mad science" gms reprise and the audience was stimulated by our non-computer generated instrumental trance.During the Hercules experience song, our drummer seb, started his effects filtered break beat solo before sending out the kick drum at 145bpm, quickly joined by Rishnu's Hamburg up-bass rhythm.Under the castle's ancient shadow, there was an air of a Templar's gathering.Later in the set,Greg started Didge-Daz and the crowd moved as one to the 10 000 year old instrument's frequencies.We surfed through the last songs in front of an explosive audience and turned the stage over to Eskimo.We cleared our gear from the stage and joined the dancefloor.Eskimo seemed like a trance version of an orchestral conductor, his gestures synched with his breaks.As his sound blasted through the speakers, the entire dancefloor felt it reverberating in our ribcages. This Life experience was memorable because of the authenticity of the people and venue.It was a great first step in what might be the beginning of a long story between the tribe and Ireland.We look forward to returning to Life 07 and other gigs to be announced. TURKEY, Antalya   2006/03/28 Soulclipse The Soulclipse was the first international event of 2006 in the northern hemisphere.Half of the tribe had just arrived from India mid march and the european winter just wasn't over yet.The band members were eager to play in Turkey near Antalya where the mediterranean climate is supposed to be milder than in Hamburg or Paris.Unfortunately, a huge storm preceeded our arrival and the organizers informed us that their massive main stage had totally collapsed the previous day due to an excess of water accumulated on the stages' tarp roof.We were asked to hang out until they figured out where and when the tribe would play. The party site was big but distances from one area to the other weren't exhausting.Everybody in the fest seemed to emanate a very shanti and peaceful energy.People had come from all over the world to dance to the sound of their favorite artists.Europeans,Turks, Americans(many Californians), Japanese, Israelis, and Russians were in full effect.On the line up, an incredible palette of music styles and notorious names: hallucinogen,infected mushroom,eskimo and many others were present for the celebration.It took took dozens of hours of intense work for the turkish sound team to put the main stage back into shape and operational for the next shows.On the day of the eclipse, hallucinogen played his trance set and the whole of the fest was gathered, dancing to his supernatural tracks.At around noon,the warm sunrays made us feel like it was summer and people were excited to see the progression of the moon gradually covering the sun.Simon Posford, treated us to his sound morphing and the sky was clear but now getting darker. A blink of an eye later, darkness started overcoming the midday brightness and the traditional cold chill overwhelmed the 3500 souls.Along with Ethan and a few other friends ,the tribe was wordless, behind us, hundreds of ecstatic dancers were exclaiming their joy by whistling and cheering.The sun was now totally eclipsed by the moon and everybody let go of their star trek aluminium glasses to watch the cosmic happening with their own eyes.Yet during the last minutes of the eclipse, when stars could be seen and goose bumps had invaded the area, some faces expressed a certain anxiety .One said, "bring the sound back!", another was looking for his friend under the dim light and another was whining. But the majority of us all felt united and touched by this precious moment.A few moments later, the sun and sound returned, bringing the whole scene back to life... Our performance was scheduled for the next day on the main floor.Shane Gobi from Alchemy records mixed awesome selections while we set up the material on the side of the stage. At around 4pm we ignited our set with a tribal drum intro called Tambakunda, we jammed enough time to bring the unga bunga vibe ,then switched to our kick bass formula with the electric sounds of tsunami.Meanwhile our sound engineer was focusing on what came out of the main 40 000watt speakers, always trying to optimize the dynamic of our electro accoustic fusion.The didge's drone then mingled with trance inspired basslines, roots and modern faces could be seen jammin' on the dancefloor, it was a time of full powerness! An alternative camera man from Russia called Peter K. filmed this concert and used these images to illustrate "Peace" (available on daily motion).That night, joined by Jellyhead and Terraformers (Stephane-Total Eclipse), we went back to our headquarters for a well deserved chill out. All in all, the soulclipse turned out to be a fantastic challenge for the indigo kids organization, partly because of the israeli-turk cooperation necessary to make it possible and also because of the infrastructures needed for the reception of the audience and artists, considering it was a first time on the international scene for Hila, Yogi and their team. After this inspiring date which launched the HLT tour 2006,the tribe was soon to head back to colder lattitudes for a few performances before the freaky dragon gig in Leida, Spain. USA, Venice Beach, California   1993/08/08 Venice Beach to Ibiza part 1 1.THE TRIBE Venice beach to Ibiza. In the early nineties Venice beach California was the best hang out. Everyday, an amazing human patchwork was displayed like Ali Baba stands along the promenade .The place was famous for its bike lane’s eternal flow of bicycles, skaters, rollerblades and other unidentified rolling objects. Behind the stalls people were break dancing, practicing capoeira or yoga. Some of the senior dudes were hanging out and enjoying the view, talking about the good old times back in the sixties. Among all the spots in this big city of L.A., no doubt Venice was a place of refuge for the counterculture which had made its way since the beat generation years. During that summer 93, Ludo was revisiting the californian environment he had lived in before moving to Paris. Back in Europe he had met Greg and they had become best friends. Although they belonged to two separate bands, they shared a common dream of reaching out to the world with their music. This time, Greg had stayed in Paris with his band called ”Lynch”. Ludo was back in L.A. with his buddy Seb from ”the twilight”. For them, it seems that all the paths lead to Venice beach, California through different periods of time. Now was a phase of intense musical practice and street performances. Taking the Big Blue Bus to Venice or Santa Monica in order to work on drums and guitar under the sun was a daily mission. . At sunset, a group of Jamaican and Californian Rastas would chill out on the beach. They played the Nyabhingi rhythm inherited from Nigeria and knew the difference between making noise and playing sound, living a high life or getting stoned. In the final days of August93, Seb and Ludo decided to organize a happening by gathering all the cool people they knew on the Venice lawn. Everybody was participating in their own way, from dancing pacific palisades hippie girls to Woodstock generation clapping veterans. It was in that circle that Ludo met Jean Marc Landau for the first time. -Hi my name is Jean Marc, here’s my wife Suzy and our kid Timothy. He was a cool guy in his 40’s, he had a deep enigmatic look and his wife had a Scandinavian charm. -My family and I are heading towards Hawaii to meet Bill, an old friend of ours. We haven’t seen him since the time we lived in south East Asia, following the flow of warm seasons. After playing more songs and enjoying their time, Jean Marc insisted on meeting again. He gave Ludo his address and number in Paris. They agreed to connect there in the fall. No one could have guessed this day was to seal the tribe’s destiny for the fourteen years to come. Two months later I was back in Europe and called him up. “Heey, come over to my place”, he said,“ I show you some cool stuff I brought back from the west coast and Hawai.” I told him that Seb was back in Toulouse but that I wanted to introduce him to Greg my other best friend. -“Fine, come tonight.” That night, J.marc showed us his 3d”magic-mirrors books and initiated us to these odd designs which when looked at in a stroking way reveal their hidden 3d patterns. We played more music and learned more about the brotherhood of eternal love, the Eurantia book and other allusions to Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. Suzy and J.marc told us about the cultural shock they had felt when they came back to France at the end of the eighties after having lived in Sri Lanka, Bali, Goa and Nepal. We also spoke of the Merry Pranksters and their musical ceremonies. It was clear that we were on the same wave length, they had experience in life and we had a spontaneous energy. A few months later, in spring 94, I invited J.marc to a Twilight gig. He showed up in the backstage after the gig with his buddy Mickey Finn who had played with Peter Frampton and Humble Pie in the old days. Mickey was a guitar hero and walked like he talked it. The tall dinosaur like rocker lifted up his ray bans and said, “Freakin’ Awesome guys! We gotta record this and bring you where you should be!” Meanwhile J.marc was preparing a Sebhsi and the post concert euphoria was in all of us. We were just a bunch of 18year olds fascinated by the Psychedelic years, and there in the backstage was a proof that our dream of spreading a message of peace to a wider audience might one day come true. That summer 94, Greg, his excellent guitarist Gaby and I joined Seb in Perpignan for the Vieuxstock festival on Paul Fischer’s giant property in Arles sur Tech located at the foot of the Pyrenees. Afterwards, Seb and I pursued our adventures in a magic environment all through the summer till the end of august. We had seen Didier Malherbes from Gong live, met roots people living in tipis and had played endless jams before returning to Seb’s parents house in Toulouse. I was about to head back to Paris when I received an important message from J.Marc. He had desperately been trying to call me and had found my trail all the way in Toulouse. That evening ,the phone rang, it was J.marc: -Hello Ludo? I m calling you from Ibiza. I have a house over here and the scene is awesome! The place is still full of freaks and happenings! Due to the interferences on the phone I understood “fric?” which means cash in French. -Not Fric, FREAKS! Listen, I’m not asking you to come, I’m ordering you to come! I transmitted the message to Seb and suggested we should leave the next morning to Barcelona in order to catch the night ferry to Ibiza. Seb was surprised “Leave just like that? We just arrived. It’s mad!” The next day we were singing and giggling in the summer hot train to Barcelona ready to meet up with our synchro. That night we discovered Barcelona and got on the Trans-Mediterranea ferry. The boat set off shore and the continent’s bright lights gradually disappeared. We were totally hyped up about this new experience and slept to the sound of the waves. The next day we reached Ibiza for the first time. While riding us back to their house in San Jose, Suzy and J.marc had a hundred stories to tell about this island. Since time immemorial, Ibiza had been a place of Love, Party and fertility. Before the Iberians, it had been successively invaded by the Celts, Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings, the Maurs and many of its secrets were still unravelled. J.marc shared his fascination concerning the cosmogony of traditional Ibizenco finca houses. He was also convinced that there was an underground scene, that the local hippies were hiding something and he was determined to discover what. We went to Benirras, the cool beach for sunset. A group of eccentric musicians were sitting on a carpet on the sand playing tablas, berimbao, flute and bells. I went up to these prophetic figures and asked them where they came from. -We are from all around, our nationalities have dissolved with time as we’ve gradually become citizens of the world. More people joined the half circle to watch the sunset behind the benirras rock and the bajans went on till nightfall. The following days were a gradual encounter with the nature and wonders of Ibiza. This place wasn’t as “Babylon” as what the medias had described. Give or take one or two cities ravaged by the European clubbing craze, the island felt like a Mediterranean experimental lab. 2. BREAK ON THROUGH World culture It took us a few days hanging out in Beniras and playing for sunset to integrate the vibes and make connections. A week had passed and on the night Seb was going back home, we finally got the answer to J.marc’s questions “The San Juan Locals are preparing a big full moon party in the mountains tonight!” We dropped Seb at San Jorge airport, wished him good luck and rid off to the north of the island in direction of this mysterious party.