The Full Circle 05



Am I too old for this shit? A question I ask myself every time I pack up my tent and head off to party in the wilderness. You’d think after 15 years of dancing in fields, forests and on farms that I’d have had enough by now, but the beat goes on. This year’s trek was down to The Full Circle near Golden Bay, Takaka in the South Island of New Zealand. After a wild and wet Wednesday night we were considering bailing especially after hearing that a severe weather warning had been issued for that area and that the West Coast had received over a metre of rain. Reassured by the Met Office’s promise of rain turning to showers with sun for New Year, we caught a flight from Auckland to Nelson getting in around 2 p.m.

By 5 p.m. we suspected that the promoter had forgotten about picking us up, so decided to hire a car and make our own way down to the site. There we found a little tent city with everyone camped out in the main marquee, as the weather had been so severe. The crew had managed to put up a big top in gale force winds and the river was rising so fast that they’d got everyone camped together for safety. We pitched our tent up on a ridge well away from the river and spent a night in torrential rain with rain dripping into my ear. New Year’s Eve however brought sun and blue skies, drying out the site and lightening everyone’s mood. Some of the crew had been on site since before Christmas, which must have been gruelling but we never heard complaints.

It seems that most people at psytrance parties are off duty journalists. Our neighbours were an interesting mix of journos from TV3, a nurse and a pharmaceutical engineer. It was mainly an older crowd and a refreshing break from club kids off their heads on hormones and BZP. It was great to catch up with friends from Welly like Mr Oz & Siobhan, Yetimon & Pip and Paul from undergrounddancemusic.com with his Jolly Lolly rave tunnel, the perfect place to chill.

Chelfyn’s first set (as Psychelfyn) was in the Psy Zone from 8 – 10 p.m. Then we had a couple of hours in the Jolly Lolly before heading up to the main zone for his headline slot to see in the New Year. As Chelfyn dropped the first track of 2005 the crowd went wild. He played an epic set covering all genres, and when he played One Ring everyone was transfixed by the Orc noises coming out of the 35K Rig. To top it all a lovely lady came running up to the DJ booth and gave Chelfyn a bud of local homegrown that was the size of a baby’s arm. He handed over the decks to Justin Sane before running out onto the dancefloor and being mobbed by the crowd.

Unfortunately the rain started again during Justin’s set but it was warm and wet, and he kept the dancefloor grooving right through to the end. I didn’t make it to the house tent but apparently it was packed all night and there was always a fair number of people in the Psy zone and chilling out in the Dub cafe. Mr Oz saw in the sunrise to an appreciative crowd, and even through the rain no DJ ever played to an empty dancefloor. South Islanders are hardy folk, it must be their Scottish roots. They were happily stomping around in the mud with even more people turning up for the second night of Psy on the main zone.

There is nothing more decadent than dancing outdoors, and I’ve always found clubbing a bit like having a shower with a coat on. Am I too old for this shit? Obviously not. Chelfyn has been booked again for a party in Takaka in March and I can’t wait to head back down again. As someone said on The Full Circle forums, yet again this party is testament to how fantastic the New Zealand psytrance scene is. I’d like to say a huge thanks to Dean and the Full Circle crew for putting on an amazing party against all the odds. Respect.

You can check out our Full Circle pics in the Twisted Gallery.