FREE PARTIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD #1

Under our Desert Storm tag you'll find a post with an interesting article published by MixMag on who is Desert Storm and what is their mission. We also included a list of the ten free parties that changed the world probably published in the same issue. Since the MixMag online archive is limited I was not able to confirm this.

Instead of just reposting the image and tell you to read it I decided to make it more blog friendly by slicing up the article. Originally I planned on posting the list of 10 in one post with a little extra information. But somehow I made a whole post out of the first one. The rest will follow. The subject has changed from "TEN FREE PARTIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD" to "FREE PARTIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD #1".

Written by: Luke Black

Pictures: Matt Smith, Derek Ridger/PYMCA, Tash, Darling Dept, Rex

ONE: Desert Storm, Tusla, Bosnia, New Year's Eve, 1994

During the Criminal Justice Bill protest in the summer of 1994 the crew was  approached by a “Workers Aid for Bosnia” member. He asked if they were willing to travel to a war zone and host a morale boosting NYE gig. They accepted the adventurous mission to aid those in need and bring joy to people who have been lacking any happiness in a very long time. By December '94 they raised enough fund to buy a truck, aid supplies and finance the fuel needed to make the trip. A dangerous trip to Tuzla (Bosnia) at that time home to thousands of refugees who fled from the Serbian army. Although the area was declared save by the United Nations, it was still a very dangerous place to be.

Willing to take the risk they set of 2 weeks before NYE not knowing what to expect. Loaded with their tunes, sound and aid supplies such as clothing, food, medicine and other basic supplies for such as pens and books. Even before arriving at their first stop at a UN compound in Split (Croatia) they already witnessed a near fatal road accident involving Croatian soldiers. The impaled vehicle was leaking fuel yet the soldiers kept trying to get their motor back alive. They didn't hesitate to drag the soldiers out of the wreck because the soldiers couldn't care less about the whole situation. For the first time was confronted with the fact that due to the ongoing war these soldiers were involved in they became careless about these situations since they happened every day. Custom to misery.
Back on the road they had to deal with coastal winds which were lifting their truck. At risk of being tipped over or falling of a cliff they loaded 2 tons of pineapple slices to keep the 7.5 ton truck on it's four wheels.

"Roadrunner"

Eventually they arrived at Split around Christmas day. Upon arrival they decided to cheer up the stationed UN soldiers and built an improvised nightclub out of pallets and trucks. And distributed some makeshift flyers to the UN soldiers and locals in town. That night locals and soldiers were able to dance all night for the first time in years. Their initiative was eventually stopped by the Military Police.

They still had a long way to go so the next day the crew left for Mostar (Bosnia). A city know for the iconic bridge Stari Most which became the symbol of ethnic unity in Bosnia after the war. The bridge itself was destroyed one month before their arrival. A temporary bridge was built next to it's ruins for the time being. Reconstruction started in 2001 and eventually reopened in 2004.

"Stari Most ruins"

The road to Mostar was again everything but safe. Off-road trough makeshift tunnels, plowing trough snow on uphill farm tracks and edging their way up the mountains. Passing by the besieged city of Sarajevo and the front line edge. As if that isn't nerve wrecking enough they learned about 'sniper alley'. Upon approaching a straight valley road the UN soldiers, escorting their convoy, explained that they had to wait until dark before traveling trough the valley. The trucks were instructed to dim their lights and drive as fast as possible until they reached a checkpoint 3 km ahead. This was as close to the front line as they could get. Under hostile sniper surveillance and anti-tank gun batteries nested in the hills they. Apart from one vehicle having it's chassis destroyed they made it to the checkpoint. 

"Front line - Sarajevo"

On December 31st 1994 the crew finally reached their destination. Arriving in Tuzla on New Years eve they discovered that the stadium they were supposed to host their gig in had collapsed due to a mortar strike two weeks earlier. With time running out a new plan was made. The loaded all speakers onto one lorry and used it as a mobile sound system to cruise around the city. A crowd of all ages gathered behind the truck and danced their way trough town. When a cop approached the truck they feared for being arrested or shut down. "Turn the music up! But turn your lights off!" he shouted. Confused by his request to turn the music up, they confirmed that he didn't mean otherwise. Turns out he actually wanted the music to be louder, as requested by his commander. Dimming their lights was for their own safety since the Serbs were still eager to strike with mortars. Without hesitation they turned up the music and killed the lights. The cop joined the mobile dance party, shared his drink with the DJ and started dancing with soldiers who came out running from apartment with their AK47's blazing in the air. Not to fight, but out of pure excitement and joy.
They came past the local police station and every cop embraced the vibe, started dancing on their patrol cars while shooting their pistols in the air. And lit their blue emergency lighting. I guess they were out of mortar reach by then or they just didn't care anymore at that point. More people joined in each time the reached an housing estate. Kids, soldiers or even a couple or grannies.. that New Years eve the city of Tuzla was relieved of it's curfew for the first time in 3 years. The crew just let it happen and let people go crazy. Naturally they were a wee bit concerned about the guns and alcohol mixture, but in the end nobody got shot.
It must have been a surreal experience. Especially when a little girl came up to one of the crew and pointed at a dark spot on the ground when they were approaching a square. She pointed and said "Look this is my brother!". Apparently a mortar killed 40 people 2 weeks earlier and one of the was her brother. Unsure how to react the were about to leave the square until she responded "No, I want to dance for my brother". That is when reality checks in.

"Mortar strike - Bosnia"

The crew returned home, again risking their life from checkpoint to check.. yet they wanted to do more. Spreading hope in a city that is on verge of being besieged. Showing that if a bunch of wacky musicians can make it all the way to their city, that they may have a chance to survive this war. That is why they returned to provide more aid trough supplies and culture. Connecting with people trough music who have been cut off from genuine fun for ages. A temporary relieve of the nightmare that is war.

During the summer of 1995 Desert Storm returned to Bosnia and entered Sarajevo just one week after the final cease-fire. The first foreign artists to enter the city in 5 years. They discovered an active alternative scene that survived during the longest siege of a capital city, the Siege of Sarajevo. An discovered a local independent radio station called ZID committed to a cultural theme. Their programming was created to let it's listeners escape from the harsh reality of life in Sarajevo. Utilizing culture to show underneath the inhuman and dangerous conditions there is a normal modern city called Sarajevo. Local alternative bands were heavily promoted by ZID by playing their music, doing interviews and announcing gigs. During the siege bands played around 50 concerts under constant threat and risk of being shot. One of the most famous underground venues was Club Obala. The only club to be open during the whole war. It was located near the notorious Sniper Alley, so the risk of being shot while visiting the club was very high. 

Desert Storm collaborated with ZID to host a gig at Club Obala and played for 5 hours on the pirate station. After the radio session playing their music and promoting their night at Club Obala they hit the streets. They cruised up and down the Sniper Alley with an open truck blasting their music just as they did in Tuzla. With the exception of an additional Kevlar helmet for the lucky crew member behind the decks.

"Warning Sniper"

Despite the threat of snipers they completed a successful mission in Sarajevo and gave locals a glimpse of a happy future. Eventually they linked up with Spiral Tribe and played around 20 gigs all over Bosnia. Inspiring, boosting moral and re-introduce people to the joy of life.

The trips Bosnia were documented in World Traveller Adventures under the title "STORMING SARAJEVO". World Traveller Adventures is a collection of travel stories and interviews of new age rave travellers such as members of Spiral Tribe. You can either buy or download the DVD. I'll update that post with extra sources this week. If both of these are not an option for you then you can watch it on YouTube below.

If you are interested in the cultural development of the alternative scene in Sarajevo during it's siege then I can suggest "Paradoxes of Wartime "Freedom": Alternative Culture during the Siege of Sarajevo"

Next up in the list of  "TEN FREE PARTIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD". Probably a lot shorter.. most likely actually.

TWO: The Berlin Wall, November 9th, 1989

WORLD TRAVELLER ADVENTURES

EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE TECHNO-NOMAD ADVENTURE

Film Documents The European and Middle Eastern Techno-Traveler Movement

New York, NY September 13 — This October, Uncivilized World documents the amazing story of the most underground social revolution with the DVD release, World Traveller Adventures. From the 1990’s to present, several devoted artists of raving and free partying take to the roads through Bosnia, India and even Africa, as they cross geographical borders to export their music through political protest and/or cultural exchange.

Consisting of four exclusive films, World Traveller Adventures marks the first time this movement has been illustrated in images. The historic documents were compiled and filmed by the tribe members of this new genre. The films are: 23 Minute Warning — Spiral Tribe; Storming Sarajevo – Desert Storm; Mission To India – Sound Conspiracy; and African Expedisound – Tomahawk, IOT.

History
The world traveler adventure was born as a result of the U.K.’s illegalization of any gathering of more than 100 people accompanied by amplified music, which “includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats.” New Age travelers (an alternative movement of nomads), squatters encouraged by Thatcher’s repression to leave the cities, along with clubbers frustrated by the closure of clubs and early raves were driven to leave England. They traveled to the South American continent, Africa, Eastern Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia, among other countries, to spread their spirit of freedom and music, inspiring others to follow.

World Traveller Adventures Synopsis

23 Minute Warning
The interviews in this documentary illustrate each person’s opposition within a militant movement using parties and music as a way to communicate a philosophical message. In the same way as the mythical label Underground Resistance, who saw music as a weapon to fight against the barriers between races, Spiral Tribe concentrates its creative energies around the rhythms of nature, music and dance, in reaction to society’s prevailing attitude. Also included are two unique Spiral Tribe video clips: “Forward the Revolution” and “Breach the Peace” in addition to archive images of the Teknival at Tarnos (’95) and Carcassonne (July ’93).

Running time: 23 minutes

Storming Sarajevo – Desert Storm
Desert Storm could be defined as a peace-protest sound-system concerned initially with the Gulf War, and later the war in Bosnia. In 1994 (as a result of the Criminal Justice Act and Desert Storm’s difficulty to throw parties in the UK), they head in the direction of Sarajevo. Relentless snow and bitter cold delays them by three weeks and gets the better of their engines and gearboxes. Storming Sarajevo documents Desert Storm’s adventure as they carry foodstuffs, pens, books, medicine and condoms while they organize a New Year’s Eve party in Tusla and a party in a disco in Sarajevo. Desert Storm organizes a Street Parade, despite 70 cm of snow and temperatures hitting –10 degrees C. A policeman asks the organizers to turn the music up, but to dim the lights please –as the frontline is only 10 kilometers away!
Running time: 30 minutes

Mission To India – Sound Conspiracy
Mission to India is the most epic, the furthest-reaching and the longest mission of a European tribe. Filmed in 2001, this documentary tells the story of Sound Conspiracy, the reunion of three sound-systems: OQP, Total Resistance and Facom Unit who decide to set off the mythical Goa. Filmed by Paula of Sound Conspiracy, the documentary follows a travel log where the collective survived a fast, while crossing Iran, imposed armed escort through Pakistan where brutal robbers lurk, and heavy-handed checks by the omnipresent Turkish army in Kurdistan. They arrive exhausted in Goa at the end of November to organize several parties despite the undreamt-of local mafia implanted in this paradise of electronic music.
Running time: 45 Minutes

African Expedisound – Teknokrates, Tomahawk, IOT
African Expedisound follows three French sound-systems (Tomahawk, Teknokrates, and In/Out/True) as they set off for Africa in 5 converted French army lorries. A dozen people between the ages of 25 and 30 hit the road, with no institutional support, 15,000 km across Morocco, the Sahara desert, Senegal and Mali. Their mission is to find the initial rhythm, to understand the African myth, to live what they consider to be the ultimate quest for the ‘free’ generation brought up on BPM (?) The documentary begins in Senegal and the African Expedisound head toward Mali. Their experience take them through ramshackle routes, towering baobabs, and traditional villages under the baking sun. Local children announce the arrival of the “Whites” who have come to put on these “extraordinary, free parties.
Running time: 52 minutes

Bonus Features – Reclaim The Streets
Bonus features include a 4 minute musical documentary featuring images taken from the ’97 parties organized by Desert Storm in Sheffield, Bristol and Oxford. Musical and ecological activists, Reclaim The Streets (RTS) take the philosophy of the reappropriation of public space through cultural resistance to another level. They swept across the UK with street parties in Manchester, York and Oxford, and also appeared in cities like Tel-Aviv, Sydney, and Helsinki, among others.

About Uncivilized World
After being at the heart of the European cultural scene for 6 years, Uncivilized World became a record label with its finger well and truly on the pulse of quality cultural creativity. Its eclectic catalogue of artists includes the Nigerian Femi Kuti (afrobeat), the pioneering American DJ Jeff Mills (techno), the inimitable ‘French touch’ of The Hacker and Vitalic (electro), the DJing world champions of Birdy Nam Nam (hip hop), and the German big band Mardi Gras (jazz). The label has also joined forces with mk2, the biggest name in the French independent film industry, to create the Electronic Cinema collection of film soundtracks. Uncivilized World has also produced a series of music documentaries that have met with much acclaim at International film festivals: ‘Live At The Shrine’, shown at the Sundance festival and filmed at Fela Kuti’s celebrated Shrine venue, ‘World Traveller Adventures’, revealing the nomadic aspect of the techno adventure, ‘Biomechanik’, about the encounter between two different artistic universes when the sculptor HR Giger (the creator of Ridley Scott’s Alien) meets a hardcore DJ, and ‘Blue Potential’, a philharmonic concert filmed at the UNESCO world heritage listed Pont du Gard site.
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“A fascinating DVD”–Mojo
“You couldn’t ask for a more entertaining and informative look”– Undercover

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DOWNLOAD PAGE
(updated 08/07/2013)

DESERT STORM ARTICLE

    RENEGADE SOUND SYSTEM

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After beating a conspiracy charge, illegal party organisers Desert Storm are unstoppable, says Mark White. Network 23

It was the morning after a very successful day, and James wanted some breakfast. Nottingham Sound System Desert Storm had played their brand of jack-hammer techno at a Reclaim the Streets anti-car Party/Demonstration in Bristol, and the streets had been, well, reclaimed. Traffic was stopped for hours, people danced, advertising hoardings were decorated with slogans, and a protest was made. If a few motorists had been inconvenienced, then that's what it was all about.

But now it was time to eat. James and his girlfriend Liz, who was seven months pregnant, left the house where they'd stayed after the demo. As they did so, a police car pulled up beside them and asked if they could move the Desert Storm truck. James drove it five feet he says. Then the Police appeared from nowhere: about five cars and vans. They were both charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

"That could mean anything," says James, a few months later. "If you're talking about throwing a beer can across a crowded park, that's conspiracy to cause a public nuisance." He's right. It's one of those catch-all charges that reveals more about the intentions of those bringing the charge than about any criminal act. But although it sounds innocuous, it carries a potential sentence of life imprisonment. In past decades, the charge has regularly been laid against political activists, and more recently against those in the sound-system scene.

Dozens of techno sound systems have proliferated around Britain since the start of the Nineties. They operate on the fringes, defying assimilation into the mainstream of what they see as an increasingly commercial dance scene. They like travelling, illegal parties, the thrill of the chase. Their life is not about playing at their local venue week-in, week-out, to club people in a fashion uniform. It's about living the scene seven days a week, 24 hours a day; about free raves in fields and warehouses, whatever the odds, whatever the law says. It is, they insist, the antidote to the ideologically-barren leisure prursuit that clubbing has become.

The first sound-system to hit the headlines was Spiral Tribe, after they took part in the 25,000 strong Castlemorton rave in 1992. Castlemorton was Britain's largest ever illegal party, and partly inspired by the anti-rave section of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). The existing public order laws- conspiracy to cause a public nuisance- were used to try 13 defendants, including some of the Spiral Tribe, for their role in 'organising' Castlemorton. The case collapsed - a victim of poor police preparation - and all the defendants were acquitted.

In 1995, a number of sound systems got together and decided to put on an event codenamed 'The Mother' - on a scale of Castlemorton, a calculated snub to the newly enacted CJA. Police carried out dawn raids and arrested a number of people, including members of anti-CJA campaigning bodies United Systems and Advance Party. Yet again they were charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. The event never happened and, eventually, the cases were dropped.

Today, Desert Storm are Britain's best-known and most fearless renegade sound system. They began in Glasgow in 1991. After the CJA and four arduous missions to Bosnia with aid convoys during the Balkan war, they became politicised. Since then they have become regulars at Reclaim the Streets protests and on the European Teknival open-air circuit.

Keith, founder of Desert Storm and still one of the main movers, lives in Nottingham's Forest Fields district. It's not the prettiest street in the world but, in terms of musical counter culture, it's one of the most important: three different sound systems live within a stone's throw of each other.

In his kitchen, Keith leans against the cooker, musing on the situation for sound systems in the years following the CJA. "Once they drew the line, they were going to try to destroy us," he says. "We're still here three years later and we're showing them that we're not going to take their shit. They can pass as many shady laws as they like and it won't stop us."

But although police action may not have subdued Desert Storm - they were confident enough to appear at a Nottingham Reclaim the Streets demo shortly after the arrests - it has slowed them down. Their lorry has been confiscated, along with a large amount of their technical gear. Benefit gigs are keeping them afloat.

James arrives, looking as pleased as anything. Liz had their baby boy, Oliver, a few days earlier. And James has more good news. He has just been told that the charges against him have been dropped. "It's good to enter fatherhood clean apart from the last charge [driving without insurance,]" he smiles.

So why was the charge brought in the first place? "They've had something shoved in their face and they don't like it," he suggests. "They want to find the people responsible and they can't." His solicitor, Lydia Dagostino of civil liberties lawyers Bindman and Partners, confirms that it is "quite common" for such a legal approach to be taken in protest cases. "They're using their powers to the limit," she suggests. "It places protesters in a difficult situation. They don't have their equipment for months on end and the charges are then dropped."

But why Desert Storm? Why now? Keith has an explanation: "I think society is nervous of our lot. We've got more to offer than a nine-to-five job." He stops considering whether he is paranoid of whether they really are out to get him.

Many people involved with outlaw sound systems have made the jump of awareness from dance culture to environmental politics. A scene which was simply about dancing has taken on, or has been pushed into adopting, a radical agenda, and events like Reclaim the Streets offer a convenient forum for the expression of anti-establishment feeling, however vague and unfocused. "It's a lot more than just going along and playing music, argues Kerry, another key part of Desert Storm. "The CJA pushed us out of the fields and onto the streets. They said we couldn't have parties any more, but we've come back."

Desert Storm member D says that the links with the anti-car protest run deeper that the common love of a good party, although he acknowledges the contradiction in protesting about pollution and using a truck and portable generators. "Even though we are doing that," he says, "we are making a point about it. We know that there are other ways to power cars, such as electric power, but we never get told about those because of the billions tied up in the petroleum industry."

There is a line of cactuses in Keith's kitchen window. A cactus can take root in almost any environment, and once it has done so it can survive for years with little support. Desert Storm aren't half as prickly, but they'll be just as hard to get rid of. "They'll not stop us", Keith grins. "No chance." They may be determined but they are not unrealistic. " I don't think that we are public enemy number one," says D. "We are a public enemy but that comes down to the law. The whole party scene is a public enemy, everyone in it."

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Contact for Desert Storm

stormdesert@hotmail.com

FULL VIBES ON DESERT STORM

A STORY ABOUT FULL VIBES ... 

by MATTHIEW COLLINS – THE FACE – n°95 - August 1996

It had taken us 36 hours to reach this field from the point on the M25 where Desert Storm had picked me up. We hadn't even know where we were going until we reached Paris, constantly phoning clandestineinformation lines to establish our direction. Late Wednesday night we arrived in the small town of Vitry-le-François, just south of Reims. There we were met by Josy, a small, bespectacled black woman, one of the first French acolytes of Spiral Tribe, converted to the free party cause when the Tribe began operating in Paris in 1993. She and her partner (Vincent), a gaunt, friendly bloke with the shaven head and combat gear that we will soon discover is ubiquitous on the Continental Teknival scene, lead us a convoluted route through farmland and down dark lanes to our final destination.

Here is the site, » Josy says, a little edgy, worried that we might have been followed. « But first you must work. There is a hole in the road. » Work? Hole? What can she mean? She points to a ditch that divides the field site and the lane. « You must fill in this hole. Build a path. » It's 2am, pitch black, and there's no artificial light for miles around except the Desert Storm truck's headlamps. We get digging, shifting soil and rubble using what-ever comes to hand: two small spades, kiddies' seaside bucket, a hammer, a broom, our bare fingers. After an hour's hard labour we are sweaty, dirty and out of breath, but a passage has been constructed wide enough to get our truck over the ditch. A little cheer of triumph goes up a Keith swings the vehicle in: we are the first system here. We have « taken » the site.

This is the 14th Teknival. These free, ad hoc, illicit gatherings, whose title is a combination of « techno' » and « festival », were initiated by Spiral Tribe after they fled Britain in the wake of the Castelmorton festival of May 1992. Teknivals are sound-system jamborees, gatherings of the travelling techno clans. There are 12 rigs on site by Thursday morning. Desert Storm, with which I travelled here, is the sole British system; the others are mostly French, established rigs like Dome, NRV and the Urban Happy Collective, but some appear to be just gangs of lads – enthusiastic amateurs who have hired a speaker stack for the weekend. There are some amazing constructions lashed together from tarpaulin, tree trunks and rope; the Spiral Tribe rig, which is the largest and occupies prime position at the heart of the main drag, even has a fully-stocked bar and a record shop attached.

All of them are playing one of other varity of techno, never pausing for sleep. There's a lot of gabba, the ultraspeed psycho-beat of the Lowlands. Gabba is so fast that it is nigh on impossible to dance to in the conventional sense; in front of the one small rig a lone raver jerks and shudders epileptically, as if he's trying to morph his physique into the post-human shapes that the music describes. Our system, with the five Desert Storm Djs – Danny, James, Keith, Dyland and Fish – is probably the most diverse, switching from blissed-out trip hop and techstep jungle in the sweet sunlight to stark techno and tweekin' acid funk by night.
 

 For the past two years, Desert Storm have been conducting aid trips to Bosnia, regular missions to transport clothes, food and party tunes to the region. These excursions into the former Yugoslavia have honed their battle strategy to a fine art: the truck, equipped with bunk beds, cooker, shower and sound system is ready for action 24/7. A few people who have turned up on site with record bags take guests spots on the rig: one is a fierce, stern-faced woman who loooks eight months pregnant and spins equially fierce, weapons-grade hardcore.

On Friday there is an epiphany of sorts, brought on by some freak metéorology. Every day, burning sunshine has been interspersed with heavy downpours, but today's is extraordinary. Rain hammers down and high winds tear through the site, flattening sound systems' intricately-assembled set-ups. The storm rips out our tarps and scrim nets and the stakes that secure them, and the whole structure comes crashing down. The music goes off all over the site; the only moment of silence in five days. it's here that the unspoken philosophy of Desert Storm is visible: a self-supporting community based on mutual respect and shared passion, a everyone pulls together as one to pack the gear away before retreating into the van. Like the Teknival itself, it's an affirmation of the enduring power of collectivism in a time of untrammelled individualism. Keith, however, is restless: the minute the torrent eases, he's intent on kicking the rig into life again. That night, in the rain, the main drag glistens surreally, lit by flashes of lightning and billows of orange smoke from wood fires, the intermittent rumble of thunder playing a sub-bass counterpoint to the trebly screech of multiple 303s. It's a weird, dark atmosphere that reminds me of one of the final scenes from Apocalypse Now, the wild, godless party at Kurtz's base, oblivion-seeking hedonism set in an infernal tableau. Systematic disorientation of the senses. Raving beyond madness. Ordinary time losing its meaning as techno becomes the temporal notation by which we measure our day.

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Original article here

French version can be found here

More info about desert storm right here

DESERT STORM

Desert storm soundsystem

This little movie contains interviews with Keith & Andy, 

while they prepare a free party in a squat in Italy. 

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More on desert storm can be found here

RESPECT THE TRUCKS

THE BASSLINE CIRCUS

"From a fusion of Desert Storm sound system and other mentalist performance all stars came The Bassline Circus"

Formed in 2003 Bassline Circus represents the transformation of some of the UK's and Europe's most high-profile illegal rave outfits into a legitimate organisation. Bassline Circus is a crew of performers, musicians, mechanics, visual artists, tour bookers, truck drivers, creatives, logistics, humanistics and holistics. It's most active members have dedicated years to this project with very little financial comeback. Most of the time they are working for nothing but the love and the belief that one day it will pay off somehow. They support the believe that the system wont supply the means for a vast majority of the population to express themselves and that you must create your own reality. The system creates a virtual reality, by tv or other media.

DON'T BE FOOLED!

A little history of Bassline Circus can be found on their website or below.

HISTORY

NOT FOR PROFIT

Bassline Circus is a not for profit organization based around a central ethos of create, innovate, educate, activate and of course, mutate. We are a traveling circus troupe, a production company, performance agency, a tent and equipment hire company, an education institution and much more.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

We have spent the last five years in the heat of the furnace that is life in modern London, growing and developing our style, gathering and garnering talent and ideas like a giant artistic pirate ship, plundering the pool of raw skills that is out there, creating a hardcore, dedicated crew. Like all good things, time and energy have evolved this thing, from the nucleus of a good idea, into a vessel through which is channelled a whole load of creative and perceptive ideas.
This project is born from the ashes of the European and British festival, free party and circus scene, and is a direct result of what happens when circus meets the dance floor.

DIVERSITY AND HERITAGE

Such diverse groups as Desert Storm, Total Resistance, Sound Conspiracy, NoFit State, Reclaim the Streets, Foolhardy Folk and many more all find their influence and legacy here in this new skool mashup of people and culture.

JUMP AND SPREAD OUT

Sound Conspiracy was an international crew based in Europe, comprised of several different sound systems of the day, Total Resistance, Facom Unit and OQP. They spent years in Italy putting on massive illegal raves before heading off to Bosnia and Republika Serbska for a summer of madness before heading further east. First to Istanbul, and then on through Turkey Iran and Pakistan to India, where they spent the winter in Goa and the Summer in Manali before heading back to Italy a year and a half after they left. They got back just in time to join in the Millennium celebrations in the south of France. This epic journey, which was started with fifteen trucks and buses, over thirty people and ten dogs, and which finished with just three vehicles seven people and two dogs can be seen as a documentary as part of the world travelleradventures dvd.

TOTAL RESISTANCE

This collective of travelers was born in England and traveled all over Europe and beyond, a strong family massive drawing loads of different people for many different reasons. Freedom of expression and free from exploitation, death to the oppressor and fuck the shitty system were some of them, as was self styled survival in the case of heavy oppression. The political atmosphere in the early nineties against travellers was such that some kind of resistance was needed, both spiritual and physical, and in some ways we are trying to keep some of this spirit, travelling families with a focus on staying clear of the pitfalls of modern society, the apathy, the addiction and the melancholy. Trying to create a positive environment for our children to grow, for our art forms to flourish and for our brains to try to avoid the kind of dead end bullshit cul de sacs of thought that the mass media and tv try to force us in every fucking day.

RESIST! - Quoted from Basslinecircus.org


ADVERTIGO 

In preparation to their Advertigo tour Network23 caught up with the Bassline crew and made a documentary about these tekno-circus nomads that was formed in the aftermath of the World Travellers Adventures.

click the image or download it here (right click & save as)

Advertigo is one of the shows in which Bassline Circus brings you its spectacular mix of high wire antics, genetically modified street arts and new skool music. For this show the crew cooperated with Pierrot Bidon from Archaos¹. In the famous Big Top tent you can experience its full tilt, multi-media show with digital film and graphics, high energy physical circus skills and the infectious sounds of new skool beats. This is circus as you've never seen it before. You can view the show reel below.
[¹]: Archoas is an alternative circus that dates from back in 1987 and on. - http://www.archaos.fr

More info on ADVERTIGO.

- http://www.myspace.com/basslinecircus
- http://www.basslinecircus.org

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE - DESERT STORM SOUNDSYSTEM

   

IRONY?23?:
Desert Storm : D-Storm

The name's Ironic, really. But you have to be extreme to maintain momentum and keep doing what you have to do in this end of Millennium Eurostate.

Don't be fooled. DStorm are aware that doing free parties - as tough as it is in Europe - is a holiday compared to Armed Conflict.

Let's face it Camouflage does look good, but that's no need to get confused over what Military IS or what it DOES. Confusion CAN arise when you get mixed up about whether the person getting shat on in the latest War deserves it or not.

This Misses the Point!
Any side is the wrong side. Wars are a product of the Economic machine we live in. If you're a part of that machine, paying taxes, buying products, drawing your dole. You're guilty as much as anyone else.

BE AWARE! WAKE UP! Send aid! But long term you may as well send a Band Aid, It'll all be happening next time.

WHY? It's all about the key to the executive toilet. Everyone wants to crap in style. Sure as shit Milosocrack, ain't slumming it. He's got one if those shitters that wipe your arse for you. This Toilet Envy is one of the major modern reasons for War. Race and Religion are just excuses.

D-Storm aim to combat this modern failing by making it cool to shit with a shovel.

Drop out, while they drop the Bombs. Left Wing and Right Wing have no meaning anymore. It's Money. The Oil the War machine needs is money. Flipside, it's due to a need of Money that the Machine needs War.

The Machine is the Global economy. Are you part of the machine? If you are, what can you do to withdraw your energy from the Machine. Think about it.

More info here

And here

Also watch world traveller adventures part 2!

OFF ROAD SHOW: TECHNO, PROTEST & FERAL THEATRE

Continuum Journal of Media & Cultural Studies
Off Road Show: Techno, Protest and Feral Theatre by Graham St John
Online Publication Date: 01 March 2005
Volume 19, Issue 1 March 2005 , pages 5 - 20

In this article published in the Continuum Journal of Media & Cultural Studies (Volume 19, Issue 1 March 2005), Graham St John reveals the origins of the transnational techno-circus nomadology. Just like traditional circus spectaculars, the techno-circus would become a critical means of entertaining and communicating with populations across and outside of Europe. Yet, unlike the traditional circus, their spectacular conviviality and compassionate interventions would potentiate significant intercultural outcomes. Graham also describes the influences techno-circus forces had on eachoter and the literature that influences these forces.

GRAB IT HERE

If you are new to our blog you might find two other publications by Graham St John very interesting.

- FreeNRG: Notes from the Edge of the Dance
- Technomad: Global Raving Countercultures.

DESERT STORM SOUND IN MIX MAG

This ain't no party - this ain't no disco

Would you travel thousands of miles in a beat-up truck to spin records to the victims of civil war?
Would you risk imprisonment, violence and poverty for the messages contained in dance music?

Click on pics for bigger image! Worth the read.

STORMING SARAJEVO

Desert Storm could be defined as a peace-protest sound-system concerned initially with the Gulf War, and later the war in Bosnia. In 1994 (as a result of the Criminal Justice Act and Desert Storm’s difficulty to throw parties in the UK), they head in the direction of Sarajevo. Relentless snow and bitter cold delays them by three weeks and gets the better of their engines and gearboxes. Storming Sarajevo documents Desert Storm’s adventure as they carry foodstuffs, pens, books, medicine and condoms while they organize a New Year’s Eve party in Tusla and a party in a disco in Sarajevo. Desert Storm organizes a Street Parade, despite 70 cm of snow and temperatures hitting –10 degrees C. A policeman asks the organizers to turn the music up, but to dim the lights please –as the frontline is only 10 kilometers away!

Running time: 30 minutes

DOWNLOAD PAGE
(updated 08/07/2013)

WORLD TRAVELLER ADVENTURES

Four different films, bringing together the experience of the synergy between the travelers/squatters, and the rave scene, that birthed the Free Party movement. More or less explicitly political, these traveling sound-systems have taken the liberatory party across the world, crossing borders, melding cultures, and tackling war zones. The four documentaries are 23 Minutes Warning: The Spiral Philosophy Documentary (1994), on bringing together several interviews with the founders of the legendary Spiral Tribe; Storming Sarajevo (1996), following the adventures of the Desert Storm sound system, in their peace-protests that eventually took them to the war in Bosnia; Mission To India [2001), telling the story of Sound Conspiracy, the reunion of three sound systems that took off on a mythical quest to India; and African Expedisound [2002] follows the encounter between European free-party people and passionate African musicians, as they travel across Morocco, the Sahara desert, Senegal and Mali. 165 minutes in total, with bonus features of Reclaim The Streets party, and trailers. (via AK PRESS)

RAPIDSHARE
http://rapidshare.com/files/281430388/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281430391/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281471201/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281471203/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281483530/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281483535/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/281486995/World.Traveller.Adventures.DOCU.2005.DVDRip.XviD.part7.rar

RAPIDGATOR
http://rapidgator.net/file/68ba1f189bf2316cc05b79634d6621b1/=1=23_MINUTE_WARNING.avi.html

http://rapidgator.net/file/dc707dcef16032ceb2a3760ede25890b/=2=_STORMING_SARAJEVO.avi.html
http://rapidgator.net/file/4c93560e7b2c18035ae183f4b73ad00f/=3=_MISSION_TO_INDIA.avi.html
http://rapidgator.net/file/34f1e4c9aaf2ee8a527cafb51c0fadef/=4=_AFRICAN_EXPEDISOUND.avi.html
http://rapidgator.net/file/b212e1b03fcc45b0fb070120a100d048/=5=_Reclaim_the_Streets.avi.html

AK PRESS (BUY)
http://www.akpress.org/worldtravelleradventuresdvd.html