SUMMERTOUR FLASHBACK

Some impressions of our amazing summertour!

CZTEK 2013

 SLOVTEK 2013

SOUND CONSPIRACY ARTICLE

Reblog from http://teknoparty.are.free.fr/

Very good read!

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

EPSYLONN OTOKTONE

Story of a notorious french soundsystems trip through Europe.

Epsylonn's 2008 roadtrip

Website here

SPIRAL TRIBE ON ARTE.TV TONIGHT

Tonight's La Minute Tracks on ARTE will be featuring the mental sound of Spiral Tribe on it's show. Don't worry if you miss.. I will too. They will be rebroadcasting it.. even on the 23rd. That is when I will be watching :D

Saturday 17 November 2012 @ 23:10
Tuesday 20 November 2012 @ 05:00
Friday 23 November 2012 @ 01:35

"Paint it Black" avec les Mad Max des free-parties, la comète Spiral Tribe - Un reportage de Gabrielle Culand
(with preview video)

Sans eux, le mouvement des free-parties serait resté confiné aux campagnes anglaises. Au début des années 90, dans le sillage de la comète Spiral Tribe, toute l'Europe a plongé dans la musique électronique avec pour mot d'ordre "free party, free music, for free people". - continue here

You should be able to watch it here (when it broadcasts)

EDIT: the video was uploaded by ARTE.TV to YouTube, so I can embed it :D

HISTORY OF SQUATTING IN THE UK

From Aaron's reports (@aaronlakoff)

Jim is a resident of London, England, and a long-time organizer with the Advisory Service for Squatters, A.S.S. Here he speaks about the history of squatting in the UK, going as far back as the 1300's. This interview looks at squatting's relationship to the anarchist movement in the UK, the changing legal framework around squatting, and squatting within a framework of other social movements in the country.

The Advisory Service For Squatters is a collective of unpaid workers who have beenrunning a daily advice service for squatters and homeless people since 1975. It grewout of the former Family Squatters Advisory Service, which was founded in the late 1960's. ASS publishes The squatters Handbook, the twelfth edition of which is the current one, and has sold in excess of 150,000 copies since 1976. ASS offers advice on how to squat, legal help to squatters and helps fight evictions and challenge police abuse of the homeless.


READ THE INTERVIEW HERE
or just listen to the interview via radio4all.net

Images via the UK Squating Archive

VOODOO'Z CYRKLE TRIBE

An article concerning the Voodoo'z Cyrkle tribe and their struggle with the French authorities. This article was printed in Coda Magazine issue 04/1999. The Voodoo'z were formed by a group of friends when the free party lifestyle and music coming from the UK invaded France. It didn't take long for the French authorities to hit hard and make a statement. Despite being targeted by the pigs they continued their project and realized several free parties and traveled trough Europe.

oh yeah, there old page is still up!!

Voodoo'z Cyrkle

THE CYCLOWN CIRUS

We cycle from town to town, looking for a place to stay, co-operating with locals and the community and performing in the street or at a pre-arranged locations (usually some kind of Social centre) and giving workshops after the event if we have time. Getting up to 15 people on working bikes, fed, amused, happy, well rested and ready to perform to their best for popcorn is a vast achievement in itself! The show has to be seen to be believed - it involves live music, live accidents, clowning, tightrope, monocycling, bike jousting, diabolo, juggling, acrobatics, magic, fire spitting and dancing, acrobalance, trapeze and incredible jumping mad Mexican bean chaos! It is a great experience meeting people from a vastly varied ways of life, learning about other attitudes, languages, history, the world today, nature and how to keep a team of clueless foreigners, entertaining, laughing and creating with a bunch of junk we carry with us.

- www.cyclown.org

GUNNAR HAUTH: FREE TEKNO

Free Tekno is a journey into the underground of illegal underground tekno festivals in central Europe. The crew travel with a group of Dutch and Irish boys who throw illegal rave parties in the forests of Germany and Czech Republic and gain access to an underground that many have heard of but few have seen.

A documentary by Gunnar Hauth. 

"In central Europe thrives an underground culture of illegal tekno parties,

open for everyone to join and participate. 

The tricky part is finding out where and when they occur.."

Watch the full documentary at Icelandic Cinema Online (1 EUR via PayPal)

If you do not have access to a PayPal account, you can download it here.

Support if you can!

UPDATE 05/07/2012 

you can now watch the complete documentary on YouTube via this link!