DMCWORLD magazine published an interview with Stray Wayward (aka Spiral Mark) and Sirius, both members of the SP23 crew
(sp23.org). SP23 is creative collected formed by some of the core members of the Spiral Tribe soundsystem.
Mark is currently working on a book I am really, really.. really looking forward to. What makes me so anxious is that I am almost certain that this book will be THE book I would be able to call my bible. In "A Darker Electricity: Life On The Road With Spiral Tribe" Mark will chose to tell the story of Spiral Tribe in a creative way by weaving narrative threads together and not just create a chronological list of events. Thus creating an interesting storyline I am dieing to dig in to. Finally I will be able to read the whole story of which I now know only a few scraps I picked op from interviews, articles, flyers and other media we once searched and shared on this blog. One of the main reasons we started this blog is to collect all the information that was available online and make sure it doesn't get lost. Many websites from soundsystems in the early 90's were disappearing so we wanted to make sure that these pieces of history wouldn't get lost. Creating one place to find out more about the history of the current free tekno movement. Especially the legend of Spiral Tribe which became a great source of inspiration that became a part of the free person I am now. A part of the manifesto I put together a few years ago, which sums up what we stand and fight for as a soundsystem, is based on the reason why Spiral Tribe was formed. A group of friends got together to resist the system that limits our own creativity and freedom of expression. Their weapon in this battle was Spiral Tribe. Re-read our manifesto and you'll know which part I am referring to. 23 years later these constrains are still being enforced by governments but also still resisted by many collectives in the form of a soundsystem all over the world. Their cause became a message I now follow and actively spread. I could go on about how much influence Spiral Tribe actually had on my life but I just realized I was just mentioning the upcoming book "A Darker Electricity" and got off track. So my train of thought ends here and the influence of Spiral Tribe in my life will become a post on its own in the near future.
What was it about the whole free party movement that attracted you?
Mark: "I grew up going to free festivals. Stonehenge and Avebury. Something magical occurs when you escape the confines and routines of the locked-down mainstream. It's a combination of things: the community bonds that you feel while dancing together across the night – under the stars; the connection with nature; and a sense that you've stepped outside of a bubble and into the wider world... It's an escape – not away from reality but into reality."
Mark: "I grew up going to free festivals. Stonehenge and Avebury. Something magical occurs when you escape the confines and routines of the locked-down mainstream. It's a combination of things: the community bonds that you feel while dancing together across the night – under the stars; the connection with nature; and a sense that you've stepped outside of a bubble and into the wider world... It's an escape – not away from reality but into reality."
