Some while ago the mushroom magazine sent some email in order to get some opinions from labels and such. I got to read those and one question actually triggered my mind. Mushroom didn't respond to it, but I'd like to share my thoughts here:
Mushroom Question:
What do you think about the scene evolution? For example techno has
become an ingredient of Trance parties, what do you think is the
development? Will the scene split? Will a part of it melt with the
Techno scene?
SubConsciousMind- Answer:
What actually is the "scene"? Some say "Trance scene" others "Psychedelic trance scene" others call it the "psychedelic movement". In my opinion such borders are always fluent, definitions never precise. So to elaborate on this lets stick to the core of "it" which is coming from the sixties and call it "The psychedelic movement". That way it's clear, but still relatively open to development and change.
If we go from this premise "psychedelic movement" and ask about the influence of techno (or anything) on the scene we consequently have to say: Whatever new style there is, as long as it is "psychedelic" it should have its place in the scene. We only need to remember that this is a psychedelic movement after all.
Well, a psychedelic movement is not just fun, it's not just distraction and party. It's an ideology, it's a quest for mindexpansion and gaining consciousness, a journey away from adaption to being ourselves, it's a lifestyle, it involves spirituality and after all it is based on the hippy movement and its ideas.
Consequently we should think more boundless, not restricted to styles. The psychedelic idea of the movement is important and the music consequently should support that. But how is it today? Is the techno which is involved into psytrance parties psychedelic? Is the psytrance which is involved in psytrance parties psychedelic? Sometimes? Is it enough? Why not include any music with psychedelic effects? Psy-minimal, Psy-techno, Psy-rock, Psy-jazz maybe even Psy-country? Any style can be psychedelic if the artist intends to do it that way.
In the end all that should count is to follow the original ideas. Don't we want to create a new world? A world with room for emotions, sensitivity, borderless spirituality, freedom or simply spoken: Us being ourselves? A world where we can open our senses, hearts and touch each other without fear? Music can even support that. Especially mindexpanding music, psychedelic music so to speak.
But the declaration of "psychedelic" isn't easy and certainly can't be done by just naming styles even if there are tendencies of more or less psychedelic styles. It's difficult, some music opens us up other rather closes us down just as some drugs do. But anyways: This has to be judged on a song by song basis and not generally by style. There is minimal which is more psychedelic than full-on-trance and dark-psy and the other way round. We should remember that every song, just as every person, needs its own chance to be looked at. We don't judge people by their nationality or their age, why should we judge music by its style? That wouldn't be very mind-expanded, would it? In a truly psychedelic movement every psychedelic song should have its place, no matter where it comes from.
In this context another subject needs to be raised. A lot of people talk about the influence of other musical styles onto psytrance and the develoment of the scene, but what about the drugs? Speed and cocaine are some of them. They and the songs attached to them (made under that influence) are obviously not compatible with a psychedelic movement. Actually drugs like cocaine are typically used from bad politicians, bankers, those who actually create the world we, the people in the psychedelic movement, don't want. When used regulary these drugs basically disconnect from heart, soul and emotion. These drugs (not the people using them) actually change the atmosphere, the vibe, around the consumers in a way which seriously disturbs sensitive people and makes it a lot more difficult, if not impossible, for them to enoy themselves and actually have psychedelic experiences. Nevertheless today the impression arises that the use of cocain and similar has become normal in the psytrance scene. It seems that many psychedelic trancers have forgotten that cocaine and speed are totally unpsychedelic.
Why do I talk about this here? Simple: Why bother about techno within the Psytrance scene if cocaine is influencing the scene on a far deeper basis? Why do we let these drugs and they way they affect people have so much influence on the scene? What is the deeper reason for all that anyways? Why do people use drugs who shut off or control their feelings?
Will the scene spilt? Maybe that is not the right word. It's to assume, to hope, that whatever new style enters the psychedelic movement will be converted into a psychedelic variant of it and will be assimilated sooner or later. People who are not interested in the original ideas of the psychedelic movement (anymore) might take the opportunity to leave the scene into another direction and hopefully take the unpsychedelic drugs with them. All this, in the future hopefully results in a truely psychedelic scene full of psychedelic styles with very strong and conscious ideas.