BECOME part of a musical journey with more than a hundred electronic artists from around the world at at Vortex Open Source 2018, a five-day event over several music arenas creating a flowing musical mosaic, from December 13 to 17. Participate in holistic workshops and educational talks, camp in the forest, and reconnect with friends and family – old and new.
It’s been 24 years since Vortex was founded by Grant Dreyer (pictured below), who discovered trance when he visited India and found 50 different nationalities, from many different religions, all partying together to a single beat of music. “The joy exuded was mind blowing – especially as I was from South Africa,” he recalls. “Immediately I realised this was a wonderful experience to introduce to our rainbow nation back home where no one knew much about it.”
Vortex began the electronic music experience in South Africa in 1994; there was no techno or house or any of the other rave genres that exist today, says Grant. “When we began, it was just ‘rave music and one was either a raver or not. The beauty of this music was the close connection between everyone.”
Trance began its journey in India where a regular gathering of people danced and partied on the beaches. The actual roots of its sound was developed from disco music in the 1980s when electronic pieces of music were extracted from multiple, current artists and then generated into one-hour long mixes of electronic music. And trance was born.
Trance culture shouldn’t be confused with a ‘hippie culture’, which has negative connotations, comments Grant. “I prefer the academic term ‘Bohemian philosophy’, which precludes any kind of definitions or judgements about race, colour, and religion. This is a single philosophy which interconnects those who welcome it and so its catch phrase is ‘one love’. It is the realisation everyone is the same because we all face the same daily problems in today’s world and by working together we can live byond these problems.”
Over the past 24 years, trance has become a universal phenomenon with millions of followers and the community that has evolved from it is shows that it is a way of living which everyone can embrace.
Vortex Open Source holds two annual music festivals: the Open Source Five Day Festival in December and the Phoenix Festival Of Fire in June. Both are as close as possible to the two annual solstices. The winter solstice is the Pagan celebration of the feminine aspect of the world; at the summer solstice, Pagans honour the sun and the divine powers that create life.
“We are just coming out of a patriarchal society where man has dominated the planet and looking at the world news today, we must ask, ‘Have men done a good job on our planet?’, says Grant.
EVENT DETAILS
DATE: December 13 – 17
TIME: 9am (13th) till 6pm (17th)
VENUE: Circle of Dreams, Riviersonderend
CONTACT: chantelle.opensource@gmail.com, cell 071 468 8339
LINE-UP: Too many to mention ( but does Vortex ever disappoint?)
TICKETS: R700 (Quicket and selected outlets). Gate 13/12 R750, 14/12 R700, 15/12 R650, 16/12 R400, 17/12 R250
For more information on accommodation and shuttles, click here or here.
www.Vortex Trance Adventures or FaceBook Event page Vortex Open Source 2018