The Magic of the Sunrise Set
Those who used to party in Cape Town back in the early 2000s will tell you that the Sunrise set on Sunday mornings was considered prime time.
Getting down and crazy as the daylight stretched over the night sky, dust clouds from the mayhem of stomping to the beat and the wild glint in people’s eyes, this was a full power psychedelic experience!”
If one was to go to the party just for Sunday Funday – then the alarm would be set for 3 am and generally one would organize the group of friends to all meet up before to convoy drive to the venue.
The city would be asleep, yet the petrol stations exiting the city would see the occasional car full of colourful, fresh and shiny people en route to a rave in the bush.
Missing the sunrise set was unforgivable. If you missed it you missed the pinnacle of the party!
I remember being taught about ‘Sunday Funday’ and how it was very important to arrive at least 30 min before the sunrise, as the break of dawn is where the magic lies.
It is challenging to try and explain the energy that was generated on a sunrise set dance floor when it was ‘full power, no shower’.
Getting down and crazy as the daylight stretched over the night sky, dust clouds from the mayhem of stomping to the beat and the wild glint in people’s eyes, this was a full power psychedelic experience!
It was as if the energy of the night accumulated and was exploding as the sun rose. I remember the dancefloors being packed at this time of the morning and DJs would practically beg or bribe the promoters for the sunrise set. There is a certain magic at a psytrance party and I feel that during this time of the day, we really could see it.
But the last few years not so much.
What happened to the sunrise set?
I’m seeing the magic of old, the energy from the people, it’s hard to describe, but it’s as if the people on the dancefloor really want to be there to dance!”
I am no guru of psytrance or anything like that, I’m just talking about what I have experienced and seen over the years. The past few years there has been a definite “lull” regarding energy for the sunrise set session and I’m not too sure why this is- perhaps the music at night got a little too crazy, or the weather changes make summer mornings surprisingly cold, sometimes unbearable to dance to, or perhaps the concept of the magic hasn’t been passed down to the next generation.
I remember my first Vortex.
I lost all my friends in the first 5 minutes. So I spent the whole night trying to find them and making new friends along the way, but when the sun rose over the fields of the Ostrich Farm – the sheer sight of the massive dance floor, almost breathing with energy as the night became the dawn – utter magic!
Or arriving at the Rabbit Hole Venue for an Alien Safari, I literally arrived in the wee hours of Sunday Morning at the foothills of Worcester mountains to a heaving dance floor.
It was at that time of the morning after the night had faded but the sun wasn’t fully up over the hills, and it was still cool enough to really dance hard to the full on beats; it’s as if certain beats are made for that time of the morning.
But last few years I feel we are not reaching those moments and Sunday Funday daytime seems to be the highlight nowadays; people should be losing it on the dance floor reaching those moments of clarity.
it just seems that Sunday Funday is about people gathering in the sunshine because it’s trendy to be at a trance party and have a fat chat in the middle of the floor.
Is that because we not connecting and the music is going over people’s heads?
My most memorable sunrise set
Univeso Parallelo
One of my most memorable sunrise sets to date is my set I played at Universo Parallelo festival in Brazil.
I played on the 303 stage which overlooked the beach. As I was playing I watched the sun rise over the ocean and the sky gave me a kaleidoscope of colours as I mixed. The dancefloor wasn’t full but people were dancing everywhere, also watching the magic nature had on offer. One thing I feel that I love about psy trance is how the magic that we find within the music and the beats. For me it is that time of the morning that I feel these spheres of magic – I don’t know why, I just do.
But this last season I have witnessed a bit of a change in our local scene and the sunrise set sessions are starting to make a comeback, and as my interest is growing with the night time psychedelic music, I have found myself on the dance floor for sunrise.
I’m seeing the magic of old, the energy from the people, it’s hard to describe, but it’s as if the people on the dancefloor really want to be there to dance!
if the DJ is cooking it nicely then moments of release happen, and it’s a level of silent communication between everyone, a glance or a smile from one another as we turn on the merry-go-round of time, beats and energy.
I hope we are on the road to recreating the old sunrise set sessions. I know we shouldn’t hold onto the past, but I feel that this is one tradition we should be striving to achieve – the true psychedelic freedom.
See you at Organik xx
Video from Universo Parallelo
Listening to right now!
Plusminus will be playing sunrise at Organik.
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