Roberdo Raval – Hedonistic Freelancer

Slam

The new aesthetic? Burnout knocking on the door? However, a great collection of pictures!

Scuba

Some random snapshots of an experience that once again was far more mind-blowing than any pictures or videos could ever capture.

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The series Vom Bleiben by German photographer André-Alexander Giesemann could also be entitled The Day After: He captured the rather sober and dull atmosphere of ‘after party’ scenarios in some popular clubs.

All shots © André-Alexander Giesemann

OZORA Festival 2011 (Official Video) from Pumpui on Vimeo.

The masterminds of O.Z.O.R.A. festival declared to leave the organization team. In other words, O.Z.O.R.A festival as it grew more and more popular over the years, comes to an end. I don’t want to deal with the reasons for this decision, because I don’t want to join the way too worn-out commerce & sell out debate.

Stopping at the climax, at the very best moment, and in this way avoiding the inevitable decline, which is a basic principle of life that can be seen in the movement of waves or the cycle of the seasons, is a very high art. Few, if any festival promoters managed to exit at this point.

Just like the change of increase and decrease is a basic principle of nature, conservatism is a basic principle of the human nature. We make an amazing experience – and we want to make it again and again and again. Up to some point, this chase is a very fruitful and exciting, and it will create a series of amazing experiences: The increase. But then, at some point, this process takes a different direction. Evolution stops and basically the whole thing is only build on memories and the desperate attempt to bring back those: The decrease.

Of course this provokes a difficult philosophic question: How do I know that I reached the climax? Indeed there barley is a definite answer for this questions. Anyway, it is a matter of fact that O.Z.O.R.A. Festival 2011 was absolutely amazing and a multiple climax for thousands. Quite an excellent point for an exit.

Lets not forget that ending one thing is the premise for starting another thing. In this respect, I hope that the O.Z.O.R.A. team with its great experience starts a new chase for a new dream to come true.

And again some matieral from this year’s more than amazing Boom festival: Here we go with two little videos, taken during our DJ set at the Dance Temple.

Breath-taking constructions, installations and decorations, an outstanding diverse and kicking lineup, presented on sound systems that delivered a really physical music experience and between all of this a multicoloured mixture of some of the most beautiful and blissful people from all around this planet… My fourth Boom experience was an absolutely unique one and probably the best festival I have seen up to today. It was a huge honour to be part of this temporary autonomous zone for ten days, not only by playing an amazing DJ set together with Sam on the stage of the monumental Dance Temple but also by the simple fact of being present at the wonderful venue out there at Idanha-a-Nova. Find a fragmentary photographic documentation of this adventure below.

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Just discovered this video from Indian Spirit Festival 2004. From 00:35, it includes some footage taken during my DJ set on Saturday afternoon. I remember this moment very well, was kind of final climax of my very personal summer of love 2004 – if any climax can be fixed in this absolutely dreamlike summer…

GoaFoto | MySpace Video

In contrast to the really poor flyer Waldfrieden’s Hai In Den Mai festival was an absolutely amazing event. Arriving at the rolling venue in the middle of nowhere on Friday morning just one hour before our set it was pretty foggy and also very cold compared to the Mediterranean climate I left only two days before. The camping was really well filled and walking towards the actual party area I really felt like on a typical German festival. The dance floor was pretty empty when I crossed it but that should not last for a long time… Read the rest of this entry »

(Don’t know why but somehow I totally forgot about this one… Almost finished it rested on my hard drive for two months now. Hope you still enjoy this extensive review on Boom 2008!)

An unexpected mass of visitors and a fatal bar code system error led to some worse trouble right at the beginning of Boom. But no doubt: Those who finally managed to enter the festival ground witnessed pure magic going on on the shores of the reservoir in Idanha-a-Nova.

Actually it was not really horrible but still not very comfortable to wait for 10 hours in the traffic jam in front of the entry gates at Boom festival 2006. But I was pretty happy when a friend of mine called me a few weeks before the festival and asked for helping him with the setup and care of the light projections he should bring to the Ambient Forest. The reason: Working with the decoration team would bring me inside the festival before the gates officially opened on Monday. In this way I avoided the only but therefore really worse critic point at the most complete international Trance gathering: The entry problem. Read the rest of this entry »

Back again in rainy Germany from wonderful Portugal. I am really missing the ocean, the waves, the sun, the grilled Sardinhas and the cold Super Bock in the evening… But well, show must go on: Check out the gallery section for some impressions from my Surf Safari and amazing Boom Festival!