The Equinox Experience – ‘Life Festival’

Following road signs passing a South African Philadelphia, we enter this rabbit hole in lieu of a dust road. I quickly glimpse our playground – a hobitton bridge leading over a small snaking river to a dance floor set deep in an oasis of tall trees. As soon as I hear that hollow thud of a beat I start to reminisce: the season is here again, and tis a reason indeed to be jolly. Cape Town is known to have one of the hottest outdoor trance scenes in the world, and I am here at Equinox’s second ever party, coyly dubbed ‘Life Festival’.

Night quickly follows a muggy dusk and an intimate crowd – of no more than a thousand – begin to stretch their limbs awake under the laser-slashed branches. It’s interesting to see the space-cakes that a smaller, less commercial trance party pulls out of the urban woodwork. I find myself surrounded by a refreshing mix of dreads, colours, plastic flowers and bright scarves. Up first, competition winner Psy-Anomic Greyling throws the quickly swelling crowd some sick psychedelic beats.

It feels good to be in the dirty lumo light again, leaving behind all that junk that makes us pour sweat and stress tears. I lose me in the monotonous rhythm – sensory bombarded from the monster rig, vibrations making my hair hop. Choppy dum-doef ‘weooowah’ with a side dish of industrial glitch. Nice.

I see a bald man with a lumo bindi all swathed in orange, and am reminded of buddha. Here, no one will look at you funny if you act weird. In fact, behaving strangely is compulsory: Us a mob of youth facing forward in a march that never goes anywhere, DJ being God of this arena. Just a sprinkle of UV dust and a working girl begins a contortionist, body tingling with the glee of a heavy beat.

Donned in a Funky Ice hoody, I soak up the night as it swells and throttles, bringing unusual ingredients of uplifting house, dub-step and even a sample straight from ‘Swan Lake’! I ponder to myself; ‘Is this is just a once-off or a hint at a new era of outdoor party?’ Last season the scene was dominated by a hybrid of manic, dark trance, but it seems the newer generations are keen on a bit more techno-dabbling. Good stuff, I sure don’t mind it.

A raindrop or two lands on my nose as Super Evil takes the metaphoric DJ reins. Some hard and fast beats turn the crowd in its head and I decide it’s time for bed. Waking to find the beat still solid I mourn the loss of a traditional fluffy morning set. But I get my hippy-fix along with a small group of yogis stretching tantric on the grass. Weak sunlight says hello.

Back on the dance-floor, smiles all around, as cigarette drags are haggled and dust creeps up nostrils. We leave those pixies in a pool of solid, clean bass-lines. Time to get back to reality… and take home the sweet-psy memories of what it means to be swept up in festival culture, before getting swallowed up by what I considered the normal world.

If you consider yourself one for the distinguished party – you will love EQUINOX.

REVIEW: Rachel Briant