Back at camp, Ali B finds us plonked on a site to form a huge congregation. Flames wants to come back next year, which he’s
deckchair scribbling notes furiously and shoot out intermittently from tall already saying, it would be really hard to
invites us to his nearby RV for lunch. With sentry-like torches answered by say, ‘Sorry’. And if Armin Van Buuren tells
the wind picking up, we follow him inside. flame-throwing artcars in a dramatic me he’s gonna come to my camp, then it’s
Parked facing The Esplanade, the huge call-and-response performance that a guarantee that I’ll do the camp, just to
windscreen of Ali’s RV gives a widescreen heightens the tension. see Armin blow it apart — that would be
cinematic view but outside the picture is To a cacophony of whooping and something.”
becoming hazy and then — whiteout. A cheering, the effigy’s arms slowly rise up
ferocious sandstorm has just unfurled as a huge fireworks display explodes into We’re almost asleep on our feet by the
right before our eyes with visibility a million shards of colour into the dark time we climb into a waiting car to take us
reduced to a few metres. We’ve never sky. Another explosion marks the start of back to the airport at Reno. Carl Cox is in
experience anything like it. Every now the burn and the wooden structure is the front passenger seat, also obviously
and then the curtain of sand parts to consumed by yellow flames. affected by the past few days.
reveal people struggling against the “This isn’t a festival, it’s a gathering of
elements, others rolling around with We’re shipping out just after sunrise so people who’re here to find out about
laughter at their predicament, some sleeping seems like cheating and we opt themselves, be who they want to be and
running open armed into the playa to be to push right through. Our desert feel completely free,” says Carl. “I’ve
swallowed up whole. We laugh in endurance test has passed in the blink of never experienced anything like it. The
astonishment as a pirate ship sails past an eye although, admittedly, we do feel amount of creativity and spirit is just
and disappears from view a few seconds like we’ve been turned upside down. unusual and there’s a real sense of
later. Marine Parade label boss and genre- community amongst people who don’t
“Yep, Burning Man is one of a kind,” nods hopping punk Adam Freeland gives us a even know each other.
Ali. “Every four seconds you see much needed energy jab for the “The Opulent Temple guys are a great
something amazing and then four homestraight, Syd follows-up with some bunch of people and the way they create
seconds later you see something else. It’s on-point pounders and Josh Gabriel the Opulent Temple is amazing. I want to
near impossible to document. The only steers the still strong crowd down his new do whatever I can to help them. Music is
way to get a true understanding of what techno route. art and it’s important that is recognised.”
it’s like is to experience it first-hand. Following a touch of psy-trance from
“The desert is like a big blank canvas or Dyloot of Deep Voices, we feel tears well Driving through the Burning Man site,
the white walls of a gallery and for one up as OT camp crusader Cosmic Selector we’re kinda sad to be heading back on the
week a year it gets filled to the brim with drops 808 State’s ‘Pacific State’ as the sun road to normality, to a frantic world of
all sorts of crazy stuff — moving and breaks over the horizon heralding a new deadlines and schedules.
stationary artwork, music, crazy vehicles, day, a beautiful track for a beautiful “What’s even more amazing is that soon
bikes, costumes and lots of fire.” moment. all this will be gone,” says Coxy. “Gone
Everything seems perfect — apart from without a trace.”
Feel The Burn the question mark hanging over the Which may be so… but the magic will
Six — yes six — hours later and the Opulent Temple’s return next year, Syd remain. LesLey wRIgHt
sandstorm lifts as quickly as it descended, and his crew despairing at the lack of
the wind dying down and dust settling in support from festival organisers.
time for Saturday night’s burning of the “Part of it depends on Burning Man and if DUST BROTHERS
man ceremony. Proudly lit, all the artcars they are gonna see, even just a little bit, More desert discoveries...
and artbuses form a wide circle near the the way we see things — that music is
base of the effigy with thousands of art,” says Syd.
•
The Burning Man festival was
people emerging from all corners of the “The other part is talent based. If Carl Cox started on Baker Beach, in San Fran,
by Jerry James and Larry Harvey
after they burned down a man built
out of wood in 1986.
•
There are no rules; each person
decides how they would like to
contribute to the community in
their own way.
•
Clothing is optional.
•
Baby wipes become your very best
friend during your desert stay.
•
Artwork at the festival is
anonymous and very often
destroyed at the end of the week.
•
OT core crew Syd Gris, Rich
Martin, Vinkalmann, Dutch, Cos,
Jason Teplitsky, Dex Stakker, Drew
Drop, Greg Biggs, Liz and Billy and
DJ Icon, we salute you.
•
For more info on Syd’s projects
check out
opulenttemple.org and
opelproductions.com
www.djmag.com
161
DJ467.AAA_Burning man.indd 161 15/10/08 14:29:51
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