This was absolutely one of the most amazing parties I have ever been to. While Olli’s Fuji party of 1995 is the ‘real’ Fuji party for me, this one too was amazingly transformative. Rainbow 2000, who organized the party, became known as Raincoat 2000 because of their bad luck with the weather. This was one occasion when things got reversed…

We have all had moments in our lives where served either as an indicator that we must follow a certain path, or as a reminder as to why we have chosen that path. Return to the Source’s party of May 24 [1997] at Mount Fuji, in collaboration with Rainbow 2000, miraculously became a showcase for the best music out there, a reminder for punters and pros alike as to why they are involved in the scene, all the while conveying a number of powerful messages.

Here comes the rain again…
The party did not start off well. As day dawned…well, actually, there was no dawn (visibly, at least), as a thick cloud cover started dishing out the rain from the early morning. After a 3-hour drive from Tokyo, we arrived at the party site near Mount Fuji (or so we assumed, for it was nowhere to be seen) at 1 PM, early enough to get a prime spot for our tent (although Bali was suggested as a more ideal location). The huge slope of the ski hill was being transformed into what could be a super party place, with tents being set up amidst the three official tepees, the largest one at the base of the hill serving as command control for the musicians. The wind was cold, and the rain persistent, so after setting up our aptly-named Logos tent, we headed off to the nearest town some 20 km away to stock up on provisions and to get away from what was becoming an increasingly depressing sight.

Inauspicious beginning
When we returned in the early evening, more tents and punters had arrived, more targets for the increasingly persistent rain. We caught up on sleep to sound checks of varying confidence (crank it or don’t do it at all). When we awoke, the Dub Squad had just started their ambient build-up, although a separate ambient area had been set up in a chalet near the top of the hill. I hooked up with Chris Deckker, who was visibly upset about the weather and the low turnout. Walking around and chatting with people, we noticed not only how friendly and gung-ho the Japanese partyers were, but how time had ground to a near standstill (without the aid of supplements) – Mount Fuji is said to be a multi-dimensional gateway, so it is possible that its presence affected our experience of time. It certainly affected the overall quality of the party later on.

I retreated indoors with the staff as the rain continued to pour, while Dub Squad continued playing their drum’n’bass (which grew a bit tiresome for me). The finishing touches on the schedule were made amidst a general air of despondency, of having to go through with something that wouldn’t live up to the expectations of all involved.

Shifting realities
The first blow to this assumption came when we walked outside at nearly 11 PM, when Ubar Tmar was doing a live set of pumping psychedelic trance. The crowd had grown to several hundred, and despite the rain and mud, they were dancing and cheering with more enthusiasm than anyone from London had seen in some time. The sound quality was absolutely phenomenal, thanks to a wicked system and the great outdoors. Things were starting to look good. And they kept on getting better.

Keisuke was next, striking the right chord indeed with probing yet uplifting trance. The nearly-full moon broke through the clouds, surrounded by a rainbow halo, and the clouds started thinning as his set bombarded the surrounding space with full-frequency positivity. Medicine Drum was next, and they excelled themselves. Chris was delighted that he had managed to get a Japanese drum for the gig, and his silhouette projected from inside the tepee added even more excitement to the superb set. By this time, the clouds were gone and the stars were beaming down on us, and we were beaming up to them.

The morning sets

The mood was so over-the-top ecstatic at this point that nothing could stop this crowd. Tsuyoshi ended the most brilliant set I’ve heard him play, handing control of the party to Mark Allen, who had planned a “light at the end of the tunnel” set while it was still raining. To say that he excelled himself would be an act of unparalleled understatement. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone read the vibe of the crowd and deliver just what they needed (though not necessarily what they expected) as well as he did here. He played the most perfectly blended, subtle, sexy set I have ever had the pleasure to hear. Oscillating tribal beats and patterns of quantum waves drifted into the daylight as the crowd totally lost it and found themselves in the process. He showed how holding back a little bit can allow the energy within to gain new focus, to bond thoroughly with all around it. I have new-found respect for Man With No Name and Masa, whose simple (yet not simplistic) tracks ended the electronic part of the party [note: the MWNN track was ‘Possessed’] to the dense, hoarse cheers of muddy, blissed-out partyers.

While the amplified music had to stop at 7:30 lest we disturb the golfers next door, the party was far from over. Tsuyoshi and Chris led a drumming circle that embodied the true spirit of the parties: impromptu, creative, fun, funny, and deep. One older Japanese fellow joined them, voicing the most incredible Tibetan chants, sitars, electric guitars, didgeridoos, and so on. A couple of hundred trancers danced and cheered as moment upon moment of inspired, selfless creative expression careened into the sunshine. Lots of the roughly 3000 who turned up stuck around to chill in the sun – the first that we had seen since the arrival of the London crew dispelled the gorgeous weather the area had previously been enjoying. It was easy to believe that all this concentrated, focused energy was able to defuse the oppressive weather.

A Spiritual Experience

The original vibe

It is no doubt this kind of vibe that characterized the initial parties in Goa, and that made people want to get involved in something that could help others find themselves away from the humdrum of daily experience. It may be difficult to recreate the vibe of this experience back in England, especially indoors, but with the vision and experience freshly ingrained, some of the innocence regained may be transmitted to an unsuspecting crowd. Let us hope that local party-goers can help do their part in making such special events by not giving up on parties, and by giving it their all. You get out of something what you put into it. A lot went into this event, and everyone got more than they could have expected. Here’s hoping that everyone out there can experience something like this. You’ll know when you do.

Postscript: At the next Return to the Source party in London at Bagley’s, there were indeed comments from Mark, Tsuyoshi, and Chris about how hard it was to be indoors again. There was, however, an extra ‘zing’ to their sets…