Clubbing Magazine

	Goa Gil is one of the pioneers on the “Goa Trance” scene from the early 90’s. He grew up in the middle of San Francisco and in 1969 he settled in Goa, India, where he found the Goan spirit and primarily has lived there since. Goa Gil is a popular psychedelic trance DJ and musician as well as one of the first promoters who organized “full moon parties” in Goa. The concept in these is to “redefining the Ancient Tribal Ritual for the 21st Century”. These parties are still going on and now they are spread out all over the world. Goa Gil, 52 years old, has just released his fifteenth CD project, and today, he has played all around in the world, some places he is even known as “The father of mother Psychedelic”. Clubbing Magazine got deeper into the spiritual roots.
	Which kind of music did you start with? Being a musician most of my life, I started music as a child, first with piano lessons and then moved on to guitar and rock & roll! My first 45 single was Elvis and my first album was Richie Valens’ memorial album!
	What do you think were the roots of what we today call Goa Trance music? For me the roots are the synthesizer/drum machine music that was being made in Europe in the beginning of the eighties that we, at the time, called “New Wave” and “Electronic Body Music” and then “Techno” and it evolved through different names and forms till what we have today.
	What is the purpose of the Trance Dance? “Dance …” - Dance is active meditation! When we dance, we go beyond thought, beyond mind and beyond our own individuality. To become One in the Divine Ecstasy of union with the Cosmic Spirit - this is the essence of the Trance Dance Experience!
	Which character do you have in the trance culture? Good question??!!?? - I am just doing my duty and fulfilling my Karma.
	The cosmic soul
You have said before “Goa is a state of mind” - can you explain this? On the map, Goa is a place, a place where we live for many years. In India, we were exposed to and assimilated, many of the ancient spiritual traditions and practices prevalent there since millennia. In Goa, we synthesized a lifestyle that was the best of the east and the west. Leading a fairly simple & natural life and focusing on the spiritual sadhanas of the east, we then mixed in our music, art, ideas, & ideals, and so was born “the Goa state of mind”.
Why is it so important for you to use meditation and yoga as a tool in your music? Yoga is the linking up of the individual soul with the cosmic soul. Through meditation and yoga sadhana, the movement and makeup of the elements of the universe have become apparent! This is very very important in using music as a vehicle of transmission and using the party situation to create initiation. Let me say here also that it is only by the Grace of my esteemed Gurus and the Blessings of Lord Shiva, that these things were/are realised!
My Shakti
Your motivation to make Goa trance music is to give people a spiritual experience through sounds and then open their minds to this other world. But are there other purposes in the making of this music? What do your message with your music? Surely there are many purposes and concepts in this type of music - probably each one has his own purpose and concept! For me, it is not just the individual tracks, but the whole story, the whole night and day, in communication and oneness with the Cosmic Spirit that the message lies - in the experience of that inexpressible feeling & magic!!!
Do you think people are more aware of Trance Dance now that you are transmitting its message? It is not just now that I am “transmitting its message”, this has been going on for years! I suppose that many people in trance have been either touched by my vibration directly, or else touched by someone who has been touched by me.
You live in Goa, India. Is that the place you call home? Yes! Since the last 34 years!
Do you play any instruments? Yes! Started with piano as a child, moved to guitar at about 12 years old. Had several bands in school, and after, in the “haight-ashbury” era in San Francisco. And more bands when I had the “music house” in Goa in the 70’s! I also play bamboo flute, the African drum “djembe” and a bit of almost any instrument, if I try!
How long do you prefer playing a DJ set? We like to start at about 10 or 11 pm at night and play till sunset the next day (in nature!!!).
Will you ever get tired of making psychedelic trance? God only knows!
	You have compiled compilations such as “Spiritual Trance”, “Kosmokrator-Deck wizards” and “Forest of the Saints” featuring the most popular bands on the psychedelic trance scene by now. Did you know before working with them that these bands had talent, and that most of them are now very successful? How? All of the CD mixes reflect the music that we were into at the time, and we have always thought that the music we like is “the most cutting edge psychedelic electronic dance music on the planet”! At the time those mixes were made, all that music too was cutting edge!!!
	In 1985 you met Ariane, what has she meant for you in relation to music and your personal development? Ariane is my Shakti, my partner in Creation, and without her it cannot be the same! Ariane’s knowledge of African Dance, Drumming, and Tribal Traditions, which she had been studying and living since her teens in Paris, France, had much to do with the creation of the concept of “Redefining the Ancient Tribal Ritual for the 21st Century”. We are like one mind, and she is a part of everything I do and visa versa - together we are “The Nommos”
Your style through the years could now be called “old school”, but the new album “Digitaria” From Avatar rec. released February 2004 is still Goa trance, but with new and remarkable sounds. Tell about your and Ariane’s work? You call my style through the years “old school”, but we have always considered it “cutting edge”! Our Quest for the Musical Holy Grail has been a constant search for “new sounds & new beats” which has continued until today and still continues! “Digitaria” reflects this journey for us and the beat goes on !!!
What is the story about “The Nommos?” There is a tribe in Mali called the Dogon, who have a secret oral tradition and teaching that has been passed from generation to generation since time forgotten, that speaks of amphibious beings who came to earth bringing knowledge and wisdom, and who taught their ancestors many many things. They also say that these beings will return again in human form, they call these beings “The Nommos”.
Are you planning a new album? We already have a new albums worth of tracks nearly ready! Ariane is working on an album of CyberTribal Ambient as well!
	It’s about THE MUSIC - not about drugs!
	Which word and what sound are the most important for you? \ (AUM)
	The techno culture is often combined with using drugs. How do you consider this? In this world we live in, drugs seem to be everywhere! I have said it before and I will say it again: It’s about THE MUSIC - not about drugs!
	What is your biggest wish for the trance culture in the future? If we can dance together, we can work together and we CAN make this world, OUR MOTHER EARTH, a better place! “Through the Trance Dance Experience, hopefully people become more sensitive and aware of themselves, their surroundings, the crossroads of humanity, and the needs of the planet. With that awareness comes Understanding and Compassion - That is the need of the hour and the true Goa spirit”!
	Interview by: Alexander Descroix