Solving the yoga mysteries, slowly

Posted on May 18, 2023     Leave a Comment

The yoga mysteries:

How some poses take days to improve, and others take YEARS.

The gomukhasana clasp: I wanted to be able to do it. I started practising, focused. Got there FAST. So satisfying.

The wide-legged forward bend: One should think this was super basic. I mean, how long can it take before I see improvement, at least? Years, apparently. Years. I still feel like a beginner in this pose. A beginner that has just run a marathon.

Luckily, I have done so much yoga by now that I no longer feel annoyed by this apparent lack of progress. More …intrigued.

I’m definitely not a patient person in all areas of life. I like things that move swiftly. I like progress and results. But people looking at my artwork will consider me to be e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y patient. And yoga has definitely taught me new levels of this skill.

And that’s one of the many reasons I have found it so meaningful to print my paintings onto the yoga mats. They remind me that things take time and that all the work will grow into a big pattern, eventually. They are also very entertaining to look at while practising, which is great for people with lively brain activity. 😉

The print on this yoga mat is an acrylic painting I made after a (very yoga-filled) journey to Bali. Inspired by the fractal-like rice fields, the sound-healing pyramids, the temples, the surfboards and the electric sunsets. It’s my own favourite mat (currently) and it motivates me daily.

Get your own! Have a closer look at https://chriszka.myshopify.com

Turn your mousepad into a cyberdelic portal

Posted on March 10, 2023     Leave a Comment

Why settle for something boring and black when you can access the internet with your VERY OWN HAND-PAINTED PSYCHEDELIC PORTAL?! – made by me?

This is a mini version of my WipeOut painting, cut into a circle and printed onto a mousepad to make your daily trips into cyperspace a but more sci-fi and a lot more artistic.

Remember: “The PC is the LSD of the 90s”, Timothy Leary said (in the 90s). Let’s use it for exploration, not distraction.

The painting on the mousepad is inspired by light machine experiences, psytrance and rave visuals, playing WipEout in virtual reality and the amazing power of our brains.

(Hot tip: If you acquire mouse arm syndrom through all the clickety-click on the www, get yourself a yoga mat to fix it! I can provide.) 😉

Link to the mousepad upgrade: Circular mousepad: WipeOut

Current painting I’m working on: The Phoenix

Posted on February 2, 2023     Leave a Comment

This acrylic painting is inspired by the Boom Festival in Portugal and other events of 2022; events of heat, transformation, travel and mind expansion. Its work title is ‘The Phoenix and the Toad’. It has taken me 87 hours of work so far and it’s teaching me new lessons every time I get in front of the canvas. 

I have never made a painting that has required this many sketches. I have to sketch and sketch and sketch again before putting actual paint on the canvas, trying out new ideas constantly. And even though this painting, at its current stage, looks a lot like my very first original pencil sketches (although a lot more colourful, obviously, since the first sketch was made with a grey pencil), the painting keeps surprising me, taking me in new and unexpected directions, still.

I expect to work on the piece for at least another 20 hours or so before it’s done. Deep and interesting process, for sure.

Ravers Are the Experts: Big Smiles and Extreme Happiness

Posted on December 24, 2022     Leave a Comment

This has to end with an explosion of emotion, every year.

Enjoy this collection of feel-good snapshots of moments in the past (and the very recent past) where you were all clearly TRULY happy.

This is a big moment for Chriszka – and for JUngLEkalenderen. This is the birthday where I got my first digital camera, small and handy enough to bring to the dancefloors. Proper cameras in phones were still some years into the future so this was as tiny and futuristic as it got. Look at my happiness and joy. JUngLEkalenderen would have been a lot less fun without this little piece of equipment.
A group hug couldn’t be happier than this. Such complexity, such warmth. Elektronisk Picnic 2010.
I have posted this snapshot before, but it’s just so perfect. In this moment, Hjeppe Mann has everything. Water, coconut water, a fan for fresh air, a sunset, a ja-hat, a platform to dance on, the Atmos opening set at Boom 2022.
This was one of the very first days after lockdown lifted in Copenhagen, and Chriszka and Sune are truly happy to hang out at a pretty packed party in Byhaven.
Look at the intense happiness of Sulu in this summer-y hug. This need up in a long Simon & Garfunkel session. JOY!
Extreme triple happiness and a red heart in the morning hours just after the ending of a party, many years ago.
Sofus laughs at his shamanic insights at the Somewhere Festival.
Thomas truly enjoys this splendid summer’s day at the magnificent So Verbot party at Tunnelfabrikken. Copenhagen, August 2022.
Textor truly enjoys this pool moment at Løgtenborg Slotskur 2013.
Dollars looks frighteningly happy at the sunrise floor at RAW 2009.
Rau enjoys himself on the dancefloor in the early evening sun at the Øen Ved Siden Af party at Distortion 2022.
Ah, the intense joy when everything just clicks into place at the Turmbühne stage. Such an amazing feeling. Fusion 2007.
The happiness on this face is the happiness of Sulu getting his food at the Hifly Pigfest 2010.
JSL looks extremely happy about the party situation at an Ohoi! party, 2004. Pic by jonask.dk
Deep double happiness from PZ and Tim Driver, generated by the Hifly Pigfest 2010.

Intermezzo: Read some of Tim Driver’s insights about rave culture right here: My first big raver experience.

Alex beems with internal happiness at the Dyssen party 2010.
Enjoy the look of extreme happiness on Ulle’s face at Stella Polaris 2010.
Christina Britz has clearly been drinking directly from the well of happiness at Roskilde Festival 2006.
Asger truly enjoys the moment on New Year’s Eve at The Jungle Hut.

Intermezzo: Enjoy some more pics from THAT night here: How to be a Junglist: Camouflage

Classic Turmbühne happiness moment at Fusion 2009.
Svingsen and Chriszka feel squeezed by China but are still happy. Shanghai 2004.
Lewis enjoys the moment at the Club Awards in Vega 2006.
Chriszka looks very happy and somehow also very rich on a boat in the Copenhagen harbor. This adventure had Asen at the wheel.
Niels enjoys the happiness of the warm hug.
Binge beams with blond joy at Elektronisk Karneval 2008.
Iboga happiness at the Alchemy Circle at Boom 2022.
Fred Alert tries to hide a smile at Orientkaj Din Ven i Solen 2022.
Another moment of pure joy in front of the right speakers at Turmbühne, Fusion 2007.
Very big smiles at Roskilde Festival 2007. A slightly muddy year, but we clearly don’t give a toss. The happiness beams from all the photos.
Vibs is beaming with Fusion Joy at the Tanzwieze stage (the year with the cosy ‘stuelampe’ deco). This is 2013.
A moment of dancefloor happiness erupts at Orientkaj Din Ven I Solen.

Want more?
In 2015, JUngLEkalenderen finished with Jungle Feelings: The Love, Hugs and Kisses Extravaganza

The third season finale was a very long list of junglists celebrating their birthday on the 24th (of some month), climaxing with Mugge, the predator, and all his darkside fish: The 24th Surprise

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
December 22nd: How to be a Raver: The Conversationalists
December 23rd: Ravers Are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives – part II

Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives – part II

Posted on December 23, 2022     1 Comment

Let’s get back to how it all started out this season: With slowing down. On purpose. Here’s another sweet selection of ravers slowing down in the middle of everything.

The Jeff Mills party at Culture Box in 2006 was so much fun, noone wanted to stop afterwards. What happens when you really really don’t want to stop but just want to keep talking to your friends about all your insights, you might end up falling asleep in the middle of everything. When this happens for several people at once, the party has been truly epic. This is perfection. 10 out of 10. (You can read more about this phenomenon in 5 problems only ravers know about.
Bateman slows down completely while still standing up at the Zerrbild party at Culture Box, August 2007.
2000F slows down on the sunrise floor at RAW, 2009. Jeppe looks a tiny wee bit tired as well.
Chriszka has a quiet moment of internal bliss at the Kasra party at Culture Box.
Psytrancers slow down in the shade at the Boom Festival 2022. 42 degrees, people. This is a festival of initiation. You come out the other end stronger.
When the dancing stopped and the lights went on at Luna Tec (Copenhagen, February 2022), Thomas decided to sit down on the dancefloor and just slow down. Masterful, another 10/10.
Two mädchens slow down and build flowery sandcastles on the dancefloor, just before Bongo & Pusk start playing. Juli 2019.
A large circle of psytrance yogis slow down on purpose at the S.U.N. Festival in Hungary, 2013.
Sims slows down on the strong jungle shoulders of Chriszka in Beijing, 2004.
PierreL slow down on the broad shoulders of Liquid at the Hifly Pigfest 2010.
Andreas slows down on the broader shoulders of Anders at the Dyssen party 2010.
Now THIS is excellence! Slowing down completely in the middle of the dancefloor at Elektronisk Picnic, July 2010. Again: 10/10.
Ah, the beauty of beaming like an enlightened being while having a nice, meditative moment of complete inner peace at the edge of the stage on Roskilde Festival 2010.
Vibs and Liquid slow down before speeding up again at Fusion Festival 2010.
Ouafa and Andreas have a picnic at the Bachstelzen stage at Fusion 2010.
This is what slowing down completely on the dancefloor can look like. Elektronisk Karneval, May 2010.
Lau slows down like you’re supposed to in the middle of a chill out festival. This is The Best Stella Polaris Ever, 2007. When you have checked out Lau, notice the situation on the right.
This is the situation on the right. Masterful “I Haven’t Just Slowed Down but Pulled the Plug Completely” on top of a Stella Artois. 10 out of 10.
Collins slows down, but a little bit less, at Roskilde Festival, 2006.
Three young ravers slow down in camp at Fusion 2009. This was a great camp. But it was also one of my last moments in it, I think. Trancefloor and Turmbühne were calling. Coooooooome toooooooo uuuuuuuuus.
Svingsen slows down in the middle of the birthday dinner before Chriszka’s Birthday Bash at Nadsat, 2005.
Someone slowed down completely backstage at the Kraken party, and Evil Sulu decided to turn it into a Kodak moment. Stengade, 2007.
Slowing down in hammocks next to the Sonnendeck dancefloor at Fusion 2019.

– Read more about the ‘slowing down in the middle of everything’ skill here: 5 problems only ravers know about
– Here’s some family fun for the Christmas days: The DIY Test: Is my Child a Junglist?.

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
December 22nd: How to be a Raver: The Conversationalists

Find all seasons here (long scroll): JUngLEkalenderen.

How To be a Raver: The Conversationalists

Posted on December 22, 2022     2 Comments

Back in 2016, I had a JUngLEkalender conversation with fellow junglist Sofus about our first many years at raves. And how we always always always had to be the last person standing on the dancefloor. How important that was.

This is a bit of the conversation:

Sofus: “Now, it’s a lot easier for me to leave a party or a rave when I feel tired. But back then, I stayed ’til the last drop of blood – every time . It wasn’t exactly like doing sports, but it was something like it, and you felt super cool and kind of like a cyborg and definitely very future-like!”

“I know exactly what you mean!”
Sofus: “Sometimes I had these inner struggles on the dancefloor where I was really tired and had to sit down for a bit, but I always got up again. I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end. […]There’s something euphoric about it, the fact that the body can just keep going. It’s a meditative quality, almost shamanistic. All of us doing this tribal dance together. A collective consciousness. You are actually doing it for the community. You don’t just go home, you stay and dance until the end.”

“Exactly!”
“And afterwards you feel really proud and sore in all your muscles for days and days afterwards.”

Here’s Sofus, doing some shamanistic work at Elektronisk Karneval 2010.

Obviously, when you do important work for the community on the dancefloor, talking to people has to wait.

(That’s what afterparties are for. We talk about this as well. You can read the interview here: Jungle Confessions: I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end.

Buuuuuut sometimes all your shamanistic movements bring GREAT insights into your brain that you just HAVE to communicate with words to your fellow raver next to you! Immediately!

These snapshots are dedicated to those moments.

Here’s a classic ‘I just had a super important insight’ moment between Kresten and Indy in the middle of the dancefloor at Elektronisk Karneval 2010. You can feel it from all the way out here, on the screen, 12 years later.
And here’s Chriszka clearly sharing a super important insight with Eske at her birthday bash at Nadsat.
Tim and Mrtn share their sudden insights surrounded by ravers at Elektronisk Karneval, 2010.
Casparados, definitely sharing something super important with Breakfast at DNBZone 2006.
Filip from Ticon seems to share something truly profound, according to the look on Pontus’ face. Trancefloor on Fusion, 2014.
Here’s an edge-of-the-dancefloor conversation so deep, Hanzi seems shocked by the camera.
Thomas and Emok share one of their thousand insights – surrounded by dancing ravers at Fusion, 2014.
Ah yes, here he is again: The master of dancefloor conversations, Emok, having another one with Mikkas at Byhaven.

Intermezzo by Dancing Sofus:
“When you’re at a rave with a lot of people you don’t make a lot of conversation – you use your physical body to express your feelings and the sounds in the music. We don’t use our language but the bodies and the rhythm and pulse of the music instead. And you start to recognize eachother when you’ve experienced a thing like that together. You feel connected. There’s a poetry of the body – a compassion and inner knowledge that we’re all in tune with each other. When you get home from the raves, you feel that there has been a bond, that we turned into a tribe. That’s why afterparties are so popular for ravers. It’s hard to let go of that bond. And all the things you didn’t get to say while dancing… You get to say all that at the afterparties.”

Here’s Chriszka and Svingsen after many hours of shamanistic service on the dancefloor, getting to share all the things they didn’t get to say while dancing.
And here’s Kristobal, leaning deep into conversation with Tim Driver.
Ah yes, all the insights. But some people are just chatterboxes. Here are six grown men, all simultaneously stuck in conversations on the dancefloor at the S.U.N. Festival in Hungary, 2014. I had to take a picture of this.
More deep insights shared at S.U.N., 2014.
…..and even more. Many deep understandings of life come to the surface when dancing at +140BPMs.
Many years earlier, 2000F tries to escape a conversation by hiding at the Club Awards at Vega, 2006.
…while Daniel endures a conversation with a polite zoning out. The Club Awards at Vega, 2006.
…and Mathias Mesteno uses a more aggressive approach: The Dominant Conversation.
….and Rune RK just has a phone conversation with the music. Still the Club Awards at Vega, 2006.

Do you want more to talk about? Jump into 5 problems only ravers know about
If you prefer less talk and more action, jump to How to be a Junglist: Body Language.

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver

Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver

Posted on December 21, 2022     3 Comments

Dressing for the dance floor is not an easy task. You need to be comfortable, flexible AND possibly in for the (very) long haul at the same time. But you also need to entertain your fellow ravers. Elements of joy, sensuality and surprise are welcome.

We all have different strategies. Let’s have a look.

Let’s start at the very top. This is Ulle, dressing to please his fellow ravers at Turmbühne, Fusion 2007. Notice that this is a WHITE suit on the fourth day of the festival. This is what people want and need to see. This is perfection. 10 out of 10.
Super perfect (and timeless) raver outfit at Elektronisk Karneval 2010. I’m talking about the one in the middle, in case you’re wondering. Flexibility with layers (if the party lasts for 48 hours or more, temperatures WILL rise and fall, and this is preparation) . Belt bag provides free arms for psytrancey happiness movements. A clash of colors so that your fellow ravers are entertained. Definitely 8 out of 10.
Claus is properly dressed in a sailor’s outfit at the party by the harbour water. Lækker Lytter, June 2006.
Noone wears Adidas like Mariii. ❤ This is Chriszka’s moving-in-and-thank-you-for-helping-dinner.
Stefani wears a Badalamenti Tribute Top 3 months and 8 days before Badalamenti’s actual death, which is a remarkable and very witchy thing to do.
Chriszka wears a Badalamenti Tribute Skirt 4 years, 7 months and 15 days before Badalamenti’s death AND travels to other dimensions, which is also a very witchy thing to do.
Tøndering dresses like an exquisite corpse drawing game at Turmbühne, 2010. Perfect ‘Spot Me on the Dancefloor’ strategy.
Jonas wears a futuristic safety jacket from the future to a party at Nadsat.
Here’s the best dressed man at the Øen ved Siden Af party at Distortion 2022. This is the Easy to Spot on the Dancefloor strategy, again.
A very late Friday night at Roskilde Festival, and Laura brightens up the table with this mood booster of a top. 2006!
To be prepared for anything – trance floors, time travel, techno, talkshows, television, tapas – I just always wear a colourful AND comfortable dress. This dress, for instance, has been absolutely everywhere. This is the Boiler Room boat event in Copenhagen, 2014.
Lulu wears a golden dress to the sunrise floor at RAW 2009. Djuna runs the ship in a captain’s jacket.
Some pieces of clothing gets iconic just by being used a lot. Who remembers Bateman wearing this? This is the Club Awards at Vega, 2006.
Miss Popo is ALMOST dressed – in a bikini that matches the main floor deco which is a perfect raver move. Turmbühne at Fusion 2008.
Sometimes being perfectly dressed is being prepared for rainy mayhem. This is the wettest Fusion ever, 2011. (To the left: Evil Economist dressed up as a hippie, out of necessity.)
Casparados turns up impeccably dressed for New Year’s 2005.
Andreas in one of his many excellent looks for hot days at the Henry’s Dream festival 2013.
Chaca strikes the balance with this morning party outfit: Colourful jacket and giant sun shield. Pirate Party Pack 2006.
Fred Alert is effortlessly well-dressed in a yellow shirt on a summer’s day at Hangaren.
Sven Dohse in his classic Sven Dohse outfit at Turmbühne 2008.
But he’s not the only one to wear a tie to Turmbühne! This is 2007, a great year.
A tie AND a dress. Two properly dressed people meeting at Henry’s Dream 2014.
The best skirt I saw at Boom 2022. A perfect “Find Me on the Dancefloor” strategy.
Bezz wears a sunshine’y Spot Me on the Dancefloor masterpiece at So Verbot 2022.
Sofus wears a bowler hat at the excellent Rotundum Reunion party 2022.
Sims wears a white suit impeccably in 2004.
Ginda wears a beautifully colored dress on a summer’s day at Fusion, 2008.
Here’s the ‘Spot Me on the Dancefloor’ strategy, Extreme Version, by Textor. Fusion 2012.
Perfect head dress by Mariii at a beach party, Copenhagen 2009.
Two summer’y girly looks at the Somewhere Festival 2016.
And there I was, dancing away at the Township Rebellion party, where Lampé was playing absolutely excellently, and it WAS very hot, and then the music stopped and I turned around and realized that NOONE was dressed anymore!

Do you want more absolutely fabulous clothes? Go to Blasts from the Past: The Dressed-Up Junglists.

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II

Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II

Posted on December 20, 2022     4 Comments

Days couldn’t be much darker than they are RIGHT NOW here in Scandinavia, and we need to add our own lights to the situation, so let’s enjoy another round of pics from brighter days in the rave-o-sphere.

Chriszka lets her inner hippie shine through at Roskilde Festival.
Experienced ravers enjoy the sunny days for grown-ups at Kaj Din Ven I Solen. Notice how Karsten Loud, the host of the party, packs a lot of raver skills into this shot: 1) Two drinks in one hand 2) Optimistic hand sign and 3) Wearing the original LOUD t-shirt. The only LOUD.
Binge wears sunglasses without wearing sunglasses in a perfect casual way at Fusion 2007.
Dollars wears something much more fun than sunglasses at the Hifly Pigfest 2010.
Wearing superlarge sunglasses on a grey day at the Fusion Festival adds a mysterious movie star vibe to your being.
Wearing sunglasses inside adds the perfect rockstar vibes to your look.
Wearing sunglasses at night AND a gold top adds a rockstar vibe to the entire event. This is Elektronisk Karneval in Fælledparken, just after dusk.
Feltman wears the light summer party look and a dark drink at the Culture Box Day Party at Fælledparken. This is July 2008.
Mikado is wearing aaaaall the cool-down gear at Kaj Din Ven I Solen. Yup, you thought that was earphones, obviously, but it’s a wind-in-your-face mechanism.
René (probably) enjoys the moment behind mirrored sunglasses at Turmbühne. A hot and sunny day at Fusion, 2008.
Mikkas wearing classics at Elektronisk Karneval 2008.
When relaxing by the ocean with a bunch of other hippies at the Somewhere Festival, definitely wear pink shades.
Zimmermann goes for the early 70s look at Roskilde Festival 2010.
Most excellent sunglasses vibe in this dance floor shot at Elektronisk Karneval in Fælledparken, May 2010.
Le wears sunglasses AND swimming goggles to the RAW party 2006.
Jkamata has traveled from a dark future back to Stella Polaris 2007 to deliver a troubling message.
With a noteworthy attention to detail, Tøndering has made sure that his glasses matches his shirt that matches the trailer that matches the brand of his drink. Casually fractalizing the universe at Roskilde Festival 2010.
Hjeppe Mann – wearing optimistic yellow shades – shares all his secrets about a modern life without a smartphone at the Tanzwütze stage, Fusion 2019.
Santa Claus wears sunglasses at Turmbühne 2013. (This turned out to be the most exhausting costume to wear ever, by the way. At a festival packed with unicorns, pink elephants, fairies and hundreds of other mythical creatures, Santa Claus just appealed to absolutely EVERYONE. Do you need human contact? Do you want hundreds and hundreds of strangers to talk to you with great enthusiasm, all day? Get yourself a Fusion ticket and jump into a Santa Claus suit. You will not walk alone.)
Probably the coolest pic in this selection. Red-mirrored sunglasses adds a perfect vibe to this Turmbühne shot: Kind of menacing and also action-movie-like but fun at the same time.
Oddly similar body postures but very different sunglasses. Walking between music stages at Somewhere Festival 2016.
Neo hides his friendly face behind a pair of supervillain glasses, dark as black ice. An otherwise happy moment at Distortion 2022.
Speaking of supervillain-y sunglasses: Behind Friendly Sommer and Friendly Daniel, check out David’s glasses: Pitch-black portals to a dark, alternate universe.
Svingsen steals Lewis’ sunglasses at Roskilde 2006.
Let’s end this on a sweet, summer-y note: Ginda wears discreetly glittery glasses to the dance floor at So Verbot.

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines

Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

Ravers Are the Experts: We Love Machines

Posted on December 19, 2022     5 Comments

Ravers love machines, more than most people, and we are really, really good at it. We are probably the best on the planet at loving machines, because we get such incredible amounts of fun out of them.

You could argue that gamers are just as good as ravers at having fun with machines. I have more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, and the game-o-sphere is EXCELLENT at squeezing fun out of technology, for sure.

Here I am, having fun with a game inside an HTC Vive.
And here I am, flying a plane inside the PSVR, which was EXTREMELY fun – at the GDC in Cologne, 2014.
But this is what having fun with machines looks like from the outside for gamers. (This is Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, 2014.
And this is what having fun with machines looks like from the outside for ravers. The ravers win. Again. (This is Turmbühne af Fusion, 2016).

If you haven’t read my article describing the similarities between the gaming world and the rave-o-sphere, you absolutely have to: Gamers and Ravers: The Amazing Similarities Between the Two Worlds.

Yes, go on. Read it!

Here’s what Turmbühne at Fusion looks like at night, like a spaceship has landed in the middle of the giant dance floor. So much machine fun. (I only use my own photos on these pages (or sometimes photos taken by people I know), but If you want to see some depictions of what the massive machinery of Turmbühne actually looks like when you are there, taken by a proper camera (that can catch all the details) and not just my iPhone, check these pics out.)

And I recommend that you watch my video of ravers at Boom having fun with machines at nighttime (or maybe it’s the machines having fun with the ravers): Boom festival 2022: Out playing with the night animals

Here’s 2000F loving the machine buttons at an Ohoi! party in 2004. Pic by Vitus.
Here are some fusionists enjoying the yellow submarine machine at the Tanzwütze Floor in 2018.
No one is happier close to lots of machines than Stebbing. No one! Look at his happy machine smile! Private party, June 2021. (This pic is taken about an hour before Christian Eriksen suffered a heart attack on the pitch during the Euros. Eriksen now has a matchbox-sized defibrillator machine pacing his heart, which is quite techno, really).
Four ravers are enjoying a light machine at the Henry’s Dream festival, 2014.
Yo Akim behind a classic machine: The Roland 909!
Here’s Danny, fixing a machine at Fusion 2007.
Chriszka plays her favorite jungle tunes on this magic machinery.
This digital camera already looks like a rare machine. As far is I remember, we are at Seebühne. This is taken with my Olympus Digital Camera. Fusion 2009.
A bunch of tireless ravers dancing to fast machine beats by (and on) a big red machine – next to the windmill machines. This is the Distortion afterparty, June 2022. A wild and memorable event.
Emok is explaining the exciting details of what is going on inside his Clash of Clans machine to an eager crowd on their way to Fusion 2014.
Testing some truly weird workout machines in China.
Sulu excitedly takes a picture of the pig soon to be eaten with his picture machine at the Hifly Pigfest.
All dj’s love machines. Here’s 2000F playing on the machines next to a big machine at the RAW After After Party, 2007.
And here’s the grill set-up inside the big yellow machine at the RAW After After Party 2007.
Anton, probably fixing a music playlist for the camp on his computer at Fusion 2009.
Two happy fusionists, showing off their wondrous pocket machines at the Sonnendeck stage on Fusion, 2018.
Lene catches a romantic moment in nature with her selfie machine at the Somewhere Festival 2017.
Chriszka and Rasmus pose in front of Jonas’ Click Machine after the Jeff Mills party at Culture Box, 2006.
Bjørn Svin, inside a hologram – on stage at Kulturværftet during the visual concert project Silicium. Photo by Mathias Vejerslev. You can read the article I wrote (in Danish) about the hologram concert here: Mennesker, alger og hologrammer (the link to the magazine doesn’t work anymore, though).
Here’s Chriszka, flying a FPV drone for the first time. Extreme machine fun! August 2018.
Being a raver, Chriszka loves the virtual reality machines more than most gamers. Here we are, walking through the horror corridors in a Virtualizer (which allows you to walk inside VR) at GDC Europe, 2014.
Here’s an actual robot built by kitchen utensils, taking a walk at Fusion, 2012. ❤ I LOVE THIS!

Intermezzo: If you are confused about ravers loving BOTH nature AND machines with such intensity, dive deep into that confusion and find the small computer hero that Chriszka has hidden deep inside her drawing ‘The Garden’ (2017):

Chriszka skiing downhill through a forest of mushrooms, which is an important skill as a raver – at the VRUnicorns offices.
Chriszka and Mariii use the time traveling machine to travel back to previous parties for a bit – before embarking on new adventures: This is the night of Jungle Bells 2005!
Nico Defrost plans important stuff with his planning machine on Christiania.
Here’s Chriszka, sucking the new generation into her Fun Game Machine World like a pied piper – in 2011.
Ah yes, don’t forget, there’s a dark side to the machines as well. Here’s Niels, being sucked into the camera machine on a New Year’s Eve, while people have fun around him.
Here’s Oli, getting sucked into the Distraction Machine on Fusion, 2011.
Here’s Lars, trying to have an important and heartfelt conversation during the wonderful sunrise session at the Distortion Final Party 2022, but Tim is far, far away, hypnotized by his Distraction Machine.
Here’s two grown-ups having an exciting conversation using their hands (which means that they communicate directly from their soul – as we learnt yesterday) – but Young Haddock misses all this, sucked into his Distraction Machine. Kødbyen 2022.
Here’s Bernd Knys missing all the rain-fueled fun of the Fusion surroundings because of the Distraction Machine. Fusion, 2011.
Bo tries to suck Sisse into his Distraction Machine at Byhaven.
Emok is still stuck in his Clash of Clans machine. People gather to watch the battle.
Chriszka, having cartoonish fun inside her first Oculus experience. This is the opposite of a Distraction Machine.

Info from the internet robots
To end this selection, I got some interesting information from the internet robots today, and it seems like a perfect time to share it:

The most popular post from all the seasons of JUngLEkalenderen ever is…. drumroll… The 13 Best Darkside Jungle Tunes Ever. People just keep reading that one. Darkside jungle lovers from all over the planet, unite! 🙂

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands

Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

How to be a Raver: The Powers of the Hands

Posted on December 18, 2022     6 Comments

JUngLEkalenderen loves the hands of skillful dj’s and anything made by hand, really. We like vinyls picked by hand at the record shop and mixed by hands on the decks.

Tim Driver looks at the power of his hands at the Distortion Final Party 2007.

I have written hundreds of articles on electronic music, but the ONE article that I keep jumping back to is the article on Son Kite, describing the dark side of digitalization: The loss of our physical connection to the vinyls (and the stressful implications of the endless abundance in the digital realm – you can read it here): The illusions of the big machinery.

I have also written hundreds of articles on computer games, but I have returned to one indie game in particular several times, writing articles on it in both Berlingske and Weekendavisen: The computer game ‘The Dream Machine’ (a masterpiece), built entirely by hand by two dedicated Swedes. (I will post the article at the end of this, after all the pictures).

More hand power, expressing the soul: I like the powers of the hand so much that I have decided, again and again and again, to paint fractal-like complexities by hand. To show the computers who is boss. This is me and The WipeOut painting after about 20 hours of work.

And then there’s all the hand signs
Anyone who has followed JUngLEkalenderen through the seasons (this is the fifth season) will know about its big interest in body language and hand signs.

The first collection about the secret world of hand signs is from the first year of JUngLEkalenderen, 2014: How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special

This pic is from that collection. Dr. Disk throws a very complicated origami style hand sign at Collins’ and Colston’s birthday bash in Vega, Copenhagen 2007.

The year after, the How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special part II followed.

This is a pic rom THAT collection: Super sharp shooting at Tim Driver’s birthday party at Basement 2009.

Aaaaaand then: How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special Part III.

Probably my best hand sign pic from that entire year: Magical hand signs by three grown-up wizards at the Dyssen party 2007.

With all this in mind, let’s go deeper, again:

Earlier this year, I met the writer Tine Frellesen at at social event at my yoga studio. We started talking, and it turned out she had just published a book called “Håndkraft”. Obviously a title that I was immediately very excited about.

It’s an entire book about the intelligence of the hands, their creative and healing powers, hand gestures and speaking with your hands, the electromagnetic hands, the hasta mudras of yoga (hand positions to control the flow of energy in the body), what happens in our hands and fingers when we touch things, etc. etc. etc. A great idea for a junglistic Christmas present: https://muusmann-forlag.dk/haandkraft/

So let’s dive back into our beloved world of hand signs, looking at it through this new lens:

This is the author of Håndkraft, Tine Frellesen, in London 1996. A very junglistic year in a junglistic city.
Obviously, because this is JUngLEkalenderen and nothing is random and everything is connected, Tine Frellesen’s brother is Peter Candy from Koxbox (a Danish psychedelic trance duo formed in 1990). Peter left Koxbox in the end of the 90s but toured the world with Frank E before that, playing everywhere from Burning Man to Roskilde Festival (1995).
This is what Koxbox sounded like in 1995. (Koxbox still exists, now with Frank E as the only member).
One of the many things you can read about in Håndkraft is the fact that we have 2000 receptors in EACH fingertip, providing us with tons of sensuous information. So much stuff happens when we touch things. A study from Yale University found out that people holding a warm beverage in their hands felt greater sympathy towards other people in their surroundings than the people holding a cold beverage. Ohoi! has the right idea serving hot glögg at their Julebass parties, then. Here’s Ida, experimenting with her feelings towards other people at a secret outdoor party, 2022.

Another chapter in the Håndkraft book is about speaking with your hands. An expertise area for JUngLEkalenderen.

The book explains that if what we say with our words and what we say with our hands contradict each other, our audience, the people listening to us and looking at us, will believe what our hands say. Because our hand movements are instinctive and comes directly from our ‘unfiltered inner selves’. Here’s Dalge and Thomas, expressing their complex inner selves at Turmbühne, Fusion 2014.
Here’s a very common sign in JUngLEkalenderen, done by Paulina. It’s the sign of victory and the sign of peace. It is ALSO the sign of the smile – in Japan.
The V sign with the back of the hand turned outwards is more of an insult, meaning ‘I will defeat you’, originating from archery in the 1400s. It’s a theory, anyways. Here’s Disguised Chriszka showing both versions of the V sign at once, one in black, one in white.
I have my own theory that in rave culture, this sign means ‘things are going really well’. This is So Verbot, 2022, a party where everything went really really well for many many hours.
Here’s a double peace sign thrown by Atle while Wilcks adds to the positive vibes with a friendly jazz hand gesture. Sulu’s Birthday Bash 2022.
The positive thumbs up sign originates from the gladiator fights at Colosseum, meaning that the audience decide that the gladiator lives. Here’s Fred Alert gaining extra life from the ice bath.
Here’s the positive thumbs up combined with the also very common hand sign in the rave-o-sphere, the sign of the horns. The sign of fierceness and nonconformity.
And here it is again, used by Svingsen at Roskilde Festival 2010.
And here it is again, used by Peter at Byhaven, 2021.
…and here they are again, in a complicated double version at Orientkaj Din Ven I Solen 2022.

The hand horn signs are used so often by ravers that I made an entire How to be a Junglist: The Hand Horn SpeciaI collection. But after reading Håndkraft I feel inspired and have decided that I will try to introduce the Hawaiian Shaka sign just for the sake of variation – extending the thumb and the little finger instead. Yes, it’s the ‘I will call you’ sign, but also the Hawaiian sign of friendship, love and a relaxed lifestyle.
For the sake of illustration, here’s a super friendly hand horn from Loke at Elektronisk Karneval 2010.
The sign of the open, weapon-less hand is a universal sign of good intentions and friendliness. Here’s Dalge, showing his friendly intentions on the dance floor at So Verbot.
And here’s another hand of friendliness extended from the crowd at Elektronisk Karneval 2010.
Yes, the rave-o-sphere is filled to the brim with mystical sign language. Here’s a Powerful Team Hand Sign from Phono and Kemi at Elektronisk Karneval.
And here’s a playful provocative little something from Advokatorex at Stella Polaris 2007.
And the rockstar one by Fabio Fusco at Turmbühne at Fusion.
And a secretive one by Elisabeth at the Vibskov show in Den Grå Hal 2008.
Lulu and Jonas signal that they belong to a secret cult – at Elektronisk Karneval 2010.
And this is Svingsen creating an ‘I am very hungry’ sign after the Jeff Mills party in 2006.
Let’s move on to another part of the book. The Mystical Hand! Exploring the healing powers of the hand, the hand as protector and the hasta mudras. Many traditions focus on the energies of the hand and its supernatural and magical aspects. A deeper knowledge of this throws a new light on many pics from all the seasons of JUngLEkalenderen. But here’s a classic that has always been about magic: The spell casting thrown by Mike Sheridan at a pre-party before we all head to the Distortion Final Party 2007.
Here’s Mrtn Rasmsn healing his own heart region with a super powerful Mystical Hand sign at Fusion, 2010.
Here’s Lewis healing Svingsen at the Raw After After Party, August 2007.
And here’s Mariii, simply deciding to pray (the ultimate hand power move!).
Here’s Chriszka and Nufound traveling back in time in front of Chriszka’s piano, creating a hand-played piano sample moment while listening to jungle, thus combining one of their favourite tunes from the 90s with the tradition of the 1800s where the piano became the gathering point for family and friends in private homes.
And just look at the deep happiness of Katja when we gave her an instrument to play by hand for her birthday in 2014.

Creating things by hand and from scratch grant us a deep partnership with the objects in our surroundings. And being active and creative with our hands prevents depression. Yes, these are quotes from Håndkraft.

Just look at these two happy ravers creating a moment with their own hands at Hangaren.

Phew, this collection was hard work and my hands need to fold themselves around a warm cup of something to spoil my 20.000 finger tip receptors. The miracle of the Merkel cells, the Meissner’s corpuscles, the Ruffini endings! (Yes, it’s all in the book. Read, and re-read JUngLEkalenderen with new eyes).

See you tomorrow where things take a very surprising turn, of course.

(Here’s the short extract from my article on The Dream Machine, the hand-built (and also quite psychedelic) indie game (highly recommended)):

“Obviously you can create some really beautiful things with all our digital tools, but they are often completely soul-less with their smooth commercialized vibe. Physical objects, like a wooden spoon made carefully by hand, seems to give you so much more, because someone has spent time and put some love into making it. A commercial doesn’t give you anything, it just wants to squeeze itself into your head and take up space”.

Here’s a link to The Dream Machine on Steam (the two first chapters).

And here’s a link to the book Håndkraft.

If you want more psytrance, go to Trance Tales: The Ozora Adventures
(also known as: 10 ways to recognize a psytrancer).

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:

December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix 
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods

Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

Chriszka on Twitter

Portfolio - articles on print