Ravers are the Experts: Surviving the long, dark tunnel

Junglists ought to be the species most fit to survive the Scandinavian winter, being “long dark tunnel” creatures and all that.

But every year, once November hits, I end up in the same vicious circle (pun intended): 

All of a sudden, it’s shockingly cold and dark, which makes me feel tired in the morning, which makes me skip yoga class, which makes me feel more tired the next morning, which makes me skip yoga class again, and on and on it goes, unless I intentionally stop it.

As any raver (and any yogi) will know, the only way out of this vicious circle is movement. I am very aware of this, and that is why I WILL be back on the yoga mat on Tuesday. And why I force myself to exit goblin mode and leave the house in the darkest month, even after sunset, not just to go to work or to yoga, but to join the annual julefrokost obligations.

So here I am, successfully out, surrounded by fellow junglists, at this year’s Julebass Julefrokost – an annual time travelling event.

(If you would like to listen to the ‘long dark tunnel’ sample before you read on, just to get in the mood, you can listen to ‘Valley of the Shadows’ by Origin Unknown right here).

Here’s another pic from the table. Notice Vitus, a rare guest, in the spotlight to the left, as he will become very important later on in this post.

This year, after the main course, we dove into the gift-stealing dice game terningespil.

And I won this glittery masterpiece of a printed oldskool jungle t-shirt, made by Vitus himself, featuring a gold-lettered print of Nis, Caspar, JimmyF and MCHypa (a very oldskool lineup):

This is not just a t-shirt. This is a time portal.

So let’s use this golden occasion to revisit the past and dig up some winter survival wisdom: How did we cope in the long dark tunnel of November, say, 20 years ago?

We can’t google this or ask ChatGPT, because stuff we did back then is NOT ON THE INTERNET. Fortunately, as per usual in JUngLEkalenderen, we can dive straight back into the past using magical time travelling objects like

1) my extensive selection of super old raver photos
2) portals in the floor, or
3) an old issue of the monthly Citadel magazine.

So, what WERE we up to back in November 2005, 20 years ago? How did we struggle through the longest month of the year?

Opening the November 2005 edition of Citadel, a copy of the magazine that is EXACTLY 20 years old, we find this article on page 24 (text by me, photo by Vitus, LOL. Time travel is such a trip.)
Zoom to read:

Evidently, I am COMPLETELY pumped by the most recent DNBZone booking (Temper D) – and heavily promoting the next DNBZone event at Nadsat.

So, let’s do a deeper time traveling dive into these very events: First some snapshots from the Temper D party at Culture Box (October 2005), and then, some pics from the DNBZone party at Nadsat (November 2005).

Yup, it is a fact: This is the headliner of the night, Temper D, behind the decks at Culture Box. On the mainfloor. This is what Culture Box looked like 20 years ago.
More proof: This IS what it looked like. Here is Nis, on the decks before Temper D. Obviously, the entire scenery looked more festive IRL, without the blitz from the camera, LOL. But still. Lots have happened since then.
A glimpse of the mainfloor of Culture Box, 20 years ago. Check out the monitors! The disco ball! The white walls! At the front, Sofus the Shape-shifter and Advokatorex engage in some time travel magic.
Just to calm some of our most shocked readers down, this is what the mainfloor ACTUALLY looked like at Culture Box 20 years ago – without the blitz from the digital camera.

As it often happened back then, we threw a DNBZone pre-party at Svingsen’s Jungle Hut.

Being wise, and knowing what it takes to survive in the long, dark tunnel, we made sure to eat plenty of sushi-sourced vitamin D first. And adding bubbles, for sparkly fun.
As per usual, Nis doesn’t care about our refined taste in wines and cremants and champagnes and has brought his own drink. Option two: He might just be staying sober for his upcoming set.
Here’s a small selection of the pre-party people, getting ready to leave: Nis, Mariii, June, Asger, Mugge.
Walking to the party from Svingsen’s Jungle Hut. Evidently, my personal strategy for surviving the impending doom of the incoming November in 2005 (apart from bubbles and sushi) was to just keep wearing clothes fit for summer, which means BARE LEGS. But obviously, this is also a strategic junglist move: I know we’re going to bust some moves on the dancefloor, which means sweating, and Svingsen’s Jungle Hut is a two minute and thirty-one seconds walk from Culture Box. Who needs leggings.
Twenty years ago, carrying the vinyls to the party was just part of the deal. Here, somehow, Svingsen landed the task and doesn’t seem bothered by it at all.

If you want more awesome pics from the Temper D party, jump to my Blasts from the Past: Temper D post from the JUngLEkalender anno 2015. (Whauw. Jumping from post to post in JUnGLEkalenderen has become time travel in itself now. I knew this would happen, but still).

Blasts from the Past: Temper D

Our current JUngLEkalender post anno 2025 will move on from Temper D to the DNBZone party at Nadsat, November 2005.

This is what the dancefloor looked like at Nadsat, during a DNBZone party in 2005. We all look really happy which means we have cracked the code of November survival: MOVEMENT. Photos: Miss Popo.
Consider the magic of this twenty-year cycle: in late November 2025, I win a glittery time-travel T-shirt featuring the name JimmyF, made by Vitus. And here they are: JimmyF on the left, Vitus second from the right, in November 2005, exactly twenty years earlier.
Spot your oldskool raver. DJ Drop himself! Nico DeFrost! Sakena!

Fun intermezzo! – featuring Vinyl Troubles of the Copenhagen Electronic Music Scene anno 2005.
Nadsat was a very new venue in November 2005: Bezz opened Nadsat in the summer earlier that year. And here is an article about the opening of the Ameoba record store in Nadsat – from the October 2005 issue of Citadel – featuring Bezz and Martin Decara:

Amoeba opened after three of the biggest vinyl stores of Copenhagen, including the legendary Loud Music, had closed, and Martin Decara had this to say about the Amoeba opening:

“I’m convinced that [a record store] has a positive, ripple effect on the entire city’s music scene and evolution. You could say I did it partly for the sake of the electronic community, but also because I have a personal interest in staying connected with other DJs. That’s something I really value.”

Back to the dancefloor where everyone is jamming, creating our own energy system to blast our way through the Scandinavian winter, looming ahead.
Donna has definitely found the right joyful vibe through the long dark November tunnel.
And CRS, warm and happy, has definitely found it, too.
Two Long Dark Tunnel creatures look optimistically into the future. Photos: Miss Popo.

So, to sum up: This is how we survive the darkest time of the year:
1) MOVEMENT, first and foremost. Keep raving, keep dancing, keep yoga’ing.
2) Get enough vitamin D (and drink some bubbles)
3) Learn from the past (we have survived November before. We can do it again).
4) Stay optimistic (legendary stuff (like record shops) die – but new stuff emerges).

Do you need more survival strategies for November, the darkest time of the year?

5) Once more, we go back to November 2005! What a month for Copenhagen junglists. Watch how we not only survived, but THRIVED, on November 5th, at the legendary Ohoi! party at Stengade, featuring Hype: Dancefloors, moshpits and junglistic crowdsurfing. SWEATY TIMES! Here’s an appetizer from the iconic photo selection – once again by Vitus:


6) Listen to my newest mix, an hour of carefully handpicked darkside jungle and drum’n’bass with eerie horror vibes and lots of movie samples, perfect for the shocking November darkness – from my last visit to CRS’ Random Friday show:

7) Stay warm and cosy with some more raver knowledge from last year’s JUngLEkalender: Ravers are the Experts: Keeping warm at all times

More time travel?
Dive into the world of rave t-shirts: How to be a junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
Read more about dj Nis: “I get goosebumps on my legs thinking about that party”
Scroll through all JUnglekalender entries ever made: JUngLEkalenderen

This is the way. Fearlessly pointing into the long dark tunnel.

Bonus material from 2025:
Here’s a longer video of what went down at this year’s Julebas-julefrokost table, early hours (after winning the legendary t-shirt, my filming stopped).

Category: JUngLEkalenderen, Junglism     Tags: , , , ,

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