Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)

Posted on December 6, 2022     18 Comments

I’m intensely attracted to stuff that glows in the dark. This is putting it mildly. When I see something sparkly or fluoresecent, I will immediately feel an urge to move towards it – and, if possible – dance below it (if it’s a main floor deco). Or in front of it (if it’s a backdrop). Or in the middle of it, if it’s a laser. Or just wear it, if it’s a t-shirt with an alien reflex on the front. Anything shiny and bright, anything neon.

Deep, fluorescent colours have a hypnotising effect on me. I gravitate towards them, like an insect. Yes, I know, it’s totally a trance thing. But it’s also completely jungle, since some of my best Glow in the Dark Moments of Complete Overwhelm have been smack bang in the middle of the giant, green laser at the London Astoria, while Darren Jay or Kenny Ken was mixing, back in the 90s. Oh, what a magnificent spot. Eyes were completely hypnotised, as well as the ears.

So I’m dedicating today, a day in the middle of one of the darkest weeks of the entire Scandinavian year, to Stuff That Glows in the Dark. Because this gives me the opportunity to squeeze some healthy colours like THESE into your eyes. And some fond memories into mine. This is the insanely hypnotizing glow-in-the-dark deco at the Dance Temple, the main floor of The Boom Festival in Portugal.

But we don’t have to stick to psytrance. This also gives me a COMPLETELY appropriate opportunity to, once more, squeeze in this darkside masterpiece with one of the most loved jungle samples of all time:


Felt that I was in this long dark tunnel with a very very bright light at the end so brilliant, it was more brilliant than the sun.

That’s what I mean. Glow-in-the-dark is built into the junglistic DNA. So here we go.

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A bunch of ravers gather around a shiny object like night insects at the RAW After After Party in 2007. Thanks to jonask.dk for the pic.
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As you can see, junglist are naturally attracted to any kind of light.
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And light is naturally attracted to junglists. Especially that green laser light. This is DNBZone at Culture Box, 2006. Thanks to Miss Popo for the pic.
Ravers gather by the ocean to look at a very very bright shiny object in the distance at the Somewhere Festival in 2016.
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Ravers light their own little glittery hand-held fires that glow in the dark.
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The Jungle Monster casually plays with fire at the Ohoi! party at Basement, June 2004. Props to jonask.dk for the pic.
Ravers dance below a glowing string of fire at the Tanzwüzte floor on Fusion, 2019.
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Whohooo, shiny reflex adding some instant excitement to a dark dance floor. This is at the very first Public Service Festival (2004?) in Strandgade by Luftkastellet, with Trentemøller playing on stage and Ole’s clothing playing with your eyes.
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Chriszka the Time Traveller has found some interesting door-opening lights to play with at a bar in Shanghai. They actually open the door, that’s the trick.

Okay, that was clearly a “Sesam Sesam luk dig op!”-moment right there. For more door-opening magic and the scary horror tale of Aladdin and the 40 Thieves (my first favourite record ever), go to The DIY Test: Is Your Child a Junglist?

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Asmus is suuuuper casual about his amazing glow-in-the-dark-raver-t-shirt at Zerrbild, Culture Box, 2007.
Ravers swim with objects that glow in the dark at Strøm Festival 2019. A SUPER awesome night for someone like me! The lasers! The water! The glow-in-the-dark play toys!
Press play for some laser movement. Glowing laser fun at Frederiksberg Svømmehal at the Strøm Festival 2019.
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Tim Driver curiously inspects Chriszka the Time Traveller’s amazing glow-in-the-dark time travelling portal device. This is after dinner and before jetting off to the Birthday Bash at Culture Box.
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Everybody loved that magic little thing. Glowing portals. So much fun, forever.
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Chriszka the Time Traveller and Svingsen spot a super nice glowing object in the distance.
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Junglist cozy up around their own oldskool glow-in-the-dark creation, somewhere secret.
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An insane glow worm attacks people at the Muffler party.
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I’m just slowing down and having a tiny nap here, at the Silobash, but there it is, the MAGNIFICENT REFLEX ALIEN GLOWING IN THE DARK!
Back to psytrance! – because no-one is better at glow-in-the-dark-stuff than this crowd. This is the insanely awesome projection mapping on the tower next to the main floor at the Boom Festival 2022.
Watch the video I made of all the glow-in-the-dark animals playing at night time at Boom Festival 2022 here.
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To the great pleasure of Chriszka the Time Traveller, Elisabeth goes completely psytrance after a concert in Tivoli.
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Reflexes, the instant mood booster!
Mathias lights a tiny fire at Nemoland.
Raver silhouettes gather in front of a shiny object at the So Verbot party 2022.
SØS plays underground (and under lasers) at the Strøm Festival.
ALL kinds of light imaginable at Christiania’s birthday celebrations 2022.

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

Want to see more pics from the RAW After After Party? Go right here.

Or how about more rare pics from the Public Service festival? Go to the amazing collection of The Secret Junglists.  

Did you miss a day of JUngLE? Go here for the complete collection of #JUngLEkalenderen, both past and present.

How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons

Posted on December 5, 2022     19 Comments

Anything that floats in the air above our heads seem to be an absolute must wherever ravers congregate. The more colourful, the better.

The oddness of something magically suspended in midair seems to be part of the attraction. The playfulness of grown-ups just loving balloons is another part of it. Here, a red balloon floats above Chriszka and Mariiiii (and the reflex alien) at the Silo Bash. Pic by jonask.dk.
And then there’s the obvious practical reason: If you are lost on a massive festival dance floor, you can find your friends again if they brought balloons. Here’s a super classic raver ballon at Fusion 2012.
OR, in very rare cases: The balloons can hide your friends. A swarm of balloons have taken over someone’s head at Dollars’ Campingvogn Party in 2007.
Someone made sure that a lot of colourful flags would mark the limits of Sulu’s Birthday Bash in August 2022. So that 1) people can find the party and 2) people will know when they have drifted too far away from the party.
2000F’ hair gets stuck in a flag at Sulu’s Birthday Bash 2022.
Just a reminder that 2000F also had hair that things could get stuck in all the way back in 1995. Dancing away at Jungle Fever IV at Operaen, Christiania.
Neon-coloured inflatables can create a bouncy safe space around your body on any dance floor. This is Elektronisk Karneval 2008.
Lau plays with balloons like a proper grown-up at Dollars’ party, August 2007.
Ravers bringing find-us-on-the-dancefloor flags (and inflatable flamingos) to the opening of Tanzwüzte at Fusion.
Someone brought a St. Pauli balloon to Roskilde Festival 2007.
Survival inflatables being inflated at the scorching hot Boom Festival 2012.
Someone brought a massive inflatable slide to Elektronisk Karneval 2007.
Strange balloon meet-up at Roskilde Festival 2013.
Chilling out with balloons just past dusk at Fusion 2019.
Tobias generously creates a big balloon for the crowd to play with at Elements 2022.
You probably thought that that was the biggest balloon in this collection, but this one is just a tad bigger. Massive blue balloon walks by at Roskilde Festival 2007.
Mads is surrounded by a magical necklace of tiny flags at Elektronisk Karneval 2005.
The most massive floating flag at the entrance of Sonnendeck, Fusion 2019.


For more raver playfulness, read Blasts from the Past: Back When Masks Were Fun

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

How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special

Posted on December 2, 2022     20 Comments

So, we have established that ravers are always right and thus probably the most highly evolved species on this planet (along with dolphins, the ravers of the sea).

If we, the ravers, were only completely in charge, the future would be so bright. So magnificently bright that we would have to wear sunglasses to stare straight at it.

So that’s what we will do today. Slow down, chill out, put on the shades and enjoy this selection of sun-soaked raver snapshots from all over the world, from China to Turmbühne.

Lewis and Wilcks are hit by the bright smiles of the ladiiiieeeees and take cover behind their cool shades. Piles of fun at Distortion 2010.
I have never, not once, managed to take a photo of Jacob Phono where he doesn’t look like a complete superstar. He could pick his nose in one and still look cool. Some people have just got that je ne sais quoi. Backstage’y vibes at Elektronisk Karneval, 2010!
Sensible Svingsen wears sunglasses AND applies sunscreen to the head of Tom Collins. Roskilde Festival, 2006.
Rare footage! Mariii caught on my mobile camera that was accidentally filming. We have just arrived at the Distortion street party, Nørrebro edition, 2010.
Check out the dangerous look of Sim’s sunglasses. We are somewhere in Beijing, 2004.
Chriszka approves of Sune’s mirrored sunglasses on the Turmbühne floor, one marvelous afternoon at Fusion, 2007. Has there ever been an afternoon at Fusion that wasn’t marvelous? Well – this one was PARTICULARLY good.
Fred Alert wears his shades well at Orientkaj – Din Ven I Solen. A spontaneous visit that turned out to be longer than expected and a very good idea.
Probably the coolest sunshade photo in this selection. Worn by Jkamata, stylish as always.
Two oldskool junglists cover their eyes and soak up the magic at the Kukulcán Temple, the cosmic pyramid at Chichen Itza. Praise to the feathered serpent,  the god of rain, wind, storms, and life! And definitely jungle.

Notice how the extra large diva sunglasses makes Anna look extremely elegant, even in a dusty hotdog moment at Roskilde 2010.
Meters and meters above everyone else, Frede towers with sunglasses and wine – on a wonderful afternoon at Kaj Din Ven I Solen.
Despite their hyper-fit jungle legs, Chriszka and Svingsen are completely exhausted behind their weird sunglasses after a steep climb on the Great Wall of China. 2004.

Holger plots world domination or just chills out completely behind his shades at Roskilde Festival 2006.
Michael wears ultra black eye-catching ‘anything-can-happen-behind-these-shades’ sunglasses during the morning party vibes at the Distortion Ø Final Party – 2022. A most excellent morning that never ended and continued to surprise everyone. At least the ones who had the endurance to find the secret but not so secret official afterparty….
Here we are, sunglasses everywhere, at an absolutely awesome daytime party at Hangaren just after (most of the) lockdowns were lifted in Denmark. The daytime parties were the ONLY good thing to come out of those lockdowns. What happened to daytime parties?! I WANT THEM BACK!
A wonderfully sunglass-y moment at Turmbühne, on another one of those magical and colorful afternoons at Fusion Festival.

Click here for the complete collection of #JUngLEkalenderen entries, ever – both from past seasons and present.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives

Posted on December 1, 2022     21 Comments

I’m sure you have all noticed that things seem to have sped up immensely in our universe. Just as you have gotten used to one change, a new one is mixed into the field. Interesting times.

Obviously, proper ravers have been training for these conditions for their entire existence, since we prefer our lives to run at 140 beats per minute and beyond anyways…

…but surprisingly to some, we are experts in slowing down, too.

And here’s the thing: The only way to thrive under these new conditions of the cosmos is to slow down. And if you don’t figure out how to slow down your life on your own, the universe will do it for you. And that can be a bit unpleasant.

So let’s avoid that: Take the wheel and slow down everything on purpose. Yup, I know it’s difficult, and I still practice it on the daily.

To help you out, I have gathered some photographic inspiration from all over the rave-o-sphere: Here’s a sweet selection of ravers slowing down in the middle of everything like proper experts. Enjoy it! (slowly).

Chriszka and Tim slow down happily on the floor in the Jungle Hut storage room after Jungle Bells 2007.
CRS slows down completely in the middle of our Grooverider campaign fiest, even though he is actually wearing one of his Freddy Krueger tops and thus shouldn’t go to sleep at all, really, if he wants to survive…. (This is after Jungle Bells at Culture Box, December 2007. Nis was dj’ing, and apparently that party was SO INCREDIBLY GOOD that 30 people decided to party on in Svingsen’s Jungle Hut at Adelgade. And that’s when the Free Grooverider stuff happened…).

Tiny fun fact: We spent a lot of hours at Culture Box back then. The day BEFORE Jungle Bells, I was at Culture Box, too, dancing to Matthew Dear. In my diary notes, I have written ‘Flotteste dj ever‘, hahaha).
Kristobal slows down after New Year’s Eve festivities in 2007. What a year.
Sommer, David and Hans slow down handsomely in the afternoon sun at Slotskuren 2013.
Alex feels his brain slowing down at Roskilde Festival and attaches himself to Thomas’ leg, like a plant, to not get lost. Just in case.
Polle slows down a bit in the middle of another party that no-one wanted to leave (post-Jeff Mills at Culture Box – May 2006).
Someone slows down next to Sulu backstage at the Kraken Party at Stengade (October 2007).
Tom Collins chills out completely in the middle of Stella Polaris (which is actually what the organizers love to see. Well done, Collins). This is August 2007. WHAT A YEAR.
Stine slows down a lot next to Chriszka and Vagn at RAW 2006.
Ronin slows down between the tents at Fusion 2010. Obviously things got lively later on.
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Mathias slows down in the sunset at the ØVSA stage – Distortion 2022.

Laura suddenly slows down immensely next to Carsten Jensen and MHM1. Stella Polaris 2007. Bonus info: Carsten COULD have been taking a photo of sleepy Tom Collins (check the Tom Collins photo again to see what I mean).
Chriszka slows down in a forward fold on her ‘Island of the Gods’ yoga mat.
Christian slows himself down with a happy smirk and a cold beer next to Turmbühne at Fusion, 2011.
Svingsen and Niels slow down in beautiful synchronicity at the table. There’s a pretty good chance we are listening to some awesome music, by the way.
Kresten and Paulina slow down in camp at Fusion 2012.
Junglists slow down chaotically on the floor after a fun-filled moving day.
Ronin slows down on the shoulder of Lewis at the Raw After After Party of August 2007. (WHAT A YEAR!)

Right, so that was proof that ravers are, in fact, experts at slowing down, even in fast-paced situations. Always look at what proper ravers are doing if you find the times we live in confusing and troubling. Ravers are always doing the right thing. We all wish more people knew this.


DO YOU FEEL INSPIRED?

Do you want to slow down some more? Here’s a genuine recommendation: Get yourself a yoga mat and get started!

Those dancing muscles shaped by endless techno fun need to get stretched. And your sitting-down-in-front-of-a-computer-screen-all-day-because-of-work-muscles need stretching EVEN MORE!

If you, like me, want to be visually entertained (and motivated!) while doing yoga, check out my hand-painted yoga mats right here and choose your favorite (maybe even for Christmas): Which one of my hand-painted yoga mats is perfect for you?

And no, I haven’t painted directly on the mats. My paintings (acrylics on canvas) are printed onto the mats by mat-printing experts. The one I’m practicing my backbend on is ‘Island of the Gods’ which I made specifically for hot yoga. The hotter it gets, the better it is. Like a junglist.

All the paintings (and all the yoga mats) are right here.

MORE STUFF!


SEE YOU TOMORROW!

My newest painting: WipeOut, a portal for your wall

Posted on January 28, 2022     Leave a Comment

Do you want a canvas art print of my latest work for your wall?


The video below features me and the art print on canvas of my newest painting, WipeOut, on a wooden frame, ready for your wall. 60 cm x 60 cm x 1 cm. For sale!

WipeOut is your very own meditation portal on the wall: Hypnotic and meditative.

WipeOut took me 57 hours to paint (acrylic on canvas), with 51427 small decisions along the way (a huge puzzle!) It’s inspired by light machines, moving techno visuals, the amazing powers of our brains and playing WipEout in virtual reality with my nephew and niece.

The art print is signed and numbered on the back of the canvas.

You can also buy it as an art print on paper (instead of on framed canvas) at a reduced price.

Link to my shopify page with more info: chriszka.myshopify.com

My thesis on psychedelic festivals: Festivals, flow machines and ‘fabeldyr’

Posted on December 20, 2020     Leave a Comment

Rave culture as ritual. Psychedelic festivals as flow machines and transformation rituals for the 21st century.
Christina Majcher. University of Copenhagen.

Rave culture likes to imagine itself as the direct continuation of prehistoric tribal rituals from thousands of years ago. And when attending psychedelic music festivals, ritualistic elements and tribal and religious imagery is everywhere: from temple-like dancefloors and totem poles to techno-shamanistic stagings of the dj’s.

This suggest that the festivals have strong ritualistic intentions. But can the festivals be considered actual contemporary rituals and rites of passage? This is what I explore in this thesis.

Read the full thesis here (in Danish): https://online.fliphtml5.com/mqanz/jwob/
(A translation to English is in the works).

Blasts from the Past: Forbidden Pleasures

Posted on December 3, 2020     Leave a Comment

Oooooh, do you remember those joyous days of the past, where you could go to paradise regularly and have the time of your life (guaranteed) with 70.000 other people?

Did we APPRECIATE THIS enough at the time? OH YES WE DID!
Do you remember those days where any kind of plastic cover attached to your head was FUN HAPPINESS plastic?
And when face masks were made out of fantasy animals and glitter?
And hugging was normal.
Hugging was everywhere.
And being allowed to enjoy big crowds of people was normal.
And dj’ing was normal.
Dj’s were everywhere.
(This is TrailerPark 2010).
And sitting close to your friends was normal.
Sitting close to your friends was in fact EXTREMELY normal.
Ooooooh, do you remember those days where you could just invite your friends over for a garden party?
Back then when it was super duper normal to just show up at the garden party and press your face up against other faces as many times as you wanted – to say hello or to show your enthusiasm or to whisper some interesting secrets or to take pictures or just because you felt like it.
Aaaah, those garden parties. Just put up some deco and let the vibe build up and chill out in the grass.
And get cosy by the pool.
And not worry about the amount of people showing up.
And light a fire when the sky turned dark blue.
And then dance some more, into the night.
Aaaaaaah, the good old days of the packed dance floors. So many of them. So packed.
Of course, we made sure to enjoy them fully, back then! Even though we didn’t know they would disappear.
Because they were so awesome. Oh, the happiness and the joy.
So many variations.
Daytime dancefloors. (Turmbühne, 2008).
Daytime dance floors, hot and enthusiastic version. (This is S.U.N, Hungary). Good times! This is why I prefer jungle and psytrance. PROPER MOVEMENT.
More daytime dance floors. Boom, 2012.
And night time dance floors. (This is a great ‘Spot a Junglist’ / ‘Spot a Psytrancer’ pic. Have fun.)

Crazy stuff happened back then, you wouldn’t believe… Sometimes people drank from the same bottle.

And laughed about it!
And people even touched each others’ hands all the time. Just like that. The mayhem.
Or each others’ elbows. Just like that.
Check out all the interesting meeting of hands in this fun little video of Classic DJ Problems at TrailerPark 2010.
Sometimes people used their hands just for fun.
All kinds of weird fun.
And people stuck their tongues out of their mouths.
Whenever they felt like it. Just living on the edge.

Aaaaaah, the good ol’ days where people just pressed their faces against each others faces.

So much face squeezing.
Endless amounts of face squeezing.
Happy, sweaty faces.
All the time.
Everywhere.
So many face squeeze variations.
Sometimes even in groups.
Sometimes in big groups. Open mouths and everything.
Ooooooh, the group hug expertise of the ravers! Look at the complexity and the spontaneity, COMBINED.
Only Vitus is worried about this group hug. (This is Docken, 2007).
JKamata also has a sudden weird feeling about all this facial contact. Where does this weird feeling come from? From the FUTURE? This is June, 2009.
Okay, worries in the dance are over. Super dangerous group hugging here!
Look at the lovely people not giving a toss. RAW, august 2009.
Aaaaaah, the group squeeeeezes. Post-dj-Hype in 2009 in dangerous Sweden.
Casual head squeezing, surrounded by thousands of people. Waiting for Roger Waters, 2006.
LOL. A classic overdoing-the-face-squeezing pic from 2005. But it’s so niiiiiiiice!

And do you remember all the kissing? So many raver kisses. Because that was just a normal thing to do.

Today, I saw a big, ugly sign on Istedgade saying “God jul og god afstand”. Read that again. That is offensively annoying. I need three raver kisses to recover from such an assault on my sensibilities.

Fusion, 2007.
Stella Polaris, the year of the hail storm.
Turmbühne, 2007.

Recently, Sune saw this horror of a sign (see below) in Copenhagen and took a photo, just to remember Dystopia.

We need three raver group hugs to recover from this.

Here is Sune, recovering.
Complex electric boogie group hugging. Learn from the masters.
Complicated horizontal group hugging.

So…. how do we squeeze something good out of 2020 – the most raver-hostile environment ever?

Well, here’s an absolute certainty: The parties are going to be EXCELLENT when they come back! Great music is made in dark times, and once we are allowed back on the dance floors, it will be like reuniting with the cosmos and a thousand friends and your own innermost self all at the same time.

We will all look and feel like this:

Nufie, the spirit animal of the raver of 2021, reunited with the vibes and the bass.
And like this. Nico, the spirit animal of the dj, back at work.
And like this.
And like this. (CRS is having himself a beautiful zen moment).
We will be dancing into the sunset and through the night and into the morning and hugging everyone, including people we don’t necessarily know (yet). So basically, we will be doing exactly what we used to do.
(This is Ozora, 2015, by the way. An incredibly beautiful festival. Just whauw.).

And just to put things into perspective, this is what Tim Driver said about his early early days of raving – back when proper techno parties were few and far between:

“Back then there weren’t that many parties to choose from. A month could easily pass between one techno party and the next. So when a techno rave was on, everyone showed up. It didn’t matter if it was techno or house or jungle or goa trance or whatever it was. It was just ”Let’s go!” no matter what.”

Words to remember in 2020….. AND you can use them as a fun thought experiment or meditation practice or whatever you need to lighten up these last (and dark) december days of this anti-raver year. Imagine that first proper rave some time in the future… where everyone shows up! 🙂

Meanwhile, here is youngster babyface Tim on his way to Mayday.

Alright, I have run out of time and stamina. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Forbidden Pleasures of the past. And I hope you are looking forward to indulging in them again.

If you want to celebrate my birthday some more, digitally… please enjoy my Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition.

And I think this would be a perfect time for you to read a few pages from my diary about my early years of raving. This is one of my personal favourite JUngLEkalender posts: The Jungle Diaries: Longing for the Tribe

Need more Forbidden Pleasures? I recommend Jungle Feelings. The Group Hug Special.
And the Jungle Feelings: The Love and Kisses Special
Or one of my favourite selections: Jungle Feelings: Magic on the Dancefloor

Need some proper psychedelic vibes? Join me for a trip to Ozora!

Did you like the photo of Tim Driver, Babyface Version? Read about Tim Driver’s first rave experiences here.
And enjoy an entire selection of babyfaces in the Babyface Special.

If you missed out on day 1 of this 2020 edition of JUngLEkalenderen, jump right in: Blasts from the Past: Back When Masks Were Fun

Give us our world back.

How to be a Raver: Preparing for the Apocalypse

Posted on December 2, 2020     1 Comment

All these corona restrictions and lockdowns and the never-ending labyrinth of rules-and-regulations are not fun for anyone. But they are PARTICULARLY NOT FUN AT ALL for junglist and ravers!

Because this is what we like to do:

Squeezing onto a boat and feeling free and happy and enjoying the sunrise on Pirate Party Pack mornings.

And this:

Just a normal, excellent night out back in the Days of Freedom. Open sky, great music, dancing, dj’s spinning proper vinyl, summer vibes, hugging, hands in the air, soap bubbles.

And this:

This is Fusion 2013. Oh happy days.

And this:

Traffic closed down for the day? Out with the speakers! Let’s gather up and have some fun.

And this:

Just dancing and being nice and enjoying nature and the early morning hours.

“Restrictions” are the opposite of raving.
Here is a photo of the spirit animal of all ravers during these restricted times, looking at what we have lost:

This is also a photo of Palle Flinkenstein at Fusion, waiting for the drum’n’bass tent to open.

We also know that this entire corona thing would be a LOT more fun if ravers were in charge (of the mask thing, for instance). Because ravers are just a thousand times better at it.

Proof that ravers are better at the mask thing.
More proof.
And more proof.
And more proof. Ravers can make masks out of ANYTHING in NO TIME if they need to.
Here’s Tom Collins making a mask out of nothing in TWO SECONDS.
Here’s Swingsen, making a mask out of a plastic bag for Tim Driver.
And more proof. This is Chriszka the Time Traveller, having tons of fun inside the mask, killing invisible enemies.

Speaking of enemies, we also know that ravers have been preparing for the apocalypse for decades. Junglists have been expecting dark future time lines pretty much always, twentyforseventhreesixfive.

If you need proof, check out my junglistic Pandemic Playlist. The track titles reveal the truth: “Sick Note”. “No Cure”. “Half-Truth”. “Happy New Fear”. “Bacteria”. “Gas Mask”. “Lost Civilization”. “Manipulated Living”. “Panic Attack”. “New World Order”. “Breathe”. “Mindgames”. “Toxin”. “Isolation”.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61noNbbirOXjhQIMfgqrQg?si=1yievHOcQeS6Hwy2RsEObg

Psytrancers have also been preparing for the apocalypse since forever. By building awesome, self-sufficient, ecological party utopias far away from rules and regulations (and cities), out in nature, dancing under the sun and the stars 22 hours a day.

My kind of paradise. This is one afternoon at Ozora, 2015.

But unfortunately, even though ravers would be super good at running the world, they have been forced to shut down and abandon all creativity and awesomeness for nine months and counting.

Are you ready for the dark plot twist?

It seems that Justitsministeriets Propagandaafdeling thought that ravers were the problem as much as eighty years ago – way back in 1940.

Clearly someone is having a party behind that window.
Here are a bunch of ravers satirically predicting the 2020 future of mask wearing and finger pointing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers style, at Henry’s Dream seven years ago. Or maybe they are pretending to be The Justitsministeriet Poster of 1940. Who knows. I own a time machine and get confused.

Are you ready for some more time machine confusion?

Coming up is photographic proof that maybe All Our Troubles originates from the mainstream house party. Obviously a place to avoid at all cost, if you can. Just check out the corona style deco at the Sensation White Party back in 2008. That party was quite a scary experience. Some of the 27.000 people attending had even paid 40.000 dkk for a ‘platinum table’. I will call this ‘unhealthy vibes’ and leave it at that.

Same event. Yup, everyone is wearing hospital clothes and that’s a face mask anno 2020 popping up to the right. I have said it many times and I will say it again: Stay away from mainstream house parties. And mainstream techno parties. And mainstream anything.

If you want to read what I felt about that event back in 2008, the link is at the end of your scroll, after all the pics.

Okay, let’s go all in on the time machine business and let the plot thicken even more.
This is Chriszka the Time Traveller, sensing that something is wrong with the food markets in China in 2004.
And here is more proof that proper ravers predict the future. Here’s a raver, dressed up for danger 2020-style – face mask and plastic – in 2006.
Light technology from the future! But in the past! Here’s Chriszka the Time Traveller opening a high tech door with no hands, 2020 style, in Shanghai 16 years ago.
Here’s Svingsen, testing out a full glass bowl face cover several decades ago (and not approving).
Here’s the Strøm Festival, kicking of the 2013 edition with a magical one hour concert at Tietgen-kollegiet
– with every single musician isolated in their own room. If it HAS to be done, do it like this!
Here’s Chriszka the Time Traveller predicting the 2020 future by choosing to go out with no head at all.
No breath and no nose = no masks needed!
Here’s proof that ravers did fun things with gloves way back in 1998. Private party style!

Seriously, ravers should be in charge of everything.

They can party ABSOLUTELY ANYWHERE if they have to. Not allowed to be inside buildings anymore? No problem. Give us a two square meters of asphalt and we will squeeze the party right in.
Or give us a container. Ravers can turn anything into something nice. This is RAW, 2008.
Ravers are better at wearing full body covers. (This is Fusion, 2008).
Ravers are better at wearing mosquito nets for full face protection and still having fun at parties.
Ravers are better at decorating the world. Aren’t you tired of the boring Hold Afstand-stickers on the floors? Let’s add some color and glow-in-the-dark vibes if we have to! This is Lucy Love, ready for the apocalypse in her junglistic camouflage gear.
Ravers are better at dressing up in interesting ‘corona’ clothes.
Ravers are better at not traveling anywhere but just pretending to and still having fun. (This is Nadsat, btw).
Ravers are better at bringing their own doctors to the parties.
Ravers are better at ‘social distancing’. (LOL). Even on the dance floors. Just wear stilts! This is Boom, 2012.
Ravers are better at everything.
Give us back our world. Plz.
(This is Turmbühne, 2008).

For more reasons why ravers should be in charge of everything, I highly recommend that you read The Seven Best Things About Being A Raver.

For even more raver mask creativity, catch up on yesterday’s post right here: Blasts from the Past: Back When Masks Were Fun.

Want more wonderful moments from the past? Check out Blasts from the Past: The Pirate Party Pack.

Can’t get enough of junglists? Meet some excellent ones (and enjoy the old pics) in The Secret Junglists.

Were you at the Strøm concert with Mike Sheridan and Det Danske Ungdomsensemble in 2013? Travel back by reading my review right here. (I was VERY happy).

If you want to read my article on the Sensation White phenomenon in 2008, here’s my article, reporting from the front line: Finanskrisen skal festes væk.

See you tomorrow where things get WIIIIIIIIIIIIILD.

Blasts from the Past: Back When Masks Were Fun!

Posted on December 1, 2020     3 Comments

Do you need some relief from the continuous return of masks-on-your-face-every-winter? Time to travel back to better times, when hugs were plentiful and masks were fun, colorful and completely voluntary.

Oh, the happy days of voluntary masking! The golden memories!
So this is what it looked like, back in those days ages ago when putting on a mask meant something completely different than in 2020 and 2021: That you were planning to have a lot of fun!
Sometimes you would wear a mask just to match your birthday cake, color coordination style. Such surplus in the old days!


Back in the day: Black-and-white mask for the Coma party.
Today: Black-and-white thinking.
Super old pic from back when being inside a horror movie was something we did for halloween, not in everyday life.
(PS: Spot all the horror movies featured here in our party group!)
Visionary Icelandic designer introduces some proper face masks at the Citadel 4wardshow in Vega – 2005.
Proper futuristic vibes.
We DID have the feeling of looking into the future at the 4WARD show! Definitely! That was the entire point. But I truly didn’t imagine that it would be 15 years into the future.

(But then I also thought that the digitalized dystopia run by global corporations would mainly exist in my cyberpunk books by William Gibson & co).
Obviously, ravers have always been good at wearing masks for fun (and time-traveling).
This could be from a rave in 1993. It could also be a Coma time capsule from 2011.
I shall not reveal the truth.
A mask can be many things. The possibilities are endless. Just follow that inner vision, however weird or complicated it seems, and express yourself. We are multi-dimensional beings. Being boring is the only weird choice.
This is at Henry’s Dream, 2013.
OR you could go for the masculine basic just-cover-the-mouth-and-nose look.
This is Lewis, predicting the future at Ohoi’s 2-year birthday bash.
Back in the old days, 14 years ago, some people liked their face masks to be glittery and fun.
With eye-lashes and feathers for extra keep-your-distance oomph.
Some people went for the minimalist rubber mask/superhero look. Nico Defrost, Warehouse9, 2009.
Back then, masks were shaped so that you could eat and drink while wearing them.
Hugging people was also quite a common thing back then.
Some masks were even SWITCHED and worn by several different people in one night! The mayhem!
Wearing a mask meant that people could approach you and get up close and personal. How things change.
Some people just painted the mask straight on to their face.
Some people painted the masks straight onto their face and then added a little extra glitter and layers of tull, just for fun.
Some people only liked to wear a very temporary, hand-held mask.
…while other people went for the full-body mask. With a twist.
The Jungle Monster chose to wear a temporary, hand-held mask made out of adamantium that can be re-used as frisbee weapons in case the evening turned into some hardcore ninja style challenge later on.
Some people choose to cover their entire bodies. A very safe and fun option. This is Fusion, The Trance Floor, 2013.
Zombies are allowed to wear only half a face mask. When you think about it, this is great for everyone’s safety. Imagine if all zombies were wearing full face masks. How would you know they were zombies? You wouldn’t – until it was too late.
This could easily be a zombie, and no one would know. Full face mask on and ready for MAYHEM on the dance floor. Danger, danger!
For a relaxed moment of No Mask, this style looks soooooooo much better than the below-the-chin 2020 look.
If you HAVE to take off your medical face mask in an I-will-be-wearing-this-soon-again-kind-of-way, do it like this:
Casually worn around the neck, in style.
Young woman does not wear her mask properly and stares death straight in the face.
We COULD brighten 2020 up a bit if we got more creative with the masks, though.
Would be tons of more fun if masks looked like this!
This is Svingsen showing off her big eyes in a classy jester costume.
She is off to the Coma party, obviously.
And so are these two. Obviously, these masks would be a GREAT choice for 2020.


Do you want more Blasts from the Past? We highly recommend Blasts from the Past: Roskilde 2008 if you miss those festival vibes…. and Blasts from the Past: Ohoi! turns 6 or maybe Blasts from the Past: The Raw After After Party if you just miss hanging out with people you like.

Want to see lots of faces with NO masks? Check out the wild selection of very young-looking features in Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special.

Enjoy your time travels and photos of people having fun in the past. Good thing we have a time machine, people!

PS: Surprise ending: In the true spirit of JUnGLEkalenderen, The Ultra Special One Off Edition will expand into a 3…2…1-countdown, ending on my birthday, probably. (It’s 2020, prepare for anything). So see you tomorrow, people.

Other recommended posts:
This is one of my personal favourite JUngLEkalender posts, a few pages from my diary about my early years of raving.: The Jungle Diaries: Longing for the Tribe

And The DIY Test: Is Your Child a Junglist?

Shadow Work: The perfect souvenir for the year 2020

Posted on September 5, 2020     Leave a Comment

Shadow Work – my corona lockdown art piece – is now available in my webshop! (Right here).

50 x 70 cm, colored pencil and ink on paper + collage element. High quality art print (mat-coated giclée). Signed and numbered. 


This piece took me two and a half months to complete – and it was all made during corona lockdown. 

The idea for Shadow Work – including the title – was completely clear in my head before I started drawing:

There was this woman in the foreground, completely absorbed in the interesting puzzle in front of her. And then I wanted to draw the complexity behind that manageable problem. How a thousand invisible and unconscious connections rise up and form a complex landscape behind the patterns and puzzles in front of us.

Appropriately, I started drawing the piece in March 2020. Perfect timing for shadow work for the entire planet! 

And as the corona lockdown was enforced and the closure of the country gave us all ample opportunity to explore how the depths of our own psyche react under pressure and during unusual circumstances, this shadow work idea just became more and more relevant by the hour. Which, of course, made the drawing process even more fun. 

It became pretty clear to me that when people are forced to stay at home by themselves, and are forced to get their information on the goings-on in the world through their screens and their internet connections rather than through their own personal experience, well, then what goes on in their heads is primarily a dance orchestrated by their own repressed shadows and their own unconscious automatic reactions. Not reality. 

I wish more people would take the time to do some inner work instead of constantly REACTING and getting carried away by stuff on social media. Inner work is slow and laborious and time-consuming, but it is not just ‘worth it’, it is the only way.

Chriszka on Twitter