Return To The Source (May 2021)

What a sublime honour, with the crackling magic and excitement in the air and knowing that what lay ahead for the weekend would truly be inspiring and resonate with you into the future !
With some roots/source reference and heart glue I put this together... I hope you enjoy and have a little boogie : )

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ZAC MARX - RTTS, 12h00 - 14h00 Friday, May 2021  (That DAM Dancefloor)

Arriving in the desert without any issues seems like it was a rare treat when listening to the many people's stories of their struggles on the road. 

This set was played while watching quite a few cars still pulling in, eager to get setup and hit the floor. It was my pleasure to wave and welcome them while those lucky few were hanging out listening to the music on the floor. It was a beautiful calm and warm day which set the tone for the rest of the weekend. 
Nothing worth having, comes easy.

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ASHTON - RTTS, 14h00 - 16h00 Friday, May 2021 (That DAM Dancefloor)

I experienced the unimaginable this past weekend. 
A sense of soul satisfaction and accomplishment that I never knew to be possible. What started off as a feeling of intimidation and vulnerability by being asked to play at such an auspicious event surely morphed into an overwhelming sense of belonging and acceptance. 
What I would do to be able to relive those two sunsetting hours on the beach stage ... that eruption of love and emotion. Our blood flowed in unison through the beats on that dance floor and it is a memory that will forever be ingrained in my soul. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for including me in what I believe to be the slickest event and team I’ve ever had the privilege to be part of.
Wow...Weeeeeee!!!

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ABBY NUROCK - RTTS, 16h00 - 18h00 Friday, May 2021 (That DAM Dancefloor)

I will cherish my debut set on the spirit train for the rest of my days. 

Once my nerves subsided, I dived deep into the present moment for the task at hand - conducting LOBO’s Friday evening warmup route and transporting a desert gathering into an alternate dimension. 

I succeeded in my mission of communicating all the music I had intended. The message was delivered and the train reached its destination safely. 

My job was done and my soul was lifted.

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HESSELBERG - RTTS, 18h00 - 20h00 Friday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

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SHACIDO - RTTS, 02h00 - 04h00 Friday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

"Two young fish are swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish who says 'morning boys, how's the water?' and the two young fish swim on for a bit until the one fish says to the other 'what the hell is water?'"

This was my opening message to the people of RTTS on Friday 21 May '21 - Take it in! Take it in because there's magic in the water!

From "Riding on down to the place where it all came from" to "Feel good" to "Don't hold back", this set was about happiness - a pure pink sugar dopamine rush - but my highlight was at 1:11:11. It's a pretty weird song that I absolutely love because its stark minimalism accentuates the filthy bassline, and when I saw that the dancefloor actually tuned in and grooved, I knew we had a connection and everyone was on my wavelength. It was the last "experimental" track, my homage to the mighty MK, before Brain Ticker took us to party city. 

Well, these were my nutty ideas, and seeing them manifest in the beautiful people in the crowd and the host of crazy characters with me on the train was beyond my wildest dreams. No drug can do that - only high octane love and energy ..... and maybe a pair of wings :)

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ZSA ZSA  - RTTS, 22h00 - 0h00 Friday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” ― Bob Marley

This is probably the closest it gets to how I feel about music. It's a sanctuary and transcendental, transporting you out of your reality and can numb the pain. It's healing, at a time when we all need it in some way. I hope the music I shared with the floor that Saturday gave listeners joy or provided an escape, if only momentarily. I'm so grateful for the love I received from each dancer as we made eye contact or shared a smile (or a tequila). That universal language that is music never ceases to amaze! What a pleasure to play on that Dam Dancefloor, in front of such beautiful souls. Once again, many thanks to the Spirit Train crew for this experience.

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MEGAN JANE - RTTS, 14h00 - 16h00 Saturday, May 2021 (That DAM Dancefloor)

I was honoured when asked to take over the musical proceedings after the mornings yoga class and sound journey. 

I relish any opportunity to fill a space with appropriate and respectful sounds and this setting was just perfect for me to gently  ease the desert gathering into the day and slowly open up the dance floor. 

By the end of my set the floor was filled with happy, smiling souls, ready for a day of getting lost in dance and connection. 

Namaste.

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Return To The Source (Festival)> http://www.thespirittrain.com/rtts-mailer/std/rtts_mailer.html
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HESSELBERG - RTTS, 12h00 - 14h00 Saturday, May 2021 (That DAM Dancefloor)

OFFROAD - RTTS, 20h00 - 22h00 Saturday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

EL GORDO - RTTS, 22h00 - 0h00 Saturday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

ORIGINAL ODYSSEY - RTTS, 0h00 - 02h00 Saturday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

BoB is a piece of our journey! As the artists and nomads we are, we are constantly connecting to our surroundings. 
Being inspired by the beauty, the struggle, the love and the sounds of everything and everyone around us. Brothers Ricc and Dom Benigno bring you B.o.B Brothers of Benigno. 
This sound is an expression of what we see the universe as, at a specific moment in time and space. The combination of all things audible brings a comfortable yet unique sonic experience. 

All parts performed by us.

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B.O.B - LIVE - RTTS, 14h00 - 16h00 Saturday, May 2021(That DAM Dancefloor)

When it comes to the Spirit Train or any event hosted by Mike, I always feel absolute freedom to do what I want, hence I prefer to not plan anything completely.

The only plan I did have though was to jam at least 50% of the set from my fresh music folder.. The remaining 50% I like to dig deep into the roots of the kind of sound I play, without pigeonholing myself too much (hopefully.. Lol).

The set consists of a few new and old minimal tunes, a few carefully selected  energetic dubby/vocal house beauties and of course a few edgy tribal/desert groovers. Oh.... Then of course the "in-house Easter Egg" shout-out to MK to finish off with.

Helmut J

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HELMUT J - RTTS, 02h00 - 04h30 Saturday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

Having played the last set the night before, the reality of having to play again on the Sunday morning with a minimal amount of sleep was initially rather daunting.

I had to take over from a "Quantum Relaxation" session held by the lovely Reine and his traditional tools.

My intention here was to keep the entire set dub house, and hold back for as long as possible before introducing any kind of groove with respect to the space created before. 

This certainly was an excercise in patience and progression.. a challenge I thoroughly enjoyed in the end, and one which (I hope) carved the right groove towards the rest of the final day.

Helmut J

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HELMUT J - RTTS, 11h30 - 13h00 Sunday, May 2021 (That Dam Dancefloor)

The set started around sunset with a handful of people and ended at full capacity under the stars with lasers lighting the atmosphere of the warm fire lit dance floor underneath. It grew at an energy I could feel with each track's build, break down and drop. 
I chose to roll with a variation of sounds I'm enjoying at the moment from downtempo jams through some techy psychedelic rollers and a bit of good feeling disco at the end, still keeping it relatively slow.
With friends on the train grooving around me, dancers on the floor smiling, the sound system rumbling, it was a place in time that will sit in my memory for a long time to come.

There are not enough words to describe the gratitude and love I have for everyone involved with Return to the Source and the crew that continue to provide us with these unforgettable experiences. RTTS will most certainly be a fixture on our annual calendar.

Special thanks to Mike and But for their incredible work on this festival, Tankwa Tented camp for hosting us and the Dome of Epicness crew for bringing all the fun.

Don't Stop the Dance
Love in, Love out.
Ashton

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ASHTON - RTTS, 18h10 - 20h00 Saturday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

OFFROAD - RTTS, 16h00 - 18h00 Sunday, May 2021 (That DAM Dancefloor)

After spending some of the best nights of my life dancing in front of the Spirit Train, it was a dream come true to play on LOBO…

AfrikaBurn, and its dance floors, have always been my happy place. My annual odyssey into the desert, has been amongst my greatest joys… This last year, the cancellation of the Burn, along with so much else, left a huge gap. I buckled down, and retreated into music – with music being the salve that got me through the year. 

So, to finally be back in Tankwa, but this time, spinning beats on the iconic Spirit Train was a dream… I opened up the RTTS party on Sunday night, playing to a full and thumping dance floor – and had one of the most epic experiences! The energy emanating from that dance floor; the lights; the colors; the smiles; the movement… It’s hard to describe how incredible that felt! 

What a joy to play in that magical place, amongst such master musicians. I’m counting down the days until I can return again… Thank you LOBO. What a gift!

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ORLY MAYA - RTTS, 18h00 - 20h30 Sunday May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

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ROB TAYLOR - RTTS, 20h00 - 22h00 Friday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

I was particularly looking forward to playing this set - at the peak of our first night in Tankwa.

Past years have seen me with a change in direction of sound, playing sounds from 95-110bpm…and of a more eclectic nature. But this was going to be different. Starting up with a long audio-space intro track I had the pleasure (for the first time ever on LOBO) of constructing the lighting show to match (with the help of our lighting expert Angelo)the intro. 
It was dark, and from the background came the rumble... 

A collection of sounds ranging from techno, house, indie disco and breakbeat, geared to shake the floor it was destined for - at this particular hour on the first Friday night, when energy is abundant. This was one of those structured alignments of beats that basically allowed my pitch control to sit put for a while, as i chose track after track. With all 34 tracks i had selected for the 2hr slot done with 20minutes to go…I dug a little deeper to finish what would become the most enjoyed set of my 21-years behind the wheels!

One helluva engaging and connected dancefloor to work with, and a feast for the eyes from within that booth!

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MICHAEL KENNEDY  - RTTS, 00h00 - 02h00 Friday, May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

A few hours before I started this set I spontaneously decided to swallow some liquid LSD – something I haven’t done in several years! With one hour to go before my due set time I had to ask the dj before me to please play for 30minutes longer as I was still peaking with swirling psychedelic trails in my forefront & peripheral vision. In fact I was not coping with the thought of the task at hand, and retreated to my camp for support. My fiancé and partner in this project were in the same boat as I. and we decided the only way forward was to team up and return to the dj booth as a crew…and so we did just that.

By the time I returned the dj booth was crammed with strangers, staring at me, waiting for me to plug in. It was so overwhelming we had to remove everybody from that space, leaving just the RTTS crew behind with me to get on with the job.

After a shaky start I recall playing a remix of Pink Floyd ‘The Wall’ and these intense feelings of inadequacy dissolved in a heartbeat! “We don’t need no education” sang the crowd with an almighty crescendo, and in that moment I felt I had mastered my craft, captained my ship, controlled the acid within my veins and the energetic field within my lower regions channeled through my upper body and soared through my head into the night sky!! An energetic shift and moment I shall never forget. An instant vision and memory of a community where everybody was united in music and vibration, with a certain forgiveness for the faulty dj before them, ha ha. 

After such a tough journey in such a tough industry…I truly felt acknowledged.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY - RTTS, 21h00 - 23h00 Sunday May 2021 (The SPIRIT Train)

My name is LOBO - part wolf, part machine…all spirit!
I live, i love, i listen.
That's the SPIRIT ...

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