14/11/2024
Full support 💜
Dear Zambu Community,
As we start to dream about our next Retro-Futuristic Celebration we can see some preconceptions we would like to have the opportunity to clarify to all of you.
Did you know?
The ZNA Gathering was born with the single purpose of bringing back some lost feelings into the psychedelic trance ritual. But you may wonder: what does this mean?
Well, this means that we—the people behind the ZNA concept and vision—experienced a time when our scene was primarily conducted by individuals who were fueled by the ultimate psychedelic cathartic experience. This mindset led many of us to a reality much deeper than merely producing music or throwing and attending parties. This quest changed our culture, lifestyle, priorities, and the way we experience entertainment for life.
As expected, such a significant movement drew, over the years, worldwide attention, which naturally began to absorb new ideas, techniques, and visions along with it. These new inputs, coming from different backgrounds and minds, made our scene more complex and diversified. While great things arise from such evolution, it also helped to distort, in the same way, the fundamental foundations of the scene—obvious to us, from our perspective.
It took us many years to take action. But back in 2011, after the surprising outcome of a Facebook group created with the single goal of reviving those pure times, we felt a responsibility to become, once again, the creators of our own happiness. It was not an easy decision, considering all the risks, unknown scenarios, and changes in our personal and professional lives, but it proved to be amazingly and extraordinarily rewarding if we pulled it off. An inception so strong and addictive that it had the power to overcome everything else… The moment we realized it was part of our DNA, and there was nothing we could do about it other than explore it.
Among many uncertainties, one thing was obvious to us. If there is a chance for our vision to thrive, it needs to be through music. This certainty became our lighthouse. Why? Because we truly believe that in this case, music creates the environment, and the environment defines our collective experience.
However, as a consequence of current times, it seems people tend to be more and more polarized, and this mindset has also been affecting the musical flow of our scene. We feel it’s our duty to show you that in order to achieve the ultimate psychedelic cathartic experience, we need to embrace all the stages our dancing rituals have to offer. This means being exposed to music that was created back in the day without formulas and preconceived boundaries. As much as we love specific musical psychedelic genres, we know that each one has a specific role for the moment it was meant to exist. One does not have the same effect without the other, much like light without darkness.
This is why we take almost two years to design each of our lineups. We need to ensure that each performance connects with the others, allowing all of us to face those different stages of a full psychedelic experience. We believe it’s impossible to achieve what we intend if we focus only on one type of music.
Our mindset naturally extends to all the other stages and areas we have been hosting at each edition. Only by playing in unison can we succeed in raising our beloved bi-annual Retro-Futuristic Celebration.
We would love to read your feelings about this.
We Share ZNA.
Picture by Sara Contança as Fiat Lux Experience
