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Escape from Samsara returns
Reported by HarderFaster
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Submitted 15-11-06 21:27
Ask any die-hard clubber who’s been around the block a few times about their favourite clubbing memory from back in the day, and watch their eyes glaze over as they start a rapturous anecdote about Escape from Samsara. Born in the summer of 1995 after legendary London indoor festival Megatripolis finally closed its doors, EFS ran weekly at The Fridge for a staggering eight years, as well as running events as far afield as Athens and Australia and on mountaintops in Wales and Israel.
Packing out The Fridge every week, at one point they even stopped making flyers because they were turning so many people away — something impossible to imagine in today’s times where clubs have to try every trick in the book to get a half-decent turn out. But running a weekly club is enough to take its toll on anyone, and it was perhaps not surprising that in 2002 the crew finally decided to call it a day.
Fortunately for those of us who missed them first time round, EFS are back, coming together for the mother of reunion parties at The Fridge this Friday night. As someone who didn’t make it to their first parties, I personally can’t wait to pop my EFS cherry. Building up to the big event this Friday, I was curious to find out more about this clubbing institution which so many friends have cited as their first great clubbing experience, while others were so inspired that they start dj’ing or working in the music industry themselves. And who better to answer my questions than EFS promoting pioneer and dj Tim Samsara?
Hi Tim. It’s been a while since you last ventured into the world of dj’ing and promoting. What have you been doing over the last few years? Have you missed those crazy EFS partying days?
Hi HarderFaster! Well I have been chilling in the countryside and going to the odd party here and there, but all the fresh air has made me crave doing parties again and I really miss the Samsara crowd.
How did EFS get started? Whose idea was it and where did it kick off? Were you all ravers or clubbers and how did you all meet?
EFS started in the summer of 1995 after the original London festival within a club, Megatripolis, shut down. There was a large group of people who had been working there, all doing nothing, so after a few free parties in Kings Cross and being in the right place at the right time, EFS was born at the Fridge in September. The club was started by myself and Richard, who now lives in Australia.
Why the name ‘Escape from Samsara’? How did you come up with it?
Well samsara means ‘everyday life’ in the Buddhist religion, so we figured that most people go clubbing to escape from every day life, hence Escape From Samsara.
EFS was weekly for a long time. How on earth did you keep this up? You must’ve been literally living and breathing music during those years!
It was awesome doing a weekly club, but boy did it take its toll after a while. We had the best support we could have wished for from our crew and the sight of seeing the Fridge dance floor going off in true Samsara style each week was enough to keep anyone going, even after 8 years!
Over the years you’ve thrown some amazing parties. What best memories do you have? Do you remember any parties being better than the rest? Do you have any particularly special or funny anecdotes for HF readers?
Most of the memories I have from our Fridge days are just awesome: all the bouncing smiling faces, and getting to party with the best crowd in town each week. All of the parties were special but I think the birthday parties were all very unforgettable, especially when Lab 4 played. I remember attacking Adam from Lab 4 with a custard pie on stage as they finished playing from underneath a fluoro pantomime cow costume at one party and yes we are still talking.
As the granddaddies of trance you introduced many people reading this to clubbing and partying. What would you like to say to the younger clubbers reading this who’ve never been to an Escape from Samsara event before? What can they expect this Friday night?
Wow granddaddies of trance!!!!
EFS is like no club you have ever seen before. The vibe, the décor, the special effects, the people and all the performers come together to give a truly memorable experience. So if you did miss it the first time round, come and see what all the fuss is about and party like you have never partied before.
Do you still keep in touch with some of the regulars who used to play at EFS? What’s happened to the likes of Darren Shambhala and Oberon for example?
I still speak to virtually everyone from the old days. Oberon is living in Argentina and Darren Shambhala is playing house under the name of Whiskey Mac. I am sure Darren will be making some more appearances as EFS soon!!
EFS pioneered trance and psy techno in London. Was it difficult to establish such a new fresh scene back in the day?
When EFS started, the Fridge was already doing trance nights but the music was more on the Goa/psy trance side of things, with clubs like Return to The Source and Otherworld. So when we stepped in as a new monthly club we had a very mixed music policy with acid techno, uplifting trance and psy trance. The music style just kind of happened after a chance meeting with Beamish and Oberon in our local newsagents. They were playing the music we wanted and the rest is history.
With its balloon drops, confetti showers, pyrotechnic shows and some of the best live performers in the world, such as trapeze artists, jugglers, UV puppet shows, magicians, acrobats, contortionists, Lucifire the amazing angle grinder and the awesome stilt walkers, Escape from Samsara has the reputation of being a true festival within a club. This must have been quite a mission to co-ordinate every week! How are you planning to bring all this together to re-create a festival inside the Fridge this Friday night?
We have got lots of the original performers coming out to play for the night, so I am sure that they will have a few tricks up their sleeves to keep everyone entertained. We have also managed to get the balcony re opened for the market stall area, which has not happened for a very long time. The original Fridge lighting rig is also going back in for the night and the venue is being transformed into a UV wonderland.
You’ve put on EFS events at places as widespread as Heaven, Bagley’s Studios, Brixton Academy, Brighton and Stonebridge Park, as well as throwing international parties in Kassel (Germany), Melbourne (Australia), The Paris Techno Parade, The Roxy (Prague) the Sunrise Club (Athens) and on mountain tops in Wales and Israel. Do you have a favourite party venue from those times? And why have you decided to go back to the Fridge of all places after all these years?
EFS will always have a home at The Fridge, it is the perfect venue size-wise and it works so well with the stage, not only for the performances but also for the crowd to dance on. I have to say though looking out over 500,000 people at the Paris Techno Parade was a pretty special moment.
You also ran a travel club that organised overland trips to the Sahara desert. Would you consider bringing this back for the new generation?
I would love to bring this back but it is a full time job in itself so we will have to see. The Morocco trip days have many happy memories for so many people.
EFS had a record label called Trebleate. How did this come about and what happened to it? Did you release many tracks? Now that the Fridge has its own studio would you consider bringing it back to life also?
Trebleate was run by Ellis from SBL (one of our live acts) and it was set up to release tunes from our residents and live acts. We did two CD compilations and loads of vinyl. We stopped it when the club had a rest. I would consider bringing it back to life, it depends what tunes come our way.
You dj as well as promote. What came first for you, dj’ing or promoting? If you could only make music or put on parties, which would you choose?
I was promoting long before dj’ing but I soon got the bug. I started playing in ‘97 and have been since. I think I would put on parties, as it can make a lot more people happy and that is important to me.
You’ve got a great myspace site at www.myspace.com/escapefromsamsarauk How do you think the internet has changed the way events are promoted? Was it easier back when things were all done by word of mouth and flyers, or do you prefer today’s net-driven days?
Myspace is an awesome tool. We have found so many old regulars and had some amazing comments left about the club, that it is priceless in promoting terms. Word of mouth will always be your best friend as a promoter. Things have changed in the promoting world, we never had HF or DSI when we were first doing the Fridge and there are whole clubbing communities built up around them now. At one point we actually stopped doing flyers as there were too many people coming to the Fridge and we were turning people away each week.
Your last party was at The Fridge in 2002, then you decided to have a rest for a while. Was there any reason in particular you decided to call it a day? After a four year break, why have you decided to bring EFS back now?
I think the time had come to have a rest. Eight years of constant parties was starting to take its toll on the crew and the music scene was starting to change. I am glad we finished when we did because now we can come back and have the mother of all reunion parties with all of our old friends.
This Friday it’s free for the first 30 people with instruments. Why? What happens if you get 30 people with violins turn up first and take over the stage?
EFS has always had the first 30 people with an instrument in for free. It is to allow people who are totally skint to be able to get in if they use their imagination. It is one thing that will never ever change on the EFS flyer. If 30 violinists want to come along then so be it.
How did you put together the line up for this Friday at the Fridge? Surely the funky breaks sauna is a big jump from the original Samsara line-ups?!
We wanted to have some old regular residents and some new faces on the line up, so that there is something for everyone. K90 has been playing with us since the late 90s so I think he qualifies as an old regular. As for The *Ting*, well what more can I say, she has the most awesome energy to her performances and as an old regular on the dance floor herself I think it is only right that we get a chance to hear her play a trance set. The funky breaks has come about after asking people what they wanted to hear in the second room, I am looking forward to it as most of the djs are old crew who are now producing. We have Flevans as a special guest who normally graces the ears of the Big Chill crowd as the headline act at their festivals.
Spin are doing the official after party at the 414. You must have had some great nights/mornings/lazy days at the 414 over the years. Do you have any particularly amusing anecdotes from your days there?
We used to have The Fridge Bar to party in and then head up to The George. Wow so many messy mornings and discussions of how wicked it would have been to have a moving pavement that carried you up to The George. The Fridge Bar was perfect for an after party but I must say I reckon the 414 is going to seriously go off big time!
Mark Sinclair says he’s playing a classic Pendragon/EFS trance set this Friday night. What does a ‘classic EFS trance set’ mean to you? What tracks and artists do you consider making up EFS ‘classics’? Can you give us a clue about what you might be playing on Friday? Is it all about the classics?
I am really looking forward to hearing all of the djs play. I expect that the record boxes will be full to the brim with total stormers! I guess a classic Samsara set would consist of some very bouncy uplifting trance tunes, so I suppose K90 pretty much sums up a classic samsara set, in many ways. I am very keen to try and get a mix of old and new tunes as there has been some amazing stuff written recently.
Your flyers are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Who does them for you? Do you think a colourful flyer is important for such a colourful club?
There has always been one specification for the front of our flyers and that is that the image must have no writing on it. We wanted to be able to produce a piece of art work that could be used as a picture on a bedroom/kitchen wall for years to come and not just thrown in the bin. We must admit to finding the images and scanning them, most of the images are so old that there is no copyright on them. A colourful flyer is important as it catches the eye and when you have a very high quality image it works even better.
Finally, there’s a rumour that if all goes well this Friday there may be other EFS dates lined up in the future. Can you comment on this?
We are looking at doing three parties a year, (November, March and July). There may be a few others in collaboration with other groups, we will see. So keep those eyes peeled for more info. We really miss being able to party with one of the best crowds around!
Photos courtesy of Paul Mallison. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Escape From Samsara
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On:
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Friday 17th November 2006
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At:
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The Fridge [map]
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From:
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10pm to 6am
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Cost:
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free for first 30 people with a instrument B4 11pm, £10 before 12 and £15 afterwards
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Website:
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www.myspace.com/escapefromsamsarauk
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Ticket Info:
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07980540165
escapefromsamsara@gmail.com
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More:
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The reunion of all reunion parties. EFS return to their home to have one hell of a big party. All the old faces, performers, decorations, special effects and awesome beats.
The music will be based around a classics night on the main floor with funky breaks in the second room. If you missed one of the original trance clubs the first time round this is your chance!!!!
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Flyer:
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Other Features By HarderFaster:
HarderFaster Awards 2016 - The results are in!
HarderFaster Awards 2014 - The results are in!
Lashes, Dimples and the Brighton Music Conference
HarderFaster Awards 2013 - The results are in!
HarderFaster Awards 2012 - The results are in!
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: AVFX on 16th Nov 2006 02:50.49
nice to see Escape from Samsara back in action, have allot of good memorys of it to say the least. good luck in all ya do tim
PLUR
AVFX aka "VJ 2012fx" from those days
xxx
From: Karl Alexander on 16th Nov 2006 12:47.50
Great interview !! I really hope this works out well !!!!
From: Centurian on 16th Nov 2006 13:29.07
Coolio indeed. Shame Lab 4 have thrown the towel in, maybe EFS will get them psychoactivated for a special appearance eh!
Good work and good luck guys, excellent to see you resurface at the Fridge, i only wish i could be there like many moons ago.
From: Dickon Laws on 16th Nov 2006 16:39.01
The return of a legend! Glad Tim revisted this - been long overdue! best of luck!
From: TEK-DJ Management on 16th Nov 2006 17:32.36
Wishing you the best of luck Tim, glad to see a return of many lets hope :o)
From: Dr DUZZIT on 17th Nov 2006 03:25.32
i came to London in 2001/2 as a Dj and ive partied in london since 2002 but never went to EFS as Fridge was'nt a club we used to go to, i think its great to see EFS make a come back after a well deserved break and ive heard so much about the old events that im suprised ive never been.
Good luck and i hope to see you there on friday, if not it will be the next one!!!
From: Dr DUZZIT on 17th Nov 2006 03:27.46
i meant partied in london since 1992 from the old days of Labrynth, strawberrys and sunnys 95-2000  EFS
From: Claire99 on 17th Nov 2006 09:25.38
what a great read! good luck tim ...this night sounds like it's going to take me back to my first clubbing days...I so hope it does :0)
From: Prozak on 17th Nov 2006 12:51.18
enjoy tonight, gutted i cant make it
From: Cerberus on 17th Nov 2006 17:12.26
good luck tim, hope all goes well.......mr gunn
From: sexyminx on 17th Nov 2006 18:38.43
Wicked interview  Was hoping to make it to my 1st ever Samsara tonight. Dont think i will be able to make it. Have loads of fun.  to Tim x
From: Timmy Whiz on 20th Nov 2006 18:42.57
Wicked news, it was EFS the was one of my first London clubbing experiences all those years ago..........
Shame I couldnt make it to this event but defo will be attending the next  so good to have you back
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