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Simon Posford @ Summer Contrast Festival 2022


psyhoe

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Here's the quote from his Facebook page:
 

Quote

 

Well here it is, my final gig..at Summer Contrast in Poland.

I’ve been telling close friends and family that I am retiring, and they just laugh!

The truth is, I probably WILL do a few more gigs… but after 30 years in the music business I’m really burned out by the whole fucking thing, and I’ve developed an uncomfortable fear of performing in front of people.

I still love to make music, and will enjoy getting stuck in to some sonic explorations without having to rush off to an airport or worry about releases. Occasionally I might be persuaded to perform it, if the gig appeals in some way… but I am making the conscious decision here to take on WAY less shows.

Thanks so much for listening

 

 

The important part being:

Quote

Occasionally I might be persuaded to perform it, if the gig appeals in some way… but I am making the conscious decision here to take on WAY less shows.

 

If he can afford not to perform live and he's happy with that, that's great for him, and a bit sad for the rest of us.

A great thing about electronic music is that there are many great djs out there that could make a banging Hallucinogen tribute set and we would be just as happy.

 

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7 hours ago, acid being said:

I wish him well. His mental health is more important. As you said, if he can afford now to make music for the love of it with a reduced need to make money from it, so much the better, I think. I enjoyed Flux and Contemplation, by the way.

His mental health is the most important thing. One for his well being, second for us dancers. Godford is one of the most important figures in this scene.

I hope he can gain confidence and return as soon he find the right inspiration.

In Godford I trust. :)

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Oh sad news.. He has been a cornerstone in the whole psy live scene for a long time. Very impressive that his music has been around so long, and managed to capture and amaze new festival goers every year. Hopefully as he says it will bring more quality time to produce music. I hope he surprises with some nice trippy music, like only he knows how to. And yeah I have no doubts about that. :) 

I'll keep my eyes open for those precious few gigs he might make. Maybe he just had a bit too much of the scene and needs a rest. I still remember vividly how I found his website when the internet was a new thing, he really has evolved with the times and the technology. Would be cool if he makes more live gigs online from his studio, and also would be nice if he could share some of his studio wizardry online, he should do some Psytrance tutorials. To pass on the legacy.

I remember I read somewhere, maybe in a book about LSD/Psychedelics, how he and Raja Ram had a method of testing new Hallucinogen tracks. By letting Raja Ram listen to the newly made track or track in progress perhaps, in headphones on acid. So a real acid test so to speak. That always stuck with me as a very logical and funny thing to do, to make sure that the music passed the quality control, before any potential trippers purchased the music and used it, or experienced it live. :D 

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nice set but it's very clear the hallucinogen project is gone for good.
had always hoped he would do 1 more halluciongen album just to prove he can, but the reality of it is he don't need to prove anything,  simon truly has his own sound back and pushing other boundaries away from traditional goa.

the studio is where his passion lies, on his terms with no promoters no travelling and no stupid demands.
look forward to the new project on the horizon

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/22/2022 at 12:19 AM, technosomy said:

nice set but it's very clear the hallucinogen project is gone for good.
had always hoped he would do 1 more halluciongen album just to prove he can, but the reality of it is he don't need to prove anything,  simon truly has his own sound back and pushing other boundaries away from traditional goa.

I agree that project is gone for good, which is a pity for us. I wonder if it's partly that moniker scaring off potential listeners, hence making up the name Shpongle and the puns in the track titles. The casual observer may not associate Shpongle with psychedelia. Mixing in other musical styles meant they could sell to fans of other genres like ambient and world music. It makes sense from a commercial perspective even if it's a bit disappointing to us old time goa fans.

It's interesting that years ago when the Twisted Music website had a forum, someone created a poll asking who wanted a new Hallucinogen album after apparently saying to Simon there was demand for it and he would find 1000 people interested. He wrote that Simon agreed he'd do it if the poll got 1000 votes. It got to just over 400. Eventually the forum was taken off the website and I don't really blame Simon for that because there weren't many people on there, mostly old timers I think, and some of them were really being too critical of his new work which isn't great when he needs to promote it.

Here it is, it was in 2010: https://web.archive.org/web/20120402144231/http://www.twistedmusic.com/forums/viewthread/4082/

I notice now on the Twisted website they've even removed the Hallucinogen bio and pasted the Shpongle one over it.

At one point I seem to remember Simon posting that he didn't really get time to do solo work as he was enjoying working with Raja Ram. However during the pandemic lockdown he recorded Flux and Contemplation which gives a taste of what his current solo work sounds like. He used his own name rather than Hallucinogen but it hardly matters. As I said, I like it.

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