Symbiosis Gathering 2015 – Simply the Best

This was the One. The one everyone was talking about all year. All summer. All festival season. The one not to be missed. The one for the books. The one made of legends. The perfect send-off for Summer, and the climactic conclusion of the 2015 festival season. Symbiosis Gathering. The ten year reunion. Just looking at the lineup gave us goosebumps. Music, art, and the elements coming together to create a magical dreamscape to play in with all of your friends. Oh, and art boats! We knew this was going to be special. But after all the hype. All the anticipation. All the excitement. What did we get? Well… I think we may have gotten one of the best damn festivals this planet has ever seen.

I won’t put a definitive stamp on this statement, but it’s a very valid one: I think Symbiosis Gathering 2015 was the best festival I’ve ever been to. The ridiculous thing is that I kind of expected that out of it. The fact that it exceeded those expectations just makes the whole situation insane. The location, the production value, the stages, the layout, the people, the vendors, the good vibes, the interactive environments, the workshops, the freaking water— and good Lord, the art and the music. All of these things merged to create an epic, gorgeous, unforgettable festival environment, and one of the most unique and beautiful experiences I’ve ever been a part of. It was, in essence, a complete culmination of everything I love about festivals and a nice reminder of why we even come to these things. On numerous occasions, I looked around and thought, “life just doesn’t get much better than this.” It really doesn’t.

To many, this served as a Burning Man decompression, and for just as many non-Burners, it served as the most anticipated event of the year– even an alternative to Burning Man in some cases. For both parties, however, Symbiosis Gathering 2015 was a very special, very unique, and unforgettable event. A true family gathering. A remarkable example of this incredible community we are a part of, and what we are capable of when we come together. In a word, it was magical. But what makes it so magical? I think part of the magic comes from actual symbiosis between music, art, people, and the elements. The way these four key aspects of the festival interact with each other is remarkable. From bonfire sing-alongs to climbable art installations, dance parties on art boats, and long, dusty treks through a village back to camp with a quick stop to listen to an educational talk while you eat lunch in the shade– there really is a pretty amazing symbiotic relationship between all of the art, all of the people, all of the music, and the Earth. To swim ashore to a dance floor and join others in kicking up dust while dancing to music you’ve never heard at an intricately designed stage that itself is a work of art– and then a Delorean hovercraft rockets through the reservoir and starts spinning donuts in the water next to the stage. This is the type of experience that you just don’t get anywhere else. It’s the type of once-in-a-lifetime experience that feels so natural and right at Symbiosis, yet it’s so alien and bizarre when you think about it later, and it stays with you for the rest of your life.

Each stage (and there were many) was beautifully and uniquely decorated, with a distinct look and vibe. The most remarkable thing is that each stage also stood on its own entire peninsula, which was a true sight to behold whether you were dancing at the stage or looking at it from a distance. Visiting each stage felt like visiting a totally different island with its own party going on and its own sights and attractions to see. On that note, let’s get into the music. I have never been so thoroughly impressed by the music offerings of a festival. Bass, house & techno, psy, and live music were all equally represented by an all-star lineup for each genre. Headlining acts such as Nicolas Jaar, Minnesota vs G Jones, and The Polish Ambassador took over Big Island, the main stage, while stages such as the  old-western-themed Juke Town, the beautiful Grotto, and The Spring Stage hosted acts such as EPROM, Random Rab, Desert Dwellers, Max Cooper, Dimond Saints, Merkaba, Damian Lazurus, and so many more. This was, for lack of a better word, the most stacked music lineup I have ever seen. Hands-down. The most iconic, memorable, and noteworthy stage at this festival was definitely Swimbiosis– a tropical, tribal, waterfront stage that was home to many awesome daytime sets flowing with good vibes and countless smiles. There was the awesome stage, a dance floor, climbable structures to hang out in, and structures about 15-20 feet offshore in the water, where there was also a party. This was easily one of my favorite festival stages I’ve ever seen, and every artist that played there brought this unique, primal, housey energy to their music, resulting in hands-down the best daytime festival music I’ve heard all year. Swimbiosis acts included Shpongle, Justin Martin, Ooah & Boreta (of The Glitch Mob), and more. I’ve seen these artists perform before, but the sound and energy of their Swimbiosis sets was totally new to me. It’s pretty clear that Symbiosis brings out the best in a lot of people. I can’t imagine a better environment for an artist to perform in or a better crowd to perform to, and the countless smiling faces on the dance floor are a testament to that. Again: life just doesn’t get much better than this.

There’s no denying Burning Man’s influence on this event or the Burner presence at this year’s Gathering. Burning Man was almost like an elephant in the room. We all knew it just happened, like, a week ago, but we tried not to talk about it. Sure, we shared our dusty stories, but this weekend was not about Burning Man. It was about Symbiosis. Regardless, the desert’s presence was undeniable, with a handful of big art installations imported directly from the Playa. I was especially grateful for this because while on the Playa, I found myself always biking past these incredible art pieces, never taking the time to stop and interact with them. Luckily, pieces such as Brainchild, HYBYCOZO, and the Mars-1 Molecules (three of my favorites from this year’s Burn) were among the many installations at Symbiosis, and I got my second chance to appreciate and interact with them. On that note, the way this sprawling festival was decorated with countless art installations and interactive environments was like nothing else. Cutting-edge design and architecture could be found at any corner, climbable structures were in no short supply, beautiful big art installations were abundant, and prolific live painters were stationed throughout the venue. My favorite of all the art pieces had to be Furtherrr, a stunning live painting collaboration between some of the most talented artists in the scene, including Mars-1, one of my absolute favorite visual artists on the planet. As if the painting itself wasn’t incredible enough, the whole area where you could watch this collaboration was essentially a climbable wooden amphitheater with balconies, hammock seating, bonfire pits, and multiple zen areas. It was also right next to the always incredible Android Jones MOVA dome, which all year has been showcasing, in my mind, the best visual art in the festival community. Both stood at the top of a hill, making that hill by far my favorite spot in the whole festival. Oh yeah, and Tipper played a sunrise on the top if this hill as well. So there was that. Admittedly, I was pretty low-energy at that point, which is a shame because… well Tipper and all, but that was still one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. Vivid shades of blue and pink painted the sky as the reservoir reflected those same colors while the lone silhouette of a woman sent ripples through the water with her subtle body movements to Tipper’s fantastic sonic offerings. It was an iconic image of the weekend for me– truly a sight to behold– and it still haunts me that I didn’t bring my camera out that day. At the same time, of course, it is in my memory even more clearly because I didn’t have my camera, so maybe it was for the best.

As if the art on the land wasn’t enough, Symbiosis just had to go one step further and invite people to bring art boats. The water was already such a nice gamechanger and a defining characteristic of the festival, so the natural next step was to bring art boats. The aforementioned Delorean hovercraft was obviously a huge crowd-pleaser. The most impressive floating structure was undoubtedly Drift, a huge wooden raft (I’d call it more of a ship, honestly) with beautiful decor, a DJ booth, a dance floor, a gondola service, water slides, and who knows what else. Amazing work. One subtle highlight of the weekend was definitely swimming out (just a slight bit farther than it looked…) to a floating art gallery that was anchored in the water. It’s those small moments at a festival that always leave a big impact. The future is very bright for art boats. This is just the beginning of something incredible. All in all, Symbiosis undoubtedly and unsurprisingly raised the bar when it comes to art at a festival.

By Saturday night, everything was built, everybody’s energy was at a high, and this gathering was absolutely pulsating. As I was walking back to camp from the northernmost part of the festival grounds, I was blown away by the visual aesthetic of this place. It looked like if Burning Man took place on the streets of Venice, Italy. It just constantly blew my mind that this event was surrounded by water. The beautiful decor, the huge, loud, glowing stages, art installations and lights as far as the eye can see in every direction– and all of it reflecting off of water, creating perhaps the most visually stimulating nighttime skyline I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’d be surprised to see anything quite like it ever again. Visually, this place was something ripped straight out of a dream. The fact that we are even allowed to build this incredible place where it is, surrounded by water, and for just one weekend, truly boggles the mind. So much work goes into building this festival, and for it to be torn down after one weekend is practically unheard of, but that’s just what makes it so special. This huge, incredible, seemingly eternal waterfront paradise came and went in the blink of an eye, and boy-oh-boy am I grateful to have been a part of it.

Furtherrr

And that’s the most important thing about Symbiosis. It’s something to be a part of. It’s something to participate in. It’s an event that grows, changes, and improves over the course of the weekend because of what the people bring to it. When it comes down to it, it’s the people of Symbiosis that make it such a great festival. Everybody is on the same playing field. There’s a reason every GA wristband says “VIP” on it. Musicians, artists, production staff, volunteers, campers, festies, noobies, Burners– we are all humans, and that is the essence of Symbiosis. Human connection. Everyone comes here to experience something new, to learn about themselves, to express themselves, and to build this community. I’ve never had so many friendly and interesting conversations with people at a festival, and most of them came from just sitting at camp next to the water.

Symbiosis Gathering 2015 celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a bang, and it acted as an organic highlight reel of all of my favorite aspects of the West Coast transformational festival scene. It was an ultra-stimulating reminder of why we all got into this scene to begin with. A perfect fusion of art, music, the elements, and humanity. And I haven’t even scratched the surface of what went down this weekend. Workshops, yoga, and experiences such as the 40k Family Pyramid Feud– this place was so big, so abundant, with so much going on everywhere. If Burning Man is a city, then Symbiosis is like an island village. And to look at this village from a semi-objective bird’s-eye-view and take into account everything that it offered and everything the people brought to it– I have to say that it’s simply the best festival I’ve ever been to. Word’s really don’t do it justice. There was something so special about it, and just being there was an astonishing feeling. And you know what? There’s so much room for improvement. This is as good as festivals get, and as this world keeps on turning, I’m quite confident that Symbiosis is only going to get better.