Harlequin Chameleon: BIODIVERSITY, Album Launch

After 10 years in production Harlequin Chameleon aka David Gillett is finally releasing his debut psytrance album in the epic outdoor surrounds of the Denmark, Ocean Beach Angling Club!

Brought to life by a custom built stage by Chris Miller aka EarthStatik, a thumping new sound rig, custom lighting, decor and projections. Not to mention the epic site overlooking Ocean Beach at sunset!

Supported by performances by Earthstatik, Psilly Disco, special guest down from perth, Psydonia records CEO Fractal Nature aka Oli B.
(And a secret surprise DJ)

ABOUT THE ALBUM:
The album title ‘Biodiversity’ refers to the huge variety of plant life in southwest W.A. and the intermingling of ecosystems that make it possible.
When it comes to music forms. Psytrance is not typically thought of as vehicle for high art form.

However, the level of care, detail and perfectionism that has gone into this collection of music marks it as something with a different intention to most dance music. Long hours spent in front a computer, sculpting and shaping countless fragments of audio. Weaving the rough and raw emotion and experience of life into something that represents beauty and harmony.

The music captures the stories and emotions lived through 10 years.. From the experimentation of early 20’s to the maturity of 30’s. From heartbreak, loss, travel and mental breakdown to finding community and grounding in his hometown of Albany, Southwest W.A.

The one constant has been the presence of the natural world. As a mirror, a healer and inspiration.
This music in many ways, a sonic journey through real and imagined landscapes.
A tribute to the natural world and it’s power to aid the human spirit to process the trials of life.

THE STORY OF THE ALBUM PART ONE: THE ALBUM ART.
Along with being my very first self portrait, the album art is actually a composite of many previous digital art pieces I produced over the years. There are a few additions of course. (I painted the ocean and hills to the left to look like the view from the venue for the album launch).

When I first starting going to outdoor Psytrance parties or ‘Bush Doofs’ I was blown away by the sights, the sounds and the stimulation. At around about the same time I was studying Graphic Design and Illustration at Perth’s Central Tafe.
The experiences I was having at parties (many of them chemically enhanced) started to bleed into the digital art I was producing.
When you get really good psytrance (performed by a good DJ), it creates visionary landscapes in your mind and encourages you to see things in different ways.
For example. The spiral chameleon face on the artwork is actually a photo of a garden hose reel!
I walked out of the house one morning saw it and immediately though ‘hmmmm that looks like a chameleon’.

Like any music event, bush doofs are a cultural and community gathering. The effort it takes to sustain a massive production of lights, sounds and décor in the middle of a remote forest inspires a particular sense of connection and collaboration that draws people in and makes them want to take part in the creation.

Over the next few years I was asked to produced posters for some of the larger festival style Psytrance events.
Although my visual skills where developing fast and I was gaining a reputation as a graphic designer and illustrator I never lost that desire to be the guy up there making the sounds.
I started to wonder if there might be a way to transmute my visual skills into the Audible realm…

TICKETS: https://events.humanitix.com/biodiversity-harlequin…

ALBUM PREVIEW:
https://soundcloud.com/harlequincham…/biodiversity-preview