Natural Experience

Natural Experience formed in 1992 as a promotional collaboration between DJ's Hi-Shock and Black, following an ill-fated attempt at a hardcore rave, Mental Power, earlier in the year. In September 1992, Extaesia was the first official Natural Experience event, in a substantially refurbished Hunter's Tavern in the depths of the Sydney CBD. This event also marked the first involvement of ding, in this case as a mere chill-out DJ.

However, by the next event, Y~dot, the three had established a more integrated working team. Other projects followed included Extaesia 2 in 1993. At the end of 1993, ding and Black took over planning as Hi-Shock's involvement receded to the strictly musical. New enthusiasm, especially in hands-on terms, came from DJ oTTo, and Tal Clarke, the "you dream it up and i'll build it" guy who was largely responsible for the memorable cave design at Y~dot.

Over the Summer of 1993/94, Natural Experience produced a series of club nights called Deep Thought, which started at Club 77 in William St, then moved through the Sight in Kings Cross, and finally ended up at Trams (now Feedback) in Newtown. Over the same period, the group produced several one-offs including Free Thought (the free launch party for Deep Thought which attracted some 500 people into the narrow confines of Club 77), Harderdam at the Dungeon in Cleveland St - possibly the most underground hardcore party ever to take place in Sydney, largely driven by the ideas of Hi-Shock - and Fuk Orf 95, a New Year's Day party at Club 77.

The rest of 1994 was a quiet year for the Natural Experience crew. A trilogy of squat parties in bunkers was organised by ding with the support of the now defunct Punos enterprises and miscellanious other friends. Bunker 002 was the most memorable, attracting over 100 people to George's Head in the middle of Sydney Harbour, in a venue that was deep underground. Movementality, organised by DJ Black as an outdoor event went under the same name, Tumor Experience.

After the downfall of the planned New Year's Eve Bunker 003 party (presumably due to competing promoters telling the police where it was going to be), all plans were put on hold. Finally, in June 1995, ding, Black and oTTo retrieved the talents of Tal Clarke in order to generate Z~dot, if not one of the most memorable acid-music parties to take place in Sydney, certainly a party with one of the most memorable flyers (right), designed by Tobias Grime, of Clan Analogue fame.

The group are no longer working together, but continue to spring up with new projects which inevitably involve some degree of cross-fertilisation.