THE SECOND ROOM
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti comes early

For those of you wondering what “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti” means, I’ll tell you: “the birthday of the unconquered sun,” or the Winter Solstice. Humans have been celebrating this solar event since neolithic times. The Romans, in fact, officially hailed this as a holiday until at least the year 354 CE -- Dies Natalis Solis Invicti!

The Sun is of course the most adored object in human history. Without it, there would be no life on this planet. Ancient man regarded the Sun as a god for good reason.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ve noticed the days getting shorter and the Sun moving south and getting smaller. This slow death of the Sun continues until about Dec. 22 on our calendars, when it moves to the lowest point in the sky. Here it stops moving for three days.
And then on about Dec. 25, the Sun starts moving back north again, about 1 degree, toward warmer and longer days, once again proving its invincibility.

The astute sky watcher will also notice that Sirius and the Three Kings of Orion’s Belt are coming into their annual alignment. I’ve never paid attention to this before, but I’m keeping an eye on it this year – it’s supposed to point to the spot where the Sun rises on Dec. 25. Or at least it used to; Earth’s position in the Milky Way has moved some in the past 2,000 years. I suppose you are wondering where all of this is going, yeah?

Well, since by some estimates there are only going to be about five of these left before all Hell breaks loose in 2012, it makes more sense to make this event the center of my yearend holidays.

I’ll be departing soon for a short summer in New Caledonia to shoot some video, play a morning DJ set for A.P.A.P. and the Kosmix Crew, and soak up some star-filled nights. I’m taking with me a hot stack of new releases from Noga Records and the CD from “The Missing Link,” a groundbreaking new DVD/CD release by Calderon (SGK Studio), which we’ll talk more about when I get back.

And I’ll be back in time for Vision Quest’s next killer production, this time an indoor rave at the cavernous Makuhari Messe convention hall in Chiba Prefecture.

“Vision Power 2007,” Saturday, Dec. 22, Halls 10 and 11, doors open at 9 p.m. Presale tickets are 9,000 yen (or 11,000 yen on the day).

Live acts Astrix, Talamasca, Void, Melicia, S.U.N. Project, Dune and Onyx, plus DJs Ami and Sari.

Vision Quest has a lot of experience at these big Messe events. Expect Gathering-level sound, lighting and graphics. The big halls tend to be either stuffy warm or drafty cold – nothing in between, so be ready for both. Definitely a party worth going to.

“Dies Natalis Solis Invicti!”

WEEKEND UPDATE:
Mother Records Japan marks 5th anniversary

"Music is Connected to Universe" (Saturday, Dec. 8, Differ Ariake, 10 p.m.)

Mother Records Japan celebrates its 5th anniversary with another exciting episode of its "Music is Connected to Universe" theme on Saturday at Differ.

Live acts Protoculture (BNE Records, South Africa), Atomic Pulse (BNE Records, Israel) and Wizzy Noise (Exposure Productions, Greece), plus DJs Ta-Ka (Mother Records, Japan) and Daijiro (Digital Block, Japan).

Congratulations to Mother and label head Seiichi Sato for not only surviving five years in this ultra-competitive market, but also thriving. Having Japan's best psychedelic trance DJ -- Ta-Ka -- certainly helped, but Mother has built a solid reputation for doing things just right.

Mother's growth into Japan's Top-5 echelon has been measured, steady and respectable.

Even when they take a gamble, the odds end up stacked in their favor. Case in point was their 2007 summer signature event "SOS -- Space of Sound."

Despite being held from Sunday to Wednesday over the O-Bon holidays, they sold about 4,800 wristbands. Not only was this an all-time personal best, but it was also this summer's biggest party.