Behind the scenes with Valley of Psy + friends

Valley of Psy is the resident psy event for the Cape Town’s Southern Peninsula. What began as a bi-monthly gathering at the Bush Pub quickly evolved into one of the scene’s most frequented parties with monthly and even weekly events – all under the fruitful guidance of the Lili (Myzo) and Stuart Vermaak (Hiyarant).

“We like to party close to home, and love intimate trance parties with good vibes and energy,” says Hiyamyzo. “It all started as a ‘why not?’ The DJs and party people began asking us when the next one would be. We got more and more excited about the concept and decided to throw parties more often. We really love the fact that we get messages everyday from Valley of Psy fans or upcoming DJs requesting to play on our events.”

Exclusive interview with DJ Mark: I knew when I started that I would never give up

Mark Cullinan AKA DJ Mark is easily one of Cape Town’s most known and loved DJs. Praised for his full-on psychedelic style and an ability to blend older and more contemporary sounds, Mark continues to draw a massive crowd no matter wherever he performs.

*These questions were compiled by Brandon Menzies.

Psyked:
Hi Mark. First things first; what inspired you to embark on the path to becoming a psytrance DJ? And how did you first become exposed to the festival scene?

Mark:
I’ve always been interested in electronic music; I used to listen to some house when I was still in school. One day I found myself standing on the floor at a mammoth psytrance festival; it was the millennium. I was in awe! I turned to two of my mates and said, “I want to play at these jols,” and I pointed towards the DJ. Two months later, I had a mixer and two discmans, and that’s where it all began.