The 604 crew is determined to help psytrance, that high-speed, digital hippie music scene so known and loved in places like Israel, India and Thailand, get big in Beijing. Featuring former China Doll resident and native Beijinger DJ Michael 董, Belgian DJ Gotama and Pete Donaldson, who also works for pioneering psytrance label TipWorld, the 604 crew -- the name comes from the numeric version of the world Goa -- furthers their cause every month at Club Obiwan, where tonight they'll be pumping out those toe-tapping trippy sounds. We asked Pete to expand a bit on the meaning of psytrance and how it fits into the Beijing nightlife scene.

If someone doesn't know much about psytrance, how would you describe it to them?

The most "havin' it" dance music on the planet.

Its actually quite a difficult question to answer, I could spend hours trying to explain the difference between, say, normal trance and psytrance, and the unique vibe that a good psytrance party creates. But the best way to find out is to go to one and hear it as it was meant to be heard and that's loud!

One thing for sure is that psytrance is often very complex and intricate in an awe-inspiring way. A good track will have an extreme amount of attention to detail and essentially make you wonder how on earth it could have been made. Whether it's the funkiest groove you have ever heard or the most out-there sounds that couldn't possibly have been made by a human being!

Another point is that psytrance definitely has a defined culture. It's a way of life for a lot of people and I think this makes it different from a lot of other dance music. The psytrance scene is very much a global network, almost like a huge extended family.

This probably has to do with the origin of the music. Psytrance originally came about from outdoor parties that were thrown in Goa. Goa has always been on the international travelers map since the 60s, or even before, and travelers that attended these parties in the early 90s when electronic dance music was taking off took the unique influences of these parties back to their own countries and began writing songs and throwing parties inspired by what they had experienced in Goa. Since then it has grown into a truly global form of dance music. With parties taking place in countries all over the world in Brazil, England, Germany, Portugal, France, Bolivia, Japan, Russia, Israel, India, and Thailand to just name a few. This is also why psytrance often incorporates a lot of ethnic music. 604's Chinese DJ Michael 董 has a track on which features traditional ethnic Chinese singing!

What are your thoughts on psytrance and China? Does if have a big following here or in other cities?

Psytrance is still very small in China; the 604 parties we're throwing in Beijing are the only place you can hear psytrance at the moment. However from promoting the night and talking to people, there is definitely a following here they have just had nowhere to go up till now.

As for the rest of China i only know of two places where there are regular parties happening. One is in Shanghai. there is a psytrance crew there called Magic Garden. I think one of their recent parties had about 2000 people. The other place is Hong Kong. One of the biggest psytrance distributors is located there, and Saikosounds and psyonicboom throw regular parties.

But when compared to the rest of the world its is very small. Psytrance festivals in Europe, Brazil, and Japan have tens of thousands of people attending them. The largest I have heard of is sixty thousand!

How do you think a regular psytrance party helps contribute to the Beijing nightlife scene?

I think it helps diversify the Beijing nightlife, gives people more choice ... after all variety is the spice of life. I think it also opens people up to another type of dance music

What are you hoping to accomplish with the parties at Club Obiwan?

What were trying to do at Obiwan is establish a scene here. We've only just started but ideally what we want to do is to bring to Beijing the music, art and vibrancy that makes a psytrance night unique from other dance music. Every time we throw a party in Obiwan, we want to transform it in to a party that you would find in any country where Psytrance is already well established. For example, the backdrop artists in the Psytrance scene are just as important as DJs. They are even flown in for parties and spend a great deal of time getting the lighting and decorations just right to create a Psy vibe.

Also, eventually we'd like to bring over well-known artists from the international psytrance scene, and also inspire other DJs to start playing psytrance and start throwing their own Psy nights. Really get a scene going here.

Psytrance obviously has a big following in Thailand thanks to places like Ko Phangan. Do you think it can catch on here?

I think it can catch on here. Its already caught on in practically every other country on the planet so why not, right? I think the thing is that if people can identify with the vibe and culture that goes beyond the music then it will take off for sure, and in a big way.

To learn more, check out www.myspace.com/604productions and http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58329503444&ref=nf.

DETAILS 604 takes place tonight, Friday, June 19 at Club Obiwan. Doors at 10pm. Free.