If anyone was in the trance scene longer than Goa Gil, it would be hard to name the person. Gil began releasing albums in the early '90s, but his love of the region of Goa and its spiritual practices went back to 1969. That was the year he left San Francisco, which was of course in the middle of its flower child heyday, to travel to the furthest reaches of India. Many people credit the dreadlocked DJ with creating the Goa trance subgenre. Some of the very first Goa Full Moon parties, which are famed among scenesters and travelers the world over, were organized by Gil -- and he continued to organize them for decades. His constant companion on- and off-stage was Ariane, a fellow Goa trance pioneer and a renowned African djembe drummer. As a musical team, Gil and Ariane went under the name the Nommos. Gil was a DJ first, and a remixer second. His releases were split between remixes of fellow trance artists and DJ sets from live shows. Many of the albums featured Gil remixing Kode IV, his labelmate on San Francisco record label Ceiba as well as its owner. The first release, Insane, featured him on only two tracks. Gil's first full-length CD, entitled Spiritual Trance, was released on the French label Fairway Records in 1995. Spiritual Trance II followed in 1996. Gil also issued albums on Deck Wizards (England), NMC/Avatar (Israel), Phonokol Records (Israel), and Sony India. Gil was probably most famous in Israel, a hot spot for trance, and San Francisco, the place where he started his "psychedelic journey." He continued to travel around the world, playing and occasionally throwing parties everywhere from the Marin redwood forests to the crowded cities of the Mediterranean to the Middle Eastern desert. Goa Gil died on October 26, 2023, at the age of 72. ~ L. Katz