Doof

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Outdoor dance party

title: "Doof" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["psychedelic-trance", "dance-culture", "australian-styles-of-music", "australian-fringe-and-underground-culture", "musical-subcultures", "doofs"] description: "Outdoor dance party" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doof" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Outdoor dance party ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox"]

FieldValue
nameDoof
titleBush doof
image[[File:Rainbow Serpent Festival.jpg
captionRainbow Serpent Festival 2013
header1General Information
label2Related genres
data2Trance music, electronic dance music, goa, dub techno, psychedelic trance, ebm, industrial music, jungle music
label3Location
data3Oceania, New Zealand, Australia
label4Related events
data4Music festival, rave, trance festival, electronic dance music festival, teknival, free party
label5Related topics
::

| name = Doof | bodystyle = | title = Bush doof | titlestyle = | image = [[File:Rainbow Serpent Festival.jpg|300px]] | imagestyle = | caption = Rainbow Serpent Festival 2013 | captionstyle = | headerstyle = | labelstyle = | datastyle = | header1 = General Information | label2 = Related genres | data2 = Trance music, electronic dance music, goa, dub techno, psychedelic trance, ebm, industrial music, jungle music | label3 = Location | data3 = Oceania, New Zealand, Australia | label4 = Related events | data4 = Music festival, rave, trance festival, electronic dance music festival, teknival, free party | label5 = Related topics | data5 =

A doof or bush doof is a type of outdoor dance party generally held in a remote country area, or outside a large city in surrounding bush or rainforest. Events referred to as doofs are now held worldwide and have built from a small set of social groups to a subculture with millions of active members worldwide, considered by some as a full blown culture similar to raves or teknivals. Doofs generally have healing workshops, speakers, art, live artists and DJs playing a range of electronic music, commonly goa, house, dub techno, Techno, acid heavy sounds and psychedelic trance.

"Doof doof" is a term in Australia and New Zealand for loud electronic music centred on a heavy bass drum kick.

Etymology

The name is onomatopoeic, and is derived from the sound of the kick drum used in the electronic music frequently lettered (as in "doof doof doof doof music"). According to Peter Strong, the original term "doof" was created in Newtown, Sydney in Spring 1992, after a neighbour of the Non Bossy Posse knocked on the door to complain about their music: "What is this Doof Doof Doof I hear all night long, this is not music" she exclaimed. The term did not become a popular designation for outdoor dance parties until after the mid-1990s. Since 2017 in Melbourne, smaller doofs have sometimes been referred to as a "doif", after a local tech-house DJ, LOIF, headlined several smaller parties. This was initially a pushback to festivals like Pitch Music & Arts Festival, which "doofers" felt was too large to share the name with the more intimate parties from which the term originated.

History

During the 1990s, free dance parties proliferated in Sydney, particularly in Sydney Park in St Peters and warehouses of the Inner West. As pressure from police and councils increased, holding parties in the bush appeared as a more viable option.

The first documented commercial "doof" parties in Australia were held in Sydney in 1993. The earliest recorded event was Vegetable Matter on 8 May 1993, produced by Vegetable Matter. The event took place in an abandoned supermarket on Dixon Street, Chinatown, with DJs such as Non Bossy Posse, Biz E, Sub Bass Snarl, Colour, Quang, Freebase, Comadose, Pulse, Todd, Michael MD, Patrick HAF, and Blau Dot. The decks were set up inside old fridges, and the entrance was through a back alley past old freezers. Many people wondered what was in them.

Later that month, on 26 May 1993, another significant doof event, Suck Acid Fest, was produced by Virtual Bass at 324 King Street, Newtown. The lineup featured DJs Vincent, Free Bass, Sub Bass Snarl, and Acid Masters.

Following these early Sydney events, Earthcore became notable as one of the first commercial bush doof parties in Melbourne, Victoria, later in 1993.

Today, the term 'doof' can describe anything from a small gathering in the bush focused around a small sound system to a multi-day, multi-stage event with DJs, bands, and workshops.

In 2013, "bush doof" was added to the sixth edition of the Macquarie Dictionary.

Radio stations

There are 'doof' radio stations that serve as focal points for a worldwide community, including:

List of doofs

Main article: List of electronic music festivals

References

Inline

General

  • The Doof-Doof Music, B.J. Coman, Quadrant Magazine, January 2005 – Volume XLIX Number 1–2

References

  1. John, Graham St. (January 2001). "Doof! Australian Post Rave Culture. In Graham St John (ed.) FreeNRG: Notes From the Edge of the Dance Floor (Commonground, 2001)". In Graham St John (Ed.) FreeNRG: Notes from the Edge of the Dance Floor, Pp. 9-36..
  2. "Bush Telegraph".
  3. "Rural Reporter".
  4. (23 October 2003). "Doof doof doof".
  5. "Peter Strong (@mashy_p) / Twitter".
  6. "Four Corners "Beneath the Mirror Ball"".
  7. "Vegetable Matter – 8 May 1993".
  8. "Suck Acid Fest – 26 May 1993".
  9. (31 October 2018). "A Farewell From inthemix: Thanks For All The Memories".
  10. (31 October 2018). "A Farewell From inthemix: Thanks For All The Memories".

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psychedelic-trancedance-cultureaustralian-styles-of-musicaustralian-fringe-and-underground-culturemusical-subculturesdoofs