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[2] 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.[3][4]
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").[5] According to Peter Strong,[6] 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.[7] 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 commercial doof party to be hosted within Australia and New Zealand was Earthcore 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.
