Entrance (a.k.a. Guy Blakeslee) just released the great Promises EP and is gearing up for a full-length early next year via Thrill Jockey. In the meantime, he’ll be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Readers, you’re in for some really good stuff.
Blakeslee: The Integratron is a dome-shaped building near Joshua Tree in Landers, Calif., that was designed and built in 1953 by legendary UFO contactee George Van Tassel. Van Tassel claimed that a voice from space had spoken to him, and that Venutians (from Venus) had landed at his home and taught him how and where to build the Integratron using telepathic communication aboard their spaceship. The building is said to be situated on the intersection of three ley lines and manifests a number of strange energetic qualities, both inside the building and in the surrounding area. Many people claim that their car batteries were drained by being too close to the building. I personally witnessed the AA batteries repeatedly fly out of the back of a Super 8 camera as if by a strong force when a friend was trying to make a film there. Because of the heightened acoustics inside the dome, and the purported healing qualities of the building and the location, the Integratron in recent years has been re-purposed as a place for Sound Baths and sound healing; attendees lie down on pillows on the floor to let the sound waves generated by Crystal Singing Bowls wash over and cleanse them. It’s become a popular sightseeing destination for city people making a trip to the desert, and has also hosted a number of UFO conventions and other public events. Van Tassel was the creator of “the Giant Rock Spacecraft Convention,” which happened at nearby Giant Rock from 1953 until 1977. Giant Rock has been the site of many reported UFO experiences. Van Tassel’s mysterious death in 1978 put an end to his Integratron project which he claimed was going to become a Time Machine and life-extension machine.
