Rock en Seine music festival

Among the electronic music artists confirmed to play at this year’s Rock En Seine music festival are Death In Vegas, Trentemoller and top French DJ & producer Etienne De Crecy.

Fans of all three will appreciate that Death In Vegas & Trentemoller are headlining the Scene Pression Live Stage on Friday and Sunday, repsectively.  While Etienne De Crecy will headline the Scene De La Cascade Stage on Saturday night.

Death in Vegas were formed in 1994 by Richard Maguire aka Richard Fearless & Steve Hellier and were originally called Dead Elvis.  Objections had them change the name of the group and instead Dead Elvis became the title of their debut album.  Over the years their music has blended influences of psychedelic electronic rock, krautrock, dub, electronica & minimal techno as the band constantly change without concerns of fads and trends.

Death In Vegas now consists of original member Richard Fearless & Tim Holmes.

Rock en Seine is situated in a northern suburb of Paris and as such almost guarantees good camping weather, unlike the UK festivals which can be marred by rain, rain and more rain. The festival is in the centre of town just 10km outside Paris and is on from Friday 26th August to Sunday 28th August; and the High Speed Train and Metro can get you there in a matter of a few hours.

Francophonik - win tickets to see French music

If you are a fan or want to listen to more French music, Francophonik is a cool new service offering you the chance to win tickets and packages to French music gigs in the UK and festivals in France. Their latest competition is to win two tickets to Rock en Seine. All you have to do is visit the Francophonik Facebook page, become a fan, then apply for tickets by simply ticking a box.

Sponsored Post

Club to Club Istanbul 2011 - State Of Indepen/Dance

“Club To Club Istanbul is packed with special previews by some of the most acclaimed visionary musicians worldwide”.

After the success registered by twinning with the Turkish megacity in the occasion of its latest edition (November 2010), Club To Club – Torino’s International Festival of Electronic Music and Arts – returns to Istanbul with an exclusive special edition, under the claim “State Of Indepen/Dance“.

Club to Club Istanbul 2011 – State Of Indepen/Dance, an international festival of electronic music & arts will take place on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th and Saturday 11th June 2011 – in locations such as Tamirane, Otto Santral, Energy Museum (in Santralistanbul), Minimuzikhol and Sumahan Space (1902) – and will feature some of the most significant names in today’s music scene.

State Of Indepen/Dance – Club to Club Istanbul artists  confirmed include:

James Holden (UK)
Kode9 (UK)
Deniz Kurtel (Turkey)
Luke Abbott (UK)
Egyptrixx (Canada)
Demdike Stare (UK)

+ a very special guest and more to be announced in the next few days.

State Of Indepen/Dance – Club to Club Istanbul Tickets
35 Turkish Liras (advance ticket) 45 Turkish Liras (on the door)

Save Money on Exclusive package deal

All packages include return flights for Istanbul, two nights accommodation, and access to all the festival events.

Special to Istanbul from €249
return flight taxes included + festival pass + 2 nights at Hotel Galata Life Istanbul.

Plus to Istanbul from €299
return flight taxes included + festival pass + 2 nights at Hotel Istanbul Suite 4* (breakfast included)

For more information visit www.mobigio.com/dettaglio/Club_to_Club_Istanbul.html.

KaZantip Republic Dance Music Festival - Ukraine

KaZantip Republic
30th July – August 27th 2011
Crimea, Ukraine

KaZantip Republic returns to the beautiful Crimean Black Sea coast from 30th July – August 27th 2011 for it’s 19th year of celebrations! Best described as the wildest, longest, craziest, liveliest and most unusual electronic music event you could ever imagine, the KaZantip Republic exists in a parallel reality according to it’s own PreZident’s ideas: “summer all year round” and “life with no pants”. The sun is shining, the sea is swinging, the music is singing on every side and the wind is always blowing strong enough for the Republic’s national sport of Kitesurfing. This small land of the rising fun is home to adventurous, bronzed fun-seekers unwilling to wave goodbye to their childhood.

KaZantip Republic is a space where people can totally express themselves: DJs, musicians, producers, film makers, designers, performers, freaks, beautiful dancing girls and toned kitesurfing boys. Having been compared to Ibiza and Burning Man, KaZantip has a wide range of parties 24/7, art projects, and a community of crazy people set against the mind blowing back drop of a technicolour light show.

Each and every year hundreds of world-class electronic music artists descend upon the KaZantip Republic. DJs such as Sven Vath, Dubfire, Timo Maas, M.A.N.D.Y., Seth Troxler, dOP, Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren, LTJ Bukem, Oliver Huntemann, Ricardo Villalobos, James Zabiela, Stanton Warriors, Robert Babicz, Guy Gerber and Rhadoo have all performed in previous years and this year’s lineup is set to be bigger and better than ever before. Names will be announced very soon.. With 6 dancefloors, 30 bars and restaurants, 2 open air crimea halls, 3 kite stations and a huge number of various architectural constructions which you can’t even imagine, KaZantip is an undiscovered party paradise.

It’s not only the thousands of party revellers that love the 4 week long party on the beach in the Ukraine…the DJs and artists love it too.

The KaZantip lineup will be announced very soon so watch this space for more information.

KaZantip Republic Music Festival 2011 main events:

July 30                     The Gate Opening
Aug 06                     Kazantip 2011 Opening Ceremony
Aug 11 – Aug 14       The Second Music Summit On Mars
Aug 14 – Aug 18       Lives on Mars
Aug 20                    Kazantip 2011 Closing Ceremony
Aug 21 – Aug 27      The Martian Aftermath

Travel:
Closest airport – Simferopol
Then around 1 hour by taxi (cost around $50)

By train to Evpatoriya
Then by bus ($3) or taxi (around $20)

Accommodation:
There are 3 options – village Popovka, Mirniy and Kosa.

Popovka is a five-street hamlet, a five-minute walk away from the Kazantip – it will be no trouble to get back home from the beach in any condition and anytime. Almost every house offers rooms for hire; the prices vary from $15 to $150.

Mirniy is a small, block of flats town within 20 minutes of Kazantip, where you can rent a multiple room apartment for your whole family or friend group. Walkable distance from Kazantip or you can take a taxi for $10-20.

Kosa is a sand embankment between Popovka and Mirniy separating the sea from the Donuzlav lake, about 15 minutes drive from Kazantip area. There are lots of comfortable villas and hotels but harder to reach by public transport / taxis so you would need to hire a car.

Money:
Ukrainian Hrivna (1 euro = 9.5 hryvnas, $1 = 8 hryvnas)
5- 6 cash points.

Food & Drink:
Many different options from fast food and regular ukrainian dishes.
Complete dinner – 35-50 hryvnas

KaZantip Republic Music Festival Tickets:

Festival goers are issued a special visa similar to a credit card with a barcode, which allows access in and out of Kazantip Republic. Visas are issued on-site and are not available to buy online before the event. There is an infinite number of tickets available throughout the whole of the event.

There are two types of Republican Visa:

1 – Plastic multiple entry visa, granted for a month-long period, allows multiple entries into the Republic. Multiple entry visa will cost you about €100;

2 – Single entry visa, or transit visa, or tourist visa, valid for one and only visit and cancelled as soon as the visitor leaves the territory of the Republic. Single entry visa is available for €50 each.

Glade Electronic Music Festival 2011

Glade Electronic Music Festival will be held on 10th,11th & 12th June 2011 and will be held at The Mansion House, Old Warden Park, Biggleswade Bedfordshire.  Conveniently situated for festival goers travelling from all directions  this location is an ideal site, close to all major routes, and  in a beautiful landscaped park.

Below are the final additions to this year’s Glade Festival, followed by the complete line-up.

GLADE STAGE:

London Elektricity / Elite Force / The Losers (live)

London Elektricity AKA Tony Coleman. Head honcho of one of the world’s leading drum n bass labels, Hospital Records. Having been involved in the scene since the mid 1990’s he has been instrumental in the development of the genre as we know it todat.

London Elektricity will be supported by Breakbeat’s Elite Force, who have been instrumental in the sound from the early days of NuSkoolBreaks through to spearheading the tech-funk and more recently more bass-heavy sound of break.  Elite Force was recently voted best producer at the Breakspoll 2011 Awards.

The Losers consist of XFM’s Eddy Temple-Morris and Tom Bellamy.  They have remixed the likes of The Prodigy, Placebo, Snow Patrol, Empire of the Sun, Dan le Sac & Scroobius Pip and Alex Gopher amongst others and they are just about to release their debut album ‘Beautiful Losers’ Gung Ho! Recordings. Not to be missed!

OVERKILL:

Ed Rush, Luke Vibert, Subhead, 2 Bad Mice, Goth Trad, Drumcorps, The DJ Producer, Africa Hitech, Lone, Kanji Kinetic v Rrritalin.

Jacky Murda, Hi Freqs, DJ Donna Summer, Dankle vs Moova, MachineDrum, Mustard Vs Gunn,  Boy Kid Cloud, Noiseboy, Current Value, Droid, Noisyboy, Parasite,
Pirate Soundsystem & Punksi,

Having already released what we considered to be a great line up, Team Overkill have pulled out all the stops with their second wave of acts headed up by some true legends within their genres.

Kick-starting with No-U-Turn & Virus legend Ed Rush who joins one of the most prolific producers in IDM / forward-thinking electronica Luke Vibert (Wagon Christ, Plug, Kerrier District and Warp, Planet Mu, Rephlex and too many more) at the very top of the bill, we also welcome old school heros 2 Bad Mice (Bombscare / Moving Shadow Recs) Gabba-legend The DJ Producer and Scottish techno pioneers Subhead. Add to this the hypest new producers Africa Hiteh and Love alongside Dubstep heroes GothTrad, the extreme Drumcorp and a whole host more. Get your waders on and prepare to get stuck in.

ORIGIN / INSPIRAL / FUSE:

Antix, Mixmaster Morris, Electrypnose, Ipcress, OTT, Quantize, Andy Rushton, Antonio Testa, Couscous, Robin Triksele, Young American Primitive, Dan Arborise, Flurotrash, fiord, Hypnophonica, Irie M, Ishq, Katty Grooves, Little Thoughts, Manesseh,
Metaphra, Noodream.

Taking care of all your Psy-Trance needs, these three arenas will have you rocking until the very end, from the beautiful outdoor sunny vibes of Origin Stage where the best in UK and international Psy Trance featuring a selection of the biggest and best live acts ad DJs covering all styles and flavours. InSpiral Stage will play host to all things chilled out and world-music during the day and then move towards more psy-funk and techno as the evening progresses. Finally our new stage FUSE plays host to five of the UK’s leading promoters Liquid, Illuminaughty, Planet Shroom, Wildthings, Planet Zogg and Toadstool.

GLADE FESTIVAL 2011 – FULL LINE UP

GLADE STAGE:
TRENTEMøLLER
(LIVE  feat. FULL 7-PIECE BAND)
DRUMCODE feat. ADAM BEYER,
SLAM, PAUL RICH (LIVE ) & JOSEPH CAPRIATI
GLOBAL COMMUNICATION (DJ SET)
ANDREW WEATHERALL / PHOTEK (LIVE)
SKRILLEX / LONDON ELEKTRICTY
ELITE FORCE / DREADZONE (LIVE)  / KRAFTY KUTS
HYBRID (LIVE) / DIRTYPHONICS (LIVE) / THE LOSERS (LIVE)
ENGINE EARZ  EXPERIMENT (LIVE) / DUB FX & THE FLOWER FAIRY (LIVE)
DUB PISTOLS (LIVE) / DIRTY VEGAS (LIVE)
BEN & LEX

ORIGIN STAGE:
LIVE:
AJJA, ALLABY, ANTIX, ATMOS, ATOMIC DROP, BROKEN TOY, DICKSTER, ELECTRYPNOSE, FØRM, HEADROOM, LOGICA, M-THEORY, MAN WITH NO NAME, OTT, PROMETHEUS, QUANTIZE, SONIC SPECIES, THE COMMERCIAL HIPPIES, TRISTAN

DJ:
EDOARDO, EMOK, HAMISH, IPCRESS, LIQUID ROSS, LUCAS, REGAN & SHANE GOBI

OVERKILL STAGE:
LIVE:
2 BAD MICE, EPROM, ESKMO, DRUMCORPS, SUBHEAD, YOUNG MONTANA?, BROKEN NOTE, LOOPS HAUNT, KORELESS, AFRICA HITECH, GOTHTRAD, HI FREQS,  CURRENT VALUE, SPONGEBOB SQUAREWAVE, PARASITE, MACHINE DRUM, KANJI KINETIC VS RRRITALIN, DROID VS SQUIRE OF GOTHOS, BACONHEAD, PIRATE SOUNDSYSTEM, DANKLE VS MOOVA, LONE.

DJ:
ED RUSH, LUKE VIBERT, SHITMAT, JACKY MURDA, MUSTARD GUNN VS DAS BOOT, DJ DONNA SUMMER, CURRENT VALUE, BOY KID CLOUD,  ANXST, BECKET & BARKER, N>E>D b2b VOLTEK DJS, SQUIRE OF GOTHOS, NOISYBOY, THRENODY, SILVERMAN, REVOLVA (BUF b2b GHETTOZOID) PUNKSI, BASHOUT ALLSTARS, WARLOCK, WARRIOR ONE, RACKNRUIN + MC SEROCEE.

INSPIRAL
LIVE:
GAUDI
, INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER
, ECHASKECH
, HYPNOPHONICA,
SLACKBABA, SYSEPHE
, MBUKI MVUKI, DAN ARBORISE, METAPHRA, YOUNG AMERICAN PRIMITIVE.

DJ:
MIXMASTER MORRIS, DICK TREVOR
, ANS, GEORGE BARKER, ANTONIO TESTA, TRIPSWITCH
, fIORD, ALEX R, ANDY RUSHTON, COUSCOUSE, IRIE M, ISHQ, KATTY GROOVES, LITTLE THOUGHTS, MANASSEH, ALOK
, ALIJI,  NAKED NICK, MOON
, NOVA, EKANTA
, JUSTIN CHAOS
, NOODREEM, LEWAH

PERFORMANCE:
FLUROTRASH

BETA STAGE
LIVE & DJ:
UNTOLD, SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER, OM UNIT, MOSCA, MIDLAND, MARK E, HYETAL, BLAWAN, BEN UFO + PANGAEA, MAXXI SOUNDSYSTEM, ROYALT,  SKETCHY, JOHN MONKMAN, FUTUREBOOGIE, ELPHINO,  JUST JACK DJS, EL DIABLOS SOCIAL CLUB, COUNT CHOCULA, BONAR BRADBURRY, BOBBY GANDALF, BICEP, ANOTHER AMIT, ALEMBIC

ENTER THE NANOSYSTEMS

Alongside the five main stages; Glade, Overkill, Origin, InSpiral and our latest addition Beta, Glade are pleased to announce a whole host of new, smaller venues we’ve named the ‘Nanosystems’, these will be scattered across the site adding an extra dimension to this year’s festival. Featuring a mix of music and off-the-wall entertainment and hosted by a selection of friends and family prepare to enter the Nanosystems. Here’s a venue by venue taster of what to expect:

NANOSYSTEM CLUB TENTS

BASSMENT

Hosted by South West’s Finest Promoters: BEATS & BOBS, RINSEOUT and more, expect Drum-n-Bass, Dubstep, Basslines, Breaks and all the rest!

ATOMIC HOOLIGAN, DISCO OF DOOM, TQ SCOUNDREL, CHINNA, STANZA, FRED V B2B GRAFIX, MR NICE. MAXXI P, TUSKAN, SPINNA, RICHMOND, BEN & LEX, LEWAH, SUBINDEX, SHARKMAN, DON JOHNSTON, DJ PHARMA.
THE FUSE

Hosted by Psy-Trance legends LIQUID, ILLUMINAUGHTY, PLANET SHROOM, WILDTHINGS, PLANET ZOGG and TOADSTOOL

EARTHLING, TRON, OOOD, EVP, BEARDYWEARDY, GREG ZOGG, CHAMELEON, HEDFLUX, MONK3YLOGIC, INSOMNISCENE, JOHNNY M, MAZIEG, NOSF, RECREATION, SABRETOOTH, MORPH VS LURK, SEAN SHIFT, BORIS, BEN EDGE, TOAD, MIKEY

GOURANGA

One of the most popular underground parties in London!

TIM SHERIDAN (VERYVERYWONGINDEED), MIGUEL CAMPBELL, MALCOLM MURRA, NISEKEY, MAM, ALEXANDER KAAS, ISAAC FERRY

ETA

Estimated Time of Arrival is West London’s word of mouth underground party scene attracting a beautiful and stylish crowd

LAZERSONIC, HUGO HEATHCOTE, ADRIAN FORSTER, JIMMY V, CEDRIC MAISON, ERIC VOLTA, THURDCULTURE, PHILIP TOMLIN, MATT FIELD, JOSH SILVER, SILVIO PACINI

DANCE-OFF SALOON:

Expect moonshine drinking, piano playing, trash talking and impromptu bar brawls, complete with theatrical bottles to smash over anyone who looks at you funny… Over the weekend let your hair down with high-spirited line dances, score settling limb slinging, and the occasional gunfight. Cowboys & girls can show off their lasso skills, brave the bucking bronco and defend their good names with pistols at dawn…

LZRDM:

Pronounced `Laser Dome` this venue contains 40 individually controlled 3-colour laser modules. Their position and colour is individually computer-controlled – creating an intense and entrancing effect on you all once the phase transition is underway! The `laser dance` is also known to cause endogenous hyper-emotional ebullition from participants – a side effect that has not yet been fully researched! Ooooooooooh…

THE TIME MACHINE:

Play video games, trigger drum machines with your feet and manipulate projected visuals as you dance to DJs.  Flying forwards and backwards through time has never been more fun…

And there’s  plenty more to find when you come… Games, Roller Discos, Tenpin Bowling, Zorbing and more

Glade Electronic Music Festival
The Mansion House
Old Warrren Park
Biggleswade
Bedfordshire

Glade Electronic Music Festival Tickets: (Capacity Strictly Limited To 5000)

Weekend Tickets: £135 + BF
Camper Van Passes: £50
Deposit Scheme Tickets: £50 + BF

Disability Information

Disabled attendees have to buy a festival ticket to gain entry. Carers, who attend with a disabled person, have the opportunity to get a ticket at 50% of the full ticket price, at the Box Office on site, on presentation of a valid Disability Card. (no card – no discount).

Age Information

Under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult. ID will requested if you look under 18.

Travel Info
Glade, Old Warden Park  is five minutes from the A1, just off the B658.
Trains to Biggleswade from Kings Cross.

For more information visit www.gladefestival.com.

Boardmasters Festival in Newquay, Cornwall

Fatboy Slim will headline this year’s Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters Festival which is Cornwall’s only surf, skate and music festival offering the ultimate in World Class surf and music.  The festival will be held across two sites in Newquay, Cornwall from 10-14th August 2011.

Fatboy Slim has one of the biggest dance shows in the world and his songs are instantly recognisable. His discography is second to none with his tracks commonly heard in the furthest corners of the World. This corner is Newquay and Cornwall couldn’t be happier!
Fatboy Slim represents the Boardmasters highest profile act to date. On the 13th August 2011, Newquay, Cornwall is the only option.

The Relentless Boardmasters is Europe’s premier surf, skate and music event and is now cemented as “The Cornish Festival.” The Boardmasters takes place across two sites – Fistral Beach will host World class surfing, skate boarding and BMX while the cliff tops at Watergate Bay will host the 9 live music stages that make up the Boardmasters Music Festival.

The Relentless Boardmasters, as a celebration of 30 years of surfing at Fistral Beach the event has upgraded its Men’s ASP surf event to a 6 star event which will bring the best up and coming surfers on the planet. This year the event is running a week later, avoiding clashes with other high profile events across the World.

In a move to represent all aspects of surfing the Relentless Boardmasters will introduce longboarding including a 3 Star Men’s ASP event and 6 Star Ladies ASP event. With these new and upgraded events The Relentless Boardmasters will invest in its core surfing heritage and truly represent surfing as a whole.

The Relentless Boardmasters Festival Tickets
Tickets go on sale on Monday 7th March.  For tickets and up to date information visit  www.relentlessboardmasters.com.

Throughout June, July and August, venues across the continent will be buzzing with the sound of electro beats and pulsating with the dancing devotees of the genre.

Festivals offer a unique opportunity for electric music enthusiasts to immerse themselves in the sounds they love, while mixing with crowds of like-minded musos.

Some notable events on the electric music festival circuit this summer will include:

• Sonar, Barcelona, Spain. Running from Thursday June 16 to Saturday June 18 2011, this festival truly takes over the streets of this stunning city, and intertwines an electric music vibe with coinciding street theatre and other arts. Previous line-ups have included the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Pete Tong with this year’s acts yet to be announced.

• Love Family Park, Hanau, Germany. This one day event in the city’s Mainweisen takes place on Sunday July 3 2011 and runs from 9am to 10pm. Previous headliners include Underworld.

• Monegros, Spain. The Monegros Desert Festival dates for 2011 are yet to be announced, but the event is likely to be the second or third weekend in July. A great spot for camping with friends and enjoying the best electronic music offerings.

• Loveland, Sloterpark, Holland. Just a short tram journey outside Amsterdam, the Loveland festival will take place on Saturday August 13 2011. Former acts attracted to the one day event include Sasha and Eric Morillo. This year’s line-up is yet to be announced.

• Nature One, Pydna Missile Base, Frankfurt. One of the most highly acclaimed events in the European electronic music festival calendar, Nature One is a three day event that will run from Friday August 5 to Sunday August 7 2011. Showcasing the best in techno, hardcore, dance and trance, the festival attracts big name DJs every year with big names like Paul van Dyk and Carl Cox taking to the turntables.

Other highlights of the 2011 summer season for those in the electronic music scene include the Lake Parade in Geneva, with dates yet to be announced, the Paris Techno Parade on September 24 2011 and the Zurich Street Parade on August 13; all of which make great stops on a summer long festival road trip.

With so many great events books for 2011, festival goers may find their appetites whetted for the electronic music festival scene and can look forward to 2012 with excitement when Portugal’s nine day full moon extravaganza Boom will return.

For those who wish to acquaint themselves with Booms Nova Lake location in advance, a visit to the area and a stay in one of the many cheap hotels in Portugal might be in order.

The Garden Festival, Petrcane, Croatia 6- 13th July

The Garden Festival, Petrcane, Croatia 6- 13th July

I am as yet still confused as to the name of the festival… perhaps The Most Friendly Festival, The Festival of Sea, Waves and Boats, or even the Happiest Clappiest Festival would be more accurate than Garden.  Hey ho, what’s in a name though, right?

The Garden Festival has been running for 5 years and has generated a fantastic fan base from both the participants and the performers for being a spot on boutique beach festival.  Due to this the line up this year was particularly strong with a blend of old time party favourites such as Greg Wilson playing alongside DJ’s du jour Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones.

The Garden Festival site is on it’s own peninsula in a little fishing village with an amazing view of islands on the horizon.  The whole site is open from midday, where you can lounge on the waters edge and work on your tan whilst the music slowly builds up in intensity to a party atmosphere.  There are essentially three main areas on the site.  My favourite is the beach bar, where a dance floor has been erected on stilts over the water.  Those foolhardy/ brave enough can dance in front of the stage whilst the waves crash over them.  The dance floor was the perfect place for watching the sunset dip behind the distant islands.

To get to the main stage you walk through canopies of trees, which house large day beds for reclining on.  The main stage itself is quite a small size with a sunken middle to help bring the revellers into close proximity.  The Argonaughty boat parties provide off site entertainment for four hours sailing on the Adriatic Sea.  At night once the festival closes outdoors, the 70’s kitsch Barbarella nightclub opens until 6 am.  And that is it.

Chali 2NA from Jurassic 5 with Buzzin Groupies

The Garden Festival can be walked around in about ten minutes and walked through in five.  It is this tiny size in a beautiful setting that gives the festival a unique intimacy you wouldn’t normally get to experience at larger festivals.  This is how friendships are made and developed.  The chance encounters with strangers, turn into a familiar, ‘hello,’ then by the end of the weekend, you will have danced, bathed and eaten with these people and felt as though you have known them for months.

With the festival being held over two weekends, the musician’s rota was split.  The split unfortunately wasn’t known until about a month beforehand, which meant that there was a high likelihood, that some of the people you wanted to see could be playing on a different weekend to the one that you had booked to go.  And that is my first gripe.  Also due to the split, the DJ’s quite often end up doing more than one gig; this has it’s pluses and minuses.  Obviously, it’s great if you miss one of the performances so you get the chance to see them again.  Jamie Jones was a prime example of this- he played at the Mulletover party in Barbarella’s on the Friday and then again at the beach bar on the Saturday.  This provides the opportunity for DJ’s to play a different style set dependant on the location and time; a chance I’m sure that provides a freedom to explore their different musical styles.

On the other hand though, I can’t help but think I want to hear one of the other performers that was announced on the initial billing for the festival.  But I maybe alone on that disappointment, because at the end of the day the quality of those playing was so high that it didn’t effect the overall enjoyment of the event.

So, to specifics of those played and the music heard.  I’ve dubbed the festival, the festival of Stevie Wonder.  His smooth funk was the iconoclastic sound that bound the festival style together.  I heard his vibrant melodies, enriched with disco and his soulful voice dropped by many a DJ throughout my three days there.  It was the sound of a festival teeming with good times music with the sole purpose to make you feel good and dance.

The Mulletoverboard Boat Party was the perfect way to be drawn into the party atmosphere of the Garden Festival on the first Friday.  Geddes, a regular stalwart of the Mulletover parties, played a phenomenal set of tech- house- minimal marvellous-ness.  Ralph Lawson, head honcho of 2020 Vision displayed his highly tuned professionalism by his fantastic impromptu set (impromptu as Jamie Jones was the act supposed to be performing but was still enroute to Croatia).  By the time we fell off the boat at 6 pm, the heightened sense of revelry meant everyone returned to the festival site to continue the party fairly seriously.

Crazy P’s live set was future boogie and funk infused.  Snippets of Manchester house filled the sound as did the warmth of saxophones and slinky vocals.  Jamie Jones set in Barbarella’s fulfilled every expectation of his unique ‘Ketamine Tech House’ sound as epitomised by his playing of this summer’s track ‘Without You’ by The Art Department.

Saturday’s music offering was to be highlighted with a serious disco turn by the headliners of the main stage in the evening- Horse Meat Disco.  Leading up to their unique contemporary take on the disco genre we were treated to further interpretations of the disco sound via Jamie Jones, Rob da Bank, The Revenge and Greg Wilson down at the beach bar.

The highlight of these four was Rob da Bank’s dropping of a mix of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere.’  The melody took a while to come in, so it snuck up on the crowd and exploded with the looped chorus ‘I want to be with you everywhere’.  This was a serious goose pimples on the tops of arms moment.  German Tensnake played just before Horse Meat on the main stage, and did a fine job playing his electronic style of disco that got the crowd very hot and sweaty.

Sunday had a more lazy summer Hip Hop type feel as initially provided by Big Dada artist Ty, then followed up with Breakestra from LA featuring Chali 2na from Jurassic 5.  A fine example of the chilled out friendly atmosphere of The Garden was Charli 2na seen happily walking around the festival post his set, greeting fans, posing for photos and sharing hugs with all.

Greg Wilson finished off the Sunday evenings ‘day’ activities with a fantastic set incorporated tracks that spread the length and breadth of his career.  He included Primal Scream, Hercules and Love Affair and the original ‘You’ve Got the Love’ by Candi Staton.  His set concluded with Barry White’s ‘Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe’- oooh yeah!

Earlier I alluded to some quibbles with the festival.  A big thing was the Croatian water- it makes you sick.  Stomach aches and inability to eat for three days was a pain in the, er stomach!  As the site is in a fishing village, the power switch board struggles to handle the outgoings necessary to generate a multiple stage sound/ lighting gig and on a number of times the festival was struck with power failures.

Friday suffered the worst with 30 minutes disappearing into blackness at 11 pm.  The beach cocktail bar ran out of all spirits but one type reducing the list to only one style of cocktail on the Saturday night.  And the boat party has the most unusual disorganised bar set up I have experienced.  All these issues and the festival wasn’t at capacity.  As stated earlier my main issue was the fact that the festival split the line up over two weekends.  This seems to have been other’s issues too, as The Garden Festival website has announced next year they will be holding the festival over one weekend only.  A huge improvement if you ask me.

The other quibbles can easily be rectified with greater organisation dependent on knowledge of numbers of attendees and the demands that the numbers will place on the site.

All in all, the festival was great fun.  A lovely boutique festival, which feels intimate, held in an amazing location.  The feeling generated is warm, fuzzy and incredibly friendly.

I definitely recommend it to those looking for an alternative to the larger more hectic European festivals because here you have the opportunity to have a slower paced holiday with music thrown in or you can choose to get involved in all the activities The Garden has on offer.   The Garden Festival?  More aptly The Damn Good Festival in Croatia!

For more information visit www.thegardenfestival.eu

SUNceBEAT Music Festival, Croatia

Southport Weekender Presents
SUNceBEAT
August 13th-15th 2010
The Garden Petrcane, near Zadar, Croatia

SunceBeat Ravers!

2010 sees the dawning of a new era for the legendary Southport Weekender Festival as they embark on a new journey overseas, taking their SPW magic to the Croatian shores this summer with their brand new event, SUNceBEAT.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of The Garden Petrcane near Zadar, this 2500 capacity event will take place over 3 nights and days from 13th August – 15th August.

SUNceBEAT will sport a plethora of World class DJ’s and live acts, spanning across 2 outside stages in the beautiful “Garden Area” with the crystal clear Adriatic Sea lapping at your feet, alongside the late night club, cocktail and champagne bars, numerous sun lounging areas and the 150 year old clipper, ‘Argonaughty’ (250 capacity) setting sail twice a day for the 6 exciting boat parties they have planned.

DJ’s already confirmed for SUNceBEAT:

DENNIS FERRER
THEO PARRISH
RON TRENT
JAZZANOVA
AME
KERRI CHANDLER
RUB N TUG
JOEY NEGRO
JAZZIE B (SOUL II SOUL)
KARIZMA
MR THING
THE MARTINEZ BROTHERS
RONNIE HEREL
EDDY MEETS YANNAH (CROATIA)
PHIL ASHER
KEV BEADLE
LUIS RADIO – EQUAL RECS /ROOM26 (ITALIA)
TERRY JONES
SARAH FAVOURITIZM
SOULDYNAMIC (ITALIA)
MR FINGERS (LARRY HEARD) LIVE
DJ’S DEKKY & MAGIC JAY (SLOVENIA)
GAVIN KENDRICK
MARC ROWLANDS

Live Acts confirmed for SUNceBEAT:

ROY AYERS
JOSE JAMES
BAH SAMBA FT TASITA D’MOUR
LEROY HUTSON

SUNceBEAT Ticket Prices

Weekend Adult Tickets: £80pp
Children Under 12 are free of any charge
Boat Parties : To be announced

Accomodation

Hotels
Petrcane is well stocked with accommodation. Check Hotel Pinija if your after a three star hotel vibe with indoor pool, etc. There’s a huge stock of apartments and villas that can be booked for the week or weekend as well as cheaper hotels for as little as 10 Euros a night. The village also has camping facilities for up to 160 tents so the choice is yours. If you would like further information about staying at Hotel Pinija then please visit General Turist or email info@terratravel.hr as they will have a limited rooming availability.

For accommodation enquiries insdie the village, please email gail@thegardenzadar.com. For accommodation enquiries outside the village, General Turist is the official accommodation engine for the area.

Camping
There is a small campsite very close to the festival which can hold around 100-120 “plots” (ie. Small – medium tent).The price is 25 kuna’s per day which works out at around £3 a day. Bargain! Please check out Camp Pineta or email Gail (as Above) for a larger campsite, They do get booked up quite quickly though! If you are looking on the internet for accommodation then the villages of PETRCANE or PUNTA SKALA are best for walking to the festival site.

You can get more information from www.SUNceBEAT.com

Patrice Scott - secretsundaze @ sonar

secretsundaze and The Secret Agency presents secretsundaze Sonar Party 2010 at La Terrazzza and the picnic area in Poble Espanyol.

Patrice Scott (Sistrum)
The Mole (Wagon Repair)
Trus’me (Prime Numbers)
Ethyl and Flori (Quitessentials, Freerange)
Giles Smith (secretsundaze)
James Priestley (secretsundaze)

The Secret Agency (secretsundaze’s new booking agency) and secretsundaze are proud to announce details of our 3rd party at Barcelona’s amazing open air club La Terrazzza. Although this is the 3rd year secretsundaze will be representing at La Terrazzza after 2 hugely successful parties, this is the first real Sonar showcase of our new booking agency The Secret Agency.

2010’s party looks set to be the best yet with it being the first time we have utilised the picnic area just a few minutes walk from La Terrazza. This is beautiful grassy area with trees overhanging the dance area with picnic benches and seating making it the perfect way to ease into the evening as a pre cursor to moving into La Terrazzza at midnight.

Along with La Terrazzza it provides one of the only true open air parties one can experience during the Sonar festivities. La Terrazzza itself is without doubt one of the most stunning locations for a party at Sonar. The party will go on for a marathon 12 hours!

Our headliner is Patrice Scott from Detroit. Patrice’s productions on his Sistrum imprint have garnered him fans the world over and his DJ sets at the likes of Panorama bar, Fabric and indeed secretsundaze In London have furthered his appeal.

Joining Patrice we have two of our favourite artists of the moment with The Mole and Trus’me. The Mole has been a favourite appearing at secretsundaze a number of times now but usually performing live. This will be in fact his first time djing for us. Manchester’s Trus’me has shot to populartity over the last few years and his albums “Working Night’s” and “In The Red” have received huge acclaim. He has an extremely busy DJ schedule and we look forward to his debut set for secretsundaze.

Also representing The Secret Agency we have young guns Ethyl and Flori who at the tender age 23 have already released on Quintessentials, Freerange, Cecile and forthcoming on secretsundaze. They are no slouches in the djing department either! Last up our ever reliable residents Giles Smith and James Priestley will be on hand to keep the party burning long into the late hours.

secretsundaze at Sonar has become an institution attracting a great crowd of European party people and industry heads alike. This promises to be another unmissable party with it being our longest ever Sonar party (12 hours) and a double header with the party taking place across 2 sites. Batton down the hatches!

secretsundaze at Sonar
Sunday 20th June
5pm to Midnight in the picnic area, then Midnight to 5am at La Terrazzza

secretsundaze at Sonar Tickets:
5 euros concession list, 10 euros including drink
To be added to the concession list email info@secretsundaze.net

Address:
La Terrazzza, Poble D’Espanyol, Barcelona

For more information visit: www.myspace.com/secretsundaze
To book tickets visit: www.thesecretagency.net

Garden festival goers indulge in fine food and drink, travelling around the region and lazy sun-kissed days and hedonistic nights, all framed by the festival itself, which again takes place across the first and second weekends of July from 2nd-11th.

Nestled on a narrow peninsular jutting into the seductive Adriatic waters, the festival features a fully live outdoor stage and beach bar where waters lap around revellers’ feet, twice daily Argonaughty Boat Parties, club sessions in the retro-tastic Barbarellas Discotheque and attracts sun and fun seekers from all over Europe.

Nick Colgan, one of the Garden Festival’s founders, explains that, “We’ve already got some cracking names down for the summer and we’re all really pleased the way it’s taking shape so far. There are some really exciting developments with the Argonaughty Boat parties and also Barbarellas Discotheque too. I am personally really excited by Killer Whale (The Arthur Russell Project) and also Tensnake, both making debuts, along with some cracking DJs making their first trips to our little spot of paradise.”

The lineup is indeed taking shape to be the most inspiring yet in the Garden’s esteemed 5-year history, with everything from NYC deep disco from Metro Area jousting with the sublime sounds of  Floating Points, one of the most talked about acts of 2009 for a string of revered releases and remixes, through to Leeds’ finest deck devil, Dave Beer.

One of Scotland’s finest, The Revenge, is set to unleash his fine disco cuts, and since his Resident Advisor podcast his stock has risen even further. London’s Horse Meat Disco also star, themselves enjoying their most fruitful year yet, and three late night specialists, Moodymann, Sebo K and Seth Troxler, bring a tech-noir edge to nocturnal proceedings. Of course it’s not just all about the new boys – some already legendary Garden guests also return, including Greg Wilson, Henrik Schwarz, Kelvin Brown, Terry Farley, No’ Fakin and a great deal more also star.

Croatia itself has enjoyed a bumper year as a travel destination, offering everything from secluded coves and deserted stretches of pristine beach to historic and vibrant cities, succulent sea-food and an enriching culture of old and new. Many of those who attended one or more of the weekends last year also took time out to explore some of this inspiring and seductive country too.

Croatia Garden Festival confirmed so far:

LIVE ACTS: 2020 Soundsystem • Bonobo • Crazy P • Henrik Schwarz • Killer Whale (The Arthur RussellProject) • Tensnake • Trojan Sound System DJ SETS: Adam Regan • Adam Shelton • Ame • Andy Blake • Basement Boogaloo • Bobby Beige • Christophe (Redux) • Daddy G • Dave Beer • Dave Jarvis • Deano Ferrino • Discomendments • Dixon • Dolan Bergin • Dom Chung • Ed Cotton • El Diablos • El Harvo • Electric Minds • Emma Chibuku • Faith • Felix Dickinson • Floating Points • Florian Keller • Futureboogie DJ’s • Geddes • Greg Wilson • Hang The Dj • Harri and Domenic • Horse Meat Disco • James Holroyd • Jimpster • Joe 90 • Karen P • Kelvin Brown • Kid Bongo • Metro Area (Darshan Jesrani) • Moodymann • Nick Shaw • No Fakin DJ’s • Ole Smokey • PBR Streetgang • Pete Herbert • Phat Phil Cooper • Red Rackem • Sam Redmore • Sebo K • Seth Troxler • Shur-i-kan • Smith and Mudd • Soul Jazz Sound System • Ste Hodge • Stu Patterson • Subb-An • Terry Farley • The Revenge • Tirk • Yam Who?

For further information visit The Garden Festival website, click here for ticket information.