Photography by Dan Medhurst
Of all of the festivals featured in our heDD magazine 2013 festival guide, Soundwave Festival Croatia was one of most hotly anticipated due to it’s eclectic lineup, idyllic setting and atmosphere.
Top Location
2013 was Soundwave Croatia’s fifth year and it’s second since moving to The Garden in Tisno, a perfect location that caters for all accommodation needs, including apartments, various camping options and big teepee-like tents that sleep up to eight people – I even saw a few people sleeping in hammocks!!
On site, there are indoor/outdoor male and female shower facilities that were surprisingly kept tidy. The Garden also has a small supermarket and a restaurant that has some particularly tasty seafood options as well as delicious pizzas, all of which are relatively cheap – a meal including a starter and a drink came to about £10 – but if you want to go off site, there’s also a bunch of restaurants and local bars in the town which is only a 10-minute walk away.
There are three stages, but the sun-drenched beach stage seemed to be the most popular, thanks in part to Croatia’s crystal clear waters and cloudless blue skies. As well as revellers dancing in the sea, Riot Jazz jumped in and gave a couple of awesome impromptu performances with the crowd singing along to brass-infused versions of pop hits like Don’t You Want Me Baby and Living On A Prayer.
The view of beautiful people sprawled out across the beach cove and in the water, drinks in hand, with the beautiful Dalmatian coastline behind them underscores one of the greatest things about Soundwave Croatia – it has an electrifying atmosphere whilst somehow maintaining an unsurpassably chilled vibe. If you want to lay about on the beach and sip cocktails all day, you can. If you want to jump around in the sea, dance to good music all day – into the night and then back into the day – you can do that too!
Top Performances
Hip-Hop enigma DOOM blistered through some of his classics and took it in turns with a raucous crowd to finish his punch lines, other top acts such as electro king Bonobo, DJ Yoda, Riot Jazz, Submotion Orchestra, DJ Shadow, Robert Glasper Experiment, Andrew Ashong, Quantic, Put Me On It, Ghostpoet, Mr. Thing & Yungun, Boba Fatt and Craig Charles all provided standout performance across the festival’s three stages and 16 boat parties.
I managed to venture to the official Soundwave afterparty at Barbarellas Discotheque on two occasions, and partied from 1 until 6am as the likes of Mr. Thing and Chris P Cuts dropped a heavy succession of Hip-Hop and Soulful classics. There’s something special about literally dancing until the sun comes up, and at Soundwave there’s no reason to stop partying (if you’ve got the stamina).
On my way back from afterparties at 6/7am, I managed to get caught up with different groups of people randomly playing guitar and singing and clapping on the waterfront, and music would start being played at around 11 back at the beach stage, so there was always some entertainment if you’re looking for it, or up for making friends with strangers and creating your own.
Verdict
Soundwave Croatia’s 5-day festival is the perfect blend of party and chill where you can effortlessly shift gears between relaxing and having a mad one. Their lineup provides the finest mix of Hip-Hop, Dance, Electro, Funk, Soul, Reggae and Jazz you will find at any European boutique festival. Unlike some smaller festivals that can often be too niche and obscure to appeal to a broad audience, Soundwave Croatia attracts big names and showcases rising stars in good measure.
Croatia itself is one of my favourite European destinations, food and drink in the local shops, bars and restaurants is cheap (and delicious), they sell 2-litre beer bottles for the equivalent of £1.80 and litre bottles of Vodka starting at about £9. The locals are über friendly and welcoming, and as long as you have a smile on your face (it’s hard not to), you’ll be greeted in the same way.
The team behind Soundwave have lovingly cultivated a truly magnificent event that attracts an open-minded and fun-hungry crowd and provides an unforgettable setting to party in.
Early bird tickets for Soundwave Croatia 2014 started selling fast before this year’s festival had even finished, so the demand is clearly there. If you’re up for a great time, you can find out info and book tickets here.
Oh, but what about Homeboy Sandman’s INCREDIBLE set?!!
Oh yeah! that set was a lot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjD6GQ7OQ0o
Thanks for spreading my video 🙂 I was really astonished my Homeboy Sandman’s performance, since I didn’t even know him before. I’ve hardly ever seen a guy with so much energy.