09 July 2013 (gig)
09 July 2013
Hideout Festival
It's a question that haunts the minds of festival promoters, stage hosts and anyone that's ever snuck into the party for free: can we pull this off again? Hideout 2011 & 2012 were bathed in a curious Croatian Magic: tripling in size and yet retaining that undiscovered feeling - a secret too good to tell. Someone must have spilled however, as Hideout 2013 was an altogether different beast: upgraded lights, beefed up sound, a line-up that moved further into the house and nu-disco spaces that its open-air venues seemed born for and a fleet of boats whose population alone could comprise a small festival. In total 12,000 made it to down to Zrce beach, where powerhouse venues Kalypso, Aquarius I & II and Papaya started to sweat, as did their guests.
And what guests. Months of savvy social hype made Hideout 2013 arguably the most anticipated of the now 14-festival line-up. The resulting vibe amongst those that managed to grab the rapidly sold-out tickets was a crowd with one single fixation: How hard you relax? Amongst sunscreen, sophisticated cocktails and the exotic smell of Hot People on Holiday there was a tangible air of anticipation, hugging closer than the still summer heat. Welcome to the world's first mini-superfestival. The crowd this year were different to the tribal make up of most festivals: where some come for the music, some come for the people who came for the music, and some just had the Friday off work. Here felt like the steadily rolling climax of most people's 6 month plan. The gyms. The diets. The budgeting, all for this moment. And what a moment.
Day One
It's 30 degrees and already packed venue Aquarius II moves from sunglassed-head nodding to suntanned body moving as the Dirtybird Pool Party sees Kill Frenzy, dressed inexplicably all in black despite the heat delivers an appropriately sweaty mix of sleazy house and chopped up hip hop vocals transforming the crowd as heads go down and hands go up. Drift over into the Papaya stage and it's an injection of D&B courtesy of Delta Heavy & MC Tonn Piper, rolling builds and liquid drops meeting a soaked crowd rammed tight into the pool. As afternoon pushed into evening many floated off the beach for a Novalja Pre game session whilst a determined unit hit Zrce newcomer Noa beach club - an insight into Croatia's future? Not actually part of Hideout festival, Noa was awash with a sea of Croatia's most tanned, most affluent and, it appears, most friendly. What do East Europeans make of Hideout? "You dress funny. And spend a lot of time at the gym" How tables turn.
1am and whilst the evening cools the night has only just heated up. Already Bondax have played a future garage and house set to an excitable dancefloor down in Kalypso whilst in Papaya SBTRKT takes to the main stage. Ten minutes of intro see slow, filtered synths and an absence of kicks that only highlights the otherworldly scene. Black sky, stars, twinkling lights on the beach and the entire of Papaya bathed in hot red and hotter blue light, Hideout symbol in the distance a blazing green. No further traffic lights needed, SBTRKT builds into it steadily, stripping filters back until the whole crowd are listening to glassy , rumbling bass music. Slow rhythmic movement and eye contact all round. Something just happened. 3am and there's not a single sign of the night slowing, Aquarius II rammed once again for Marco Carola, playing a proggy sound with smooth changes contrasting with sporadic strobing and smoke cannon. Crowd now settles into a smooth bounce and sway as in the background, the sun comes up. It's 5am, and Hideout's underway.
Day Two At Hideout Festival: 11pm, and primary stage Papaya is already populated with some 7,000 people, 6 deep at the bar, on tables, on podiums, on seats, on each other. White lights and rumbling basslines reverberate through the vast expanse of Croatia's top superclub and as you wedge your way through the collective cast of Britain's Got Suntanned the dynamo behind this electric gathering makes itself known.
Julio Bashmore: on stage backlit by his own name in glittering Broadway-like lights, is on form. Face down, expression set, hands flying over a mixer as key change after key change after drop follows in effortlessly smooth succession to a roaring crowd. Working his way steadily through a seamless set, finally "Battle for Middle You" is dropped to ecstatic hugging, high-fiving and strangers on shoulders with hands in the air. A sea of camera phones catch the moment in drunken precision whilst on stage the action never stops: Now Seth Troxler, sporting a Hawaiian shirt and equally comical facial expression takes the stage, moving side to side and looking up beyond the crowd to the Hideout installment above the club before rolling into to his own brand of bouncy, stripped back house. Photographers flash, people look beautiful, and MK's busy siphoning our drink as we take notes on our phone.
MK: He giveth journalists promo mixes, he taketh away their drinks
Day Three 4pm - It's the final day at Hideout Festival and not a single soul in Team Techno & Tanning is showing signs of flagging. Once again the centre of Zrce Beach action is Papaya - this time for the Hot Creations Pool Party. So many people. So few clothes. Several thousand people stripped down, gymmed up, glistening in Croatian heat whilst the Hot Creations team lay down disco infused melodies that dissipate between hot bodies and out across the beach.
The main floor is scorching, but the DJs are only just getting warmed up: 4.45 arrives and with it summer banger "Benediction" - causing the entire venue to sing the lyrics in energetic unison (there's something in those cocktail jugs...) Roll back to Novalja and it's straight onto the 2020 Boat Party.
The deck is rammed but the decks are a scene of focussed calm as Simon Baker takes to it. Sunset over the sea and just when things couldn't get any more I-Cant-Believe-It's-Not-Ibiza a powerboat shoots past on it's way to the sister boat party some 100yds down: Rudimental are arriving mid-party. Back on the 2020 boat and we've swapped Bass for Bicep, as it gets dark, the music gets light and the boat ploughs back to Novalja to a Disco vibe. Back down Zrce and Aquarius I is electric: first with Rudimental then with Skream & SGT Pokes - chopping between his older sound and an infusion of Breach-& Co jacking madness. Back in Papaya and once again no-one can move anywhere but up and down - and that they do, to Soul Clap and later to the deep grooves of Jamie Jones.
Conclusion
They call it ‘the new Ibiza’. However, Croatia is something more than that. A new generation of musically better-educated, discerning clubbers, who have less money therefore hit it that much harder at the festival. There were no cliques here, no stages with different tribes, only 12,000 people who came to Hideout with the distinct purpose of making these three days the biggest of their entire 2013 by a margin. The atmosphere burned with electricity, sunrise and a renewed sense of awe for Zrce. This doesn't feel like the end of a festival, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter in international nightlife - and Hideout has strobed, sailed and fist-pumped it's way to the forefront.
