17 July 2013 (gig)
17 July 2013
The EDM Engine has arrived.
They've had Italians, Germans, Slovenians and Russians sunning themselves on Zrce beach. They've had nothing short of a British Invasion with more than 11 festivals happening at coastal landing zones down the country and now, for global music hotspot Croatia, EDM has arrived.
What an entrance. Foregoing the time-honoured Room-2 themed "think big, start small " technique of the other dozen international events here, Ultra arrived in an explosion fitting to both its name and the music policy it backs. Set over 2 days in Poljud Stadium, Split, with a day 3 after-party set at bikini - warzone pool at Hotel Amfora in powerboat-playground Hvar, Croatia's introduction to the US' way of doing business was big in ambition, scale and noise. FuturGroov donned a pair of luminous sunglasses and a slogan t-shirt and headed in.
Day 1 Setting anything in a football stadium requires balls, but a line-up that reads like an industry most-wanted list and tickets for the Ultra stadium leg selling out in advance ensured that the stage wasn't lonely for long. Hard Rock Sofa kicked in early evening as we arrive and set up camp at one of the raised bars overlooking the main space. Blinding strobes, one stage inside the stadium, one outside, one genre, one direction. Already perhaps 9,000 people are here. The first element that strikes you is the sound: there is no gradual build, no warm up, the Ultra machine goes from standing start to cruise in just one track via pounding post-dubsteppy EDM electro. The crowd have come up as fast as the music however - already there are hands in the air. The crowd is in fact as mesmerising as Ultra's lightshow: an age range of probably 18-35 the latter third of that range largely camped in raised VIP pits and a diverse offering of countries; many of whom brought flags: Indians, Brazillians, Spanish, Australians, Brits all compressed into the vast space - rammed right up to the barriers at the front. Knife party take it up a notch, followed by Fedde Le Grande, who looks to appeal to the crowd with a renewed, heavily vocoded sound and subtitled visuals. Old fans unsure, new fans entranced. The visuals up the ante as the names keep coming, with the night ending in firework & glitter launching, photographer - hair singeing fire cannons and a euro-friendly set from Avicii. Throughout, a seemingly endless supply of Croatia's most beautiful dance on stage whilst an army of photographers march up and down a walkway through the crowd, grabbed on all sides by screaming, shoulder sitting, manically grinning, strikingly sober fans. Back up in VIP and expensive perfume and bottles of Belvedere diffract the sound around conversations. Models, club promoters, stage owners eye the fledgling event closely as below, 40,000 comprehensively lose it before dawn.
Day 2 shows no let up. DJs arrive in entourages and are run through an assembly line of interviews and back corridors and onto a main stage as once again, it's not yet dark but the night people are out in force. Chase & Status weigh in on behalf of the UK, playing an upfront D&B set with plenty of fan-pleasing drops and vocals whilst Mankinis gyrate, sparklers and flares dissapate and even wheelchair-bound ravers rotate to a line-up that doesn’t so much progress as continuously peak. Armin Van Buuren lays down a heavily Euro-friendly groove that takes the event into 2am before Day 2’s headliner takes to the stage. Jumping onto stage with tangible excitement and yelling-as if encouragement were needed - every few tracks into the microphone, Hardwell sprays the crowd with kicks and vocal-laced builds and drops as every possible pun on the name Hardwell (we counted about 8 in the front row) is displayed on signs, t-shirts and perma-pen tattoos the crowd have been storing all evening. Meanwhile an adventure through Poljud’s maze of concrete corridors via scary-looking security, blacked-out-window artist transport, drunk photographers and ‘Why-don’t-they-make-them-like-that-at-home female dancers and we emerge into Ultra’s second stage - where Carl Cox lays down a refreshingly stripped back, tougher techno set via white spotlights and no-nonsense visuals to a slightly more discerning who dance in experienced approval. Something for everyone here.
Day 3 arrives and this time it’s out of the concrete and into the pool as the party relocates to Hotel Amfora in Hvar. An older crowd are here today - in part perhaps due to the whopping €150 price tag to see Steve Aoki and pals play on a terrace largely taken up by a vast, shallow pool. This is a very different pool party to the ones that helped put Zrce’s superclubs on the map: in place of sun-drenched disco, from 3pm onward it’s solid EDM once again as the pool descends into an orgy of splashing, posing on the rocks and large cocktail jugs. Bath time for Croatia’s elite. Up 4 floors and onto the hotel’s balcony bar, yet more expensive people drink yet more expensive cocktails. This is a different land to Split’s stadium but it’s also savvy thinking for promoters Ultra: catering to Split’s young, Split’s nightlife, Split’s students’ backpackers, visiting tourists and young adults, whilst also offering bite to Hvar’s elite.
Conclusion
Ultra’s debut to Croatia will divide opinions. It's certainly different to what Brit festival goers might be used to: It’s a long way from soulful, from mellow and some would even say sexy. But EDM and its host Ultra commands respect. To start with: this event was seamless. Visuals, set times, and individual performances were stellar. Secondly: the crowd. This is a group of people embracing this for the first time. Silly t shirts? Check. Posing? Check? A total obsession with all things electronic regardless of genre or origin? - Check. But, the people in this rammed crowd, will be running tomorrow. And they won't be the jaded, the wispy bearded wise. They were here when it happened for them, and that dramatic conception is all that's needed to produce what we expect to be the next generation of game changing talent. Music press, promoters and labels, pay attention. It might be a bit big, a bit cheesy, but this is the start of the next stage.
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