Dimensions

Fort Punta Christo, Pula | 27 – 31 August

There’s definitely a wealth of variety available to European festival goers, particularly in Croatia, but it only takes a glance over the Dimensions line-up to spot that it’s one of the most forward thinking.

A labour of love based in the same medieval fort as its elder brother Outlook (now held the following week), Dimensions’ third outing may have been its most thrilling yet. For a few reasons; firstly, its growing reputation for extremely high musical standards saw performers and DJs bring only A-game material; secondly, rumours of a merger with Outlook next year meant this might just be the last; and thirdly, well you’ve probably already heard, it ended with a spectacular bang. But we’ll get to that.

The 2000-year-old amphitheatre in nearby Pula’s city centre provided the jaw-dropping backdrop for the opening concert, a separately ticketed, yet highly anticipated taster. Intrigue gave way to a sense of the sublime when the host reiterated how the gladiatorial arena was “purpose built for entertainment”. The acoustics certainly worked. The early arpeggio melodies of Nils Frahm and gyrations of Kwabs paved the way for Caribou to steal the show with wonderfully expansive interpretations of Sun and Can’t Do Without You.

The days began with as fitting a start as any; sunshine, exotic grooves and a powerful cocktail or two, with Awesome Tapes from Africa and John Wizards’ exploratory African rhythms certainly at home in the sunshine. Soulful hip-hop and dub rhythms were the lifeblood eminating from the beach stage in the following days. Flako’s bubbling harmonics and skittering beats were a particular highlight, while Mr. Beatnick and Mo Kolours’ ambling rhythms characterised the essence of the blissful crowd, shuffling in the sand. After sundown, a quick falafel, pint and plenty of token juggling were usually in order before meandering up the hill drawn from the surf to the beating pulse emitting from deep inside the Moat. Adorned with abstract projections and backlit by technicolour trees, the Fort at night was a full paradigm shift when coming in from the beach.

At the Clearing we were treated to two musical legends both now in their seventies. Roy Ayres took to the stage with the vigor of a man half his age, dropping Everybody Loves the Sunshine early on, a track fitting enough to become a mantra for the weekend. Ebo Taylor’s performance had everyone locked in with a band tighter than, well something very tight. Laurel Halo’s unpredictable, minimal dub-techno at the Fort was at once a welcome change and beautifully executed.

The eclectic nature of the bill was reflected in the harmonious and affable crowd as French, German, and Italian contingents mixed with the British crowd. There would be no forgetting Dublin’s Bodytonic crew who threw a boat party with every Irishman this side of Rome on it, with headliner Space Dimension Controller smashing out a whole load of 80s electro as the sun went down over the Adriatic, drawing for the hardcore as darkness fell.

Back on dry land, Jon Hopkins tore through his delivery of Immunity, with his attention to sonic detail mirrored through one of many the bespoke systems. The show has not much changed since we first saw it but it’s hard to tire of hearing tracks like Open Eye Signal played out. Possibly the only moment where the sound was lacking was when dealing with the mighty Theo Parrish and his bespoke mixer. His set was, as always, impeccable but some of the crazier frequencies got a bit lost and left our ears ringing come morning.

London’s Eglo crew held a formidable presence, as their boat party saw Daphni and Floating Points go back to back on a roasting Saturday afternoon. Looking like a couple of off-duty superheroes, the duo delighted in bettering each other’s disco and boogie selections, while Funkineven’s set at the Fort was a clear standout, touching on rare groove, Detroit techno and most other things along the way. Andrew Ashong, fresh from another boat party, eased the festival back into night mode on Saturday with a charmingly direct approach, backed up by divine vocal harmonies, and his super slowed-down Bob Marley cover was a spacious and mesmeric moment.

Moodymann’s set last year was the talking point of the festival. This year he returned and went one better, with a mystifying and momentous two-hour voyage at The Clearing culminating with a lot of dry ice and Moodymann getting into the swarm to hand out vodka shots. Where on earth could Daphni take us from there? Well how about everywhere. His remix of Ney Noya was the starting point, from there some UK garage, Aphex Twin, a few from the boat party earlier and finally Shuggie Otis’ Strawberry Letter. With one day left, general consensus was that we’d reached the pinnacle.

Sunday began with a series of ominous warnings from the locals of a storm on the horizon, which we completely ignored and headed out in our sunglasses and white Reeboks. Everything was calm until Jeremy Underground Paris at The Void, when huge lightning clouds crept up behind the dancefloor, flickering in the distance. The majority looked nonplussed. Some were too spaced even to notice. It wasn’t until half way through Kaytranada’s already energetic set that the skies opened. In the dry of the stage the Canadian producer looked a little confused at first but as soon as he twigged he reached for Denzel Curry’s Threatz, a boisterous trap record which sparked mayhem in a defiant and soaked crowd. This must have been too much for the gods and as he went in for his next mix, a huge bang echoed across the site at the end of the bar and then silence. After a split second of confusion everyone scrambled for cover. Although it was a shame to have this set cut short, for those who had witnessed that moment it seemed a serendipitous climax and certainly a drop unlike any we’d ever heard or seen.

Aside from the odd rave in a portaloo, the festival then fell silent for a good hour until the systems got back on. The chaos saw Floating Points go back to back with Motor City Drum Ensemble in the Void yet the Moat seemed the appropriate place for one last chaotic stomp with Anthony Naples and DJ Richard going hard in the rain. Nina Kraviz followed, moved over from the Clearing which had been flooded, reportedly along with all of Underground Resistance’s priceless analogue kit. This might have been the only bad to come of the storm, although those camping might have disagreed. We certainly hope that Dimensions returns next year, but if not, what a conclusion to a festival that is truly one of a kind.

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Words: Jack Dolan and Jack Brookeman
Photography: Cameron Sweeny