Dimensions In Review

Dimensions Festival set in the beautiful Fort Punta Christo of Pula, was six days of music infiltrated with flashes of electrical storms and roars of thunder which only added to the eccentric atmosphere of the festival. Staged at beautiful and surreal settings, the festival sprawled over beaches, boats, woodland, Pula's Amphitheatre and an underground network of tunnels.

By day jazz melodies and laid-back sounds drifted from Dimension’s Beach Stage, complementing the warm temperatures and featuring some of my favourites sets of the Festival. Highlights from the beach included a live set from Kerem Akdag, playing much of his self-entitled EP on Dimensions Records; Children of Zeus’s Tyler Daley whose soulful vocals blended seamlessly with Konny Kon’s hip-hop beats; and Ezra Collective who lured sun bathers from their lethargic positions to get them up and dancing as the sun beat down.

The daytime also saw boat parties departing three times a day from the harbour. Dragging myself out of bed after two nights of music, I attended the relatively small J.A.W Boat party on Saturday morning with crate digger Red Greg, Cosmic Slop and J.A.W family. Despite feeling nauseous from a combination of high temperatures and the rocking of the sea, I quickly forgot my troubles as I joined the swaying of the crowd who were kept continuously grooving to disco, boogie, and funk over the three hours. Jules Shear’s ‘When Love Surges’ was a particular highlight, as well as hearing ‘Get It Right’ in tribute to the great Aretha Franklin.

On Thursday night Fort Punta Christo opened its gates to festival goers, boasting an impressive line-up over 10 stages, all of which had impeccable sound. What was immediately recognisable was the wide representation of female DJ’s across the week, with performances from Avalon Emerson, Peggy Gou, Lady Blacktronica and Josey Rebelle among many others. Rather than being hit with a sea of phones, it was refreshing to see hardly a mobile in site when entering the Fort, with partiers dancing the night away and genuinely enjoying the music.

The week included some incredible sets, many which were extended and allowed the artists to conjure up musical journeys. One of my favourites was Hunee’s cleverly crafted set in The Clearing which entranced the crowd for three hours. Providing a diverse range of genres, Hunee slowly built up from slow, hypnotic tracks to high energy groovers such as Fever’s ‘Beat Of The Night’. Another highlight was Detroit in Effect’s set in the Moat, an astounding long, narrow passageway encircling dancers with towering walls. D.I.E gave the audience a masterclass in old school electro and Detroit, abundantly scratching over fast, high energy mixing and filling a hole left by the disappointing absence of Underground Resistance. In The Garden Amp Fiddler’s live set washed over the audience, weaving together funk, soul and smooth r’n’b vocals and getting people up and dancing in preparation for Moodymann’s second set of the Festival, following his performance at the Opening Concert. Other highlights included Avalon Emerson in The Clearing who played weapon after weapon of breakbeat and Skeptical’s predominately liquid set in the Sub Dub Arena, paying special tribute to Marcus Intalex with his track ‘How You Make Me Feel’.

For me, Dimensions was the best festival I’ve attended. The amount of people attending the festival felt just right, the atmosphere exuded positive vibes with everyone seeming to be genuine music lovers and the various settings of the festival were picturesque and unique. I also have to note how quick and meticulous Dimensions were when dealing with electrical storms, keeping festival goers up to date with the shutting and reopening of stages immediately. Finishing at Palm Trax’s set at the Void, soaked through by rain which rejuvenated the audience rather than hindered them, seemed like the perfect close to a week of amazing music, sun and happiness.