Outlook Festival 2014 is Europe’s largest festival of bass music and soundsystems. It is completely dominated by styles such as drum and bass, hip-hop, ragga-jungle, reggae, dub and dubstep. Every year, the festival organisers present their guests with performances by the best and most popular artists in these genres.
This year, the festival took place in Croatia from 3 to 7 September, in the picturesque Brioni National Park, next to the old abandoned Fort Punta Christo, offering a breathtaking view of the Adriatic Sea. The opening ceremony began in the nearby city of Pula, in one of the city’s oldest architectural monuments—the amphitheatre, built during the Roman Empire! The opening featured the legendary MS LAURYN HILL (known to us from The Fugees), ANDREW ASHONG and FATIMA, accompanied by the moving symphonies of Submotion Orchestra. Upon arriving at the festival site itself, we were struck by its beauty: a huge hilly area on the grounds of a 150-year-old abandoned fort, with a kilometre-long coastline and an unreal view of the Adriatic!
A word about Outlook’s history. The festival has been held for the seventh consecutive year, and each time it attracts huge numbers of people from all over the world. Every year, the organisers try to surprise those who attend, and this time they undoubtedly succeeded. All the conditions and infrastructure for an unforgettable holiday had been provided: professionally organised local and international transfers, a secure gated campsite, medical aid stations, internet, a great abundance of bars, cafés and shops selling branded clothing on site, and practically EVERYWHERE—excellent, properly installed soundsystem sound. The festival could easily be reached from the nearby city of Pula by bus, or by taxi at night. This year, we saw a multitude of world-class and talented headliners perform; their number reached the fantastic figure of 300, including names such as GOLDIE, DILLINJA, ANDY C, DUB FX, BARRINGTON LEVY, TOTAL SCIENCE, CALIBRE, FRICTION, DJ MARKY, BARRINGTON LEVY, DJ PREMIER, CONGO NATTY, HATCHA, DIGITAL MYSTIKZ and many other stars of reggae, drum and bass, dubstep and bass music in general.From noon until 8 p.m. throughout the festival, the beach was open to visitors, where anyone could enjoy themselves, relax and warm their bones under the Croatian sun. As darkness fell, the festival gathered momentum and delighted everyone who came with good music and a fun atmosphere.
Stages
HARBOUR
THE CLEARING
FORT ARENA 1
MUNGO’S ARENA
NOAH’S BALLROOM
THE MOAT
THE VOID
ARIJA STAGE
BEACH PARTIES
BOAT PARTY
On the first day, D Bridge stood out with a contrasting old-school/new-school set; on the second day, DJ MARKY and STAMINA MC delivered dancefloor material and impressive scratching skills.
Jah Shaka’s several-hour set made a huge impression—he is one of the fathers of England’s dub movement—and he was accompanied by MC Kwasi! Andy C fired things up with flawless mixing; after him, Friction frankly did not work with his mainstream dnb sound. Old school should not be neglected!
The entire night at The Clearing was given over to Goldie’s label Metalheadz, where old hands Goldie, Dillinja and Doc Scott (Nasty Habbits) presented a history lesson through the musical anthems of the past—their sets gave us goosebumps!
We were absolutely thrilled by DJ Premier, the daddy of them all and one of the best-known beatmakers in hip-hop history. His arsenal contains an immense number of beats written for the most influential rappers in the United States.
Overall, we have to say that, regardless of the festival’s very good atmosphere and its organisation at a high “European” level, you should be prepared for the fact that the main crowd here is made up of teenagers. Those who love comfort and cosiness should consider booking early and staying in a hotel, because the combination of the surroundings, round-the-clock partying and camping leads to some questionable smells by the end of the long weekend ;).
Nevertheless, Outlook Festival is Europe’s biggest and most extensive festival, encompassing every genre of underground music! This unique place is mesmerising: warm air, positive people, a multitude of unforgettable impressions and good music, complemented by a powerful sound system! This summer, perhaps, we found the ideal combination of a music festival and a summer holiday.
Text: Valentina Sidorova, Ilya Zemskov, specially for
DROPTHEBASS.RUPhotos: Dan Medhurst, Jack Pasco, Marc Sethi, official Outlook Festial 2014 website www.outlookfestival.com
