On Wednesday 16 July, Defected In The House commences a six-week residency at Carpe Diem Beach. Located on the stunning island of Hvar, Croatia, Defected will be bringing the very finest house beats to one of the world's most popular musical destinations.
Ahead of the first party of the residency, Defected's Ben Lovett charts the rise of what some have labelled 'the new Ibiza'.
In recent years Croatia hasn’t so much as landed on clubland’s global map aspunched an almighty great big hole through it. The rise of low-cost air routes to a country sitting proudly among fellow Balkan nations Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (and with a gorgeous strip of Adriatic coastline), combined with blissfully consistent sunshine, has helped fuel Croatia’s steadily developing dance festival scene and, in turn, prompted the piecemeal launch of various, smaller (but no less significant) parties. Croatia is happening.
Separated by some 150 miles of golden coastline, long-standing tourist hotspots Split and Dubrovnik have found themselves well placed to dial up youth cruise partying – a myriad of local businesses now launched to cater for young Euro tourists’ boundless appetite for fun, sun and bombastic, radio-friendly dance. At the other end of the scale, a crop of high quality underground festivals has gradually rooted itself on the mainland. Launched six years ago in northern city Pula, the Outlook Festival offers a vibrant, ever louder mix of dubstep, hip-hop and drum & bass alongside bass-led house and garage. In Tisno, meanwhile, north of Split, the boutique Garden Festival has become a July go-to for pioneering electronic music from the likes of Francois K, Levon Vincent and Eats Everything.
It is a handful of Croatia’s whopping 1,135 islands (in the Adriatic Sea) however that is largely leading Croatia’s clubbing charge. And that charge, refreshingly, is a gradual one built on cool and quality rather than brash Balearic brouhaha. There are reports – as there always are – of local frustrations concerning the growth of this major new industry – the usual complaints about noise, pollution and even crime.
The pastoral island of Pag, home to 8,000 locals and some 30,000 sheep, has seen its northern seaside town Novalja – home to Zrce Beach – slowly emerge as a heavyweight dance destination. With evolution comes some disruption but the broad feeling is that Pag’s emergent scene (buoyed by discerning electronic festivals Hideout and Sonus, and regular parties at key island clubs Papaya, Kalypso and Aquarius) is largely in keeping with the unspoilt, organic heritage of the island.
That’s even more of the case on Hvar (close to Split, south of Pag), where this summer Defected Records hosts a brand new Defected In The House residency on Carpe Diem Beach in the majestic Stipanska Bay. Hvar, of course, is Croatia’s most glamorous island. With fans including Prince Harry and Jay-Z, it is the kind of beautiful, sophisticated idyll that will perfectly compliment Defected’s wide-ranging take on house music over the coming months..
Defected’s compact but essential residency runs 16 July to 20 August. The season opens with Defected’s feisty DJ mainstay Sam Divine and closes with funky Adelaide sensation Sonny Fodera; in between, clued-up revellers can expect to hear heartfelt swing-sters Copyright (23 July), deep, but flying Dutchman Franky Rizardo (30 July, 6 August) and swish Milan duo Flashmob (13 August) – the latter’s punchy sound appealing as much to Kerri Chandler as it does Pete Tong. Away from the non-stop dancefloor craziness of Berlin, London and Ibiza, Defected’s Carpe Diem affair promises a fun, intimate, eclectic and utterly pure music experience. Its independent vibe matches that of its heavenly, untouched surroundings. Absolute perfection....
Hvar, a unique, picturesque mix of 13th century architecture and looming Gothic palaces, offers other summer treats, not least one-of-a-kind festival FOR. The 2500-capacity gathering debuted at Hvar Town’s live music venue Veneranda and nearby Carpe Diem Beach late last month, and featured ‘non-traditional’, ‘non-corporate’ artists such as Neneh Cherry, Tensnake, Storm Queen, Maurice Fulton, Tiger & Woods and Night Slugs’ Mercurial Bok Bok. Again, Hvar epitomised.
Back on Pag, former Novalja mayor Ivan Dabo Dono is widely credited with having kick-started Zrce’s current, booming tourist economy. His long-term support of club development and ties to the dance community has seen the once sleepy seaside town explode. Novalja draws 300 times more tourists today than it did seven years ago. Like Hvar Town, it attracts a capacity-reaching 20,000 visitors a day in peak season, most there to ride one of clubland’s freshest, most exhilarating frontiers.
There’s no denying the economic benefits to Croatia of this latest electronic revolution (hoteliers, taxi drives and restaurants all benefitting from increased revenues) but the challenge ahead, particularly for islands like Hvar and Pag, will be to control surging party tourism - carefully channelling it into more of the right events, and the region’s wider cultural offerings, so that that unique Croatian spirit – the magical spirit that has brought us this far – remains exactly that.
Words: Ben Lovett
For more information on the Defected In The House residency at Carpe Diem Beach, Hvar, Croatia visit http://defected.com/events/
