Outlook Festival 2011 Review

Travel is Travel, whether you are traveling near or far; there can always be ups and downs; flying or driving it can always be an adventure. It has been said in certain festival circles that travelling to European music festivals is stressful and expensive, well this may be the case, but in the case of Outlook festival, which is held on the Dalmatian coast in Fort Punta Christo, Croatia, the rewards far outweigh any emotional or financial cost.

A considerable amount of effort was put into creating a beautiful and relaxed ambiance at this festival, however it was no Secret Garden Party or Boom Town, but that was not what the festival was really about. There were only a number of whacky costumes on display; people had come to listen to their favourite artist in the sun. Anyway, what more could you want than sun-kissed beaches, blessed with ethereal music and like-minded people?

The entrance to the festival boasted decorated trees and housed small quaint chill-out areas, and the majority of the stages had some fantastic visual projections and light displays. Special mention has to be given to the fort 1 stage: an open air musical arena surrounded by four walls (the walls of a forgotten court-yard), with a bar at one end and a stage at the other. The AV was executed in such a way that one felt surrounded by light and music: everywhere the festival-goer looked the walls were lit up with ever changing and morphing experimental light shows that complimented, if not accentuated, the sounds that bounced off the fort walls, with the star light above really toping it off. In other places a large number of graffiti walls, which were finished to a very high standard with guest graffiti artist such as Siren piecing in front of live crowds, punctuated the medieval playground. If one thing could be changed about outlook it would be that it was a bit more of a ‘greener’ site next year and that everyone was encouraged to keep the site clean: rubbish is more noticeable on sandy beaches than it is on rolling British hills.

The music was seriously bass oriented but that is not to say that there was not something for everyone, ranging mainly from DnB to Dubstep to Two-step to Garage to Dance Hall and even some Techno and House at times (as well as all the sub genres in-between). The music and the festival got better and better as weekend rolled on, with everything climaxing on the Sunday- solid programming on the part of the festival. The line-up was the main talking point for the revelers, which is no surprise given that the majority were musically minded people who had flown over from UK music hubs such as Brighton, Bristol, Leeds and of course LDN. So many people had moments when there was more than one artist, which they were desperate to see, was slamming it out at the same time. The crowds’ favourites- Congo Natty (jump up massive), Phealahs epically emotional sun-set beach set on Saturday, Koreless Two-step Bass set, as well as the surprise of Goth Trad’s Japanese Dubstep- so evil and good. Spectrasoul what can be said, other than epic!

Holding the festival in Croatia adds unfathomable values to it: admittedly getting there can seem like a bit of mission but the feeling of unison between your fellow ravers is unrivalled- we are all here and we all made it. The sun brings out those bronzed naked bodies, and the sea refreshed the life of every person day or night. To top it all festival ‘Supplies’ were cheaper than the UK due to the exchange rate. As a result of the setting, the venue, the line-up, the mission Outlook is in a league of its own. The memory that will stick in the minds of most that attended is this: Chilling on the rocky beach every morning with all the ‘propa’ ravers, chatting superfluous nonsense as all dipped their weary toes into the salty sea wishing that this could be life not just a festival.

By Lucy Gadd