MOVEMENT CROATIA: 61 TRACKS DROPPED IN THE GARDEN

Movement rolled into The Garden in Tisno for the inaugural edition of its Croatia edition with an impeccable roster of house and techno selectors spinning on the Adriatic coast. With three stages, two impeccable restaurants, home brewed Session Ale, a beach and clear blue sea, the festival’s venue is a party paradise with a distinctly intimate feel, whilst Barbarella’s Discotheque, the complex’s satellite venue, means Movement can continue into the night as DJs spin at the outdoor club beneath the stars.

The highlights of the weekend demonstrate the impeccable programming of Movement’s events. Despite being known as a techno festival, and bringing heavyweights in the form Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Sven Väth and Nina Kraviz, parties from Dan Ghenacia’s Lola Ed crew, London’s Half Baked, Crazyjack and Circo Loco prove the incredible array of sounds on offer.

Floorplan playing to a packed pontoon on The Beach Stage is the first on deck to truly light up the festival, as Robert and his daughter Lyric Hood drop tracks including Alex Kenji’s remix of Joey Negro’s ‘Feel It’ and Mickael Davis’ ‘Zona Vacancy’ to a packed but intimate setting, as the night sea glistens below the stage lights. Later that evening, Derrick May steps up for the sunrise slot at Barberella’s for a masterclass of Motor City sounds that shows exactly why he’s been revered for so long, working his quick fire crossfader skills in a set that spans two generations of music from and influenced by his home town.

The following day, new Concrete resident Leo Pol plays a live set of hazy lo-fi deep house that’s perfect for the searing daytime heat, pulling influence from the '90s west coast sound of Mark E. Quark and Grayhound recordings, and epitomised by his cavernously groovy track ‘Parking’. Later, Fumiya Tanaka plays a wonky set of minimal house and techno to the biggest crowd The Garden stage sees across the entire weekend.

At Movement, boat parties take to the Adriatic Sea once a day, and Circo Loco, who programme the entire Sunday, also host a nautical party that sees Tiger & Woods, Adriatique and My Favorite Robot play a trio of sets built of huge house and disco to an energetic daytime crowd. The latter get things moving with the glorious sound of Tim Green’s ‘Only Time Remains’, before Adriatique play a set packed with their own material, remixes and edits, including ‘Soul Valley’ and their huge remix of Marc Romboy & Stephan Bodzin’s ‘Atlas’. Tiger & Woods follow a similar trajectory, peaking with ‘Boca (Scoring Clubs Pt. 2)', before dropping a finale made up of Gayle Adams’ 1982 disco classic, ‘Emergency’, and the Dimitri From Paris’ re-edit of Prince’s ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’, which sends the dancefloor into rapture.

The following morning, Prins Thomas welcomes the sunrise at Barberella’s with a set built from his inimitable brand of cosmic disco, which provides the perfect soundtrack to the sun rising over the final day of the festival. Proving his much-lauded skills on deck, Thomas moves through Dixon’s remix of Todd Terje’s ‘Snooze For Love’, through Yannick Labbé’s ‘Resonate’, and into Harry Thumann’s ‘Underwater’, before closing on the pairing of Joey Negro’s Philly Stomp mix of People’s Choice’s ‘Here We Go Again’ and The Temple City Kazoo Orchestra’s ‘2001 Sprach Kazoostra’.

On first appearance Movement Croatia may seem like the ultimate summer holiday for the techno tribe, but with such intricate programming, there is so much more on offer at the event, proven by these 61 tracks dropped in The Garden at the inaugural Movement Croatia. Stream them below via DJ Mag TV and don't forget to subscribe for weekly streams, updates and playlists.

Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s deputy digital editor. Follow him on Twitter here.