Outlook Festival, Fort Pula Christo, Croatia

Pula, the coastal capital of the vast slab of land dangling liberally from the summit of Croatia, is awash with crushed empty cans of cheap lager, flat-peak caps, fake Ray Bans and highly questionable tattoos. This can only mean one thing: the British are here. Of course there is a wealth of other similarly low-frequency-fervent Europeans here to enjoy bass music at its best, but the sense of a mass British invasion is impossible to ignore.

Back for its fifth year, Outlook has added further to its dusty dominion by including yet another stage, The Clearing, and extending ticket sales to a further 3,000 people, taking the grand sold-out total to roughly 15,000. The festival’s continued development is no wonder really, as its reputation for propelling roots-inspired bass music to the forefront of contemporary tastes grows ever wider as its youthful years roll on by.

Outlook Photography

So, as we tread elatedly onto the soils of Fort Pula Christo for the first time, our expectations are understandably high. Belting out the tunes early on in the day is the Beach Party area, where punters are able to relax and divest themselves of head-splitting hangovers in the sea before the new day’s madness begins. The   beach is conveniently located within a minute’s walk of the festival’s incredibly organised camping area. Flat ground, short grass and dense-green trees make for excellent counteractions against rain, and the usual battle for tent-space is non-existent. There is ample space for everybody, including the numerous and easily-spottable German families who, judging by their hands on hips/frown on face stance, clearly must not have heard about Outlook’s coming to Croatia.

Alternatively, and if you’ve been lucky enough to bag a ticket for one, day-time shenanigans can be had on one of the festival’s many boat parties, guaranteed to offer all aboard a bouncing and booze-flowing excursion of the Adriatic shores. Fortunately for us, our weekend begins in such fashion. Clash Magazine’s quaking vessel sets sail to the sound of original 80s reggae courtesy of Earl Gateshead, and steadily evolves into a mash-up of dub and bass-fired anthems through the likes of Mr Mafro, Mungo’s Hi Fi and Trojan Sounsystem, a symbolic homage to the progression of bass culture since its conception in the early 1980s.

Outlook Photography

The tone is set and upon our return, we dock to find that the festival’s aptly named harbour and dock stages are in full swing, with Fat Freddy’s Drop and Goldie playing host to the giddy crowds. After a staple intake of spine-rattling sub-bass, we stumble up the stony trail among the masses and eventually emerge into the grounds of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian fort. Like moths to the flame, we are instantly drawn to The Moat stage; a long, grubby, open-air tunnel (a moat, essentially) leading to the raised platform where DJs can show off their supreme mixing skills. Hiding a few yards further up is Fort Arena One, beckoning revellers in with fire-breathing walls and green laser beams gliding through the mist. Beyond that is the entrance to the fort, which leads its guests down a chalky passageway to the impressively titivated Courtyard stage, the sweat-strewn Dungeon and the small but by no means lesser Ballroom.

Outlook Photography

 As the night elapses, our dancing gradually transforms from tame head-nodding to full on arm-flailing and tribal-like hunkering in time to the beats of Iration Steppas at The Outside Stage and Jah Shaka in Mungo’s Arena, the latter hammering out a marathon 6-hour set to ensure fun is had by all.

Friday begins miserably, as the rain lashes down on Pula and thunder cracks deafeningly throughout the day. It is the first rainfall in Croatia for two months. A collective sigh of relief is breathed when the weather finally convalesces and ponchos can be tossed aside. At The Harbour, Lee Scratch Perry warms the crowd with a typically mellow set, loaded with classic reggae anthems, whilst Zinc and Jackmaster make no mistake in thrilling a spry and exuberant crowd over at The Dock.

Addison Groove deservedly draws in the biggest horde of the night, owing to a triumphant breakdown of electro-house smashers, but by now the main talking point of the festival is the simply unsurpassable quality and dynamism of Mungo’s Hi Fi. The sound-system is incredible. Bludgeoning bass notes as thunderous as mother nature herself devour the ears of all present, and any remaining damp clothes within ten metres of the looming speakers are completely dried within as many minutes. One spectator even turns to me to say that he can’t feel his legs. Though whether that has anything to do with any other external ingestion I am unsure.

Outlook Photography

Saturday’s proceedings are hijacked mercilessly by the boys of Shogun Audio at The Dock, as thousands clamber and splash about in the newly-formed swamp to the raucous and thrashing sounds of Spectrasoul, Friction and Icicle. Outside the fort, a stellar line-up of DJs including Nicky Blackmarket, Congo Natty and Serial Killaz ensure that the drum n bass mayhem carries on long into the night, while in The Moat, Blawan delivers a no holds barred 2-hour salvo of intelligently crafted tunes, showing not a shred of diffidence in a positively experimental approach to a solid set.

Outlook Photography

We awake on Sunday to find that the sun has finally donned its all-too dusty hat and against the will of our broken bodies we somehow manage to drag ourselves to the dock to embark upon our second voyage of fun-filled booze cruising. This time, our hosts are long-time reggae producers Channel One, who promise to all those patiently waiting in line that this boat party will be the best yet. They’re not wrong, as the veterans fire up the maritime shindig and spark a flurry of non-stop knee-jiggling and hip-swaying that continues uninterrupted throughout the duration of the all-out Jamaican jaunt. Equally as polished sets from General Roots and The Heatwave, helped along by some raw and gritty MC-ing complete an unforgettable three hours aboard the two-storey party cruiser.

Outlook Photography

Outlook Photography

Later, Congo Natty and co entertain a huge audience at The Harbour with an accomplished set stocked with outstanding vocals before DJ Markey takes to the turntables to deliver a thumping set for the festival finale. The crowd go wild when the Brazilian trickster flips his machinery upside-down and scratches the arse out of DJ Hazard's 'Killer's Don't Die'. It is an epic end to an evidently epic festival.

It's simple really- if you're love festivals and into reggae, dancehall, dubstep, dnb, or just a mad mash-up of any of the above, then you need look no further than Outlook, the be all and end all of proper bass music.