Kraftwerk to Headline Dimensions Festival in Pula with 3-D Concert

Kraftwerk

Electronic revolutionaries Kraftwerk will headline Dimensions Festival in Pula this summer.

On Weds 29th August, electronic revolutionaries and true pioneers KRAFTWERK headline the Dimensions Opening Concert in the Pula amphitheatre, fresh from their 2018 Grammy win for ‘Best Dance / Electronic Album.’

And, there’s a forcible team headed to Croatia for this year’s outing, with Jon Hopkins, Lena Willikens, Amp Fiddler, Moodymann, Helena Hauff, Detroit In Effect, Nina Kraviz, Batu, Peggy Gou and more all on board for the full festival, soundtracking with electro, house, techno, jazz, soul, leftfield explorations and much more.

After their hugely successful, worldwide, 3-D concert tours and a newly bagged Grammy Award, KRAFTWERK play at the Opening Concert, bringing their groundbreaking 3D live show to Pula’s historic amphitheatre.

Pula Arena (Photo: Diego Delso under CC)

Fusing performance and art, Kraftwerk 3-D concerts are a “Gesamtkunstwerk – a total work of art.” Started in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk has achieved iconic status for their revolutionary sound scapes’ and their experimentation with robotics and technical innovations. Their futuristic vision led them to create the soundtrack for the digital 21st century, and they’ve been influential in everything from Electro to Hip Hop, from Techno to SynthPop.

Kraftwerk

After performances at MoMA NY, Tate Modern Turbine Hall, Sydney Opera House, Fondation Louis Vuitton and more, KRAFTWERK will bring their 3-D show to Croatia’s 2000-year old amphitheatre as part of Dimensions Festival 2018.

Also on board for the concert is the enigmatic Mahogani Records boss Moodymann, jazz-influenced saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia, everyone’s favourite selector, the always wonderful Josey Rebelle, and Debora Ipekel.

On to the main event and there’s no shortage of heavyweight names headed to Fort Punta Christo. 2017 has seen the rise and rise of electro, dance music’s gritty, raw relation – and there’s a solid selection of acts flying the flag, from Kraftwerk at the opening concert to new school representative Helena Hauff. OG legends Detroit In Effect and Silicon Scally present jackin’, killer dancefloor productions, and Detroit masked avenger DJ Stingray is on duty with his trademark brand of dystopian electro.

Dimensions Festival

Billy Nasty is another herculean figure heading to the fortress. There’s a wild ride through electro in store from NY collective Discwoman as founders Volvox and Umfang delve deep into weirdo acid jams and more. Cult electro artist The Exaltics will play a rare set, and for all electro obsessives there’s a CPU x Electrix stage with Billy Nasty, Silicon Scally, DMX Krew & CPSmith.

Tickets for the Opening Concert can be purchased from dimensionsfestival.com/ampitheatre/

As always, house and techno appreciators are spoilt when it comes to Dimensions, bringing an eclectic yet brilliant set of global DJs to Fort Punta Christo year on year. Woman of the hour, Peggy Gou makes her debut, fresh from a string of acclaimed releases including the most recent on Ninja Tune, plus Hunee, Saoirse, Palms Trax, Skee Mask and Craig Richards; joining the dots between house, techno, acid, disco and more in journey-like sets of cosmic oddities and feel-good gems. It’s an all-night-long affair with Bonobo, selecting his blend of uplifting house.

Diverse sounds come from Manchester’s finest, Jon K, Rinse FM affiliate and DJ’s DJ Josey Rebelle, and Stones Throw’s Peanut Butter Wolf. Dimensions Soundsystem, Lexis (MIMS), Cosmic Slop, Love Muscle team, K-HAND, Oyvind Morken, Red Greg and Alexander Nut are also on digging duties.

Classic cuts come from underground veterans and modern day reps, with Detroit’s own Underground Resistance presenting Depth Charge. Another OG for Dimensions 2018 is Marcellus Pittman, and Darkhouse Family – a project by Don Leisure and Earl Jeffers that sees soul, house and jazz unite together in one melting pot. Techno is in abundance too, with Sonja Moonear and Anastasia Kristensen ready to lay down stripped grooves. Dimensions favourite and leading light Nina Kraviz is back after her immense Moat set last year.

Dimensions Festival

There’s Volruptus, Bjarki and Alleged Witches. More left-leaning crossovers come from Jon Hopkins, R&S Records affiliate, Paula Temple, James Holden’s critically acclaimed live project, James Holden And The Animal Spirits. Salon Des Amateurs residents Willikens and Ivkovic come together on the line-up, two characters at the heart of the burgeoning Düsseldorf scene, plus Mannequin Records’ Alessandro Adriani and Courtesy, a DJ with effortless style melding techno, jungle and more. DJ Python adds a touch of latin flavour, with Øyvind Morken and Nicolas Lutz in tow.

By contrast, the immense live acts explore everything from jazz and hip-hop to soul and punk. Cult 80’s band Maximum Joy make a rare appearance, their obscure fusion of reggae, punk and disco make them an oddity hit band, and this rare show in Croatia will be something special. Perfect for the sun-kissed Adriatic coastal city, Brazilian legends Azymuth are set for Dimensions 2018, accompanied by Marcos Valle, and Iranian x Cuban quartet, Ariwo, who blend Iranian melancholy with Cuban rhythms.

Then there’s Motor City royalty, Amp Fiddler, and funk-fuelled basslines from Dimensions Recordings’ affiliate Kerem Akdag. Another live performance not to miss is Open Eagle Mike, the Cali rapper who’s ‘Brick Body Kids Still Daydream’ project in 2017 received critical acclaim. Jazz is at the heart of Dimensions, with invites extending this year to some of the circuit’s most exciting artists – find South London jazz crew Sons of Kemet, Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin, and five strong London crew, Ezra Collective, alongside majestic singer, Yazmin Lacey, whose mesmerising tones reflect classic jazz with an urban UK twist. The Comet Is Coming unite jazz, soul, hip-hop and rock to make tripped-out productions that’ll fly perfectly on a sun-kissed Croatian beach, and finally, Alfa Mist, with beat-based soundscapes.

Strictly low-frequency vibrations come from Mala and The Bug who’ll rep for the bassier side of the bill, and long term Dimensions family, Hessle Audio, return with a full squad featuring Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea. More off-kilter bass and techno fusions come from Timedance boss, Batu, a name going from strength to strength with release after release of solid gold productions, plus label mate Ploy joins. A touch of DnB comes from EXIT Records founder dBridge alongside Skeptical and Fixate. And there are many more artists, labels, and partners to be added later.

Dimensions

Dimensions DJ Directory was started in 2017 as a way to support breakthrough DJ and production talent from across the globe, providing practical advice, show opportunities and more. Now it’s 32 members deep with family in London, Amsterdam, Atlanta, Chicago and more. A strong contingent are heading to Dimensions this year, find Sean OD, Kiara Scuro, Debora Ipekel, Harri Pepper, Alex T, Sam Hall, Yuri, Kwasiba Savage, Shy One, SNO and Will Lister playing everything from soul-soothing jazz to cosmic electro and more. Ash Lauryn heads for the first time, all the way from ATL. A key part of the Dimensions ethos, the Directory is a way for Dimensions to give back to the underground music community and give artists support at vital stages of their career. Croatian names to check are Ilija Rudman, Petar Dundov, Jan Kinčl & Regis Kattie, Eddy Ramich, Skeptik, Mimi, DJ Labud and more TBA.

With its home in an abandoned fort, Dimensions Festival boasts the most stunning festival location in the world. From daytime beach chilling to exploring the labyrinths of the fort at night. In the fort find Noah’s Ballroom, The Void, The Garden Mungo’s Arena and of course the 80-foot Moat arena stacked high with speakers.
Dimensions fans are advised to reserve their place in the sun with a ticket or deposit as soon as possible. Still to be announced are plenty of names, boat parties, takeovers, day parties, Knowledge Arena and more. Pula is accessible by taxi from the site, and is complete with transport links, apartment accommodation and historic sites. For those wishing to camp on-site, or for more info on accommodation options including boutique camping, head to dimensionsfestival.com/accommodation/ to look at what is available.

Flight options from the UK are to Trieste, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Venice Treviso or Venice Marco- Polo airports, and then a transfer. Coach packages and flight packages are all available to view/purchase at dimensionsfestival.com/travel/.

Keep your eyes on the Dimensions channels for further news on line-up, boat parties and artists, see you at the fort!

DIMENSIONS FESTIVAL 2018
Fort Punta Christo, Croatia
Wednesday 29th August (Opening Concert) – Sunday 2nd September

Tickets from £100: dimensionsfestival.com/tickets

MORE INFORMATION: www.dimensionsfestival.com/ampitheatre

DIMENSIONS FESTIVAL LINE UP
Aaron L – Alessandro Adriani – Alex T – Alexander Nut – Alfa Mist – Alleged Witches – Amp Fiddler – Anastasia Kristensen – Ariwo – Ash Lauryn – Azymuth & Marcos Valle – Bambooman – Batu – Ben UFO – Billy Nasty – Bjarki – Bonobo (DJ – all night long) – Central Processing Unit – Champagne Funk – Children of Zeus – Church Of Sound – Conor Thomas – Cosmic Slop – Courtesy – CPSmith – Craig Richards – Daisy Moon – Darkhouse Family – Dbridge – Debora Ipekel – Detroit In Effect – Dimensions Soundsystem – DJ Labud – DJ Lag – DJ Python – DJ Stingray – DMX Krew – Eda – Eddy Ramich – Electrix Records – Ezra Collective – Fixate – Gilla – Harri Pepper – Heels & Souls – Heinrich Dressel & Teslasonic (live) – Helena Hauff – Hessle Audio – Hunee – Ilija Rudman – James Holden And The Animal Spirits – Jan Kinčl & Regis Kattie (live) – Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin – Jon Hopkins (live) – Jon K – Josey Rebelle – Julio Victoria – K-HAND – Kerem Akdag – Kiara Scuro – Kwasiba Savage – Lena Willikens – Leo Leal – Lexis – Love Muscle – Lucy Locket – Mala – Marcellus Pittman – Mark Turner (The Orbit) – MXMJOY:[maximumjoy] – Michael Upson – Milo – Mimi – Moodymann – Nicolas Lutz -Nina Kraviz – Open Mike Eagle – Oyvind Morken – Palms Trax – Pangaea – Paula Temple – Peanut Butter Wolf – Pearson Sound – Peggy Gou – Petar Dundov – Ploy – Red Greg – Sam Hall – Saoirse – Sean OD – Shy One – Silicon Scally aka Carl Finlow – Skee Mask – Skeptik – Skeptical – SNO – Sonja Moonear – Sons Of Kemet – The Bug (In Dub – Dj Set) – The Comet Is Coming – The Exaltics (live) – Tom Hannah – Total Refreshment Centre – Underground Resistance pres Depth Charge – Umfang – Vladimir Ivkovic – Volruptus – Volvox – Will Lister – Yazmin Lacey – Yuri