A note before we begin… You’re going to have to read this with the understanding that I’ve been working on the festival for (I think) 12 years now so I’m close to my friends that run it and a massive fan of all the team on site. You can see it as biased or an insiders take…

This week was a good one. A really, really good one. We ran the Sunrise Sessions stage which I curate alongside Ellie, Chez and Dave from Team Love. We try and program something that is forward and focussed whilst also delivering music that you want to hear between the hours of 6am and midday.

As Barbarellas nightclub closes just before sunrise ten minutes away from the site where the rest of the festival is held, people start to drift over to where we are for the start. The DJ booth sits right next to the Adriatic Sea to a nest of trees, occasional hammocks and a collection of blissed out people.. It is the same one used for the Beach Stage just we play out the back of it.

We try to offer something different. House music that is deep, balearic beats, floaty disco instrumentals, slow Detroit grooves… That sort of thing. The DJ's this year were so great. I've listed them all off in the footer but they are all equal in my eyes as they all turn up, often with no sleep, to play what they’d like to hear as the sun rises over the hill opposite to face us… It’s honestly like a who’s who in dance music playing the flip side to what they normally do. People swim, some dance, some lie on their backs and wave their hands in the air. All are surrounded by friends - some new, some old.

This year was pretty emotional on the Wednesday as we had a slot booked for our friend Chris Stoker to play. We lost Chris earlier in the year so this year felt pretty special as it was sort of like everyone was thinking of him and holding a bit of him with them without the need to say it. On the day Chris was meant to play I opened (‘Fly Like An Eagle’ sounded good and fitting) and then Jen and Felix, Dave Harvey and Wayne all came and played just tunes that either they associated with Chris or he loved. Dave played ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ which at that time of day and people that had come straight from the club was like a balearic rush of a record. That sounded so nice… Jen played ‘Slang Teacher’ and Felix and Wayne dug in with some wonky ones that reminded them of Chris. It was pretty special.

The rest of the week passed with no great drama bar a storm one night which sort of fucked us as our stage had a ton of water sitting in the roof above us. The team did amazing things to move us over to the pontoon nearby. It was a bit gutting as two of the DJs I was most looking forward to playing and hearing were Powder and Luke Una and I think after the storm no one thought we were on so it wasn’t as busy as normal… Also, normally that morning the Olive Grove stage runs until 8am so that session is normally a road block. The festival also had to close the stages the night before as it was so full on so you had to be a brave person to get up at 6am and out of bed for us that day as it really was torrential the night before. Big shout to those that did though as there was enough to have a party.

The team ran the Olive Grove stage later the following night (it normally closes at 2 but it closed at 5am or something) so by 6am as I turned up to DJ there were well over 200 people sat there waiting for the session. Chez De Milo was there (as he often is) bobbing about and as I walked down he was like, ‘better put a tune on mate’. It really was a brilliant morning that one. Just getting to play music you love to a perfect mix of people that are tired from dancing but enjoying sunrise and no needing anything heavy or complicated. Just some emotion where needed and a few happy tunes in the mix.

There was just so much beautiful music played this year. Honestly, in years gone by when I was drinking, I’d DJ at 6am for an hour then slope off to breakfast and then bed but these days I stay and host the stage with our stage manager Zeb and just hang out really. You get to meet new people, get to look after some wonky ones sat on rocks, and generally just enjoy the sessions as they move past. It really went quickly this year. It was weird how quickly it went.

As I operate on a sightly different time zone to most other people I don’t really go to the club or stay up late but I do get to check some DJs and most notable was Powder’s evening set in the Olive Grove. I love watching Powder play. It’s like art. When I watch Powder play it’s like a love letter to the music that I love to dance to. It’s deep organic house music on an incredible sound system surrounded by people that understand what’s good in dance music. Just quality.

It was also good to see lots of people I work with on and around the label at Test Pressing play - Make A Dance, ddwy. Tom Sharkett and Alex Kassian all smashed it with bonus points to Hiro from Opal Sunn coming along to soak it all up.

I don’t know what to say really in summation. It was like a very happy sad year. Someone we miss dearly who was always at the festival wasn’t around, yet somehow that really made us all appreciate each other and I am sure I am not alone in feeling that way. A lot of people telling each other how much they love one another is no bad thing. Basically it was a family affair. I love seeing the staff in the office year on year (massive thanks to them and all that they do) and seeing the crew from Team Love out and about every day is just so nice. What can I say… It was just great. Honestly I can’t recommend it enough and if you go in 2027 come by and say hello. Love love. x.

Thanks to all our DJs who in alphabetical order were:- Apiento (that’s me), Begin, Christophe, Courtney Bailey, Dave Harvey, Dave P, ddwy, DJ Aficionado, DJ Lloyd, Dr Banana, Eden Burns, Ellie Stokes, Eternal Love, Felix Dickinson, Jamz Supernova, Jenny Jen, Justin Strauss, Leon Vynehall, Lexx, Luke Una, Mad Miran, Marion Hawkes, Nadia Ksaiba, Paula Tape, Powder, Shanti Celeste, Soos, Sound Metaphors, Tom Sharkett, Tornado Wallace and last but not least Wayne Holland. Strong. x.