Dimensions Festival returned for its fourth year in Pula, Croatia at the end of August for five days of dance music including a headline set from George Clinton / Parliament / Funkadelic. A capacity 7,500 revellers from across the world enjoyed the mix of an opening concert in a 2,000-year-old-amphitheatre plus beach parties, boat parties and stages in an abandoned fort from Wednesday, August 26th to Sunday, August 30th. Acts included Juan Atkins, Underground Resistance, Moodymann, Ben Klock, Lil Louis, Âme, Boddika, Mala, Gerd Janson, Dusky, Loefah, BADBADNOTGOOD and John Talabot. Mike Barnard reports day-by-day.
Wednesday
Arrival on Tuesday meant there was plenty of time to relax ahead of the first 'official' day of Dimensions Festival 2015. Tents were set up speedily in the much-needed shade of the trees of Camp Brioni with a stready 32 degree heat forecast for the next week. We made the most of the weather by biding our time on the beach before Wednesday's opening concert. There was still music (particularly fun disco and house sets from Remi and Robin Sure respectively), cocktails and food stalls to enjoy enabling us to ease into what would be an intense festival experience.
Floating Points orchestrated a soaring transcendental soundscape to polish off a meticulously composed set.
Wednesday night brought with it the opening concert so we relocated from Camp Brioni to central Pula via a boat taxi. The route on the Adriatic Sea took us past lush the surroundings of trees to the industrial outskirts of Pula and then the amphitheatre concert venue looming large as we approched the harbour in the heart of the town. A quick stop to eat and we made our way into the amphitheatre in time for the Floating Points live set featuring a full orchestra. Watching seated from the highest point in the ancient venue, the outer wall made for an imposing perimeter lit up with projections and we could watch the huge arena filling up to the sounds of synthesisers and classical instruments slowly melding together. The careful build to the set required patience to fully appreciate the intricacies, but the pay-off was an epic joining of the old and new. Floating Points orchestrated a soaring transcendental soundscape to polish off a meticulously composed set and, as he emerged from the back of the stage, there was a huge roar of approval. Dimensions Festival had begun.
Little Dragon took to the stage next, a Dimensions favourite having played the first edition of the festival in 2012. The Swedish band meant business with an eye-catching lighting set-up and a high-tempo set which enabled the crowd to release the energy built up during Floating Points with some frenetic dancing. Singer Yukimi Nagano seemed delighted with the response, beaming throughout. By the time Four Tet was on stage after midnight, anticipation was high having seen such solid performances already. Kieran Hebden started his live set strongly going in with 'Plastic People' early, however he seemed to slow down as the set went on, mellowing out as he finished with selections from Morning/Evening. Far from the highly-danceable atmosphere that had engulfed the amphitheatre for Little Dragons, Four Tet turned the night full circle back to how Floating Points started it, his elegant electronica worthy of the impressive surroundings. As we boarded the taxi boat back to Camp Brioni, we were ready for the main event.
Little Dragon's high-tempo set enabled the crowd to release the energy built up during Floating Points with some frenetic dancing.
Thursday
The Beach stage at Dimensions is a curious area. The impressive soundsystem fills the stretch of beach with summer vibes from 12noon to 8pm, enabling festival-goers the opportunity to sunbathe, swim, play on the inflatable aqua park, ride a pedalo, eat and drink all while listening to the same music as everyone else - even those who opted for a sea view on the campsite could laze to the sounds. Today's DJs included Barry Smith and Lexis from Music is My Sanctuary spinning blissed-out grooves. Such is the heat during the day, it was rare to see many people muster the energy to head to the sandy dancefloor to throw some shapes. The Beach stage evolves into a livelier space when the sun gets lower, and sunset was perfectly timed on the Thursday for when electronic duo Wyles and Simpson played live.
The Clearing stage was upgraded from a bland silver structure to a striking triangular roof with a transparent cover flanked by LED towers for a imposing focal point to the festival.
Abigail Wyles and Holly Simpson offered a soulful live set with their soft voices and cushioned beats very easy on the ears - a cover of Tears for Fears "Shout" was haunting yet still offered a gentle caress. Beach Stage headliners STUFF. were made of sterner delivery as they jumped into a set of future funk that attracted a big crowd who were by now happy to jump around as the guitars got lost in jazz-like solos to psychedelic effect.
As STUFF's set concluded, the sun disappeared below the horizon and attention turned to the abandoned fort up the hill from the beach where the music would continue all night. Before walking up to the fort, we headed to a friend's apartment in the nearby town of Štinjan where many of the Dimensions-goers stay to load up on barbecued meat for the night's festivities. From their back garden we could hear the distant beats beckoning us and soon we were heading back through the campsite and up the hill to the Clearing, the vast open main stage where Dorian Concept was performing live. This year the stage had been upgraded from a bland silver structure to have a triangular roof with a transparent cover flanked by LED towers for a imposing focal point to the festival. Dorian Concept was joined on stage by fellow musicians to bring depth to the Ninja Tune artist's music, though we arrived too late to fully appreciate the set. What we did hear was a compelling jam followed by Oliver Thomas Johnson taking to the piano for a dainty solo finale.
Norwegian Telephones was playing disco on the custom-built Void soundsystem and we bunched up at the front of the stage to get involved with the growing dancefloor.
Following the close of Dorian Concept's set we explored the fort at length, walking the windy, tree-lined track to emerge between The Garden and Arija stages before peering into the 100-metre-long moat from above, taking a look at Fort Arena 1's space with projections on the walls, then entering the part of the fort where Mungo's Arena was getting going with Kenneth Christiansen of Echocord. We would eventualy settle at the Void outside the fort. Norwegian Telephones was playing disco on the custom-built Void soundsystem and we bunched up at the front of the stage to get involved with the growing dancefloor. A DJ set from one half of Âme provided deep house with big drops to a now one-in-one-out Void crowd, bringing with it the bustling atmosphere of a festival very much coming alive.
To finish the first night in the fort we headed to The Moat for the Hessle Audio takeover. Walking down the steps into the long, narrow stage flanked by tall walls we could feel the power of the soundsystem hit us as we turned the corner to face the stage from the back of the crowd. We found friends holed up between the first and second stack of speakers soaking up the pressure of Ben UFO b2b Pangaea b2b Pearson Sound, a trio intent on covering the heavier forms of dance music on offer at Dimensions. One track pumping techno, the next fierce electro, the high quality of the tune selection made for a captivating experience. We would stay on for Berghain regular Anthony Parasole's pure techno set until 6am as dawn broke, which Parasole signalled by bringing out the soothing melody of James Holden's remix of "The Sky Was Pink" before surprising us with Kings of Tomorrow's "Finally" to close on a sing-a-long.
Ben UFO b2b Pangaea b2b Pearson Sound was a trio intent on covering the heavier forms of dance music on offer at Dimensions.
Friday
There was no time for the beach on Friday as we had tickets to the Resident Advisor afternoon boat party. We made our way to the harbour and back on the Champagne boat we had taken to Pula for the opening concert, only this time a DJ booth had been set up overlooking the top deck ready for Horse Meat Disco and Daniel Avery to get behind the decks. The heat of the day saw us take in the start of the trip outside on the lower deck in the shade as the boat drove out into the Adriatic. The sound of the music coming from top deck soon lured us upstairs to the dancefloor and we basked in the sun while Horse Meat Disco brought the retro vibes interspersed with Daniel Avery's more leftfield 4/4 house and techno including throwback electro classic "Geht's Noch?" by Roman Flügel. The three hours sailed by and we were soon disembarking to head back to the beach for the sunset. Luckily we arrived just in time for half an hour of Jeremy Underground playing disco to a heaving beach stage as we relaxed on the rocks watching the sun go down.
Lone was one of the sets of the weekend followed up by lashings of live acid from Paranoid London.
The night time would start on a disco tip with the Menendez Brothers in The Garden playing as part of the Feelings takeover. Residents Ryan Winters and Karl Fuller were joined by twins Eniz and Deniz for the close of their two-and-a-half-hours with Hardrive's "Deep Down" the highlight. Next up was Lone in the Moat where the 10.30pm start meant a front of the dancefloor spot and plenty of Matthew Cutler's old school rave sounds mixed in with warm, futurist beats. It was one of the sets of the weekend followed up by lashings of live acid from Paranoid London at the Clearing which left the words "Drop the Beat" ringing in my ears for the rest of the weekend. The old school acid was the perfect foil for what was to follow: Underground Resistance presents Timeline live.
Underground Resistance founder 'Mad' Mike Banks was joined on stage by keyboardist Jon Dixon and saxophonist DeSean Jones from supergroup Galaxy 2 Galaxy plus DJ/producer Mark Flash to produce a Detroit techno trip through a forward-thinking jazz lens. The Clearing throbbed with cheers of approval for a second festival highlight in a matter of hours. The rest of the night was one of soaking up the nooks and crannies of the fort via Lil Louis and Bicep in the Void and Daniel Avery in the Moat. We grabbed a falafal while sitting outside the main fort entrance, then went on a shopping challenge to see what the on-site traders would sell us for 10 Kuna (a bracelet, two stickers, a glowstick or a fake tattoo depending on who you spoke to it turned out). We entered the fort by a second entrance to find a hidden bar tucked away within its walls and the 75-capacity Noah's Ballroom buzzing with an intimate crowd and Felver on the decks. Following the outer wall, we climbed to another bar overlooking Fort Arena 1. Taking a step back from the music and engaging with friends in the most sociable spaces others may never find across the weekend made for a refreshing take on a Dimensions nighttime and we felt all the better for it.
We entered the fort by a second entrance to find a hidden bar tucked away within its walls and the 75-capacity Noah's Ballroom buzzing with an intimate crowd.
Saturday
By now the effects of three nights out on the trot and the hot days inbetween were starting to take their toll and daytime on the beach became more of a sleepathon than a time to enjoy music. Some mustered the energy to have a 30 minute session on the inflatable aqua park, but there were others who would not move from their spot on the rocks away from the music and bars today. After another beautiful sunset in a cloudless sky, we got a decent feed in the campsite restaurant and geared up for the fort once more. First port of call was the Moat. So engaging was the back-to-back set of the eclectic Hunee and Antal, founder of Amsterdam's Rush Hour, we didn't leave the Moat for nearly three hours - and even then it was just to get a drink from the bar. The pair were in inspired form, flitting between disco, samba, techno, house and afro beat with ease. One minute you'd be listening to a hard 4/4 beat, the next the bongos were out and vocals were lifting the spirits. There was no one moment this duo were trying to reach: the joy they created in the depths of the Moat was a genuine expression of their virtuoso track selection.
So engaging was the back-to-back set of the eclectic Hunee and Antal, founder of Amsterdam's Rush Hour, we didn't leave the Moat for nearly three hours.
Legowelt followed in the Moat and fortunately there was no need to compare the sets. Danny Wolfers played a live set of acid-tinged techno which rinsed the space of all but the most ardent techno fans who were suitably impressed. There was no let up in Legowelt's music, putting the soundsystem through its paces and by the end there was a proper techno stomp going on the length of the Moat. We emerged from the stage for a breather and headed to the Clearing to see what Space Dimenson Controller was playing this year. Previously he'd played a live set of his more ambiant work and a full-blown party set featuring the Star Wars theme. For 2015 he embraced acid for an old skool rave feel that got him so worked up he was running round the decks by the end and dropped AFX's "VBS Redlof B" from his Analord series to close. Three sets and three home runs later, when the Clearing's 5.30am curfew arrived we thought better of chasing a final half hour of music up to the quality of what we'd already seen and decided to save ourselves for the final day.
Sunday
Sunday arrived all-too-soon. In a bid to make the most of the day after a lazy Friday, we headed to the Turf boat party in the afternoon headlined by Kon with 22a presents Henry Wu, Al Dobson Jr and Tenderlonious. Back out on the Adriatic sea, Turf residents Remi and Napper got the party started with soul tunes before the 22a crew brought the funk and broken beat with exclusve cuts and plenty of banter on the mic. A more relaxed experience than the RA party, when Kon got on the decks the dancefloor was bopping in time with the boat's anchored movements so he tweaked the mood only slightly by dropping Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman", which had both sexes singing along, then finsihed with Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" - a tune he first heard at roller discos on its initial release in 1979. Listening to Kon laud Jackson as a legend was apt as shortly we'd be up at the Clearing watching another legend - George Clinton playing the music he created with bands Funkadelic and Parliament.
Dimensions 2015 had been a whirlwind of fun full of what felt like one-off sets to go with the unique setting.
The biggest regret of the weekend was missing out on the events of the Knowledge Area. Demonstrations from acts playing at the festival provided insights into their production and performance methods were ideal for music-makers, but there were also Q&As including one with George Clinton. Those who attended talked about an inspiring and eye-opening account of Clinton's experience in the music business, in particular the copyright battles he still faces. Having seen Clinton in action on Sunday night, I can well believe those who were present were blown away by his tales. As for the performance, you could hardly move in the Clearing such was the mass assembled to see Clinton. We were able to get to the front for closing tune "We Want the Funk" and to see Clinton up close surrounded by his enthusiastic band was a joy.
The final night brought with it a last explore of the fort including the delightful mix of world music and techno from Sophie Sky in Noah's Ballroom going back-to-back with the bass heavy Alors Cors, watching Vril from backstage in the Moat during the Giegling takeover with label boss Dustin, admiring the house of Dusky from the bar above Fort Arena 1 and getting some lighter notes from Gerd Janson in the Void. For the last two-and-a-half hours we returned to the Moat for festival favourite, Ostgut Ton's Ben Klock who opted for a linear techno set a relentless as you'd expect from the Berghain regular. Finishing off with DJ Deeon's "Freak Like Me" as the sun came up, the was a roar from the Moat faithful: Dimensions 2015 had been a whirlwind of fun full of what felt like one-off sets to go with the unique setting. Dimensions will return for its fifth edition next August, and the thought of what the acts booked will pull out the bag for such an anniversary is enough to want to book a return flight.
Images by Ross Silcocks Entirety Labs. Article republished November 2026.