Kazantip.
No? You’re right, I’d not heard of it either. However after Crack In The Road’s expedition to Hove Festival in Norway and Eurockeennes in France last year, I felt it only right to carry on our exploratory adventures into the delights of the European Festival scene. After countless days of searching, I came across a festival which appeared to be like no other. Described as a ‘Republic’, with it’s very own ‘President’, Kazantip begins on the 30th July and doesn’t stop until the 27th August. Suddenly this was making 5 days camping in a field look like child’s play.
Built around electronic and dance music, Kazantip’s line up is shaped by some of the finest DJ’s within Europe and beyond. A few highlights from this year’s bill include Groove Armada, Pendulum, John Digweed, Richie Hawtin, Audiofly, and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Set across a staggeringly beautiful coast line, Kazantip is composed by a series of ornate and grand stages that appear to gain their names from the surreal (UFO Stage/Dark Side), to French bread (Croissant), and the seemingly grandiose (Shit Palace).
However before we get too carried away talking about Kazantip as a music festival, it is worth noting this is by no means how the ‘President’ and his council would want Kazantip to be viewed. To get into the Republic of Kazantip you require a ‘Visa’ and it needs to be purchased in advance. There is the option of a ‘multi-entry’ visa, which allows you access to the festival for the whole month, leaving and pleasing as you like, or a ‘single trip’ visa which gets you into the festival for as long as you remain within the Republic. While this seems like a novel way to rebrand tickets, I was at first skeptical of Kazantip’s attempt to move into the metaphorical. Perhaps it was a marketing approach, or a drug fueled dream that would materialise as mundane as the reality was trying to escape.
Although on further inspection you realise that after a decade of existence, Kazantip as a Republic isn’t such a ridiculous idea at all. The video below utilises a charming level of broken English and foreign accents, however, within all the striking images, you see the complete and utter sense of community that steams through the layers of stages, fluorescent clothing, sunny beaches, and various constructs that play host to events and art displays throughout the month.
This concept goes beyond anything that is available within our great isles, and I can guarantee you that on the last night, just before people pack up into their Ford Fiestas, there won’t be any groups of rowdy youths toppling telegraph poles chanting ‘gazebo’, and setting everything on fire. What’s more, there won’t even be any Ford Fiestas in sight.
While I acknowledge this isn’t a fair reflection of the current British festival scene, it is the sense of adventure and mystery that stands as Kazantip’s greatest drawing point, allowing people not only the chance to witness a fine selection of music, but to travel into uncharted territory far beyond what a trip down the A1 could ever provide.
You can find out all the information you need about how to get to the Republic that infamously features on no map, and the various affordable accommodation options, over on Kazantip’s website here.