December 13, 2019 - TCN caught up with the directors of the Outlook music festival to learn more about the first release of Outlook Origins next summer. 

After a decade establishing itself as the most iconic and essential bass music event in Croatia, 2020 sees Outlook Festival open an innovative new chapter with the announcement of Outlook Origins. This all-new proposition for 2020 takes place across three special locations; The Garden Resort in Tisno for the main festival, world-famous Barbarella's for after-parties, and St Michaels Fortress for an all-new and very special opening concert.

TCN caught up with the organizers to learn more.

After a decade of Outlook Festival in Pula, you open a new chapter next summer in Tisno. What was the reasoning behind moving locations? 

Outlook has been putting on Festivals in Croatia now for twelve years. Starting our journey at The Garden (Petrcane) in 2008 and eventually arriving at the gates of Fort Punta Christo in 2010. As event organisers (and music fans), we've been fortunate to hold some incredible parties with some of the biggest names in sound system culture, and do so in one of the most unique locations for events in the world. From massive opening concerts in Pula's 2000-year-old amphitheatre to the Harbour, Moat and Ballroom, our set-up at Fort Punta Christo offered people an experience unlike any other. 

It's been an amazing experience for us in Pula and after ten years at the fort, we as organisers were keen to explore something new. Running such a massive event, welcoming thousands of music fans from across the globe takes a lot of work and a venue as unique as the Fort brings with it further challenges (safety, power, sound, production or beyond). We felt it was time to find a new challenge and explore other exciting routes to develop the festival and embrace sound system culture.

How will Outlook Origins be different compared with the previous editions of the Outlook Festival in Pula we know so well?

Outlook Origins explores a new model for us as a festival - one where we work closely with twelve of the scene's brightest names in sound system culture to curate our line-up. A festival line-up with some of our musical heroes working alongside - what could be better! 

Exploring everything from drum and bass and dub, to reggae, roots, grime, garage and beyond, our curators will ensure the true scope of 'Outlook's' sound is represented. Alongside this, the festival becomes more intimate, offering the audience an opportunity to get up-close to the music and the artists. The Garden site is a well-loved home to many festivals, with an array of great facilities, food, drink and idyllic beach in which to enjoy outside of the music. Next summer, we'll add the Outlook touch to the site, with sound (Sinai Sound System), production, knowledge and workshops and much more still to be announced!

How will the opening concert at St. Michael’s Fortress in Sibenik compare to the Pula Arena?

This year is very much about moving forward and keeping our eyes on our plans for 2020. St. Michael's fortress is a spectacular venue with eye-dropping scenes surrounding it. It brings with it an opportunity for us as programmers to review our current model and find artists that are a perfect fit for such a space! Opening our festival the last couple of years with a massive concert (and one that has been held in a 2000-year-old amphitheatre) has been a dream - we're very excited to be able to do the same again for Outlook Origins, stay tuned for more information on the line-up early in the New Year.

What about Outlook Origins will festival-goers look forward to most next summer?

There will be lots to look forward to next year; we'll have stages of music programmed alongside our Curators bringing their favourite artists, sounds and party-starters with us to The Garden. The Outlook Boat parties will be back in full-force, as well as beach parties, after-parties and so much more. We're confident Outlook fans old and new will experience something unforgettable! There are lots more still to be revealed - keep your eyes on our channels early in the New Year!

Finally, a message to your fans in Croatia?

We are excited to be coming back to Croatia in summer next year and hope our audience are as excited about the change as we are. Outlook Origins represents something brand new for the festival, at a new location with lots of fresh ideas – we revel in our history and our time at the fort and feel extremely privileged to have found such a unique and unforgettable space to host our event over the last decade. We hope you'll join us all for the next chapter.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

The Garden Resort in Tisno recently started another summer season full of festival activities, in which they hope to attract over 20,000 visitors!

It started as one festival, but it grew over the years and in 2019 there will be 6 international festival events during July and August. The bay with a perfect beach is one of the most amazing festival stages in Europe, and it attracts visitors from all over the world to their more intimate musical events. Nick Colgan, the owner of the destination and the Garden Resort brand says that 2019 will be their best season yet, in terms of the number of visitors, and that they've secured the contract for the next 3 years, which means that their events will be held at the same place at least until 2022. Their concept of a vacation with the musical background attracts visitors from over 40 countries, and Love International is a perfect addition to their concept. The Garden Resort and the event held there during the summer are crucial for the tourism of Tisno and the area, as people from all over the world know about Tisno as the location where Garden Resort is located, Ivan Klarin, municipal head adds. In 2019, they added another festival, Fuliranje (which is well-known to anyone who's recently visited Advent in Zagreb).

The festival season in Tisno has begun with Love International Festival, organized for the fourth year by Dave Harvey and Tom Paine, which closes tomorrow. Many of the DJs that perform at the festival stay a bit longer, make a vacation out of it, because they enjoy Tisno so much.

After Love International, Hospitality On The Beach drum'n'bass festival is next, starting on July 11th, and after that the famous and long-lasting SunceBeat festival starts on July 24, celebrating their tenth anniversary in Croatia. In early August Fuliranje na Moru (Seaside Fuliranje) starts, August 8th is the first day of Defected Croatia house festival. The final festival of the season is Dekmantel Selectors, starting on August 22nd.

The list of the performers for these festivals is long, and here are just some of them: Peggy Gou, DJ Harvey, Optimo, Jan Kinčl & Regis Kattie, Adriatic Coasting Team from Garden, Andy C, Noisia, High Contrast David Morales, Gilles Peterson, Jayda G, Armand Van Helden, Denis Ferrer, Roger Sanchez, Ben UFO, DJ Marcelle, Objekt, Darko Rundek & Ekipa, Urban & 4, Goran Bare with Majke, Parni Valjak, Vojko V.

Nick Colgan added that they're constantly improving the venue, that they have new mobile homes in The Garden Resort, glamping capabilities in the camp, hostel etc, and that currently over 600 people can be accommodated at the location of the festival, while the others are located in Tisno and the surrounding area. This year they're working even harder than ever at preserving the nature of the location, as they've procured the biodegradable cups and utensils, and are working with beer can vendor on the project "Each Can Counts", trying to teach people of the importance of recycling. Their goal is to completely remove any plastic from the location.

The Guardian once put Tisno on their list of top ten best European festival locations, and the people working on the Garden Resort experience are doing their best to keep it that way! Find out more information about the festivals here.