We Love… Ibiza legend Mark Broadbent joins The Garden Festival in Croatia.

The team behind Croatia’s founding music festival, The Garden Festival, are incredibly happy to announce a very special new partnership, as long-term friend and Ibiza icon, Mark Broadbent, joins the family.

After many years spent behind one of the world’s most revered club nights, We Love… Space in Ibiza, Mark is now working closely with the The Garden Festival founders Nick, Eddie, Gail and Charlotte.

The Garden Festival’s on-site club Barbarella’s will be a key focus for Mark, helping to shape the future of the stunning open air club as it prepares to enter a new phase, opening not only during The Garden Festival but throughout the entire season. A series of new events will run between June and September this summer, in addition to all parties held during The Garden Festival and other festivals that take place on The Garden Festival site in Tisno. Barbarellas will play host to artists including Carl Craig, Derrick Carter, Ivan Smagghe, Max Cooper and Stacy Pullen amongst others. ensuring that the club becomes a key Croatian destination for clubbers throughout the summer.

It was several years ago when Mark and The Garden Festival team first met in Ibiza and realised they shared a vision of music, clubs and festivals. Here Mark, Nick and Eddie talk about how they came together, the history of Barbarella’s, and what they have got planned this summer

Mark Broadbent: „I have wanted more involvement with the guys since first meeting them what now seems a lifetime ago although I’m sure it’s not actually that long. You know the chemistry is right when it feels like this, seems we have been friends forever. A shared vision about how dance music should be formatted for consumption – i.e. putting on raves for the faithful – brought us together and now that I have more time on my hands since leaving We Love… I have the chance to fully get to know the wonderful team in Croatia.

“The guys asked me to bring a little of my own colour to the table and to be honest this is the one thing I wanted to hear. I have just left what for some would have been the dream job of programing one of the best parties in the world due to a lack of enthusiasm in the way things are heading in Ibiza and how that party will now need to be programed to achieve the kind of numbers we had grown to expect. I wasn’t about to jump on board some other soulless ship of EDM pirates in a hurry. For Nick, Eddie and the team „the party“ is first and foremost, to them, this simply means great music programed for a music loving crowd. Strangely, and I’m afraid sadly, these are qualities that are now getting harder to find within our scene

“I am very happy with the guys we have involved who are very representative of my personal „dance“ music taste. It’s roots music, Detroit techno and acid house. Our roots anyway. The fact that they are all friends of the family also means that we can expect some incredible shows this summer.“

Eddie O’Callaghan & Nick Colgan: “Back in 2005 when we stumbled across the first Garden Festival site in Petrcane, we were astonished to find that it came with its own circular seventies nightclub. The fact that it had long fallen into disrepair provided us with the magnificent opportunity to give her a full seventies disco restoration and give the sun kissed festival revellers a place to party all night. Named in tribute to a legendary Birmingham nightclub from the punk and reggae heyday where we cut our musical teeth, we were lucky enough to have the privilege to continue that tradition and showcase so many of underground dance music’s most revered performers. Night after night for six years the likes of Kenny Dope, Larry Heard, Kerri Chandler and Andy Weatherall came to rock our club in this this tiny fishing village in Croatia. Yes it was a bit of a sweatbox, but it was OUR sweatbox and we all loved it, and when the basslines kicked, everybody jumped up on every available surface to dance. Then just when we could hardly believe it could get much better – we got kicked out!”

“So on to November 2011, and after a two month frantic search up and down the coast  lady luck smiled on us once again and we not only found a perfect new site for the festivals in The Garden Tisno, but we also found a replacement for Barbarella’s Discotheque. It was just a few miles away from the main site, fully outdoors and far enough from any villages that we gradually realised that we could party in the open air until dawn. Hallelujah! To finally see 1500 people dancing under the trees and the stars until well past sunrise was a dream come true for all of us. Many of the older crew were comparing it to the glory days of Amnesia in the 80s. We knew that the old club was going to be a hard act to follow, but so far in the last two seasons the feedback has been brilliant.

“At the moment we only open the club during the six week festival season, but with an ever growing Croatian dance music scene and the country’s  burgeoning reputation as an international magnet for music lovers, we know it’s time to take the next step and programme Barbarella’s throughout the summer months. We have teamed up with some of the finest DJs and promoters from Croatia to bring together the vibrant local underground scene and combine them with worldwide artists for whom we all share a massive mutual admiration.”

“Some years back we were invited over to Ibiza by a mutual friend to meet Mark and Sarah Broadbent who were at the time running the legendary We Love… nights at Space. It’s a rare treat when people that we have long respected and admired turn out to be fellow soul mates and we knew instantly that we would like to take any opportunity to work together in the future. They then came over to visit us in Croatia and were struck by the freshness and potential of the fast growing scene here. Since then Mark has brought over his brilliant residents and crew to host We Love… boat parties at The Garden Festival and we all had a blast. Now that Mark has left We Love, we thought it would be a perfect time to approach him to help put together a programme for Barbarella’s which would reflect all our musical loves and influences, and include some of Croatia’s most influential artists into the bargain. It’s been a real joy to bounce around ideas together and we feel we have come up with line ups that pays homage to our collective musical roots while still looking to push towards the future.”

The Garden Festival takes place from 2 – 9 July 2014 in Tisno, Croatia. Blessed with crystal clear Adriatic waters, sizzling sunshine and star-lit night skies, the idyllic and intimate setting welcomes a global crowd to a true slice of paradise. Laid-back party vibes rule on the beach whilst boat parties and club nights showcase the very best disco and house grooves from an impressive roster of international DJs that includes Ewan Pearson, Bicep, Craig Richards, Francois K, Wolf & Lamb, Derrick Carter, Prosumer, Axel Boman, Seven Davis Jr, Soul Clap, Eats Everything and many more.

For more information, or to book tickets, visit www.thegardenfestival.eu

Barbarella’s Discoteque Parties This Summer:
Saturday 28 June       Derrick Carter – Big Danny Kane – Jan Kincl Zero – Borut Cvajner
Monday 4 August       Ivan Smagghe – Justin Robertson – Jan Kincl Zero
Friday 8 August          Guests TBA
Saturday 9 August     Guests TBA
Friday 15 August         Max Cooper – Petar Dundov – Jan Kincl Zero
Saturday 6 August      Stacy Pullen – Eddy Ramich – Borut Cvajner
Friday 22 August        20 years of Wiggle with Terry Francis – Nathan Coles – Pyztek
Saturday 23 August   Darren Emmerson – Pier Bucci – Pyztek
Saturday 30 August   Carl Craig – Jan Kincl Zero – Borut Cvajner

The Garden Festival 2014 Lineup:

Live: Crazy P Soundsystem, Genius of Time, KiNK, Paqua, Quantic Live, Session Victim, Seven David Jnr.

DJs: Adam Allias, Adam Regan, Adam Shelton, Adjowa, Andre Bratten, Anthony Mansfield, Autocycle, Axel Boman, Bad Passion DJs, Begin, Ben UFO, Belfast Music Club DJs, Bicep, Bing Ji Ling, Bobby Beige, Brinsley Kazak, Cedric Maison, Christophe, Craig Richards, Damiano Von Erkhert, Dan Beaumont, Dan Wild, Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area), Dax, Dean Sunshine Smith, Delano Smith, Detroit Swindle, Discomendments, Dorisburg, Eats Everything, Eddy Ramich, Eric Duncan, Ewan Pearson, Fantastic Man, Feel The Real, Felix Dickinson, Flux DJs, Francois K, Futureboogie DJs, Galactic Boogie DJs, Galen, Greg Wilson, Hackman, Hesseltime, Hidden Agenda DJs, House Of Disco DJs, Jaime Fiorito, Jan Kincl Zero, Jimmy B, Josh T, Jukes of Hazard, Justin Martin, Justin Vandervolgen, Katie Barber, Krankbrother DJs, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Last Waltz, Leftfoot DJs, Levon Vincent, Luca LTJ Trevisi, Lukas, Marcel Vogel, Mark Seven, Matt Beck, Maxxi Soundsystem, Medlar, Midland, Mislav, My Love Is Underground – Jeremy Underground and Brawther, Neil El Diablos, Olof Uhlin, Outboxx, Paddy Freeform, Paramida, Pardon My French DJs, PBR Streetgang, Peak & Swift, Phil Mison, Prosumer, Pytzek, Ray Mang, Rollerboys, Solar, Somethingsounds DJs, Soul Clap, Steve Cobby, Studio 89 DJs, Studio Barnhus, Subb-An, The Pool DJs, Tiago, Tim Sweeney,  The Revenge, Tom Rio, Tristan Da Cunha, Under Bron DJs, Uovo aka Memoryman,  Wolf and Lamb, Wolf DJs, Young Marco.

The Garden Festival 2014
Weds 2^nd – Weds 9^th July 2014
@ The Garden Tisno, Petrica Glava 34, 22240 Tisno, Croatia

Tickets: £120
Double Whammy tickets for The Garden Festival and Electric Elephant: £150

Zdroj: The Garden Festival 2014