News

Stop Making Sense Launched

• 23rd Feb 2010

Stop Making Sense is a brand new, international music festival with an irreverently independent vibe set to be the closing party of this year’s festival season. Showcasing quality live acts & DJs in the sunshine and under the stars, Stop Making Sense brings London, Glasgow & Paris’ hottest club & concert promoters to a paradise location.

More than a music festival, SMS is situated on a woody peninsula in the village of Petrçane on the stunning Adriatic coast of Croatia. This is a holiday/festival combo in a beautiful spot with great value family-run restaurants, villas by the beach, and many small hotels & campsites. With beach and boat parties galore – revellers can do as much or a little as they please!

Complete with a sterling line up soon to be announced, SMS is curated by music lovers and promoters NEED2SOUL, C.A.M.P, SWAP-A-RAMA, DEVIATION, OPTIMO, SUBCLUB, SUD ELECTRONIC, SECRETSUNDAZE, MOVIMIENTOS, WARM, FACT, DON’T PANIC, FAVELA CHIC, ALLEZ ALLEZ & FANTASY ISLAND.

SMS is set to combine the perfect site, weather and atmosphere with a broad soundtrack ranging from techno to Latin and African beats via jazz, soul, funk, house & disco for a unique and unforgettable experience.

SMS organisers Chris Greenwood (Cargo founder & former Big Chill director) & Alex Ruello (need2soul) say:
“We are delighted to have found such a brilliant spot to put on our first event, combining great weather, excellent value transport + accommodation, superb food & hospitality. The facilities are top notch, the villagers super friendly…and sunshine virtually guaranteed. We couldn’t really have asked for more!”

MEET THE PARTY PLANNERS:

NEED2SOUL are dedicated purveyors of raw house, disco, techno, jazz, soul and more. They have proudly been doing their thing since 2004 and are well respected in the industry and a must on the calendar of every house music enthusiast. They’ll be running the Need2Soul party on Friday night at the festival from 11pm-6am.

C.A.M.P will be taking over the Beach Bar on Saturday night! CAMP stands for the City Arts & Music Project and it fashionably nestles somewhere between café, gallery and late night music venue in London’s Shoreditch. Curated by DJ James Priestley, THE CAMP brings a snapshot of their eclectic music programme.

SWAP-A-RAMA lands on Sunday night in the club, dubbed “the most fun you can have with other people's clothes on” it is a military operation run by children! Whenever the klaxon sounds revelers must swap an item of clothes with the person next to them so don't wear anything you cant live without! God knows what you will be going home in. Swap DJs play an unpredictably intoxicating mix of Rock & Roll, Soul, R&B, Sixties Shakers, Ska, Boogaloo, Hip-Hop, Dancehall, Pop Music & Party Classics

OPTIMO / SUBCLUB: Scotland's peerless venue and club night extraordinaire team up to bring pure dancefloor diversity both on land and at sea. Deck duties come courtesy of JD Twitch, JG Wilkes & SENSU. Hosting the main stage on Saturday night plus a boat party.

SUD ELECTRONIC was set up by DJ Lerato & live act Alan 'Portable” when they left their native Soweto & Cape Town to start Süd Electronic in 2000. Now they run what is quite possibly the coolest house party on the London underground scene. Now boasting a healthy following of enthusiastic party people as well as a label & an artist management company, their beach stage session and boat party on Friday 3 Sept will feature DJ Tama Sumo + Lakuti + Very Special guests.

SECRETSUNDAZE take over the main stage on Sunday night for a Croatia Exclusive! The infamous party was started in East London 8 years ago by school friends & has now become a worldwide phenomenon. While still holding regular nights in London it has gone on to conquer numerous territories across the globe with hugely popular parties at the likes of Sonar, Panorama Bar, WMC, Robert Johnson, Ibiza, Japan and New York to name a few.

MOVIMIENTOS bring the incendiary sound of the Latino Barrio to the beach stage on Saturday afternoon, the choicest cuts of worldwide urban beats, vintage Latin nuggets and blazing Tropical mashups. Featuring DJ Cal Jader, MC Clem George and guests.

FAVELA CHIC are taking over the beach stage on Sunday afternoon and hosting a boat party. Ringmaster Gringo da Parada leads the charge, transferring the Paris & London venues’ Brazilian-Franco madness to SMS. Progress & Disorder!

DEVIATION DJ Benji B, host of the most popular show on BBC 1xtra brings us this superb late night session with tremendous guests playing house, dubstep, hip hop & jazz beats with a unique twist. Deviation has been THE monthly midweek club night in London for the last year, building a strong following amongst heads, industry and week day dance warriors!

WARM Warm club nights have been a permanent fixture on the London house music scene for 10 years now and continue to showcase not only artists from the Warm agency, but also other highly regarded DJs and producers from around the world, such as Todd Terje, Steve Bug, Sebo K, Move D and Maurice Fulton. We are joined by Warm head honcho Ali Tillet and friends. link

ALLEZ ALLEZ Allez-Allez are Sam Willis and Steve Nolan – kings of the podcasts with their fingers firmly on the blogosphere pulse, their unique DJ sets of kraut / techno / electro / disco for dancing has now expanded to a label and releases on Kompakt and remixes for the likes of Fever Ray, Simian Mobile Disco and Fuck Buttons.

FANTASY ISLAND: DJ Richard Norris (The Grid/Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve), DJ Chris Coco and guests play Balearica & Psychedelia old & new at the wave lapped beach bar throughout the day and as the sun sets over the sea. This is the new “old” Ibiza!

So If the mud has got too much and the price of the UK festivals is breaking the bank, then ditch the wellies and brandish that bikini! Now is the time to gather your mates and get on board at a cheaper rate as a limited amount of early bird tickets are on sale for the handsome price of £60 for 3 days and nights of elation. With Ryanair flights currently £120 return into Zadar, a mere 20 minutes away from the site, this is truly a bargain from start to finish. Whether you fancy embarking on a European road trip or incorporating the festival into a summer holiday, Stop Making Sense is here to provide the setting, the soundtrack, the solace and the shenanigans!

Full artist line up will be announced very soon.