Festival Column: KaZantip Republic

Feature by Paul Mitchell | 01 Aug 2011

When is a festival not a festival? When it takes place in the non-existent state of KaZantip that's when, and therefore only exists in a parallel reality. That parallel reality is a sunny paradise based in the imagination, but for most who do imagine, also happens to be somewhere on the Crimean Black Sea Coast in the Ukraine (naturally). It's got a PreZident, its own customs which must be observed (chief religion is belief in the reality of miracles, of course) and yes, you do need a visa to gain access (we call it a 'ticket' in our reality).

KaZantip then, is like Shangri-la or that island on Lost but with way, way more DJs, and kitesurfing. People are naked a lot, we hear; a good thing, but not compulsory; their government is pretty cool like that, just like ours. In any case, the gods of this particular realm, essentially the 'biggest, liveliest, longest (it goes on for four whole weeks) electronic music 'project' for this year, include Deadbeat, Ricardo Villalobos, Audiofly, Groove Armada and John Digweed, to name but a very select few from what is a monumentally large line-up. There are six large dancefloors on the go at any one time, and lots of smaller bars dotted around when it's time for a break (or whatever).

 

30 Jul - 20 Aug

Flights to Simferopol depart from Edinburgh and Glasgow, and there are multiple accomodation options near the festival (sorry, project) site. Visas, for single entry or multpile visits, must be registered in advance. For more information see www.kazantip-republic.com

http://www.kazantip-republic.com