The debut of Secret Project Festival’s new event Pula Music Week has just finished and what a great week it was.
Secret Project took to their Instagram on 29 March 2022 to announce their new venture Pula Music Week. Pula is a very small city in Croatia but the venue of the event was the Pula Amphitheatre which is the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers entirely preserved. It was constructed between 27 BC and AD 68, and is among the world’s six largest surviving Roman arenas. So instantly I knew I wanted to go.
I was meant to be in Pula for a week but due to EasyJet’s now seemingly regular delays and cancellations I was only there for 4 days. So just want to say a massive thank you to Pula Music Week and Alda Live for granting The Staple a press pass to enter the event every night and be able to cover the event on my socials and I was very fortunate to see Disclosure, Tale of Us, Boris Brejcha and of course Charlotte De Witte.
The 4 nights I was there the music was completely different every night with it ranging from house, melodic techno, minimal techno and hard techno and every single night I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Firstly, I’ve got to talk about the Amphitheatre, raving inside a roman arena which is over 2000 years old was an unbelievable experience and one I will never forget. The stage was set up facing the stone stairs which were accessible to everyone for a sit down if needed, or even just to dance which a lot of people decided to do sometimes including myself as it gave a great view of the stage and everyone below and even the infamous Pula port was visible in the gaps of the amphitheatre.
The sound system, which is obviously a massive factor was perfect with speakers at the front and also the back of the arena giving ravers a great listening experience from wherever they decided to stand and just travelled so well around the arena. The visual effects were also well polished as you’d expect from a brand like Secret Project with one major triangle screen just behind the decks and multiple lasers and smoke machines which seemed to be really well used on my final night seeing Charlotte De Witte. The venue in terms of production feels like it has even more potential due to its shape and size so be interesting to see any improvements next year!
As I mentioned I was actually granted access to all events so I went to each event I could. My experience started with Disclosure on Saturday night supported by TSHA. I’m really glad I got to see her as her energy on stage is so infectious, even with a smaller crowd there as it was still early she played such a high energy set and playing some tunes that have had to be Shazam’d including Pinto’s ‘Dangerous’ which I just had to mention as I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the whole time it was on.
Disclosure followed as the crowd got busier and starting with When a Fire Starts to Burn got the whole crowd moving and the vibe carried on throughout the whole set with a completely hit full set. The highlight of the set for me was when they played the soulful ‘Holding On’ featuring the silky vocals of Gregory Porter and the crowd just seemed to erupt into complete serotonin. Couldn’t of asked for a better way to start the 4 days I was there.
Next up was Tale of Us on Sunday night and this was actually my first time seeing the pair as I had just never got round to seeing them but they were 100% worth the wait. There almost hypnotic music just echoed around the amphitheatre and they brought their own visuals with them it was a real experience to see them. When Conciseness by Anyma and Chris Avantgarde echoed around the arena it felt like a real bucket list moment after seeing the song being so popular on social media the past few months.
Now on Monday, this was the busiest night out of the 4 night I went which was a surprise as it was a Monday and we presumed that Tale of Us with their cult like following would be the busiest. Ann Clue supported Boris and she done a great job despite halfway through her set rain falling really heavily meaning the Pula Music Week team had to cover the decks with a sheet meaning she had to play in really difficult conditions. Boris then arrived at 12 for a 2 hour set, I had seen Boris once before at Futur Festival in 2019 but I couldn’t remember a lot from his set but I was in for a pleasant surprise with punch beats and a relentless set with no time to rest. This was also the best energy in the crowd I had seen all week with people non stop dancing and moving. The rain fell again throughout Brejcha’s set and even lightning appeared and despite this the crowd roared each time and it actually felt suitable given Boris has a song called Thunderstorm. Normally when it rains in the UK at an open air festival like 2021’s Newsman Park people are running to shelter but this seemed to have the opposite effect on the European crowd and urged them on even more to have a good time.
Finally was my most anticipated night Charlotte De Witte supported by her partner Enrico Sangiuliano as Charlotte’s acid style of techno was my type of preferred techno. Enrico started with a slower set as expected as his style differs from Charlotte’s but while he was playing we were backstage and got to give Charlotte a wave which we received back but just couldn’t quite get a photo together. De Witte was then on at 12 for a 2 hour set which again started quite slow but the set seemed to change after playing The Age of Love a global dance hit produced by herself and Enrico. From this song the set really picked up the pace with hard hitting techno songs like DJ Jordan’s Positive Vibes (N.O.B.A Remix) and Attack & Dream State by Alignment which were included on his new Attack EP signed to Charlotte’s label KNTXT. This was the best I had seen from the Belgian and I can only imagine she will bring the same energy and more when closing Tomorrowland Festival next week.
With Pula Music Week announcing on Instagram this week that they will be returning in 2023 for another edition I would highly recommend people check the event out if they have the chance next year. Outside of the great music and the unbelievable venue, Pula is a great city to explore with multiple beaches, great food and cheap beer! For a debut event it couldn’t have gone much better and I can only imagine it will improve year on year and maybe become a real staple in years to come for a European festival.