- Until recently, I'd had a couple of basic reasons for avoiding snow-based festivals. Firstly, I don't ski or snowboard. Secondly, and more importantly, I've always felt that I'll have a better time partying in an environment where I don't have to be swaddled in bulky winter clothes. My time at Horizon, a week-long event in the Bulgarian town of Bansko, didn't turn me onto snow festivals in general, but there were plenty of positives along the way.
Bansko isn't particularly easy on the eye. There's a quaint old corner that makes for an interesting wander, but its main drag is a dispiriting, neon-lit mass of Irish and British bars, kebab stands, souvenir shops and strip joints. It has redeeming elements—chiefly the countless mehana restaurants where you can zone out with a spread of cheap, hearty traditional food in front of a roaring fire—but overall Bansko isn't a destination I'd recommend to anyone who isn't a hardened snow sports enthusiast.
That made heading to the out-of-town bits of the festival a pleasure, at least for as long as you could take the cold. A few minutes' drive uphill from the town was the mountain stage, situated next to a ski run and surrounded by forest. Early highlights there included sparsely attended but enjoyable sets from Anushka and Subb-an, but its peak was undoubtedly Craig Charles's packed-out, energetic soul and funk set on Tuesday evening.
The other out-of-town option, Secret Hotel, was further up the mountain. A former hotel, the building had been abandoned until the festival took it over, so there was an eerie, haunted house feel about the place. At least a dozen of its rooms had been elaborately decorated, with various DJs spread between them at any given time. It was a lot of fun to explore, and the music was great too. On one of the nights there was someone pumping Italo on the second floor, while a traditional four-piece Bulgarian band played to a single grinning punter in a hidden corridor further up. Down in the lobby, DJs banged out tunes like Beats International's "Dub Be Good To Me" and Johnny Wakelin's "In Zaire." It added much to the festival's atmosphere throughout the week.
As with Horizon's previous editions, many of the week's main draws played in the basement of the Gardenia Hotel, which is usually a restaurant. KiNK, a yearly fixture at the festival, played live on the first night, brandishing various MIDI devices and occasionally inviting people in the front row to punch in their own contributions—a hallmark of his always-excellent live set. John Talabot's set in the same space on Monday felt a touch weary by his usual standards, even if it did still rank among the weekend's best.
KiNK's second performance of the week, alongside Goldie, took place in Pigalle, one of Bansko's many strip bars. I found Horizon's insistence on using this venue problematic, as, like a lot people, I don't particularly enjoy being surrounded by British tourists leering at Eastern European sex workers, even if Goldie and KiNK are playing records somewhere in the wings. I didn't go, and someone told me later that the show was "even more weird and uncomfortable than you'd think." In my opinion, Horizon would do better to avoid these situations altogether.
Outside of the mountain venues and Gardenia, some solid sets took place across a cluster of mid-sized venues in the centre of town. Jon Rust and the Zenker Brothers were good value at Jack's House on Monday night, while Session Victim turned out effective disco and house in the endearingly uncool Flash Club on Tuesday. Best of all, though, were Denis Sulta's buoyant, piano-laden house in the relatively small and grungy Oxygen bar, and Gerd Janson's set in Flash. The latter in particular was a class apart, with generous helpings of summery house (Axel Boman's "Abba 002") and choice disco edits (Loshmi's "Be My Love") ensuring my time at the festival ended on a high.
Photo credit /
Ross Silcocks