- As my coach hurtled along the country roads between Milan and Genoa, I felt like I was on a school trip—at one point, the driver even slammed on the brakes and ran to the back to accuse somebody of smoking. No one was, but the collective giggle of disbelief that arose as a result would become a recurring theme of the trip. Myself and several others were en route to MDRNTY Cruise, an all-inclusive luxury booze cruise with round-the-clock house and techno, run by the team behind Caprices Festival. For three nights, I would sail around the Mediterranean on the 250 metre long MSC Opera, eating, drinking, dancing and laughing.
With cabins for more than 2,500 guests and 700 staff, MSC Opera didn't feel busy. Nevertheless, the vibe was boisterous and silly, and spirits were high, probably thanks to the all-inclusive alcohol, the measures for which were poured generously—I'm talking pints of wine—by the enthusiastic staff. The cruise drew an older crowd than your standard festival, mostly well-off and well-dressed Europeans. Among them, though, was a sequinned lady who had travelled all the way from Adelaide.
MDRNTY Cruise was sold as a three-day celebration of underground electronic music at sea, with excursions during the daytime to Sardinia and Corsica. Though I got off the boat on both days to explore, the programming made it difficult. We docked at 8 AM, with instructions to be back on the boat by 1:30 PM. With headliners like Ricardo Villalobos, Matthias Tanzmann and Apollonia playing through the night, it was impossible to make the most of the experience without almost completely foregoing sleep.
The music was spread across four stages. During the day, Pool Stage, a white structure adorned with fake flowers, played host to lively sets from the likes of Behrouz, Osunlade and Audiofly. Jon Charnis's set on Tuesday afternoon was a highlight, firing up the crowd as they tossed blow-up watermelons into the air. Behind the dance floor, people splashed in another pool with inflatable animals. The lifeguard quickly grew tired of trying to keep drinks out of the water.
MSC Opera's entertainment venues, in all their shiny-floored glory, hosted the nighttime stages. It was novel seeing artists like Black Coffee and Alan Fitzpatrick bring their big-room sounds to a low-ceilinged discotheque, but the production didn't always do them justice. Byblos, a stage on the top deck with windows on three sides and a terrace, came into its own as the sun rose. On Monday morning, as the sky lightened from an inky blue, CAP warped minds with shuddering cuts like Desert Sound Colony's "Aunt Wendy's Wedding In Wales," before Ricardo Villalobos, who somehow managed to show up 30 minutes late, hit the decks. "Maybe there was traffic?" someone next to me chuckled. Subsequent technical issues meant a further 45-minute delay, but for the short time I saw him play, he quickly brightened the mood, picking up the tempo with jazzy house.
Away from the music there was a casino, a spa, electronic yoga, mini-golf and Teatro Dell'Opera, an auditorium with twinkling lights and gaudy red carpets. I found myself in there on Tuesday night for an exhibition by Andrey Tchernikov and Sadeone called "Sight Creating Sound." Documenting the Swiss Secret Society parties from 2011 to the present day, the work, which included photos of Seth Troxler and Carl Cox, was best experienced wearing headphones playing exclusive mixes by Martin Buttrich, Cesar Merveille and Mirko Loko.
Resident Advisor's review of last year's MDRNTY Cruise noted the need for more musical variety. With nearly a quarter of the artists returning for a second year, and Pool Stage crying out for a breezier vibe fit for sun-kissed pool parties, the same point still stands. Perhaps more pressing, though, was the lack of female talent—in 2018, women made up just one-tenth of the lineup.
The highlight of the cruise was Cassy's brilliant set at Pool Stage on Monday night. Originally scheduled for three hours, she played for nearly five, joined towards the end by Osunlade for an impromptu back-to-back. A spine-tingling moment came early on: the ship was glowing orange in the sunset and the words of Maya Angelou's 1978 poem "Still I Rise" rang out across the top deck. Later, Cassy dropped Brame & Hamo's "Roy Keane" and Errorsmith's "I'm Interesting, Cheerful & Sociable," winning everyone over with her smart selections and warm smile. As an inflatable whale shot across the crowd to some thumping acid track, someone next to me shrieked: "We're having a whale of a time!"
Photo credit /
Julia Myorova - Lead
David Holderbach - Dancers, Sunset, Osunlade
The music was spread across four stages. During the day, Pool Stage, a white structure adorned with fake flowers, played host to lively sets from the likes of Behrouz, Osunlade and Audiofly. Jon Charnis's set on Tuesday afternoon was a highlight, firing up the crowd as they tossed blow-up watermelons into the air. Behind the dance floor, people splashed in another pool with inflatable animals. The lifeguard quickly grew tired of trying to keep drinks out of the water. MSC Opera's entertainment venues, in all their shiny-floored glory, hosted the nighttime stages. It was novel seeing artists like Black Coffee and Alan Fitzpatrick bring their big-room sounds to a low-ceilinged discotheque, but the production didn't always do them justice. Byblos, a stage on the top deck with windows on three sides and a terrace, came into its own as the sun rose. On Monday morning, as the sky lightened from an inky blue, CAP warped minds with shuddering cuts like Desert Sound Colony's "Aunt Wendy's Wedding In Wales," before Ricardo Villalobos, who somehow managed to show up 30 minutes late, hit the decks. "Maybe there was traffic?" someone next to me chuckled. Subsequent technical issues meant a further 45-minute delay, but for the short time I saw him play, he quickly brightened the mood, picking up the tempo with jazzy house.
Away from the music there was a casino, a spa, electronic yoga, mini-golf and Teatro Dell'Opera, an auditorium with twinkling lights and gaudy red carpets. I found myself in there on Tuesday night for an exhibition by Andrey Tchernikov and Sadeone called "Sight Creating Sound." Documenting the Swiss Secret Society parties from 2011 to the present day, the work, which included photos of Seth Troxler and Carl Cox, was best experienced wearing headphones playing exclusive mixes by Martin Buttrich, Cesar Merveille and Mirko Loko. Resident Advisor's review of last year's MDRNTY Cruise noted the need for more musical variety. With nearly a quarter of the artists returning for a second year, and Pool Stage crying out for a breezier vibe fit for sun-kissed pool parties, the same point still stands. Perhaps more pressing, though, was the lack of female talent—in 2018, women made up just one-tenth of the lineup. The highlight of the cruise was Cassy's brilliant set at Pool Stage on Monday night. Originally scheduled for three hours, she played for nearly five, joined towards the end by Osunlade for an impromptu back-to-back. A spine-tingling moment came early on: the ship was glowing orange in the sunset and the words of Maya Angelou's 1978 poem "Still I Rise" rang out across the top deck. Later, Cassy dropped Brame & Hamo's "Roy Keane" and Errorsmith's "I'm Interesting, Cheerful & Sociable," winning everyone over with her smart selections and warm smile. As an inflatable whale shot across the crowd to some thumping acid track, someone next to me shrieked: "We're having a whale of a time!" Photo credit / Julia Myorova - Lead David Holderbach - Dancers, Sunset, Osunlade