A Night at Exit 2024: From the Perspective of a Clubber/Journalist
Written by: Saranda Vraniqi
Exit, now world-renowned, held its 24th festival this year.
This article won't cover who performed or how many awards the festival has garnered so far. You can find all that on Exit's official website.
Instead, I'll try to paint a picture of one evening/night at the festival from my perspective—how the eyes, soul, and other senses of a long-time clubber (and journalist) experienced one of my favorite festivals.
To better understand why you might consider my opinion on the festival, I'll share a bit about myself. I'm 45 years old and have been a clubber since I was two. It sounds surreal, but it's my truth. My love for music and dancing started on my dad's lap as he bounced me to the rhythm of the music. My dad, who deserves his own novel (which I won't write now), took me with him to discos and cafes like a little sidekick. By the age of four, people recognized me on the street as the "little girl from the disco." Music and dancing are sacred to me. It's my peace, my meditation, where my ADD brain finds calm. I'm extremely sensitive, which in a negative sense can be challenging, but positively, I wouldn't trade it for anything (cliché, I know). All my life I've been exposed to quality music from both parents, but I've never pretended or thrown around artist names or song titles to seem cool. In 2015, while living in Melbourne, I was a blogger for Kiss FM, Australia's largest and most popular electronic music radio. Since 2016, I've been on the jury for Croatia's Ambassador Award for electronic music achievements in the Kosovo region, and I've followed Exit festival for two decades.
To avoid this article turning into my autobiography, in short: among all music genres, I adore electronic music and have been part of that world for a long time. I naturally evolve with time, just as music does. I follow my ear, not trends. Sometimes they align, and I also like what's trendy. Mostly, I have a knack for predicting what's going to be trendy and which DJ will be the next big thing. The Exit Foundation or the festival organizers have a good ear and always keep up with the times. That's why they've been successful for so many years in organizing this and a few other festivals.
When you reach my age, you can't always be sure if you'll be 100% in good health or mood to attend events. That's why I rarely buy tickets in advance. This year, I really wanted to attend Exit festival, and it so happened that work and pleasure overlapped 😊
It's Thursday evening, 11th July 2024. I'm wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts. This time, I didn't spend three days preparing a special "outfit" for the event. Experience teaches you to be practical. I carry wet and dry tissues in my pockets. In my waist bag, I have my phone, lozenges, painkillers, cards, IDs, and lip gloss. Hair not blow-dried, minimal makeup, and black sneakers ready for the dust. I start the car and get on my way!
The drive from Banovci to the Fortress via the old road is like a fairy tale. A large, half-young, yellow moon took my breath away and served as a guide. I’m listening to the music from the radio in my car.
Fact: never listen to your favorite music or DJ before a festival. Those who know, know!
I quickly found parking near the Fortress, which is also a good omen. I encountered a tow truck service and asked if it was okay to park where I did. Their "don't worry, just enjoy yourself" sent me off like a good luck charm. I joined the river of people walking, singing, laughing, and shouting various joyful slogans. There were also “Trubaci” and the song "Ederlezi" just after the bridge.
I had to run to get my accreditation. The first doors opened for me without having to wait in line. I arrived just before the deadline and even got a photo pass. Yay! Thanks to the press pass, I didn't have to wait in line to get my ticket scanned. Although, waiting in line has its charm. You always see something funny or meet someone new. Entering, I felt at home. The familiar vibe, yet never not exciting. Since I came to the festival alone, I had the freedom to go wherever and whenever I wanted. I decided to check out the food court first. I've been on a raw food diet since early April, so I sometimes cheat and treat myself to something naughty. To my surprise, there were plenty of options for my raw food diet.
Instinctively, I headed towards the DnB music. When I reached the stairs, I realized I was the only one going that way. But my pass, like a magic wand, allowed me to go where others couldn't. My warm-up began at the X-bass stage with Kritik. For a moment, I felt like I could stay there until morning. I shook myself and decided to go to the press area to get organized for the rest of the night.
As always, the excitement and too many happenings around me made me lose track of time, and I was late to join the organized backstage entry of the Dance Arena. Still, I decided to try and asked security if I could join my colleagues. I think my eyes were the magic wand this time because they let me in hahaha. Although I don't do drugs or drink, I'm often confused, and so I found myself at the end of the tunnel, not knowing where to go next. Another friendly security personel kindly pointed me in the right direction.
Yes, we exist! Sober ravers.
This year marks 20 years since I quit drugs. I tried alcohol again after 15 years of abstinence, and although it was fun, it wasn't me, so I quit again. I don't need anything to kill my insecurities (which I mostly don't have), and for everything else, as I said, I'm overly sensitive. I wouldn't change that for anything.
My dopamine was in overdrive all night.
I was getting goosebumps all over my body the whole time. I don't know if you get goosebumps on your face too. I do... my face gets goosebumps. Not just from the music, but also from the good energies, from genuinely good people. I feel that goodness and get goosebumps.
My Carl Cox. I've listened to him both while on drugs and sober. Regardless, he's always amazing. I love that we've reached a time where DJs go back and either remix an old track or include it in their mix for us old clubbers and those to whom it sounds entirely new. Everything changes, but the art is to keep up with the times while staying true to your style. Carl played some tracks from his style, which I called Latin techno. I love that style as a proudly primitive being from the Balkans. I should also add that I'm a child of a mixed marriage. My father is Albanian from Kosovo, and my mother is Serbian from Croatia. In fact,
... I am Yugoslav. ... Exit is a place where all prejudices and divisions stay outside the gates.
It's quite complicated to tell someone my name amidst the noise of the festival, so I shorten Saranda to Sara. That's what everyone calls me. Internationally, Sara.
And so Carl hits the soul with two or three tracks from the past and then continues on...
Curiosity drove me to wander a bit and see the possibilities of my magic wand (press pass), as I was already getting hungry. I don't just dance in one place; I jump, shimmy, burn energy. As I said, when you go to a rave alone, you have the option to leave and go wherever and whenever you want. I re-entered the tunnel and found myself on the performers side. It's nice to see how it all looks. It wasn't my place to be there and I had no desire to stay. I moved on.
Time for food. I had my eye on a Gorilla burger. I wanted to try them and got the Red Diamond. For someone who eats only fruits and vegetables, cheat time is very significant. It's a rare pleasure that, if not done right, can't be immediately repeated and corrected the next day. The burger could have been less soggy. For that price, I expect things to be stacked in the right order so the buns don't get wet. I ate as much as I could. A lady collecting waste told me she recognized me from somewhere :) The probability is zero, but exchanging smiles is always great.
On the "Main" stage, Dub FX and his colleague Mr. Woodnote were performing. My early mixing lessons on turntables were with DnB tracks. So, my love for DnB dates back over 25 years.
I've followed Dub FX since he was an online and street performer. The man has a special star within him. Pure talent. I love when he improvises live and creates something new and magical.
I soaked up the lights and excellent sound, dancing on the bare ground. Jumping on the ground and inhaling dust is the healthiest way to get vitamin B12. My soul was full. Time to head back to the Dance Arena. Will they let me backstage again? Yes! We're already "family," the security and me.
To clarify: I don't suffer from a VIP complex. First, access to the stage is important for my job. Actually, that's second hahaha. First is practicality. At the age of 45, it's important that I'm not pushed around, that it's flat under my feet, that I have space to dance, that I can move easily from A to B, and that I have decent toilets or, otherwise, off I go to the fields. If I could afford to buy a VIP ticket with one salary, I would always buy it. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Since I can’t, my job can at least provide something similar. Anyway, I always choose to be where the crowd is because the music sounds better, and you see all sorts of interesting things. That’s where the real festival experience is.
Sama AbdulHadi is starting. Sama and her birds, and her poetry. People who think DJs just stand there and play tracks are horribly mistaken.
Like Carl, Sama is an artist radiating with her super energy. With her movements and her presence, she spreads that energy through her music. When I see her experiencing her music, I get goosebumps and totally understand her. I understand the facial expressions I see on her that the music evokes.
It’s said that someone wears their heart on their sleeve. Well, she shares it through her music. During her set, I decided to walk to the VIP section above that overlooks the Dance Arena stage. I realized why that area is VIP. Excellent positioning and arrangement of booths. Everything is accessible, with great toilets. A view of the sunrise too. I decided to stay a bit and dance, enjoying the phenomenal light show that gets better every year. A guy approached me and said he was disappointed in this VIP section. I thought, why? I assumed he was talking about the facilities. He added that he didn’t like the people hahaha. He told me it seemed like I was the only one really enjoying myself there… I felt sorry for his truth.
I decided to return to the backstage where I’m almost invisible, and I like it that way. I continued to enjoy Sama. If you’re interested in the poetry at the end of her set, it’s called “Beirut” by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. In a brief moment, I managed to meet her (happy, happy, joy, joy) and felt a closeness as if I’ve known her for a hundred years.
Here comes my favorite in the whole world, "King" Kunstler, as I call him. A sweet, calm, and humble young guy, he approaches so his fans can capture this moment with a photo. And of course, I am there in line. Aunty Sara made sure to greet him warmly and grab a photo memory. Klang is about to start his set.
As he was setting up, you can hear the murmur of ravers waiting for the madness to begin at 6 in the morning. That first piercing beat of his when he rips it open, and the entire crowd lets out a cheer of joy simultaneously.
My favorite reaction was from a security guy who wasn't aware of what was coming. When it hit, his shocked face and wide eyes told me everything, hahahaha. He said he liked it but maybe Klang should have played first instead of Carl. I understood him because maybe it would have been good for me too, as someone who doesn’t do drugs, to really dance it out while I'm not yet tired. But Exit has a healthy logic and strategy that comes from experience in organizing such events. I guess the organizers, or those who made the schedule for the Dance Arena, thought Carl Cox is for all generations, Sama is in the middle, and then Klang is for the younger crowd.
As the generational numbers fall through the night, so the speed of the music rises. And then there’s me, and people like me, full of life experience and traumas, whose inner child is still alive and who belong to all generations and all music speeds.
I'll try to describe how I experience these DJs 😊 Carl has strength, but he’s kind of bouncy like a strong, good bear. Sama is tougher and more resilient, yet spiritual, like a kind snake from a fairy tale. Klang (or as someone called him in a comment on onlycubbinga, “Luster”) is all heart, both anatomically and spiritually. He’s like a white Easter bunny to me.
Why do I love so much this “new wave” that Klang plays?
More than 20 years ago, in English-speaking places, there was a style called Hard House. It was a bit milder than Gabber. There was also Hard Trance and Psy. Those who listened to Hard House were mostly underground people. It wasn’t particularly high-quality music, but those who can hear the layers in electronic music know it’s not that simple.
Hard House wasn’t for posers. That music was for dancing, sweating, and expelling the evil from within.
At that time, I was living in New Zealand. We were a wonderful clubbing community that marked the so-called Golden Age of clubbing in Auckland. Famous tracks from that era can be heard today in Klang’s sets and those similar to him. To me, Klang is the pioneer and head of this new movement. Other DJs seem too calculated to me, while he seems sincere.
Can you imagine how I feel and what I experience when I hear a track from over 20 years ago (back when I used to do drugs) that throws me into a mix of nostalgia, euphoria, and hysteria? It’s no wonder I started crying. There was a moment I thought... he won’t play those tracks this time so I can slowly head home around 8 in the morning. I was about to leave the Arena when he started "Revolution" by BK. Then followed by a remix of Quench’s "Dreams."
The Dance Arena is a place where every reaction and every outfit won’t be judged. You can scream, cry, be naked, and no one will even glance at you. That freedom cannot be bought. Those who judge are not happy. They have some prisons and obstacles within themselves that they cannot remove, and it bothers them when they see someone enjoying their freedom.
That's what Exit means to me = Freedom.
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