- Musai Fest began in July 2016 at the Romanian seaside town of Vama Veche. This year's edition was more compact, though the lineup was just as punchy. Over the course of 24 hours, Emi, Vlad Caia, tINI, Praslesh, Cap, Kozo, Gescu and Barac all performed at Playa Verde, a lovely pool resort in Bucharest. Though it wasn't a festival exactly, Musai had all the right ingredients: access to the pool and sunbeds, great food and drink options, and a chill-out zone for recharging your batteries.
It's no secret that Romanians like their parties long, and this was a classic example. I arrived just as the early sunlight was slowly making its way through the trees. Praslesh, AKA Praslea and Raresh, were on the decks. Most micro-house and techno DJs from Romania have a sober and serious approach to performing, which is fine, but it's always great to see two DJs enjoying themselves so much. Raresh and Praslea gave off an amazing energy, the former smiling, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd, while the other danced around like a kid to his own selections, including classics like The Shamen's "Make It Mine (Moby's Deep Mix)." Their set was the grooviest of the day, peaking with Raresh rolling out Chris Gray's vocal version of Utterance's "Grant Me Utterance."
Cap, one of the rising stars of the Romanian underground, followed with some down-to-earth minimal techno perfectly suited for an afterhours session. He played SIT's remix of Suolo's "May Be," its cosmic and dreamy grooves adding a touch of finesse. As Kozo prepared to take over, Cap decided to lift the mood, playing an unreleased track by Cristi Cons that's been one of the the songs of the summer so far in Romania, with its pulsating bassline and cheerful vocal. All around us, the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky.
Boosted by Cap's final few tracks, the crowd primed themselves for Kozo. He rolled out loopy house and techno, which did the job, but, for me, he didn't take full advantage of the beautiful surroundings. I was hoping he'd play housier, like he had at Sunwaves earlier in the year. Gescu and Barac, playing separately and back-to-back, saw out the party. In the end, Barac closed, laying down "High Emotions" by Petre Vali (another Romanian prodigy on the rise) and, for his final track, Tears For Fears' "Woman In Chains," which sounded totally out there after 24 hours of powerful basslines. Summer in Romania is all about sunshine and good music, and Musai had a winning combination of both.
Photo credit /
Nicolae Anghel