7 tracks that turned Love International into pure bliss on the Croatian coast

Andy Hart, Beach stage, Saturday evening

One of the great things about Love International is that you pretty quickly begin to trust the musical nous of the organisers, especially when chancing a set by someone you're not too familiar with. Several such contributors catch Mixmag's eye during the week including Manchester-based Glowing Palms whose jacking, beanpole frame accompanies Ruf Dug on both the beach stage and the Ruf Kutz boat party.

Another is Honey Soundsystem who, despite their acclaimed international reputation and recent Lab SF appearance, this Mixmag writer has never heard in the flesh previously. They lay down a great set of deep and driving underground house in the Olive Groove on Saturday, accompanied by the similarly enjoyable Gideön, of Block9 fame. In their American sound and strict adherence to the house genre Honey Soundsystem manage to stand out from many others who willingly cross genres.

Yet another new introduction is Melbourne DJ Andy Hart. Mixmag's ears prick up when he drops this recent, uncompromising, heads down remix.

Young Marco, Beach stage, Saturday night

Yikes, the conflicts of interest are near overwhelming on Saturday. At the same time as Honey Soundsystem are playing, Heidi is dropping a pacey main stage set that rewards with Armand Van Helden's remix of Tori Amos 'Professional Widow', Inner City 'Big Fun' and the King Britt remix of Josh One's 'Contemplation' towards the end.

Multiple distractions have the upside of making Mixmag miss the cringe moment in which audacious Dutch selector Young Marco drops 'Forever Young', but the crowd sticks with him and Mixmag joins them just in time to hear this nagging, early 80s cosmic disco classic by compatriot group The Chaplin Band.

There's nothing left for it, caught up in the peak time crescendo, we opt to visit Barbarellas to catch The Black Madonna. She absolutely knocks it out of the park. Her set is not just well selected, energy-packed house with a few disco highlights; it is programmed and delivered in such a way as to remind of the most masterful DJs this writer has ever seen. Incredible. Beautiful Swimmers (main picture) who follow are also impressive, but in comparison they have drawn the short straw. The very best at their peak would struggle to follow that set delivered by The Black Madonna.

Midland, Main Stage, Sunday

Jim Stanton, Horse Meat Disco at Barbarellas, Tuesday

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With Midland's 2016 summer anthem and Mixmag tune of the year 'Final Credits' having only just receded from the mind, his label Regraded has returned with undoubtedly one of 2017's summer anthems and certainly one of the biggest tunes of this year's Love International.

Built around a sample from 'Til You Surrender' by Rainbow Brown, Fonda Rae's sole lead vocal collaboration with disco legend Patrick Adams, Gerd Janson & Shan have built on previous successful joint efforts for Running Back to offer Regraded yet another monster on this unblemished young imprint.

Midland and Job Jobse neglect their allotted main stage times on Sunday and choose to combine for an impromptu set in which Job plays Human League's 'The Things Dreams Are Made Of'. They are clearly having a great time but seem to push each other very much into disco territory with Midland's airing of 'Surrender' - a killer highlight. Simultaneously Prosumer is playing a typically brilliant, vinyl-heavy set of true deep house on the Beach stage while the anniversary celebrating Optimo are killing it in the Olive Grove. Far too much fun for one evening.

The following night, after a brilliant live set by true showmen Crazy P, Midland plays another back-to-back at Barbarellas. This one, with Ryan Elliott, in sharp contrast to his Main stage appearance is deep, techy and quite dark. The crowd erupts when they drop the B.Q.U.I.P Payless Pump Mix of 'Walk 4 Me' by Tronco Traxx. In 2017, before this audience, the track sounds less like the underground gay club hit it was when originally released in 1995 than it does an unabashed everyman anthem for a Utopian, multiple sexuality accepting society. Yes, Love International is a place where such dreams are realised.

Horse Meat Disco boat party and Barbarellas, Tuesday

The disco is strong at this festival, particularly on the boat parties. Everyone returns ecstatic from Sunday afternoon's Futureboogie boat with guests Ron Basejam, Neil Diablo and residents Christophe and Dave Harvey. Of many highlights, Dave's dropping of uplifting 1978 release Tenderness 'Gotta Keep On Trying' (which Joey Negro has re-edited to predictably enormous effect) stands out. Horse Meat Disco's debut original production, a newly released single, is used by the gang as their final track on both their boat party and their all night set at Barbarellas, which Mixmag opts into despite feeling wary of hearing a whole club set of nothing but disco. Our apprehension is completely unfounded and given six hours over which to stretch the music covers enormous ground, as distinct differences between Horse Meat Disco's residents become very apparent.

James Hillard ventures into cosmic disco territory on the boat and offers a completely different deep diggers selection of US vocal disco at the club. Long sections are left in the more than competent hands of Severino, but when Jim Stanton returns to the decks he displays a brilliant enthusiasm for newly released music and veers welcomely into house music. Similarly, Luke Howard's second set, flawlessly mixed and highly distinct, delivers some of the evening's other best musical moments in Sylvester and vintage Chicago favourite 'Peaches and Prunes' by Canadian outfit Nightlife Unlimited. We're left wanting for more.

Jim Stanton, Horse Meat Disco at Barbarellas, Tuesday

Nick The Record, boat party, Wednesday

Though named after the unique multi-genre soundtrack developed in Ibiza by pioneers like Alfredo and Jose Padilla, you'd be hard pushed to now come across many new releases classed as 'Balearic' in the clubs of the White Isle today. Not so at Love International. Though thankfully not so comatose as to be considered 'chill out', there's a certain calmness to sessions which groove along at just the right tempo, either in warm up or in response to the surroundings or falling sun.

A highlight of such moments, aired several times, is this brand new release by Leonidas & Hobbes on Hobbes's own label. Jim Stanton primed the audience with it at Barbarellas before unleashing the aforementioned Gerd Janson & Shan bomb 'Surrender' and on the final day of the festival we hear it again, this time played by longstanding vinyl nut Nick The Record. Nick's reputation as a selector has seen him visit excited Japanese audiences every year for well over a decade, but it's in more recent memory that he's finally becoming acknowledged as a skillful selector and programmer on the European club circuit and festival scene. Not before time. His boat party selections are each expertly timed and wholly accessible, but never obvious. It's a faultless way in which to end a festival of which the same could be said.

Marc Rowlands is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Mixmag