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

Palms Trax, Beach stage, Friday night

With so much music on offer at Love International it's worth accepting early that you're not going to catch everything and choose instead to just go with the flow. Friday lunchtime is spent exploring nearby Tisno, a small but beautiful Mediterranean town sat between the waterside and a small hill atop which three small churches sit. The largest chimes its bells every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Blessed are the festival goers residing within earshot.

Mixmag's spontaneous decision to return to the festival site in the early evening, the sun still blazing down on sunbathers by the beach, ensures that we witness one of the most magical sights of the week.

Texas three piece Khruangbin appear from nowhere on a beach side jetty, armed with drums, guitar and bass instrumentals that combine to sound like a 1960s Ennio Morricone soundtracking a contemplative Korean movie full of epic, wide screen landscapes. Their set coincides with the return of a boat party and as a result they draw a huge audience who are transfixed by the unique performance. They pull a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's quirky 'Firecracker' out of the bag and it is simply marvellous. Unforgettable.

Later that evening Axel Boman provides a more linear, dancefloor-orientated and heavily electronic set that's in contrast to his more wayward but great material recently produced with John Talabot. Leon Vynehall draws a substantial audience on the main stage but towards the end of the set we feel a bit frustrated by the selections. Rave-influenced house leads Vynehall into drum n' bass, which falls like a lead balloon. The situation is quickly rectified but again he drops a radical tempo change, this time down a gear and Palms Trax's beach stage set sounds more inviting. Every tune played by the young UK artist is a winner which makes his sometimes similarly random approach to programming all the more liveable. The highlight is this 1978 Don Ray classic, co-produced by Cerrone obviously in the aftermath of Donna Summer's game-changing 'I Feel Love' which was released the year earlier.