Note from the editor: Anjunadeep Explorations is an annual music festival and label showcase in Dhermi, Albania. Many dozens of artists – all associated with the label in some way – play sets ranging from two to twelve hours across five different stages.
Monday: Here we are again, on the same SFO – Newark – Athens – Corfu itinerary as last year. An uneventful but long day.
Tuesday: We meet up with Ville and Kristiina in the Athens airport and fly to Corfu. Once again, we head to Angsana Corfu for two nights to deal with jet lag, be pampered for a bit, and just generally kick-start the trip the right way. Our favorite taxi driver Giannis (from last year) ends up being our driver for the entire trip. Jereme also uses him when he arrives from Alaska, but he actually meets up with old friends who are (coincidentally!) living on a boat in Corfu for the summer. They come by the hotel in the afternoon and are a joy to have with us by the pool. Half-jokingly (but also half-seriously), we inquire if we can charter their boat next year and avoid the ferry entirely.
Wednesday: Just as we did last year, this is a day for sleeping in, gorging ourselves at one of the finest brunch buffets on the planet, swimming, and laying out by the pool.
Thursday: Based on our experiences with the slow ferries last year, Lummi made a point of booking us a fast ferry this year. However, something was miscommunicated somewhere, because when we attempted to board, we were turned away by a very uncompromising captain who said the boat was already over the limit. The festival staff were also a bit confused and the best explanation we got is that some people basically stole our seats, either with their butts or their bags. We got bumped to the next departing slow ferry – sigh – but it ended up being a fun ride because we got seats inside, brought along some beers, and had a lot of great chats with all the people sitting around us. After the picturesque 1-hour bus ride through the mountains, we arrived in Dhermi and set off on a long, pebbly trek to Empire Beach Resort, the nicest hotel in town, and also the site of the main stage! As is common at Anjunadeep events, Jody Wisternoff materialized out of thin air in the lobby as we arrived. Classic Jody – literally everywhere all at once. We chatted with him and his wife briefly, inquiring about the current state of pranks that they play on each other. After checking in, getting some beers for the room, and sitting by the pool for a bit, we set out and bounced around all the stages, catching a bit of VONDA7 at Yacht Club and Jody and Simon Doty.
Friday: Gjipe (day one of four!) for Yotto and CRi during the afternoon and a little bit of M.O.S at Yacht Club on the way back to the hotel. This night ended up being a truly unique experience, as we basked in the synthy, hypnotic, 80s-inspired progressive house glow of Michael Cassette at the Cove. He’s a bit reclusive and rarely plays in public, and it’s actually kind of difficult to find any of his live sets online. Ville and Kristiina were unfamiliar with him, but they trusted me when I said we absolutely had to see him (plus they appreciated the Finnish connection). Within 15 minutes, they – along with everyone else in the crowd – were completely blown away. We pushed to the front for the remainder of the set and even got a photo with him after he was done. Buzzing from that, we hurried over to catch the rest of James Grant, who played at Splendor until sunrise. Those of us still upright finished off the night at Empire – as one does – with the last 30 minutes of Dusky.
Saturday: (Editor’s note: Because I can’t remember exactly, I’m just going to assume that every day started with sleeping in, going downstairs to the Empire restaurant, eating pizza for breakfast, and then barely making it to Yacht Club by 3:00.) Marsh and Simon Doty at Gjipe, dinner and a rest back at the hotel, and then back out all night again. Dosem played with HANA (a.k.a. Jereme’s match made in heaven) at the Cove for three hours and it was incredibly fun – the two of them seemed to be having a blast and their styles went together really well. I’ve never seen Dosem smile that much! At this point (3:00 am), there was a terrible choice to be made: P.O.S at Splendor or Yotto at Empire. Since we saw a Yotto sunrise set last year, a few of us went to see Paavo, telling ourselves that we’d stay for only 15 minutes and then leave to go see Yotto. But just like last year, Paavo played an incredible set with lots of new music, and there was a tangible feeling of I need to stay here a little bit longer because something special is happening. 15 minutes became 30 minutes, then became an hour, and then we just gave in to staying until the end. Though it won’t be quite the same, Paavo’s Finland set is probably the closest approximation to what he played that night. After he finished, we walked back to Empire to catch the rest of Yotto. The perfect end to the night was him finishing with the greatest Daft Punk mashup of all time.
Sunday: James and Jody at Gjipe (we actually made it this year!) and then our evening itinerary was Nils Hoffmann, Eli & Fur, Simon Doty, and finally Dosem (by himself) at 3:00, who played an absolute banger of a set. Jereme was in heaven, and once Dosem finished, he decided to end the night on that and go back to his room to sleep. And it’s a really, really good thing he did, because when I went back to Empire to catch the end of Marsh’s set, I walked into a scene of pure confusion: Marsh playing an entire hour of drum and bass. Talk about polarizing! Some folks were super into it, but most of the crowd had thousand-yard stares as they tried to comprehend what was happening. I listened for a few minutes, then went back to the safety (and ear plugs) of our hotel room.
Monday: Gjipe for Spencer Brown and Eli & Fur and then two really extraordinary sets that night: Jeremy Olander at Splendor and Tinlicker for a truly epic sunrise set at Empire. People were buzzing so much after Tinlicker, our entire hotel was awake for another hour after the music was finished. Everyone was hanging out by the pool or on their patios, trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. It was really special.
Tuesday: Paavo played on our final Gjipe day to a noticeably smaller crowd than usual, since people were probably still recovering from the night before. Still a great set, but his Splendor sunrise one is really the one to remember. Our final night in Dhermi took us to see a bit of Jody, a bit of Durante, and then a really wonderful b2b with Spencer and Paavo that perfectly capped off the festival, especially when they closed with their collaboration It’s Me.
Wednesday: Sad, a little tired, but glowing, we made our way back to Greece. Once again, we were able to get inside seats on the ferry, which made the trip a heck of a lot more tolerable (we were even able to nap a little bit). Upon returning to Corfu, Giannis took us to our beautiful seaview apartment in Corfu Town, where we’d be spending the next few days. Jereme’s itinerary to get back to Alaska required him to leave for Athens the next day, so he booked a hotel close to the airport and that evening we met up for one last delicious Greek dinner.
Thursday: We discovered a small, wonderful cafe (GABAO Bistro) in one of Corfu Town’s cutest alleys and had some excellent breakfast sandwiches with Jereme before saying our goodbyes. The rest of the day was spent wandering the town, shopping for gifts for friends, napping, and then spending the evening with Ville and Kristiina.
Friday: Today was more of the same, capped by an amazing waterfront dinner at Corfu Sailing Club, which had come highly recommended by our new friends Tim and Wally. More wandering the town, more shopping, and more thoughts of I could really spend an entire summer here.
Saturday: Sadness. Time to go home again, with full hearts, new friends, and a million more wonderful memories. Time to start planning 2024!
