Mixmag ADE Special - Terminal V Croatia Review
You could feel the energy of Terminal V's return to Croatia before you even saw it. There was genuine excitement in the air as people from all over Europe descended on the magical Garden Resort, fully aware of the severe techno onslaught that was to come in the following days. Part of that is because last year's debut was so impressive, and part of it was because the team once again hit new levels with their programming and matched the scale and ambition of their now legendary events back in Scotland.
But this one is different. This one is in blazing sun, under a canopy of stars, on a lovely beach in a natural sweeping bay backed by pine trees. Scotland’s hardest-hitting techno export has really found its second home on Croatia’s sun-soaked coast, and the 2025 edition proved it’s not just a one-off experiment. This was the year it truly came alive, doubling in size, dialling up the edge, and carving its name firmly into Europe’s top table.
Terminal V was born in the cavernous warehouses of Edinburgh, forged in sweat, steel, and an unapologetic love for techno at its most uncompromising. Croatia, by contrast, is a playground of crystalline waters and golden sunsets. Think industrial firepower dressed in Adriatic light and you will be in mind of the spirit of these relentless five days and nights as Terminal V brought the storm to paradise.
At Terminal V Croatia, each stage is its own trip. The Beach Stage is the jewel in the crown. You’re raving ankle-deep in the Adriatic as crystalline sound design ricochets off the water. When the sun dropped and the lights kicked in, it was like stepping into a fever dream. Then the Olive Grove is an oasis for real heads that's nestled among ancient trees. It's intimate, stripped back, perfect for leftfield selectors and more considered sounds and slight breathers between the chaos. For pure scale and spectacle, head to the Main Stage, where industrial rigging is transplanted to paradise to deliver the kind of chest-rattling impact you’d expect in a Scottish warehouse, but with Mediterranean stars overhead.
Barbarella’s Discotheque is well known around the world for its peerless sound system and open-air magic. It very much lives up to its own myth and legend, as afterparties here didn’t just extend the night, they often defined it. Highlights include Daria Kolosova’s 5 am set and Héctor Oaks's closing as dawn broke with a vibe that can only be described as holy communion.
And then, of course, there's the boat parties. DJs tearing through sets as ravers lost themselves mid-Adriatic, speedboats delivering surprise guests, and the sea air cutting through the sweat. It’s the stuff you can’t fake, the kind of memory that makes your Monday commute feel like a glitch in the simulation.
Musically, highlights come thick and fast on all fronts. The line-up was ruthless with big-room juggernauts and underground insurgents sharing equal footing. We kicked off Thursday with a boat party featuring OGUZ, DBBD, and Nik Kasltel in fine form and then got into it back on dry land.
The sound of Kobosil’s punishing kicks cutting through the night air, the spectacle of Mall Grab slamming through breaks as the sky blushed pink, the sweaty communion with tons of new mates on the beach stage - all this is the stuff that comes back to you months, years later and brings a smile to your face because you know you were there to experience something special.
At night, I Hate Models turned chaos into theatre, channelling breakneck BPMs into something oddly transcendent. The day after, Dax J dropped bombs with clinical precision at Olive Grove, and Ben Sims brought his no frills, timeless sounds to keep the momentum flowing. Later, Barbarella’s open-air floor was heaving under the weight of attacks from OGUZ + and BLK, who offered a masterclass in unrelenting techno at The Yard.
By day, things took a different shade on Saturday. X Club. toyed with tempo and texture, serving up hyperactive cuts that bounced between EBM filth and rave euphoria out at sea. On the Beach Stage, the thrilling chaos of BIIANCO was a blizzard of sound and texture from across hard dance, trance, and plenty in between that all blurred genres into something utterly functional.
Terminal V Croatia 2025 is not just a Scottish export transplanted into a new setting; it truly has a global feel, as if it's always been here and always belonged. Australians made up a massive chunk of the crowd and brought a hedonistic edge that rarely faltered. At the same time, Londoners, Berliners, Parisians, Tokyoites, and more all converged with locals who’ve seen Croatia become Europe’s summer festival capital over the last 15 years. The energy was international yet deeply communal from start to finish.
Stage partnerships with collectives like Berlin’s BCCO, Serbia’s Music Reactions, and Spain’s Abstract ensured the programming never felt insular. Instead, it was a cross-continental dialogue in which techno’s many dialects come together on Adriatic dancefloors for five days of full-spectrum sonic immersion.
The difference between Terminal V Croatia and its Scottish motherland comes down to intensity. Edinburgh is a sledgehammer: dark, raw, industrial. Croatia is more deceptive. The sun, the sea, the smiles lull you into thinking it’s going to be more laidback, and by day it somewhat is, but once night falls, once the BPMs hit full throttle, it’s every bit as ferocious. The softness of the setting only sharpens the contrast. When you’re five hours deep into a Kobosil set and the horizon starts to glow, it’s a new kind of euphoria.
Founders Derek Martin and Simon McGrath have made it clear that this isn’t a fling. Tisno is now part of Terminal V’s DNA. And judging by the 2025 edition, with attendance doubled, production amped up, and local support stronger than ever, they’re not just talking big, they're delivering big, too. With that in mind, Terminal V Croatia is also proof that techno’s most uncompromising spirit can thrive in paradise without losing its teeth. Proof that community and curation can trump hype and headliners. By the time the last beat faded and the Adriatic swallowed the sun once more, one thing was clear: Terminal V Croatia is now leading from the front.
Heres our upcoming shows, venues and dates!
Event: Terminal V Halloween
Date: 1st November 2025
Venue: Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
Event: Terminal V London
Date: 14th November 2025
Venue: Drumsheds, London
Event: Terminal V Festival
Date: 18th + 19th April 2026
Venue: Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
Event: Terminal V Croatia
Date: 16th - 21st July 2026
Venue: The Garden Resort, Tisno Croatia
