MoDem Festival (short for Momento Demento) is an incredible psytrance and transformational festival held annually in Croatia. The festival combines stunning visuals, intense soundscapes, a beautiful natural area, and a global community of psychedelic people, making it one of the best psytrance festivals in Europe.
Modem has been running since 2012 and unlike many commercial festivals, it has remained true to its underground roots. The organizers keep the size small, with around 7000 attendees, giving the festival a close-knit, family-like atmosphere.
Musically, Modem is known for focusing on the darker and heavier side of the psytrance spectrum. At The Hive, the festival’s main stage, you'll hear dark-psy, full-on, forest, and hi-tech, while at The Swamp stage you’ll find more psy-tech and progressive sounds, and The Seed offers a more chill, experimental vibe.
Visually, MoDem is unparalleled, with some of the most innovative stage designs in the world. Both The Hive and The Swamp stages feature intricate architecture and stunning 3D projection mapping, creating a fully immersive and very trippy experience synchronized with the music.
Beyond the music, MoDem offers a full schedule of workshops that dive into themes of consciousness, connection, and transformation. The week-long festival truly is an immersive journey that pushes boundaries, challenges perceptions, and will leave you memories as vivid and layered as the visuals themselves.
Whether you are into psytrance or not, I highly recommend MoDem for anyone with an interest in psychedelics. Modem-heads are the best festival crowd I've ever come across. You are guaranteed to meet some of the most interesting people and have some of the most interesting conversations of your life here.
Here are my favorite shots from when I attended in 2024:
The iconic face sculpture at The Swamp stage by installation artist Daniel Popper.
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