July 4, 2025 |
Dave Harvey has worn many hats. He’s a DJ, whipping crowds into a joyous, hip-swirling frenzy with his eclectic mix of disco, Balearic and house, as well as a former label boss, founding and heading up the much-loved label FutureBoogie from 2011 until its shuttering in 2022. All the while, this past decade has seen him add even further padding to his already pretty chunky legacy in the form of Team Love, an events production company responsible for Bristol’s Love Saves The Day, Glastonbury’s Silver Hayes stage and the Tisno-based all-weeker, Love International. With the latter coming up quickly, kicking off July 9, this edition of the festival marks 10 years since its debut, a celebration enhanced by a stellar line-up featuring Shanti Celeste, Ben UFO and Floating Points. Here, we sat down with Harvey ahead of the anniversary to hear more about what makes Love International different to other festivals, the impact that Tisno has on it and how it has grown over the past 10 years.
1. If you could describe Love International in three words, what would they be?
Sun, sea, community.
2. What is it about Love International that makes it different to other festivals?
It’s a tough one to answer because everyone thinks their festival baby is the special one, but I guess what marks us out is [that] we’re the love child of the original Croatian festival The Garden. We sprung out of that and as such we carried through the DNA from the original days, including a lot of the artists and crews who were involved. That was the foundation of what has gone on to become something that’s more than a festival. It gets described as a summer camp for DJs, and there is a returning community cast of similar faces year in, year out and that creates a unique bond.
3. What’s your guiding light when selecting who goes on the lineup – what do you want all of the artists who play to embody?
As we’ve grown, we’ve seen new crews and artists from across the world join us and bring different ideas and elements to the table, whilst retaining that ethos and community that runs throughout everyone involved with Love International. What we’ve learnt is that most artists who come and join us understand the vibe and what the festival is about and the fact that it’s a collective thing. We have been very fortunate to find that people get the festival, and become a part of it, both crowd and artists alike, and to be honest we just don’t tend to work with people who don’t get it.
4. This year marks 10 years of Love International – how has the festival changed over this time?
It’s definitely got a lot slicker and better organised than the old days! Over the past 10 years we’ve been able to add our own touches to it, having inherited it from the original Garden Festival, whether that’s the programming or elements of the production on site. This year also actually marks 20 years since the very first Garden Festival, and we’ve been able to bring back some guests from that previous era as part of a wider 20 Years Of The Garden programme. Having those elements side by side is a great way of paying homage to our roots whilst celebrating the journey we’ve been on over the past 10 years.
6. How has Tisno shaped Love International to be what it is today?
It’s funny actually, when Nick and Eddie, the owners, first took me there to look at that site, it was a wet windy January or February and to be honest I didn’t have the vision and loved our old site so much, then when I turned up in the summer with lots of people, I was like here we go!
I’m not sure it could exist anywhere else now, the magic of the town of Tisno, the sea, secret island, the site itself, the restaurants, the general vibe, it’s absolutely stunning, the ocean is one of the most incredible seas I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world. Also, when you’re on the boat parties, it pinch me moments. The site itself is an incredible setting, the beach stage just looking out onto that azure blue is mind blowing every year when you go back. Obviously, you’ve got Barbarella’s, it’s up there with the best clubs in the world. I’m biased of course, but it really is something special.
When you get that night into morning light in there, on one of the best sounding rigs in the world, it’s just absolutely incredible. Getting to travel to a nightclub on a speedboat, I mean where else are you going to get that. There probably are places, but none that I’ve been to. Tisno, we love Tisno, and may we continue there.
7. What’s on your festival rider?
Unfortunately, when I look at most sheets there’s an N/A next to my rider. So, this year I’m going to be getting on the new Garden fruit beers that they’ve got which I’ve developed a bit of a taste for so I will be indulging on that and hopefully some bubbles.
8. Any tips for first-time Love International goers?
It’s a dip in, a dip out thing. Go and enjoy all the wonderful restaurants, have some time off. It can be quite punishing out there in the heat, but the weird thing is cold water therapy has become a thing that we’ve been getting into over there for years without having any idea what it was. You’ve got the worst hangover in the world and a dip in that ice cold Adriatic and you’re like hang on, here we go again. So yes, top tips, restaurants, loads of water and a morning dip in the Adriatic.
9. When you’re at the festival what are you doing? Putting out fires or enjoying the vibes?
Thankfully these days I have such an amazing team who manage everything from sound to general dramas that luckily I’m only called if it’s absolutely necessary these days. There was a time when I used to be running around doing everything from artist liaison, to saving people from security so I feel very blessed these days to have such an amazing team. Very capable and committed people who make my life a lot easier, so big ups to Team Love and to everybody that helps us deliver that event.
10. We’re at Love International in 10 years time – how has it changed from today and how has it stayed the same?
If we’re at Love International in 10 years I really hope I’ve grown into my healthy vision of the future! Hopefully lying down a lot more, maybe just finished doing some yoga, breathwork with my friend Lewis and get ready for a serene walk around the site – and maybe just one night in Barbarella’s.
Photography by Khroma Collective.
