It’s been two years since NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION paid its last visit to the almighty MELT! Festival and it’s hard enough that we had to skip a year. But you know what’s even harder? It’s been nine freakin’ years since I personally attended the MELT! Festival for the last time. Nine! I can’t tell you why it took that long but I can tell you that it’s about to finally change. 2018 sees me returning to the beloved music festival in the East of Germany and what better way is there than to celebrate it with the wonderful music that’s happening on it.

Personally, I got a history with the event. When I was twenty the 2005 edition was the first music festival I ever attended and I enjoyed it that much that I decided to visit it for five consecutive years. But, well, this obviously isn’t the supposed to become a nostalgic tale right here. MELT! Festival has always been about the here and now of electronic and independent music… well, and partly also about the ‘tomorrow’. The 2018 line-up makes no difference and delivers a great selection of the best from pop, urban, indie, alternative, techno and other genres. Right next to the three headliners The xx, Florence + The Machine and Fever Ray we got other great names in the line-up: Jon Hopkins, Cigarettes After Sex, Tyler, The Creator, Kali Uchis, Little Dragon, Mount Kimbie.

With my personal part-time DJ alter ego Burnout Sumner I decided to create a very own Melt Mixtape for this season, combining old favourites and new tracks, all connected to the 2018 line-up. It’s fittingly titled ‘Forever Eighteen’ because of this year and the still strong going promise of eternal youth that comes with a festival like this. Is this vibe sill sensible beyond your thirties? Well, I’m about to find out, that much is for sure. The 2018 Melt Mixtape features the big players right next to hidden treasures like Mavi Phoenix, Kedr Livanskiy and Superorganism. Some tracks are a bit older, some are quite new (I mean, in the end techno oldie Westbam is also in the line-up), some see artists from the line-up remixing each other. It’s a good old-fashioned DJ mix that rides through all the genres. And it’s the ultimate appetizer for the event – both for me and for all of you.

We’ll be sharing more information and tips for the 2018 MELT! Festival soon on NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION. And yes, there might also be the chance to win some tickets for it. In the meantime get to know the full line-up right here and prepare yourself for the finest rave party of the festival season below.

Tracklist – ‘Forever Eighteen’

01. Introducing words by Nina Kraviz & Little Dragon
02. Jon Hopkins – Emerald Rush
03. ZHU – My Life (feat. Tame Impala)
04. Mavi Phoenix – Yellow
05. Princess Nokia – At The Top
06. Florence + The Machine – You Got The Love (The xx Remix)
07. Kali Uchis – Just A Stranger (feat. Steve Lacy)
08. Tune-Yards – ABC
09. Little Dragon – Best Friends
10. Erobique – Easy (Live Version)
11. Parcels – Herefore (Kid Simius Remix)
12. RIN – Sag mir, wenn du high bist
13. Superorganism – Something For Your M.I.N.D. (Joe Goddard Remix)
14. Kedr Livanskiy – Razrushitelniy Krug (Destructive Cycle) [Burnout Sumner’s Cosy Cosmonaut Edit]
15. Klee – Lichtstrahl (Howwie Ross Remix)
16. Florence + The Machine – Sky Full Of Song (Snippet)
17. WhoMadeWho – I Don’t Know (Adana Twins Remix)
18. Westbam – Hard Times (Electrixx Remix)
19. Fischerspooner – Emerge
20. Fever Ray – This Country (Paula Temple’s DESTROY Remix)
21. Mount Kimbie – Blue Train Lines (Nina Kraviz Main Mix)
22. Hundreds – Aftermath (Robag’s Berchem Duff NB)
23. The Blaze – Heaven (Original Mix)
24. Tyler, The Creater – Foreword (feat. Rex Orange County)
25. BADBADNOTGOOD – Time Moves Slow (feat. Samuel T. Herring)
26. Cigarettes After Sex – Young & Dumb