What is Explorations, and why Albania?
Explorations is Anjunadeep's own festival, and it does not look like the rest of the circuit. Instead of a field outside a city, the label books out a stretch of the Albanian Riviera and runs six nights of music against the Ionian Sea. The 2026 edition lands in Dhermi from 11 to 16 June, spread across the beaches and coves around Drymades, and it sold out, with travel-and-stay packages starting near 75 pounds per person.
The pitch is simple: a festival you can also treat as a holiday. Days are for the water and the coastline, nights are for the music, and the whole thing is sized for a few thousand people who already speak the label's language. Albania is the quiet masterstroke. It offers Mediterranean light and clear water at a fraction of what Ibiza or the Croatian coast now charge, and it is still off most people's festival map.
Who is playing?
The bill is almost entirely in-house, which is the point. Nox Vahn and Eric Luttrell lead a roster that runs deep into the label's catalogue: Jody Wisternoff and James Grant, Eli & Fur, Spencer Brown, Qrion, Dusky, Dosem, Marsh, Durante and Tourist among them. Two debuts stand out: George FitzGerald brings a DJ set, and Orbit plays live for the first time at the festival.
A label that can fill six nights on a beach with its own artists is not just a record label anymore. It is a world people travel to.
Why does it matter for the deep-house scene?
Explorations is the clearest example of a label turning a sound into a destination. Anjunadeep, the deep and melodic house imprint co-run by Above & Beyond's Jody Wisternoff and James Grant, has spent years building Explorations into a yearly ritual that travels. For a scene where loyalty is everything, owning the festival, the lineup and the setting is a powerful place to be.
