Untitled from Dominic Kocur on Vimeo.

Friday: Carl Craig, Marco Carola, tINI

After the fireworks, the mouseheads and energy levels we wouldn't see again for the rest of the festival, Thursday night's menu at the Petrovaradin fortress was distinctively more relaxed. I say relaxed loosely, as any party with Carl Craig and Marco Carola billed will be far from an ambient spectacle, but compared to the explosive sets from deadmau5, Gessafelstein, Tiga and James Zabiela the previous night, it promised more tranquil proceedings.

One new thing we did learn was that despite the shaded campsite, trying to catch some vital shut-eye at 8am remained a near impossible task. Temperatures continued to rise throughout the morning, the ensuing heat-induced daze on the beach became the only opportunity to sleep for longer than 20 minutes, a system that would continue for the rest of the trip. Importantly though, Friday night at the festival was the first time I discovered how physically tiring this festival can be. Chris admittedly wavered slightly right at the end of the first night, which was intense by anyone's standards, but it was only after Marco Carola's two hour set in the Dance Arena on Friday that the reality of genuine fatigue struck me.

On a more positive note, Carl Craig was first on the bill for us, as we made our way to the fortress at the later time of 2:30, having to sacrifice Maya Jane Coles and her surprisingly early 11pm slot in the Dance Arena, before fading 90's duo, Underworld performed live soon after. Upon arrival, the Dance Arena was congested as ever and Carl Craig was the man supplying the beats, complimented by an impressive array of lighting, visuals and on-stage performers. We decided to occupy new dancefloor territory inside the arena, that being the inclining terrain towards the back that leads to a higher platform of the fortress and some metal terracing. It was a poor decision, as we overlooked the difficulties of trying to dance on a steep gradient lined with craggy rocks, ultimately hindering our enjoyment of Craig's set.

It's difficult to confess disappointment in Carl Craig without an element of intrinsic betrayal. This was the first time I had witnessed Planet E's founder, and his name on the line-up was arguably one of the festival's greatest coups. For me personally, it was a particularly exciting inclusion as he was one of few at the festival I hadn't already seen. Unfortunately if felt like Craig's loyal adherence to the detroit sound he is famed for championing was a little awkward for a venue like Exit's dance arena. Festivals are notoriously difficult territory for club DJ's and Craig's set was a suitable example of when club music doesn't work outside the club. With the exception of Movement, and perhaps a few other specialised indoor festivals, it might be fairer to say Craig's sound couldn't work in the festival context, and he was fighting a losing battle to win over Exit's fairly fickle dance arena crowd this time. His mixing was naturally flawless, and his instinctive selection of polished, industrial techno was of the highest order, but there seemed a shared desire for slightly slower rhythmic dynamism. In short, what we wanted was house music, or fresh, flamboyant techno that essentially gave us a few breathers. Last year, Ricardo Villalobos revised his selections with intelligent consideration of where he was playing, and to whom he was playing for. His hypnotic microhouse grooves may stimulate the minds and bodies of those in fabric's Room One, but would unlikely be as effectively received within the ancient walls of the dance arena. But such is Craig's obvious devotion to the sound of detroit and the culture of techno that perhaps he refuses to adapt his sets even for festivals.

In a night committed to techno, Marco Carola was the perfect tonic to Carl Craig's intense motor-city indulgence. The man responsible for the honestly named 'Play It Loud' album released on M-nus last year delivered exactly what we expect from him with two, sunny hours of uncompromising, big-room minimal techno. His selections were far more appeasing, peppered with long, soothing breakdowns and beatless periods that helped engineer some genuine movement, the muscular basslines complemented by a thick forest of raised arms that had been absent during Carl Craig. From someone who named his album 'Play It Loud', Marco Carola is someone who understands the importance of an adequate soundsystem, and the Dance Arena's PA was EQ'd to perfection for Carola's most percussive cuts. Last year's searing electro abrasion was captured at its most satisfying by that system, while this year it demonstrated remarkable dexterity to handle drums and percussion with such ease and clarity.

tINI, Desolat's rhythm queen concluded Friday with an absorbing set, finely textured with everything from quirky microhouse, to shrewdly applied techno. There was far more variation in her transitions to Carola's, but the rhythm was relentless, and her selections highly original. At one point, UK garage/2-step pioneer Burial was briefly embedded into a throbbing deep house pulse. The snares, organic crackles and angelic vocals of his seminal track 'Raver' applied so tastefully had me almost too stunned to dance for the 30 seconds or so it filtered in.

Just like last year, Friday represented the most 'underground' night at Exit. Despite Carl Craig's slightly unavailing early slot, we were left fully satisfied by Carola and tINI's emphatic taste of sweaty, warehouse-rave music but monitored in a way that hit all the right notes at festival of Exit's size and style.