As one of the Island's longest serving DJs, Pete Tong is a dab hand at throwing parties and with Pacha as his dance floor he can't go far wrong. So, for our first instalment of Pacha week we checked out the Friday night party that attracts a strong Tong tribe each and every week. With a selection of progressive, electro and techno guest DJs joining the BBC Radio 1 and Ibiza legend throughout summer we have been provided with a summer long musical medley. This week was a little darker than previous with Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones joining the party; which on top of a deep and sexy cocktail of sounds from Tong himself made way for the perfect party.
The film crew which joined the mass of arm swaying clubbers had picked a good week to get involved as the club was bouncing all the way from the funky room to the global. Catching the core of Tong's set I was soon joining the friendly crowd stomping along to his embracing style. The beginning of his set featured garage sounds which were perfectly mixed with some mischievous tech beats and a thumping bass giving life to a solid shoulder wiggle which spread rapidly across the room. With champagne flowing inside the booth the happy September vibe was powerfully inflicted onto the floor and the lasers sparked the house hungry fire in all of our bellies as the beats rolled on.
As choppy melodies built up to a groovy explosion trumpets sounded and intrusive synths pounded from the speakers. The party was in no means stopping as Pirupa's summer hit filled the room and with a man sporting a panda hat endlessly pumping his fist's it was hard not to have a smile splashed across your face. The always pretty hard to ignore Pacha dancers were dressed in amazing jewelled bodices and danced on the podiums adding a glamorous and soulful edge to the party. Their impeccable figures definitely didn't go unnoticed as they wiggled to the sounds of Lost (In the party) - Waif and Strays, Natural High (Joris voorn remix) - Mulder and Morseton 2007 (Elektropop Mix) - Heiko & Maiko.
As the smell of incense sticks filtered through from the funky room, red lights set a sexy mood as the dancer's old school glam created a swanky diva edge which together with the rumbling bass and naughty hooks made an unexpected but perfect pairing. The time had then arrived for Jamie Jones to take over and soon the bass lowered and building synths dropped into clapping basslines. With female vocals wrapped in drones and shuffling drums hands were soon flying in the air as Jamie's own pumped to the bass vibrations which was quickly mimicked by the crowd.
Unleashing the ever popular sounds of Ibiza favourite Solomun, Jamie smashed out Something We All Adore and went onto play with Alcatraz Harry & Ali Scott's quirky He's Mine EP; making sleepy male vocals, repetitive beeps and percussion sounds slice through the air as nu-disco echoed through the club. Also playing Fired Up by Funky Green Dogs (Twilo anthem edit) Jones had Pacha's tech-heads eating from the palm of his hands. So, as the ironic party title suggests nothing actually went 'Pete Tong' and the party was in fact filled with seamless grooves, soulful melodies and grimey basslines and I, like many others, walked away rather impressed.
