This summer sees the third season of Lost In Ibiza boat parties hitting Ibiza's azure sea, armed with a set of Funktion Ones, a bucket-load of sangria and a new cracking line-up of fresh artists. Last night's instalment welcomed Richy Ahmed and a ‘Special Guest' (who those in the know knew to be wAFF) onto the boat.
Even after a mere handful of dates this summer so far, Lost In Ibiza looks set for success yet again. Probably down to not just the artists but the hardcore sound system their boats boast and the fact that last night with an upgraded ticket you got a discounted entry for Claude VonStroke's new night dirtybird at Sankeys. These boat parties are already such a hit they had to book a second boat - and came up with a great plan of attack so that all partiers would still get their money's worth and enjoy both artists. wAFF and Richy Ahmed were to swap boats halfway through the evening by speedboat: I pictured a musical Poseidon, armed with a treasure chest of great tracks speeding through the foam, and hoped we'd all be able to see it from the top deck.
I was on the boat with Richy Ahmed playing first and he did what he does best, creating a wicked summer vibe and playing some great tracks and bass lines which the speakers did justice. The smooth grooves and growly vocals of Detroit Swindle's ‘Brotherman' whipped up a perfect soundtrack to the awesome view of the horizon. Everyone cheered when he paid tribute to Hot Natured with ‘Skydiving'. We rocked the boat with our dance moves, the evening sun hot on our necks as we rushed along the Ibiza coastline.
Unfortunately, as Richy finished, I discovered that the elusive wAFF, who had played Paradise the night before, was a no-show. However, Lost In Ibiza, and indeed the boat-goers didn't let this dampen their day. Lost kept up their part of the bargain, and whisked Richy off to the other boat, and the residents from Concrete Music took over. This was really a blessing in disguise as these guys killed it and the vibe was fantastic. Alex Pickering and Ben Stanton's avid enthusiasm and great song choices had the boat rocking more than the waves did, playing well known potential summer anthems such as ‘Who's the Douche?' by workers' new favourite Darius Syrossian, and FCL's ‘It's You' with lesser known but no lesser great tracks such as German Brigante's ‘Games' (which I downloaded the minute I got back onto dry land). There was even a sit down, which was quite unnerving when on a packed boat a bit merry out at sea, and I had visions of getting thrown overboard when the tune dropped.
The residents finished with a refreshing genre shift, playing some disco and even some punk with The Clash ‘Rock the Casbah', and it was great to see everyone dancing so vigorously to this cult hit. The boat got into the port around 9:30pm and we all piled off the boat, with a few hours to kill to get back on the sangria, soothe any sun burns and prepare for the next leg of a great night… Sankeys ahoy!
Photography by James Chapman
