Last night was the Flying Circus Grand Finale, and really what better way to kick off a weird and wonderfully packed few days of Closing Parties? See Sankeys as the metaphorical Big Top, Audiofly the ringmasters and their line-ups each week the awe-inspiring acts that draw the crowds and you’ll pretty much get the right idea of the buzz around the closing. The line-up included some of the best guests from throughout the season, such as Lee Curtiss, Lee Burridge and Hector.
When Spotlight interviewed Audiofly at the beginning of the season about their decision surrounding the timing of Flying Circus Ibiza (why now?) they reflected that “things - like many things in this world - have to mature before you can present them. Like a piece of fruit, you have to wait before you can eat it.” This quote has ended up holding more weight than they may have contemplated, mirroring the steady but sure popularity and success the night has achieved throughout the course of the season. The line-ups have been a constantly carefully cultivated and cherry-picked bunch and everything, including the artwork, has been painstakingly thought through.
On arrival it seemed that the Lab was closed until further notice and the Basement was going to supply the fun for the most of the night. Lee Curtiss came on just after half two, taking over from Geddes, with a really funky remix of The Fog’s Been A Long Time which was a great track for the whole dance floor to let out their inner freak to, before he edged stealthily into darker territory with a mix of tracks synonymous with the summer such as Gotham’s Ten Walls, and more classic tracks such as Carl Craig’s remix of Morgana’s Life and Death. With each track, old or new, the emotive grooves swayed the crowd and shook the walls of Sankeys basement, as the bass grumbled through my feet.
As the Lab was now closed and the Spektrum was the second venue of the night, the more intimate space and LED roof was accompanied by Hector. The last time I saw Hector play was in the Discoteca in Space at Richie Hawtin’s Enter, and it was great to see his sound work in a significantly more intimate space such as this one. Also, I was delighted to see Marco Carola a few times throughout the night who had popped into to support the Audiofly guys, and just as glad to see Hector didn’t let that affect his musical choices.
Audiofly fittingly ended the night, with their trademark influenced grooves that built to a tough driving crescendo. As the lights went up in Sankeys basement, the crowd all clapped and cheered, and Anthony and Luca knew they’d hit the mark, finally drawing the curtains on their first Flying Circus adventure in Ibiza. All we can hope is that after such a fantastic season of artists, art and music, we will see the circus back in town next summer...
