Nine weeks into Carl Cox’s 2014 residency at Space, I found myself returning to the legendary club for my third instalment of the Music is Revolution party. Since the opening party in June, this has been one of my favourite parties on the island from the beginning – with a ridiculous array of eclectic DJs from all four corners of the globe, the party has gained and maintained popularity by offering something for everybody; a haven for clubbers with an open mind. Having been to Circo Loco at DC10 the night before to see Davide Squillace (playing at Revolution next week) smash the terrace and effectively complete my life in the process, I headed to Revolution last night with a new-found willingness to go with the flow, not be pressured by set times and see where the night takes me and with Ibiza Spotlight and IBZ Entertainment hosting the antics taking place in El Salon, I found the perfect place to pitch camp and return to after sporadic moments of exploration.
Walking through the Terrace in the early hours, I arrived to find Berlin based artist Monika Kruse kicking the party off and in the process, showing that she was firmly in control with the crowd in the palm of her hand, a rarity with such an early set time. One of the favourites that won the dancefloor over was Maceo Plex’s recently released Conjure Superstar, that for the briefest of moments transformed the vibe in the terrace to the kind we’ve come to expect from Thursday’s ENTER parties. As it approached 2am, quadruple kicks, tribal sounds and thumping basslines came aplenty as the room began to fill out with fully immersed partygoers. The terrace looked stunning with the bespoke Carl Cox logo lights hanging from the ceiling and panels of neon lighting above both left and right sides of the floor. When the neon lights began flashing at the drop of certain tracks in the mix, it was a reminder of the basement in Sankeys and almost succeeded in replicating the intimate feel that Sankeys has gained such notoriety for. However, when the CO2 cannons kicked in on both sides of the crowd, clubbers caught in the crossfire were brought back into ‘big room’ vibe with a thud and given a ‘chilling’ awakening. Monika closed her set with Ten Walls Walking with Elephants to roars of applause in a now packed terrace. With the early ravers in safe hands, I pushed on to check out what El Salon had to offer.
As soon as I walked into El Salon, I wondered why not many tourists who visit Space use this room to hang out or at the very least as a decent place to regroup with mates. The atmosphere in El Salon (or ‘The Lounge’) is far different from any of the other rooms in the club and the room can often play host to a great party in its own right. In fact, spend more than 15 minutes in there and it’s easy to forget that this great room is conveniently attached to one of Ibiza’s biggest super clubs. The music was a completely refreshing diversion away from the seriousness of the mixes emanating from other rooms. Bicep’s hit Vision of Love was played just as I was about to make my way to the main room, but upon hearing the vocals of a track that helped seal my love for house music, I felt compelled into staying a little while longer. The highlight of Spotlight and IBZ Entertainment's El Salon takeover was easily the all too brief MC session from Harley Maxwell, with Andy Baxter at the decks. Maxwell was out amongst it on the floor with a mic, rhyming smoothly to relaxed hip hop beats. That kind of a performance is exactly what El Salon is all about - an intimate and often very engaging musical alternative to the main room house and techno mania.
In the build up to 3am, the main room was getting noticeably more crammed and people were once again scrambling to get near the front of the floor to see and hear a masterful set unravel before them. Carl Cox is always a busy set to watch in Ibiza, but the fact that we’re now in peak season added numbers to an already dense crowd. Fortunately when it comes to Coxy’s mixing, many clubbers find themselves so lost in the music that the consideration of how hot the room is doesn’t even factor into it. Last night was another one of those occasions. At Revolution, as soon as the big man himself steps up the main room goes all out and doesn’t stop till it’s reached its full potential. Sound and lighting complement each other brilliantly, with the main room’s thunderous sound-system being matched by a lightning strobe and laser show that truly hypnotises.
As usual, Cox opened with some big-room tech house sounds that livened up the thousands that spilled into the Discoteca to see something special, and as usual, he delivered. I reviewed the opening party a couple of months back and remember saying that Carl Cox is probably the most consistent DJ I’ve seen live before, and in spite of all the DJs I’ve seen play out here since that party I stand by that comment. I’ve never seen Carl Cox have an off day behind the decks or even play an average show, it simply does not happen. When he announces the arrival of giant robot Kyroman to the floor and sparks begin to fly, the party really starts to get into full flow and the spectacle in the main room is unlike anything you see on an average clubbing outing.
Elsewhere in Space, Hot Creations and Defected Records favourite MK was taking care of business in the terrace and catering to a largely British turnout. The discoteca may have been the place to witness a spectacle last night, but the terrace was the place to be for anthemic singalongs and accessible grooves that even your mates who claim to not like house music would struggle to resist dancing to. MK’s notorious remix of Wankelmut’s My Head is a Jungle (one of the most Shazamed tracks of the season) got quite a reaction and the fact that virtually everybody was singing in unison breathed new life into a track I’ve heard almost every day since arriving to the island.
With nine parties already done and dusted and only five left to go, it’s time to stop being indecisive about this party, just take the plunge and head to Bossa. If the music isn’t your thing, the lighting and the production quality will certainly make up for it - however, with such diversity in music coming from every room in the club that shouldn’t be a problem. This is one of those opportunities that you simply have to take while you’re out and about on the white isle, the kind of party that your mates tell you all about in great detail the day after, to which you can only say ‘I wish I was there’. Don’t wish, just go.
WORDS | Janson Goldberg PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
