So, I probably don't need to explain just *quite* how exciting it is to know you're sailing off into the sunset with about 300 people - friends among them - with the ship being steered by none other than bona fide legend, Carl Cox. But just in case you're in any doubt, it's probably the equivalent of finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or discovering that Space isn't actually going to close, and that it's all been one giant, elaborate (not very funny) ruse - in short, pretty great. And so it was, with a veritable spring in my step, that I leapt aboard Float Your Boat on Tuesday, for the LAST EVER Carl Cox and Float Your Boat hook up, in which the musical maestro regaled us with monumental moments of magic in a final farewell to the Med. This is the stuff memories are made of, you might think, and you'd be right.
Island regular Jason Bye warmed up for the big man by throwing out more fat, chunky basslines than any sane person should be able to handle on a sunny August afternoon. With enough airtime to launch his own airline, this dude knows how to gee up a crowd, and on this day he did cranked up the vibe with tunes like the Hatzler Remix of ‘Iyéway' by Oliver Koletzki and the ludicrously euphoric ‘Discopolis' by Lifelike & Kris Menace - if ever there's a track you want to lose yourself in, this is surely it. We were all in the process of doing said losing when a speedboat appeared on the horizon bearing the unmistakable silhouette of Monsieur Cox himself - what a vision, what a man, what a match for James Bond - we all shook ourselves off and prepared for some quintessential Coxy quirk.
He stepped behind the decks on deck - wearing a sailor hat, no less - to a roar of approval from the adoring sea-goers, and immediately won us all over with the feel-good loveliness of Milk & Sugar's ‘My Lovin' (Mat.Joe Remix)' - and if that doesn't put a smile on your face, you're obviously dead inside. Pioneer speakers were fitted on the boat especially for the occasion, and the result was the kind of crystal clear sound that brings tears to your ears, particularly after one too many cavas. We shared a collective on-boat love-in for the duration of Coxy's set (see here for examples), in which the poignancy of every track was palpable. When he brought things to a close with Pete Heller's ‘Big Love' as the sun set, everyone quietly wept inside while outwardly relishing the moment, because this is how Coxy goes about business - emphatically but unassumingly pushing our buttons in all the right places. One more tune and it was back to shore we went, our minds left languishing on the crest of a wave that's long disappeared out to sea; our hearts still full from the aural embrace of a master.
WORDS | Abby Lowe
