It's Tuesday 20 September - what will forever be now remembered as the last Carl Cox Music Is Revolution party - and Es Vedrà's supposed ‘magnetic energy' is being outshone by that created by excited Carl Cox fans. And with rumours flying about all day, who knows what to expect? Had people really been queuing outside Space since 5 PM? Were some tickets really being sold for 500€? The whole day was one mad rush - it was an historical day for the island and the tension was palpable.
As expected, queues to get in were mammoth, snaking all the way out of the Space car park. But the energy remained buoyant, because every patient raver knew they were about to witness something special. Upon arrival (a very early one at that), the Sunset Terrace resembled a hive - hundreds of buzzing youngsters bounced around the dance floor while the older generation grooved and reminisced about seeing Coxy back in the day. Everyone had their own important reason for being here - people had flown from all over the world to witness one of the most important nights in electronic music.
When the Disoteca's doors opened, the rush began - the big man himself was playing and of course, we all wanted that all-important front row view. With bags of vinyl behind him, Coxy's set-up took us back a few years while still maintaining a modern feel. Back in the day, Coxy was known as the three-deck wizard, and his set-up for the Final Chapter included three turntables, two CDJs and a laptop, all pulled into Richie Hawtin's new mixer - it's safe to say Coxy hasn't lost his touch despite it being 10 years since he's played on vinyl. He started as he meant to go on with tracks from Danny Tenaglia and Davide Squillace - he was basically warming up for himself - then, just after the one hour and 20-minute mark, he dropped the first recognisable classic, Dimitri from Paris's edit of Stardust, 'Music Sounds Better With You'. This really got the crowd going and 20 minutes later he dropped what you could call the first techno stomper of the night.
A few years back Dubfire's own rework of 'Grindhouse' was huge on the island and has become one of the more recognisable anthems over the last few years. Coxy isn't one of those DJs you can really put into a box. His sets vary in style and although he is at his best when he's rocking the dance floor with high energy techno, he's able to bring together genres with ease like no other selector on the circuit. How many other DJs are there out there who can drop Masters At Work's 'Work', Jeff Mills' 'Bells', Green Velvet's 'Shake & Pop', Guy Gerber's 'Stoppage Time' and Slam's 'Bass Addiction' within the space of 45 minutes without losing the crowd and making it all seem so effortless?
Three hours in and Coxy was really cooking on gas. He would jump on the mic occasionally with an 'oh yes oh yes' or a 'Space classic' to make sure the crowd was still with him. Âme's 'Rej' was one of the more recent tracks in his set, that was later followed by Space anthem, Layo and Bushwacka's Space classic, 'Love Story'.
I briefly tore myself away to check out the Terraza, where tINI was providing a more minimal side of the techno spectrum. Coxy carefully selected his fellow DJs to represent what Space meant to him, and tINI did the job by being her usual bouncy self and helping increasingly knackered dancers regain energy before catching the last of Coxy. Come morning, Space was, as expected, still packed, but the usual shoulder nudges went unnoticed - there was no time to do anything but grin from ear to ear. Coxy's set was coming to an end and what better set of vocals to let people down slowly with than Jim Morrison's - his voice bellowed through the Discoteca with cries of: “This is the end, my only friend, the end.” Things were starting to get emotional, and then we were all sent over the edge by the next voice to bellow out the mic.
“Thank you all so, so, so much. This breaks my fucking heart,” said Coxy. And so it was that the end of an era was signalled. Homemade Carl Cox flags flew higher than before and every worn out raver, from every nationality and age, embraced each other on the dance floor in appreciation of a man who's given us 15 years of good times. This part of the chapter was done, but was it all over? Not quite…
The words ‘If you know, you know' had been plastered across social media prior to the big night, and as Wednesday stretched out in front of us, a buzz was yet again, beginning to fill the air. The after party was on - we were all in for another dose of characteristic Cox charisma. The adventure continued at Benimussa Park, where one worker described the set up perfectly: “Today's one of the first times of the season that every single player, worker and punter will come together in sexy matrimony, under one roof, albeit open-air." The vibes were exceptional - easily matching the dizzying heights of the jubilant previous night. Coxy took the 8-10 PM slot and did what he does best, whipping the crowd into a big ball of bouncing excitement. Then Nic Fanciulli and Eats Everything took the reins, delivering what can only be described as one of the sets of the season - it might sound cheesy but there was love in the air and you could feel it.
Then the bells rang for midnight and it was all over - a two-day party that will remain forever engraved on the memory of everyone lucky enough to attend. Long live Carl Cox and the party that represents all that's great about Ibiza. It may be over for now, but the legacy remains. Here's looking forward to what comes next.
WORDS | Ruby Munslow PHOTOGRAPHY | Nel/G www.nelgphotography.com
