Clubbers who consider themselves clued up on dance music history will know that 2017 is a momentous milestone year, as this summer celebrates the 30-year anniversary of Paul Oakenfold's famed trip to the White Isle.
Without the influence of that trip with fellow London music heads Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway and Johnny Walker, we're left to ponder the very existence of club and festival culture as we know it. Thankfully, we're not left entertaining that haunting thought for too long and Oakenfold – who is considered one of the greatest DJs of our time – joins us this summer to remind us why we've been clubbing for the past three decades. As part of his Generations World Tour, the British veteran has claimed Pikes as his weekly haunt and the four-week residency begins on Wednesday 2 August.
With Oakenfold we've got an opportunity to really dig in deep, because he experienced the birth of rave and the raucous years that followed. He will be playing extended sets, laying down timeless records that span three decades, and with him will be some very special DJ guests. He had this to say about his upcoming residency:
“I'm beyond excited by doing this residency at Pikes. I'm doing a compilation of 30 years of electronic music, which will feature tracks from artists whose music has defined each era. It will show people not the obvious tracks but some of THE tracks of the genre. It's amazing because I'm usually playing massive shows so to go back and play a small room for 200 people and to play three-hour sets is really special and going to be a lot of fun. Every time I mention it to a DJ colleague they say they want to come and play for an hour... I'm going to have to be careful to keep my slot! I want to keep this as a special moment for me, for music, for Ibiza and for everyone in the room. It's a celebration of 30 years, with different DJs playing different things, passing by, jumping on, doing back2back - it's about sharing a mutual love of music and that's what's important. We've come of age as a dance music community and this is about celebrating all that we've achieved and having a great time. It's all about bringing back some of those special moments from back in the day and there's no place on earth more perfect to do that in Ibiza than Pikes.”
Having already blasted the tracks from some of the most scenic spots on the planet, including The Great Wall of China, The Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden and most recently hiking 17,000 ft to perform Mt Everest's Base Camp, Oakenfold and Pikes finally come together to give the island something that you will likely consider to be equally HUGE.
