The DJ duo of Rami Abousabe and Tamer Malki, better known as Bedouin, is no stranger to Ibiza. The Brooklyn based team are three-year White Isle veterans having played a string of different events in the last few seasons. This year was different, however, as the pair brought their own residency to Ibiza with Bedouin Presents Saga, making their Sunday home the seductive HEART Ibiza.
Bedouin presents Saga promised to bring a new storytelling experience for a more mature crowd with musically developed tastes, and the duo did not fail to deliver that throughout the season. Sunday night was no different as Bedouin and friends brought their Saga to a close at a pulsating HEART in dramatic fashion. Here is what went down.
Production
The production over at Saga is unique on the island. In Victorian fashion, mini chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glistening in the dark shadows of the club like diamonds in a cave. Vines and roots were intertwined and crept along the walls of the club. Draped along the massive canvas of a wall in the back of the room was an enormous tapestry displaying psychedelic and mind-bending visuals that moved in unison to the music.
Upstairs to the terrace, you found yourself in a what felt like a little gipsy paradise. Vendors sold clothes and jewellery styled for the bohemian lifestyle while clubbers lounged in the wood-woven couches with views of Ibiza Town and the port. Everything was done with such exact and precise intention to create a certain atmosphere, bringing me to the next subject.
Ambience
All of this avant-garde production contributed to an extremely particular ambience at Heart. Clubbers looked rustic yet classy and stylish in their boho-chic attire as they nonchalantly sipped white wine to the views from the terrace. The incredible casualness of the terrace almost made you forget that there was a musical adventure going on inside.
When you were inside, though, it almost felt like you went down the rabbit hole as some performers looked like characters straight from Alice in Wonderland. Tall black top hats sat on heads and faces were caked with white makeup for dramatic circus-like effect. When mixed in with the combination of the soaring ceilings and dim lighting, the main room in Heart had this special big-intimate feel that you could only get in a crowd with developed musical tastes.
The crowd was as variegated as could be. Not only was everyone there because they genuinely wanted to listen to good music, but they also bought into Saga's themes and ideas. When everyone who is supposed to be at a party is fully there, it helps to create a smooth ebb and flow to the night.
The Music
At the end of the day, everything mentioned above was strung and weaved in together by the music. Of course, the artists did not disappoint as the sets of openers Satori and Oceanvs Orientalis were driven by this desert-like Middle Eastern inspired tech-house and techno. When Bedouin finally took the decks, they had people grooving to tracks like Andhim's tribal Amene but kept the African inspired rhythms going with Mulya's recently released Marvin. Riva Starr & Dennis Cruz's A Jem Be was also shown plenty of love both by the duo and the crowd.
As promised, the whole set did feel like a journey as it started off slowly and picked up as the night went on, adding in new elements and genres to signify a new part of the story. In this sense, the duo certainly was true to their promise for a more dynamic and diverse musical experience.
With it all having now come to an end, we can only hope that they bring a new and evolved Saga to the White Isle next year as well.
