Well another year another Incredible Ibiza Trip, every year i go for longer which only means one thing.... IT IS BIGGER, IT IS BETTER, IT IS LOUDER, IT IS COMPLETE PANDEMONIUM!!!!!
Get ready cause here it comes! :crazy:
Sunday August 5th:
In order not to miss any time in Ibiza, this year i got a real early flight out of Bilbao at 7am and its only 2 hours which isn't too bad at all, it went so quick that when i woke up we were about 30 seconds away from landing! Every time i step off that plane and take my first step on the White Isle its always a special feeling, like the summer is finally here and i can already feel all of Ibiza's magic :) Grabbed my bags, grabbed a car for the first time (and i paid a load for it too cause its an automatic) me and girl were off to begin our Ibizan adventure!
Got to our hotel in San Antonio rather easily because of the awesome new road they finally finished which goes all over the island and makes things ALOT safer. Having a car was SOOOOO much nicer just because we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, no more walking 15 minutes to get a taxi and being limited to clubs or towns.
After unpacking and getting everything together, it was still only 10:30 in the morning so we went for a walk through San Antonio to go for a little shopping. Every year on the San Antonio Bay Beach they always have a couple people making awesome sand sculptures and this year was no different, walked up to see the entire Simpsons family, South Park, and a couple feet away was some huge jamaican guy type thing done up with palm tree branches for hair and a a burnt stick for his blunt lol. Right after that was probably the low point of the trip as we kept walking by the beach and saw a dead guy just laid out by the water with cops all around, they left him there for about 6 hours! anyway, went out to the town and went to my usual stores like Megamusic to pick up my Space tickets and since i was there i also picked up my dc10 and cocoon tickets. so after spending 265 euros on tickets alone i picked up the new PvD cd and the cocoon freakshow cd and was off. Alot of the stores weren't open yet cause it was sunday so we headed out for some lunch. I had always wanted to go to Bar M to eat, i had been there for drinks but they feature Nando's Famous Peri Peri chicken which always intrigued me. So we went and i was not disappointed, i ordered a Hot chicken sandwich which was very spicy and absolutely phenomenal! so was that reallly strong pitcher of Sangria we ordered. After feeling totally satisfied (and full) went back to the hotel for a little nap given we got up so early and felt it would be good, plus we were still a little sick so it was a good thing.
So we woke up around 5 or so and after hanging around our terrace, headed out for Mambo and Kanya Beach to see who was playing the pre parties. Got to Mambo first because i have been waiting all year to see this new promenade they put in that goes all the way from the bay to a little past Kanya Beach Bar. I felt that it totally kills the vibe of mambo because it goes right through the middle and even though there is more space for the tables on the other side of it on the wooden platform they built, it almost turns it into 2 different places. There wasn't much going on when i got there so i didn't wanna be too quick to judge. On my way there i grabbed a couple flyers for Kanya which was hosting the Judgement Sundays pre party with Special guest Judge Jules playing after sunset, and so we went. The promenade is a nice touch tho because it connects all the bars so there is no more wandering through that huge empty lot between mambo and the rest of the bars! Got to Kanya and grabbed a table cause we were starving, ordered 2 pitchers of sangria and got the night started properly :p The food isn't bad but is very Brit influenced which sux. So after a non existent sunset because of the thin clouds in the ocean, the music got louder and the usual fireshow girls came out and did their thing which is always a nice little touch. Judge Jules came on at around 10 or so and played a good 30 minute set with plenty of energy, seeing Jules spin is always a little funny cause of the way he acts and moves. Left at around 10:45 and headed over to the one and only SPACE for the "We Love Sundays" party...
gotta make the picture interesting!
Me & The Judge
Got to Space around 11:30 and was VERY VERY VERY Lucky to get my camera in after the bouncer was too busy trying to figure out what ear plugs were :p Walked in to the sunset terrace which closes at 12 to see mr. Tom Novy closing it out in style as usual. After 5 minutes of being there Diddy bumps into me with his whole security crew and goes over by the DJ booth. I really thought he would get on the mic since Tom Novy just remixed his track "My World", but he didn't and from the way he was acting i don't think he wanted to be seen too much which is a good thing that he wasn't attracting too much attention to himself. Tom Novy was a little up and down with the last half hour of his set but he played a good set and closed out with a remix of Coldplay - Clocks which i'm trying to get my hands on, def. an awesome way to close out the terrace! So to the main Terrace i went and Smokin Jo was just setting up. I've been waiting about 2 years to see her play because her style is just awesome and i was just really excited to see her play. I was def. not dissappointed as she played an awesome set full of techno, house, electro, just all around bangin music that works sooo well on that terrace. She had the place going mental!! Couldn't ID most of the tracks she played but it didn't matter because i do enjoy it when i don't know the music, its unpredictable and it just takes you for a ride, and this was a fantastic ride to say the least!! The only track i could ID is the track she closed with which was Chaim - Genesis :crazy: :crazy: totally unexpected and a great moment indeed.
I was expecting Tiefschwarz or even Nic Fancuilli to play after her because i thought David Guetta would close out the night given he's the main headliner but when i saw him in the booth setting up i thought it's a fitting time to have him play so Tiefschwarz can close it out and bang it out proper. I haven't seen David in 2 years so i've been looking forward to this for a while now. He improves everytime i see him and he has been getting bigger and bigger over the past couple years. He came on at around 1:30 and started off with the acapella of Just a Little More Love then into Born Slippy, then transitioning into his new single Love is Gone which i was expecting to hear and it went off real well with everybody singing the lyrics and just having a great time. David has always been a "party" DJ which works for him and always has. His set was planned out really well with so many good tracks like Daniel - Enjoy the Silence and the Run DMC vs Laidback Luke & Steve Angello - Otherwize then bootleg which i had never heard in full before and made everybody go crazy because that track has so much energy to it. He also played a great mix of Felix da Housecat - Silverscreen which was awesome to hear cause its such a classic. Just a little before that was probably the highlight of the night when he dropped Julian Jeweil - Air Conditionne :eyes: :crazy: :eyespop: it was such a great moment just because that track depicts summer so well and it just sounded so good to hear it in Ibiza! He also played a bunch of new tracks from his new album which weren't bad at all either. I stayed for most of his set then went to check out who was playing in the main room. Turns out it was Mr. Claude von Stroke on the decks. I think its awesome that you can get right behind the DJ booth in the main room of Space, it gives you the feeling of the crowd, what the DJ sees, everything. I had never seen Claude spin before so i didn't really know what to expect. He was playing his usual dirty electro house and finished with his own "Who's afraid of Detroit" which is such a great track, so different and works so well on a good soundsystem. Even grabbed a picture with him as he left the booth. Speaking of grabbing, i was dancing next to my girl and i was being stupid by putting my ass on her, so she grabs my ass and then about 10 seconds later i feel someone else grab my ass from the left so i turn around and some random girl was the one who did it. I look at her and smile and she goes "she was doing it" lol, def. unexpected but a funny moment to say the least! Anyway, after von Stroke came Carl Craig which i really had never heard of before and this was his Debut Ibiza Performance which is always a moment to be there for. His intro was long but built up really well and then it was off! I didn't stay for too much of his set because i wanted to see the end of Guetta's set. As i made my way back to the terrace by taking the scenic route around the club, i came back to the terrace as he was closing out his set with The World is Mine (FMIF Remix) which was awesome because everybody was going nutz and loving every second of it. So after his closing little speech it was onto the guys that i heard play the same slot at the same party the year prior, Tiefschwarz! They came on at around 3:30 and picked up the pace right from the beginning. Their music is so cool and different that its a nice change and a great way to close out such a massive party. They spin melody infused techno with some house mixed in and it works so well on that soundsystem. They always seem to be having such a good time up there which is always nice to see. Couldn't ID any of the tracks that played and i wasn't trying to either because it just doesn't matter as long as ur having a good time! They played such a great set with every track being better then the next, the crowd was going crazy every time the beat dropped, the lights were going just as crazy to make for an unbelievable atmostphere! :crazy:
The massive 22 hour party came to a close at 6 and even though i didn't stay for all 22 hours of it (i don't think anybody does!) my feet were really feeling it cause i haven't danced like that since last year :p so we left and went to pass out for a couple hours because monday is the most anticipated day of the year for me!
Like i was saying before, Monday is my favorite day of the year because two things happen on Mondays in Ibiza. 1 is Circoloco @ DC10 and then right after you got Cocoon @ Amnesia!!! :crazy: :toothless
Got up at around 3PM (lol), got dressed and headed out to DC10 for the one and only Circoloco!! Last year was my first time there and i was totally blown away, i left completely speechless and in total disbelief :crazy: Since we got tickets early we jumped the line which is always nice and walked right in. Packed as usual, with plenty of people outside taking a breather. The first thing i do as soon as i walk in is to check the set times to see who is spinning. I had gotten the poster for free the day before and it announced a special guest but didn't mention who it was obviously. I was extremely surprised to find that it was RICARDO VILLALOBOS!!!!! and that he would be doing a 3.5 hour Tag Team set with Luciano :crazy: :eyespop: :crazy: :eyespop: Now that's one hell of a special guest!! I was so pumped after that i couldn't wait to get to the terrace and have it out for hours and hours! Walking through the main room of DC10 is always cool because it’s so dark and so mysterious in there. The terrace is a bright alternative and really is the place to be. As usual it was packed and very hot & sweaty. And as usual i made my way to the front of the room right by the bar and the DJ booth because the huge fans are right there and plus all the DJ's hang out on the floor so it’s always nice to talk to them. When i got settled in a very tiny spot, Audion was spinning and it was nothing minimal, everybody was going nutz and every track fit perfectly in his set. 5 Minutes later Diddy comes out of the back door which wasn't surprising but what did surprise me is that he was on the floor dancing for like 20 minutes at a time and somewhat talking to people even though his security were being really tight. He was on E and was having a good time but was having a really hard time taking shots some girl got for him, he downed a whole bottle of soda a split second after he took it because of how strong it was lol. The funny thing is that its DC10 and people don't give a about him, they are just there to dance and to have a great time! Zip came on after Audion and i always thought he played the earlier slots. He started off a little slow but picked it up pretty quickly and was really picking up the pace considering Villalobos & Luciano were coming on next. I love DC10 because the music is always incredible and the bass is just so powerful and works so well in that room that i really think it is impossible not to have a good time! Zip played from 5:30 - 7:30, the last hour of his set was really good with lots of basslines and lots of good tracks, but the Main Event was about to begin and i could not be more excited for it! I had never seen Villalobos before since when i go to Cocoon i don't leave the main room and he always plays the terrace so this was such a great surprise to let alone have him be there, but playing a tag team set with Luciano just made it that much more special! They came on promptly at 7:30 and the whole club just got tighter. I thought Villalobos would start off very minimally and then slowly pick it up but he was just relentless right from the beginning, just nonstop unbelievable tracks and basslines that almost make you cry they are so good! :eyes: He started off with his new track with vocals from an older track, i saw the name of it somewhere but is really long and complicated so i can't remember the whole thing. Him & Luciano were just going back and forth, being absolutely RELENTLESS!! They were feeding off the energy of the tracks and of the crowd which was just going mental every second! They looked like they were having so much fun up there. Another thing i LOVE about DC10 is that their drinks and cheap, their bartenders are always so nice and friendly, and the drinks are strong as hell! Big thumbs up for that given the price other clubs charge for drinks. I was surprised that Diddy stayed there the whole time, he was really having a good time just like everybody else, and even though he was trying to get attention, nobody cared and just kept dancing like their lives depended on it!! I saw Tania Vulcano walk in and she walked right down to the bar where i was so i talked to her for a little bit and grabbed a quick picture with her. There was so many people in the DJ booth that it was hard to see Luciano and Villalobos at times, but the music was always there reminding all of us how magical this place is. It's always cool to see when a big breakdown occurs, everybody sits down on the floor and waits for the beat to pick back up. And as soon as it does everybody gets up so quick and start jumping around like nut jobs, this truly is the Minimal Hospital! DC10 is such an amazing place that i just never want to leave, but everything comes to an end unfortunately and i left shortly after 10:30 because i was dying of hunger and i knew that if i had another drink, i would have been pretty f*cked up! :D
So after a quick walk along the fence of the airport down the little dirt road that leads to the parking lot, a plane flew right over us and landed 100 feet in front of us :eyes: Only in Ibiza!
Found a McDonald's not too far away from there and as soon as i got out of the car something caught my eye, so i look up and it was a spray painted Sven Vath right on the wall. They seem to be all over the island because i saw about 10 of them throughout the week. It was the cover of his latest album from the last season here in Ibiza. Def. cool to see! So walked in being very hungry to find they were playing house and trance! At McDonalds :wtf: :wtf: i couldn't believe it! tracks like born slippy, digitalism, carry me away... the food kinda sucked but the music was good :tongue2
So after a quick meal, it was off to Cocoon @ Amnesia! My most anticipated night of the year!
Here we go, Cocoon's Freakshow @ Amnesia Ibiza!!! I almost cried when i found out the lineup for this night. Sven Vath & Richie Hawtin in the Main room = :eyes: :crazy: :eyespop: x10000000000!!!
I honestly never thought i would catch both of them together, let alone at Amnesia for Cocoon!
Got there at around 11:45 right in time cause there was nobody really there yet (i always get there first and leave last!) The outside wall was awesome because they had Cocoon's Freakshow projected all over it and it turned different colors every couple seconds, i think i got pics of all the colors lol. And Much to my surprise pulls up Sven :wtf: i would have bet my life that he would play the closing set, he almost always does. I really thought Richie would open and Sven would close. But i was wrong being there when Richie plays the closing was really gonna be something special! When i walked into the main room i was a little shocked that there was not ONE cocoon around, the decorations were completely different and very minimal in the main room, i didn't see the huge decoration in the terrace til i walked out at the end. Sven as on the decks and as the room filled up quickly, his set did just that. I think its awesome how he still plays vinyl for the most part, he really is the last Rockstar DJ! The main room got packed rather fast, by 1AM the club was almost full which i can say that it only happens during cocoon. Sven was playing some great techno that just kept getting better and better. Sven really is the master and his style is just so much fun. He has such a good time up there and he lets the crowd know that, there is so much crowd interaction when he plays, it makes you feel like you are right there with him. By 2AM it was absolute pandemonium in there! The club was rammed and i saw so many people hanging out in VIP like Pete Tong, Oakey, one of the Tiefschwarz brothers, Audion, Zip, Luciano.... and u guessed it, Diddy. He came to the DJ booth and was totally trying to be a show off like he so often does. It was so funny watching him miscue the beat drop and Sven was trying to tell him that techno is not like that, it’s not predictable, it’s up and down without notice really. And when the beat did drop it wasn't as massive because it was only 2AM and the music would get better and harder as the night progressed. The visuals were really cool with all the Cocoon Bunnies and those weird characters Sven brought to reality after they came to his head at last year’s closing party. The four mascots of Freakshow. It just wouldn't be a Cocoon night without some guy dressed up as a demented E Pill! :wtf: So as Sven was being well Sven :p the night continued and i was only able to ID one track out of his whole set which was Argy - unreliable virgin. I'm not too good at ID'ing techno tracks, sorry lol. Sven played til about 4 and ended with Underworld - Dark & Long which is always a great track to finish with! It was then time for the one and only Techno Legend took to the decks (and laptop), RICHIE HAWTIN!!!! The place went mental the second Richie came on because he just took things to a whole other level and tore the place apart! Seeing him there was almost like a dream come true because i've always read about how good he was when he played Cocoon Ibiza and i have wanted to experience for so long now. To say the least he did not disappoint. Richie was just relentless the whole entire time, he never let up. His mixing was perfect as always and his style is just so fun to watch because of how technical he is. His music is so unpredictable and it seems like the basslines come out of nowhere, and given amnesia's unbelievable sound system, he was doing some serious damage!! I just couldn't believe unbelievable this night was and i just never wanted it to end. He played this one track I’m desperately trying to find with vocals that go: "Why you have the pitch down so low, This is How we Make Techno!" if you know what it is PLEASEEE let me know! He also played Ambivalent - R U OK (one of the new remixes) which is one of my favorite tracks of the year because the vocals are so eerie and classic. Richie was having such a good time up there, he was bouncing around all over the place, which he doesn't do that often. It just goes to show that everybody goes crazy @ Cocoon parties! At around 6am my feet were starting to hurt but i just couldn't stop dancing, even if i had wanted to i don't think i would have been able to :crazy: I can only describe Amnesia at that time as PANDEMONIUM! Even Pete Tong said that in his radio show a couple weeks prior. Most parties at Amnesia end at around 7, not too much later, so when 7 rolled around i was a little sad that it was going to end, but they let Richie play til 7:45 which was a real gift and even if the closing minutes he never let up. He was playing so hard and after a huge bassline he just cut the music and that was it. None of the crowd had left, it was still packed at 7:45 which was awesome to see. I just wanted more and i just never wanted this night to end! But as everybody cleared out i had to leave too. So after a quick picture of the aftermath of the terrace i walked outside to another beautiful day in Ibiza as the sun was rising over the mountains. I waited outside to try and get a couple pictures. I saw Ricardo Villalobos being carried out by a couple people so i didn't even bother with that one, although it would have been classic given how gone he was. Luciano was not far behind and i got a picture with him, i also told him how sick him and Ricardo were at DC10 earlier. But the absolute highlight of the night was when i was talking to Richie outside and got a picture with him!!! He was so nice to talk to and was so friendly. Real awesome guy. I told him he has to come back to New York real soon because we can't wait to have him back! I also asked him where the afterparty was and he said he usually knows but this time he didn't know, nobody had told him so he was just gonna tag along. As i walked around the corner to the front of Amnesia Sven just got in a Range Rover dressed with a gold party hat and yellow glowstick glasses with no shirt, Sven at his Finest lol. He was getting mad because everybody was taking pictures of him so he said "stop taking pictures of me, I’m not a model" in his german accent which just sounded soo funny lol. I asked him where the afterparty was and he didn't even know or didn't want anybody to know because all the public ones have been getting shut down by the cops. That sux because i have always wanted to go to a Cocoon after party! o well maybe next year...
And for some closing words, COCOON COCOON COCOON!!!!!!! :crazy: :crazy: :eyespop: :crazy: :crazy: :eyespop:
TUESDAY! A day i didn't think i would see given i wasn't expecting to survive monday to be honest but im glad i did because my week just kept getting better and better!
So after some much needed sleep i got up at around 3 or so and decided to FINALLY head out to the beach for the first time ever. I never had a car so that was the reason for never going. And what better beach to go to then Ses Salines? It is Ibiza's most popular beach and the reason for has alot to do with Jon sa Trincha which has been playing at one the beachside restaurants for about a decade now and his sun drenched beats really depict what ibiza is all about. It was such an awesome feeling when i got to the beach and all i could see was crystal clear waters with yachts everywhere, and all i could hear was gorgeous chillout house music!
The vibe was just so unique and when i stepped foot in the water after having an awesome lunch at one of the restaurants right on the beach i couldn't believe how warm the water was! :eyes: just pure heaven! I never wanted to get out it was so nice, but the clock was ticking and my ibiza vacations are never boring so on to another night of pure madness!
So after leaving the beach and after getting dressed and ready, i was pleasantly surprised to find the billboard next to my hotel with a flyer saying that Armin van Buuren would be playing after sunset @ Kanya beach for the Armada at Amnesia Pre Party! Armin was already playing a 7 hour set at Amnesia which is a treat in itself but to see him twice in one night was really something special.
Got to Kanya at around 8 or so because i just ever wanna miss a sunset. Ibiza really is the only place where the sun is your watch! And having a pictcher (or 2) of Sangria while watching the sun goes down is always amazing. So another good dinner at Kanya, a fireshow and some free DVD's later, the sun had come and gone and the night was just beginning. I went inside as soon as i saw that Armin got there and i gotta say that it was pretty busy inside which is always nice to see, headliners don't always play a pre party. Right from the beginning armin was laying down some awesome tracks like "Mexico can Wait" and other gems like that. He played for about 45 minutes as i recall and the crowd was loving every minute of it. Pre parties at Kanya always have an intimate feel which is a nice change and makes everything just that much better! I had brought my asot 07 cd booklet and handed it to him to sign, he was a little surprised and very happy that someone actually handed him a cd rather then a flyer or a hat or something. I aim to please i guess, lol. As soon as Armin finished my gf really wanted to get a picture with him so we grabbed him and got a good one, i was trying to get one too but there were too many people so he just escaped out. A couple minutes later i walk outside and go to leave when i see Armin just hanging out in the street waiting a taxi to pick him up, so i went over and grabbed a pic with him and asked him when he was coming back to NYC, he told me October, but he didn't know what date or where. A little insight never hurt :p So after a great start to the night it was time for the main event, Armin Only 7 Hour Set @ Amnesia :crazy:
Armin & Me
Tuesdays in Ibiza are really Owned by Carl Cox @ Space but the guests he had that night just weren't that good and i can never pass up a 7 hour Armin Only party, especially when its at Amnesia, so that's where i went. Got there to find no line because i get there before it opens and people don't usually get there til about 2, especially for the Armada parties. I see it as one of Ibiza's best kept secrets. And so my second consecutive night at Amnesia began! The way the main room was decorated was a big upgrade from last year with the huge Armada sign hanging over the middle of the dancefloor and all the armada signs everywhere were a nice little touch. I thought it would take a couple hours for Armin to get going just because its a 7 hour set and given there were about 50 people there when it opened, that was my original thought. I was glad to be proven wrong! :p Right from the beginning Armin was laying down some great tracks and even though he played the usual cheese like Jennifer Rene - Invincible and Louder his set started off really well. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he brought his laptop and was recording it for a future ASOT episode (313). Armada never really gets packed cause everybody is at Space but there is def. enough people to be pretty busy around 3AM. My favorite trance track of the moment has to be Dash Berlin - Til the Sky falls down and i was just waiting for armin to drop it, the moment he did i was going nutz and eventhough it was early and there weren't many people there i didn't care, i was having it! I love Amnesia because the vibe is always good because of all the different elements they add to the show like the dancers and the ice cannon that just blasts you away and surrounds you with an immense cloud of fog and cold air which is always a nice feeling. Another cool thing they have just for the Armada night is this dude on stilts all lit up with 2 ice cannon guns that just looks so funny, he just walks around all slow and blasts away like a robot, lol. The dancers came on at around 2:30 just as the party was getting really good. And with Armin always having a great time and smiling the whole night just makes it that much better! I got a huge surprise when my friends from England tapped me on the shoulder, it was awesome to see them! I had no idea they were there so it was cool to see them! Armin's set was building up really well and the crowd was loving every minute of it, so was i! Armin was dropping so many awesome tracks like Ilse DeLange - The Great Escape (Armin van Buuren Remix) which is an awesome vocal and when he dropped Mexico can Wait the place went nutz! Another highlight was when he dropped D Ramirez & Mark Knight - Columbian Soul :crazy: :crazy: i couldn't believe he played it and it just sounded sooo good on Amnesia's soundsystem!
Here are some other tracks he played:
1. Nic Chagall - Back To San Francisco [High Contrast]
2. Black Pearl - Bounty Island (DJ Shah San Antonio Harbour Mix)
3. Purple Mood - One Night In Tokyo (DJ Shah Savanah Mix)
4. Ilse DeLange - The Great Escape (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
5. Filo & Peri - Anthem (John o Callaghan Remix)
6. Genix - Phused (Marcus Schossow Remix)
7. Lange - Angel Falls (Signalrunners Fierce Remix)
8. Sultan & Ned Shepard - Together We Rise (Original Mix)
9. John o Callaghan - The Space we Are
10. Pryda - Armed
11. Warmdue Project - King of My Castle (SvD Mix)
12. Super8 & Dj Tab - Needs to Feel (Wippenberg Remix)
13. JKN Feat. Jahala - Why (Aly & Fila Remix)
14. Chris Lake - Carry Me Away (Original Mix)
15. Armin van Buuren - Rush Hour
Towards the end of the night armin was dropping alot of classics which he is always good for and it always makes the night that much better. Tracks like Bedrock - Heaven Scent (Greg Downey Remix) and Nalin & Kane - Beachball! Armin ended with LSG - Netherworld! :crazy: and his encore was Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar!! :crazy: :eyespop:
Holy what a way to finish!!! :eyes: The party ended at about 6:45 but nobody wanted to leave, his set was too good, nobody wanted it to end!
After recovering from the Armin Only Extravaganza, it was off to the races for another day of crazyness!
I had always wanted to visit Ibiza town, especially the ramparts because it just looks so beautiful from afar, so it must be gorgeous from up close! And off we went, it was so easy to get to all we had to do is go straight and make a left onto the little parking lot, lol. I knew there were gonna be some stairs, but once i got out of the car i full realized "Some Stairs" was a big understatement! this was gonna be a hike, plus it was pretty hot out so it wasn't gonna be easy, but it would be worth it! After walking through a small tunnel and going up a couple steps, we looked to our left and saw the real steep steps we were about to climb, and holy i felt every single one of those bad boys! just when i thought it would be over i looked up to see some more steps :mad: but fortunately they would be the last ones. Once we got to the first plateau, there were some cannons by the walls and some beautiful views all around us, it was a little cloudy but you could still see all the way out to the sea. It was really cool to see all of Ibiza town and Playa Den Bossa from that high up, i never knew how big a city this actually was! After a couple deep breaths we went up the last flight of stairs which we took much slower :p Once we got all the way up and we first looked out to the sea it was incredible! you could see everything from that high up, all the landscapes, beaches, wildlife, boats.... The ramparts cover all the old Ibiza and there is a big cathedral up there which we didn't get to go into because it was closed but everywhere you looked there was so much to be seen, you could be up there for hours! It did take me a little while to spot Pacha :)but i found it. There were so many huge boats in the port, i never knew the port was so huge. So after looking out everywhere for quite a while we decided to make our way back down which turned out to be alot of little streets with little shops and nothing going on. I would not wanna live up there and walk up those steps every day!
As we got back to our hotel we saw a poster under the Mambo billboard saying that Paul Oakenfold was doing a special Sunset Performance! I thought it was kinda weird that he would play for the Subliminal pre party but its a very nice surprise! So since i did not wanna miss that, i headed over a little early because it said 6-10 on the poster. But knowing oakey it would be closer to 8-9. I got to Mambo at around 7:30 or so to find my friend Roy just hanging out with his friends, so i was talking to him and we all wanted to eat so he went over and talked to oakey and 5 minutes later we had a VIP table @ Mambo! :wtf: :eyes: :crazy: :crazy: :toocool: Talk about a hookup!!! Turns out he's known him for a couple years now and he always looks out for him. I was def. feeling very privileged to be there sitting in VIP with oakey playing 2 feet from me and Pete Tong sitting a couple tables away from us! Oakey was playing with Daniel Davoli and they were playing a couple tracks each throughout the night. They were playing very chillout music, just vocal tracks with strings and guitars for about an hour and then after sunset they played some chillout house music. I was talking to oakey and he was telling me he wasn't expecting to do this, i guess Morillo was busy. Me and my friends did not waste ANY time getting a bunch of pitchers of 30 euro Sangria! The food at Mambo is decent depending what you get so i got the Mambo Burger which is absolutely phenomenal and not that expensive considering the other items on the menu. The night went on and we got a brief sunset because of clouds (again!) and the pitchers kept coming. Turns out my friend also knows Ryan Gold who is Ben Gold's son, he came over to our table and we were talking about music, remixes.... We also saw oakey's manager and we were asking him why they lie on his sirius radio show about being live from this and that when its really not, when we all know they are just pre recorded sets. He told us the real management excuse and said that some tracks don't sound good on radio or in a club and they can't afford to hire people every week to go and record it. Fair enough guess... After oakey and dany were done we relocated to another table closer to the front of the booth cause alot of tables had cleared out. So after another 2 pictchers of Sangria we were all feeling pretty good, we had about 12 in all! All of the sudden oakey comes over and sits down with us just to chat and bull. I couldn't believe it, we were just sitting there with oakey at our table just talking about different things :D We had just gotten our tab and mine was much smaller then my friends but still pretty hefty, so i go "hey oakey ur picking this up rite?" :p so he says while laughing "this one's yours but i got the next one!" lol. So after signing my life away i asked him when he was coming back to New York and he says just before thanksgiving (like usual). We were all talking for a little while longer and i grabbed a pic with him and he was on his way. What a sick thing to know have gotten a VIP table from oakey! We stayed at Mambo til about 1:30 or so cause pacha doesn't get good til about 2:30. What a sick beginning to my night!! I couldn't wait to go see Morillo @ Pacha and go nutz!
We went back to the hotel cause after getting up from Mambo we def. felt how much we drank! We weren't that bad but we were not sober to sy the least :p We ended up passing out for about a half hour which helped ALOT! and headed to Pacha. This is Subliminal Sessions 10th year at Pacha Ibiza and i know its been a killer season up to this point so i couldn't wait to see how good this night was gonna be. Got there at 3 to find almost no line which was nice to see and went right in. Harry Choo Choo Romero was opening for Morillo and i had never seen him before but heard plenty of his remixes and he's known to be good so it was about time i saw him play. Walking in the main room for the first time is always exciting because the vibe is always electric! And this time was no different, the main room was pretty packed but we found a good spot right by the steps by the booth. I like staying there because there is always a little more room to breathe and plus you are right by the dj booth. Harry played a great set with plenty of energy. I can't remember any of the tracks that he played because they weren't that well known but i have heard them before. No matter tho, it was a great time. Morillo came on just a little after four and after a quick intro it was off! The place was going crazy for every track that Morillo was playing, the lights were going mental as well and the dancers were moving like their lives depended on it! Morillo was in top form as usual, he loves what he does and it really shows. He is very focused and on top of his game to say the least. He played so many good tracks like
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Waiting For (Peter Gelderblom Remix)
2. Axwell ft. Charlie Salter - I Found You (Remode)
3. Noir - All About House Music (Peter Gelderblom Remix)
4. Angello & Ingrosso - Umbrella (Original Mix)
5. David Guetta - Love is Gone (Garraud & Rister Remix)
6. M.a.n.d.y & Booka Shade - Body Language (Tocadisco Remix)
7. Morillo & Diddy - Jack You (??? Remix)
8. Morillo & Diddy - My World (Tom Novy's Good World Remix)
and plenty of others that i just can't think of at the moment. Pacha is known for its VIP and for all kinds of celibrities being there, and we all know who is best friends with morillo, Mr. Diddy! i had seen him so many times already this week but i knew he would be at this party, he always comes to subliminal in august. So he stepped in the booth and everybody knew it the second it happened, everyone rushed to the booth and i couldn't move for about 20 minutes. Diddy was going nutz up there, looks like he finally found the basslines he couldn't get at Cocoon :p After he left the booth i once again had room to dance and then Morillo dropped Sammin - Heater which at the time i couldn't ID but i was totally blown away by the track, it as so different and the riff was so weird but worked so well! Turned out to be my favorite track of the night! :crazy: :eyespop: Morillo really is a crowd pleaser and a party DJ which is what Pacha is all about music wise, and there is no better man then Morillo at that. I couldn;t stop dancing the whole night, his set was just so much fun and seeing him smile and having a great time just made me have a better time. Diddy came back a little while later and as soon as the beat dropped he was armed with a confetti gun which he just blasted into the crowd and went everywhere! the whole club turned white and green for about a minute :crazy: Another crazy moment was when he dropped Julian Jeweil - Air Conditionne :crazy: :crazy: i absolutely LOVVEEEE that track, and it worked so well on that sound system, i just had my eyes closed and my arms in the air just savoring every second of that!! :) Morillo played til about 7 and the club really dwindled down at around 6 am which was good because i had alot more space to dance. Also gave me a chance to grab a bottle of water and a red bull that cost me 12 Euros :wtf: :eyes: i couldnt' believe it, 12 freakin euros for a red bull is madness!!!! but i needed it and plus she poured it already so there was nothing i can do. So as Morillo finished and the lights came up everybody was screaming for one more tune, and after a minute Morillo drops Nicola Fasano - Missing :crazy: :eyespop: :crazy: :eyespop: such a beautiful track and such a great way to end an awesome set! everybody was singing every word prefectly, it was a great moment and one i will remember for a long time. That track is so classic, as soon as it came on i just felt the balearic vibe go right through me! What a way to end an fantastic night! Thank You Morillo!!!
Thursdays in Ibiza are made for one party and one party only, the legendary Cream @ Amnesia! It’s the party I base my whole trip on and seems to get better every time!
After recovering from an awesome night @ Pacha I was so ready for some more fun and surprises. And today was no different, when i left my hotel i saw that Faithless would be doing a DJ set @ Mambo for the Renaissance Pre Party! I was hoping that somebody good from Cream would be playing at Kanya but it was nobody good or important so this was an awesome alternative. I had seen Sister Bliss & Maxi Jazz once before @ Mambo when they did an interview for the Essential Selection but had never seen them play, and given their awesome tracks i knew this was gonna be good.
So after grabbing my Cream tickets and scoring some free posters i was off to Mambo at around 8 just so i wouldn't miss the sunset. This was the first time we actually got a good sunset not covered up by the clouds that have been hanging around. Mambo was pretty empty at that point but more and more people came as the sun was setting. The sunset was beautiful as always and it could only mean one thing, the night had begun and everybody was ready for it! About a half hour after the sunset and Mambo was getting busy, i saw the fire show guy setting up on the rocky beach. Mambo always has the best ones for some reason and this one was no different! Everybody was lovin it, especially the way he finished. Faithless came on at around 10 and everybody was going crazy. Maxi Jazz was playing and Sister Bliss was just hanging around, i thought they would be playing together but it turns out they play totally different music when they DJ. Maxi Jazz plays all hip hop & soul which i totally wasn't expecting. Mostly good classic tracks tho which were all good to hear. He played for about a half hour and they Sister Bliss came on. As soon as Maxi was done i headed inside to try and get a picture with him, maybe even an autograph. And i was lucky enough to get both! He was signing autographs inside and there were so many people that it took a while just getting one, he ended up signing a renaissance flyer since he was playing there later that nite. After about 10 minutes he escaped out to the VIP for a couple minutes so i headed outside to see Sister Bliss from a better angle. She was playing some good house music which is always nice to hear, especially @ Mambo. A couple minutes later Maxi leaves the VIP and i grabbed a quick picture with him (which is a little blurry :( ) he is a really cool guy and i told him they have to come back to NY because i missed them the last time around. And he was wearing a Yankees hat so I guess he likes us! I hung around for a while and left at around 11:15 or so and then headed over to Amnesia for the one and only CREAM!!
Maxi Jazz & Me
The Cream @ Amnesia Billboards
I got to Amnesia at around 11:50 and was the first one on line, again. This was gonna be a special night just because it was Cream's 12th Birthday Party! Amnesia opened at 12:15 and those f*ckers took my camera away! :mad: So after paying 3 euros for them to hold it i had to come up with a plan to get it back. And i did just that, i had to wait for the room to get filled a little bit and at around 12:45 i went back up to the counter where all the cameras were being held. I had to time this perfectly because there were so many security guards right by it and a guy right by the door so this was gonna be hard. So when the coast was clear for a second i went to the counter and told the girl i was leaving. Got my camera back and walked out the door just like i was going to leave. I waited a couple seconds by the big wooden doors right before the exit and waited for people to walk in so they can cover me walking into the terrace. Hung out in the terrace for a couple minutes and then walked back in the main room no problem! I WIN! lol...
Anyway, Gareth Wyn was opening as he usually does for Cream. He is always a good opener because he knows that room really well and knows what works and what doesn't. The room was filling up rather quickly and the music was getting better and better. I would like to see what Gareth can do if he played a peak time set, he would be pretty good I’d say. He only played for an hour and a half but like usual he really got the crowd going and played a great opening set. Another reason why Cream is one of the biggest nights at Amnesia is that they really go crazy with decorations and they always bring in some awesome lasers which is pretty much mandatory for Trance! Ferry came on at 1:30 and just tore the place apart right from the beginning. From all the times I’ve seen Ferry i have come to know that he always brings it and this time was no different! He started with Marcus Schossow - Mr. White (Ruben De Ronde Remix) which is one of my favorite tracks of the moment. Great way to start and he just built up from there. Ferry is always fun to watch because he just loves those buildups and goes off just like the ice cannon when the beat drops :) Part of his set was recorded which nobody even knew cause there was no laptop there or anything. Every track he played was great and got everybody going even harder. And every time a big buildup happened the crowd was going mental cause we all knew the ice cannon was about to blast us and blind us with a huge could of smoke! Ferry played tracks like
and many others i can't think of at the moment. Paul came in at around 3:15 and it took him and the guy who sets up his stuff about to hour to get everything going. He had 3 Laptops, 2 keyboards and a couple other things! A very elaborate setup indeed. Ferry played til about 4:10 or so and then Paul took over. Paul is definitely the main even of any Cream night and everybody was cheering for him. I had listened to his new album a couple times before coming in tonight and was pretty impressed with it so i couldn't wait to see what he was gonna do. He started with White Stripes - Seven Nation Army (PvD Rework) which set everybody off! PvD always brings it when he plays Amnesia and this time was no different. I have one word for his set: RELENTLESS!!!! :crazy: :crazy: Every track was better then the next and he was just ripping that room apart! I was just going crazy the whole time, i just could not stop dancing. So many great tracks like
Booka Shade - Tickle
Underworld - Born Slippy (PvD Rework)
PvD - Complicated
PvD - White Lies
PvD - Let Go
Amiel - Love Song (Scumfrog Remix)
Filo & Peri - Anthem
Tranquility Base - Oceanic (Super8 & DJ Tab Remix)
Pascal Feliz - From Inside the Speaker (Part 1)
and plenty plenty more. Paul is always funny to watch because of the way he acts, and he was having such a great time up there! I've never seen him go that crazy before!! He was playing so much great trance tracks and just did not stop, the vibe @ Amnesia was electrifying! One awesome moment is when he played Crush!! :eyespop: :crazy: I haven't heard that track in a good two years and it just sounded sooo good on that sound system! Not long after that he dropped Greece 2000 which is always a classic and everybody was going crazy just like i was! Towards the end of his set he started dropping tracks from his new album which went off really well and it was awesome hearing them that loud :p He closed it out in typical PvD fashion by playing "Time of our Lives" and played "For an Angel" live on his keyboard which was really a nice touch and an awesome way to finish!! Nobody wanted this night to end because nobody could stop dancing. Nobody left for about a while after he was done, a bunch of people were throwing shirts and flyers up to him so he can sign it. He's probably the only DJ that takes the time to do it which is nice to see that he cares about his fans! After walking outside i went to the side of amnesia by the buses and taxis to wait for Paul so he could sign my cd. His taxi was waiting there along with a cream promoter which i was talking to for a little while. Paul had so much luggage and equipment! He finally came out a couple minutes later and looked so happy! He signed my cd and then i told him i'll see you in New York. He goes "Where?" so i answer "New York, Central Park!", so he looks puzzled and goes "When", "Next Week!" i say, and he gets a huge smile on his face and says "Oh Yeah" and gives me a high five! LoL it was so funny! He flies all over the world so much and is so busy that he can't even remember where he's playing! What an awesome way to finish off another crazy night then to be talking to Paul himself :D
Wow, Friday already! And that only meant one thing.... THE RADIO 1 WEEKEND WAS FINNALY UPON US!!! The one weekend thousands of people book their Ibiza holiday around. And for good reason! The radio 1 weekend is always the time for some of the most amazing parties of the season, great shows @ Mambo and who can forget the Legendary Essential Mix!!! This year is Radio 1's 12th year on the island and the weekend I’ve been looking forward to for months and months!
The Radio 1 Weekend kicked off @ Mambo like it usually does for the Essential Selection w. Pete Tong. The last time I was at this party was 2 years ago and as u guys remember I got into a couple mixmags soon after :p I got to Mambo at around 6:30 thinking it would start at 7 local time but i totally forgot that they pushed the show back an hour so it didn't start til 8PM. No matter tho, Mambo is always a great time and more and more kept coming to make it even more special. By the time the show started there were SOOOOO many people on the beach there was nowhere to walk to, the promenade was packed, inside Mambo was chaotic and the beach was filled to capacity! And like usual there were a bunch of boats right off the shore that were just hangin out for the party. There was this wakeboarding guy that kept coming by at full speed and was doing tricks as everybody was watching, it was pretty funny when he f*cked up and fell in the water :tongue2 When the show was about to start i realized that they would not be doing it outside like they usually do, but they would be doing it from the upstairs studio :( I couldn't believe it! There are a couple thousand people coming here just to see the show and the live performances and there was absolutely nothing but a webcam in the studio that was broadcasted very poorly on a couple plasmas around Mambo :mad: And there was no official sound system other than the one Mambo had so nobody could hear anything, throughout the show everybody kept screaming TURN IT UP!!! cause it was pretty low. My friends went back to their hotel and just listened to it on the radio cause they were so disappointed! I still had a good time and i was definitely not gonna leave Mambo! The show was dedicated to Ibiza classics which was a nice touch, so many amazing tracks throughout the years that are becoming timeless classics. Ibiza has such a tremendous history dating back to the 60's and right from the start was a music destination with open air parties, the Balearic feeling came to be from then and is definitely still here!
Once again we did not get a FULL sunset but just about, just when the sun was about 90% down, it hid behind some clouds and that was the end of it. So the show went on and after waiting quite a while at the bar to get a drink, went back outside and saw Eddie Halliwell just hanging around talking, I didn't wanna bother him plus i had talked to him a couple times before so i just let him be. The show ended at 10 and the crowd somewhat dissipated. Now given it was friday and Mambo hosts all the Pacha pre parties, tonight was the Pure Pacha pre party and Pure Pacha that night was a much anticipated night for me just because the first one i went to in 04 David Guetta and Pete Tong played, it was the first time i saw either and i was totally blown away by the night, especially Guetta who played a mindblowing set :eyes: so i was really really looking forward to this!
I left Mambo at around 11 since they weren't serving food and walked 2 doors down right past Cafe Del Mar and went to Savannah beach club for a quick meal and some more Sangria :p So after some refueling i was ready for another night of madness @ Pacha!
So after a quick change it was to Pacha for the Pure Pacha & F*** Me I'm Famous Party!!!
Got there at around 1:30 or so and saw something i had never seen before, a huge ass line that was halfway around the club :eyes: Every time I’ve been to Pacha I’ve walked right in so this was a little bit of a shock for me. But thankfully it moved really quickly and within 15 minutes i was in! Walked into a PACKEDDD room which was expected but still found a good spot right by the steps as usual. The room was decorated really well which always makes the night just that much better. It was decked out (good choice of words there :p ) with huge playing cards with the Pure Pacha designs all over it, plus a huge F*** Sign hangin by the podium and the ever so classic Pacha cherries but with a new twist all over the place. Sarah Main was supposed to open but she was not there, Carl Kennedy was opening and i gotta say he was doing a pretty good job at it. He ended at 2 with a live PA of his track ft. Roachford – Ride The Storm which was cool but the track is a little cheesy. David Guetta came on after that and everybody rushed by the booth where i was so i could not move for a good half hour :mad: David Guetta has never let me down so i knew this was gonna be a bangin set. He started off with a quick speech and it was off, he started off with a quick acapella of Just a Little more Love which got everybody going mental right into Love is Gone and just like @ Space we all sang along to it. David loves Pacha and it really shows whenever he performs there! The reactions of the crowd and the vibe he sets in that room is just unmatched and incredible to see. There was no place in the world i would have rather been then Pacha Ibiza!!! David was on fire and totally tearing it up! He played so many great tracks like
Daniel - Enjoy the Silence
Underworld - Born Slippy (??? Mix)
David Guetta ft. Chris Willis - Everytime we Touch (Live)
David Guetta ft. Chris Willis - Walking Away (Live)
Axwell - I found You (Dubfire Mix)
Morillo & Diddy - Jack U
David Guetta - The World is Mine w/ Herd & Fitz - I Just Can't Get Enough Acapella
Noir - All About House Music (Peter Gelderblom Remix)
House of God - House of God
and many many more that just made his set incredible! One of my highlights of his set was when he dropped Run DMC vs. Laidback Luke & Steve Angello - Otherwize Then (Bootleg) :crazy: :eyespop: :crazy: :eyespop: It set the place off and everybody was going mental because the beat drops out of nowhere and with a great sound system behind it and a couple thousand people, it was absolute MADNESS!!!! He just knows that room so well and had alot of fun destroying it to pieces :crazy: Steve Angello just happened to be there so when he stepped in the DJ booth Guetta got back on the mic and introduced him as his good friend Steve Angello and he'd be at Amnesia tomorrow. Nice little promotion work there Steve! Pete Tong came in the booth at around 3:45 to start setting up since he plays through a Laptop now. Right after he came in Paul Oakenfold was there and saw Cathy Guetta who is 8 months pregnant jumping around all over the place. And in the corner i stopped Chris Willis who sings in most of David's tracks and last time i saw him there in 04 he did a live performance and so i wondered if tonight would be the same. Even saw Harry Choo Choo Romero hanging out in the lighting booth. David closed out his set with tracks from his new album and i saw him give the mic to Chris Willis who then got on stage and starting singing. His voice is awesome and he is a very talented artist, and a really friendly guy too. They did Love is Gone and Love Don't let me Go, and closed it out with Cathy's favorite (as he said on the mic) Everytime we Touch which sounded amazing live, he really came through with the vocals and made it sound so much better then on the album! Nobody wanted him to leave but at 4:30 Pete took over and he kept the energy going. He started off with The Doors - The End (Dirty South Remix) which i had never heard before and really is an awesome track. The thing with Pete is that you just never know how he's gonna be, he's very unpredictable so nobody really knew what was gonna do. For the first half hour or so he just kinda stayed at the same pace and he saw that it was a little bland so he picked it up and the way he did that was by having Charlie 'Maxi' Salter do a live performance of Axwell's - I Found You. Kind of a weird dude because he had DJ headphones around his neck with a suit on which was somewhat odd but the performance was awesome and it really got the crowd going. Soon after that i stepped out to get a drink and to chillout a little when Guetta comes out of the VIP right by us, i was trying to talk to him but he was in a rush and he said i'll be right back, which he did come back but through somewhere else so whatever. But a little bit later tho as i walked to the bar again, Chris Willis came out and i got to talk to him and grabbed a picture with him which was cool. He's a really nice guy, very down to earth and very friendly. It was about 5:30 or so and Pete was really rocking the main room, the track of the night came as he dropped Samim - Heater which as i said before is the track of the summer for me, i still had no idea what it was at the time but i was loving every second of it, such a phenomenal track! At around 6:30 my gf was really tired and just wanted to go home so about 10 minutes later we left just as the party was dying down and was about to finish up. What more can i say then what an awesome night @ Pacha! The F*** Me I'm Famous nights at Pacha are the best ones IMO because it’s pretty much become its rightful home and tonight's performance really showed that.
But my week wasn't over yet, still one more night of absolute madness was ahead of me and what a night it would turn out to be!...
I can't believe Saturday came so fast! My week was almost over but i still had one amazing party to go to. But before all that i wanted to get the most out of my day. So i got up at around 2:30 and decided to go to a beach our friends had recommended. The name of the Beach was Cala D'Hort which is located on the South West of Ibiza and from what the map showed, it looked pretty easy to get to. Easy was an understatement, yes the signs were clear on how to get there but after turning off the main road to go there the rest of the way was an amazing drive because it was through the maintains and the forests. The road was pretty high up so you could see everything from there and it was absolutely gorgeous, i wasn't driving so i spent all my time just looking out :) It was a pretty long and windy road but after a good 10 minutes or so we made the final turn which took us down a hill very steep hill and right to the beach. After parking half way up the hill, we made our way down to the beach and it was absolutely stunning! The view was incredible and it was just a little beach with a restaurant and some beach umbrellas everywhere. There were alot of boats not too far from the shore and the weather was beautiful. Definitely an awesome recommendation from our friends! The beach itself was rather small but we found a good spot right in the middle so we set up the beach umbrella (cause i'm so white lol) and went in the water. As soon as i put one foot in the water it was an absolute dream! The water was so warm and inviting, i could stay in it forever. About 30 seconds after my gf went in she told me she felt like something stung her and i didn't pay much attention to it cause i thought it would be a little rock or something she had stepped on. We stayed in there for about 10 minutes before i realized she got stung by a jellyfish, and the only reason i found that out is because as i put my hand back in the water there were 2 little jellyfish right by it and one of them stung my finger :mad: BASTARDS!! So i turn back and said "GO!" and we were out of the water very very quickly! Now i know why nobody was in the water lol. I didn't get a bad sting but it still hurt for a couple hours, thank god i had some neosporin in my bag cause it helped out alot! It turned out to be the first day jellyfish had been there all year, they could have waited one more day in my opinion! After hanging out on the beach for a while we were both hungry so we went up to the restaurant right above it. It was a beautiful little place overlooking the water, the best view from a restaurant i have ever seen. So we sit down and order a nice cold pitcher of Sangria to start off the day right and a couple minutes after that as we were talking i see her face turn and say OMG!, so i look over and it was ARMIN just walking by! So i was like ARMIN!!!! and he looks at me, shakes my hand and says "how are you?" :wtf: :eyes: :eyes: Such an unexpected moment i could not believe it. I didn't wanna bother him so i didn't try talking to him cause he was going to sit down with him girlfriend and 2 more people 2 tables over from us! What are the odds??? To be sitting 2 tables away from armin at a lost beach in Ibiza :wtf: :toocool: After we got our food they were done so they went down to the beach and Armin's girlfriend came back up and got him some ice cream. He was just laying out on a beach chair reading a book, just chilling out and not worrying about anything.
Anyway, that was by far the best lunch I’ve ever had and an amazing start to my last day here in Ibiza!!!
Armin on the left with his shades on reading his book :p
So after that awesome trip to the beach it was time to go to Cafe Mambo for the Radio 1 All Stars Show. But first we had to get changed and shower so we don't look like s and smell like jellyfish :wtf:
LOL, so after that we headed out to Mambo and got there around 6:30 and caught the last hour and a half of the show. Mambo was pretty busy but not as packed as the night before. One nice change was that they had cleared all the tables to make room for all the people and they moved the show from inside to the outside terrace. A big improvement because now everybody could be part of it! The show was really cool because everybody from Radio 1 was there and Vernon Kay was being pretty stupid which was funny to watch. As i turned back and was looking out to the ocean, the sun was shining bright and the boats were all over the place and there were hundreds of people just chilling out on that famous Rocky beach just enjoying every second of it. The Radio 1 All Star Show finished at 8 and then Pete Tong took over for a 2 hour Show which i didn't even know was happening. Once again, a huge improvement from the day before, every Radio 1 Show broadcasted from Mambo should always be outside! As i went looking for friends on the beach one of the Radio 1 guys asked me to describe the Radio 1 Weekend in 3 words. That's pretty god damn hard to do in only 3 words! So i said the Radio One Weekend is the one and only place to be! He told me they were getting sound bites so they can use them for the Essential Mix which was cool so i was hoping mine would make it on there! Anyway, one of the guests Pete had was Axwell and Maxi which did the vocals for I Found You, and after an interview with Axwell the track was performed live again! It was almost time for sunset and it was a great way to close out my last sunset of 07' here in Ibiza! The sunset we got was almost perfect except for a little cloud that hid the sun at the very last moment but that was made up by the special sunset Mix Andy Cato from Groove Armada had compiled for us. That guy is so tall and when he came out on the Terrace he looked soo huge! Anyway, the show went on and Pete played my track once again, yep u guessed it: Samim - Heater :) :D :tongue2 And as always it sounded great, especially hearing it from Mambo as i was staring into the sea soaking in the atmosphere and the amazing vibes from all around me. Pete ended on a great note by playing Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes and at that point i was sooo ready for the Massive Radio 1 Essential Mix Party that was about to happen @ Amnesia! :eyespop: :crazy: :eyespop: :crazy:
Well, after a full week of partying every single night til the sun comes up, this would prove to be no different. Radio 1 really went all out for this one and set up a Special Cream Party and brought in Sasha which is really special because he hasn't played a Cream event in about 7 years so this would be his long awaited return! They also brought in the Swedish House Mafia with Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso which i have been waiting about 2 years to see! But being privileged enough to see all three of them together really is something special. And last but not least was Eddie Halliwell which is always amazing just because of his style and undeniable energy!
I had to get my usual spot at Amnesia for this one off event so i got there at around 11:40, and i was not gonna take a chance at getting my camera taken away from me so my gf put it in her bra so you couldn't see it Smart move by me cause nobody checked her, she just walked right in. The doors opened at about 12:10 or so and as i walked in Gareth Wyn was opening. But this time because 4 out of the 5 artists playing are house DJ's, Gareth too was playing some house which was really cool because i had never heard house in the main room, so a nice change of pace. This was my 4th and last night @ Amnesia and i just knew it was gonna be phenomenal. I was a little surprised to see Sasha's computer all set up already, i thought he would close it out, even on the door of the amnesia store it said the Swedes would play from 1-3 and Sasha 3-5 but that turned out to be false, it would be the other way around. No big deal, having Sasha kick off the Essential Mix would be a great build up for the Swedes. Gareth was having a good time up there and played some good tracks and as the room was getting filled, he started dropping some bombs like Dave Spoon - Bad Girl at Night which really got the crowd moving. My friends had just arrived and he had been telling me how good Sasha was @ Global Gathering and he was really looking forward to it, so was i given i had never seen Sasha before and what a better time to pop my Sasha Cherry then to be there for his return to Cream @ Amnesia :eyes:
Sasha came on promptly at 1AM as Annie Mac began the Essential Mix and introduced Sasha. From that moment on the crowd was just going crazy and couldn't wait for Sasha to get things going. He took a couple minutes to build up his first track but it was an awesome intro that just led to much better things. I could only ID one of the tracks he played just because i had never really heard most of the others. I just loved Sasha's style, i don't really know how to describe it but it worked really well on that sound system. Each track he played was just a little harder than the previous and his mixing could not have been better. He's a very technical DJ with so many knobs to play with on the 2 mixers he had. I was loving his set and so was everybody else, everybody was just looking at him for most of his set because after a 7 year absence it was something special seeing him up there! Since it was recorded, i don't have to remember any of the tracks cause the whole entire tracklist is on the radio 1 website! so here it is
Kraftwerk – La Forme (Hotchip Mix)
Beck – Cell Phones Dead (Ellen Allen Mix)
C.O.M.A – Monday
Robytek – Sun
Adam Freeland – Silverlakew Pills
Mongoose – Kevlar
Davis & May – Neotron
Superlounge – Ghost
Rouzbeh – Dalavari
Ozgur Can – Spara M
Jerome Isma–Ae – Phantom
Steve T – Elefont
Gamma Rox & Roy Brizman – Al Tiga Li Babeten
Pryda – Ironman
Federico Epis – Brasil
Francessco Pico – All
Nerina Pallot – Peg (Cicada Remix)
Underworld – Crocodile
the only track i knew was Pryda - Ironman and i just went nutz when i heard it! Such a great tune and Sasha played at a great time during his set. As we all know, when Sasha is DJ'ing he's not all smiles, he's very serious and focused in what he is doing. But one thing he couldn't do is ignore the crowd going nutz so he cracked a couple smiles here and there! As Sasha's set was coming to a close after a massive 2 hour set that will be remembered for years to come, the Swedish House Mafia had just stepped into the booth and were looking very peppy. They were excited because axwell and ingrosso had never played the main room before, let alone all together. So just a minute after 3AM Pete Tong got on the mic and announced the Swedish House Mafia and their intro was phenomenal, when the beat dropped it was Axwell's - I Found You and as soon as it came on everybody just went crazy! Everyone was singing along to it and were really pumped up for what was about to come. And so was I, every track they played was awesome with so much energy it was incredible. Their mixing was on point and they kept switching off on the mixer, cdj's... Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso seemed to be doing most of the work tho, Steve Angello was hanging back not doing much which was weird but it didn't matter, their set was unbelievable and nothing would ruin it. Probably the best track of their set was when the dropped Run DMC vs. Laidback Luke & Steve Angello - Otherwize Then (Bootleg) :crazy: :crazy: :eyespop: and even though it was the fourth time i heard it, this was the best system to play it on and when the bass dropped it was UNREAL!!!! All 3 of them were just relentless :eyespop: good thing i had ear plugs because i would have been deaf by the end of the night if i didn't! This was definitely the best set i've ever heard from them and i'm lucky i was there for it! Here is the whole tracklist of their set
Axwell – I Found You
Shinedoe - Phunk (Steve Angello Re-Edit)
Grant Nelson – Seasons Of Jack (Jesse Garcia Remix)
Dirty South - Let It Go (Axwell Remix)
Hard Fi – Suburbian Knights (Angello Ingrosso Remix)
Pryda – Ballaton
Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster Stronger (Deadmau5 Remix)
Marcus Schossow - Hypnotizer
Samba Di Janeiro – (Unknown Remix)
Nari & Milani – Gnuk! vs. David Guetta – Love is Gone
Steve Angello & Laidback Luke - Otherwize Then Vs Run DMC - It’s Like That (Bootleg)
Steve Angello & Laidback Luke – Be
Cirez D – Tiger Stylez with Beastie Boys – Intergalactic
Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke – It
Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels – Don’t You Want
For The People vs. Robin S – Show Me Love (Acapella)
Who’s Who? – Klack
John Dahlback – Everywhere (The D.O.N.S remix)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Waiting for (Peter Gelderblom Booty)
Substate – Horizons (Mac Zimms Remix)
House Of God - House Of God (Unknown mix)
Another great moment was when they dropped Pryda - Ballaton which i couldn't ID at the time but holy sh*t is that an unbelievable track
:eyes: Eric Prydz never comes out with a bad track it seems like! I was very very surprised that they did not play Umbrella! I would have bet my life on it but 5 minutes before five o clock they all looked at their watches and saw they were pressed for time so maybe they just didn't get the time, I guess they were too busy tearing the main room apart! And since Eddie was coming on next i don't think he was gonna put it back together! So at 5 exactly Judge Jules came on the mic and introduced Radio 1's own Eddie Halliwell!!! And Eddie came on in top form, right from the beginning he was flying between decks, working that mixer to death and twisting his body every which way! That guy has so much energy and passion for what he does, its freakin scary :eyes: He started with Arksun - Arisen which is a sick track and as soon as finally let the beat drop the whole place just DIED! :crazy: Absolutely incredible, the atmosphere was so electric it was just undeniable! Eddie is probably the most crowd attentive DJ which is what it’s all about and he feeds off that so much it just makes his sets that much better. His mixing is so different and he just does not rest for one second when he plays, i guess crack really does help him :tongue2 This was the last hour of the Essential Mix and they only broadcasted an hour of Eddie's set which sux because the second hour was even better! This is the tracklist of the first hour of Eddie's set...
01. Arksun - Arisen (Original Mix)
02. Aled Mann - Cause & Effect (Original Mix)
03. Mojado - Kaktus
04. Remo Con - Atavism (Mac & Mac Remix)
05. Tom Colontonio - Maximizer (Original Mix)
06. Activa - Disclosure (Original Mix)
09. Neal Scarborough - Stung On The River (Sean Tyas Remix)
10. Sander van Doorn - Riff
12. Three Drives - Greece 2000 (Marcel Woods Remix)
Eddie's last track which closed out the Essential Mix was the biggest Ibiza Anthem EVER and u guys know what im gonna say.... Three Drives on a Vinyl - Greece 2000!!!! He played the Marcel Woods Remix and i cannot think of a better way to end that Massive 5 Hour Essential Mix :eyes: :eyespop: :tongue3 :crazy: :crazy: And eventhough the Essential Mix might be over, the night certainly wasn't and nobody even thought of leaving. There was wayyy too much energy in that room that i don't think they would even let you out :p You'd probably get slapped for wanting to leave :D
Well this was officially my last hour or so of clubbing here in Ibiza and i was not gonna go quietly and neither was Eddie! For the second hour of his set he just went all out and shredded us to pieces with his track selection. I was going go crazy and my feet were hurting so much but i didn't care, i could barely feel it and i was having the time of my life! There was not a care in my mind, it was all about dancing and getting lost in the music. Amnesia's main room was absolute PANDEMONIUM! Eddie never let up and kept playing harder and harder. At about 7 he stood on top of the decks like he usually does and was egging everybody on, apparently he had been warned about it and to not do it anymore but Eddie doesn't care, he was up there for a couple minutes and then as everybody was about to die from the buildup he just let us have it and the whole room just exploded :crazy: I forget which track he ended with at the moment but it was a huge classic that was as we all thought a perfect ending to a perfect night. But Eddie wasn't done, as the track played he came down from the booth and was carried on the shoulders of some guy through the crowd and everybody was surrounding him as he was shaking hands with everybody, just being the Superstar that he is! It was so unexpected but then i remembered that it was Eddie and he always does the unexpected :p Everybody was clapping and cheering for him, he just did not want this to end either. As he finally came back up Gareth Wyn had taken over which i was a little surprised to see but he definitely deserves to close out this night, and plus my friend told me in the beginning of the night that he would but i just didn't believe him. It was already 7 in the morning and the room was still mostly packed, al the weak one's had gone to bed! But we all stayed til the very end and the music was as good as can be. Eddie hung around for the remainder of the night as Gareth was dropping classic after classic! He was so happy up there and was loving every second of it just like we all were. This was by far the best way to end this fantastic week and just a little after 7:30 the music shut off and everybody was still in total disbelief of what had just happened! This night was one for the record books and will not be forgotten any time soon! This is why the Radio 1 weekend is the best time to come on the island and that is why so many thousands of people do! The best feeling is to walk out of a club after having been there all night and walking outside as the sun is rising and has been doing so for over an hour now!
I could not believe that my week here in Ibiza was already over but looking back at it now it was definitely the BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE!!!! And i cannot wait for next year :crazy: After hanging out talking for a little while, it was clear that nobody wanted to leave, especially me! But at some point we had to and we left Amnesia's parking lot pretty slowly knowing it would be the last time i'd see it for a year.
Well after a couple hours sleep, it was time to pack my bags and head out to the airport which is always a bad time! Nobody ever wants to leave Ibiza; everybody wishes they can stay for the whole season! And much to my surprise my plane was actually on time and there was no problems with it, so as we were starting to leave, i grabbed a couple last pics of Ibiza and even grabbed one of DC10! That’s how close it is to the runway!
Well, i really hope you guy enjoyed this just as much as i did. This was by far the absolute best week of my life so far and i really wanted to share it with you guys in the best way that i possibly can. So i hope i was able to recreate the magic crazyness and pandemonium that went on all week and i will bring you another one next year!!! ;)
Smart move by me cause nobody checked her, she just walked right in. The doors opened at about 12:10 or so and as i walked in Gareth Wyn was opening. But this time because 4 out of the 5 artists playing are house DJ's, Gareth too was playing some house which was really cool because i had never heard house in the main room, so a nice change of pace. This was my 4th and last night @ Amnesia and i just knew it was gonna be phenomenal. I was a little surprised to see Sasha's computer all set up already, i thought he would close it out, even on the door of the amnesia store it said the Swedes would play from 1-3 and Sasha 3-5 but that turned out to be false, it would be the other way around. No big deal, having Sasha kick off the Essential Mix would be a great build up for the Swedes. Gareth was having a good time up there and played some good tracks and as the room was getting filled, he started dropping some bombs like Dave Spoon - Bad Girl at Night which really got the crowd moving. My friends had just arrived and he had been telling me how good Sasha was @ Global Gathering and he was really looking forward to it, so was i given i had never seen Sasha before and what a better time to pop my Sasha Cherry then to be there for his return to Cream @ Amnesia :eyes: 
