Published
Fri, Jul 15, 2011, 10:00
- Our Ibiza correspondent checks in with a report one-third of the way through the season.
The short answer to what's hot and what's not in Ibiza this year so far? The established usual suspects are throwing the best parties and the new, fringe parties are finding it hard to make their presence felt. It's impossible to cover exactly how every party is faring, so we'll focus on those that seem to be experiencing the biggest swing in fortune, based either on previous performance or expectation. For obvious reasons the likes of Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Cream and Tiesto haven't been considered, as almost all of these big brands continue to do well.
Positive
In my opinion, Carl Cox's Tuesday night at Space is the hype party in Ibiza at the moment. The opening saw Cox play for ten hours and week two saw an unprecedented performance by Richie Hawtin that transcended traditional Ibiza club politics. Regardless of the guests, which are unparalleled in terms of size and diversity, there is something absolutely electric about these parties and everyone is talking about them.
Indefatigable
Two absolute mainstays of the Ibiza clubbing week, We Love at Space and Circoloco at DC-10 remain core pillars of the island's scene and 2011 sees them delivering at their usual high standards. We Love have somehow diversified further than ever before (Caribou, Tensnake, Greg Wilson and Stacey Pullen on top of the usual heavyweights), while DC-10 keep everyone guessing with their weekly released line-ups that have seen the likes of Jay Haze, Lee Curtiss, Zip and Kerri Chandler turning in some standout performances.
Under pressure
Cocoon aren't having a bad year by any stretch of the imagination, but they are seemingly at a crossroads. By almost universal consensus it has been the hype party of about the last three or four years, but, by definition, there comes a time when that hype subsides and becomes unsustainable, which is arguably where Cocoon find themselves this year. Investing more in house and depending heavily on the allure of their big names, rather than just the fact that "it's Cocoon," it really is thanks to Sven, Dice, Carola and Hawtin that Cocoon remains popular. Ricardo Villalobos continues to divide opinion more greatly than ever, while their decision to start running weekly events in neighbouring island Formentera every Thursday has been suggested by some as them taking the eye off the ball in Ibiza.
Ups and downs
Two of Amnesia's new parties, Tonight (Tuesday) and I Want My MTV (Friday) have experienced early season turbulence that leaves their fate very much unknown. Eric Prydz proved a big draw for the Tonight opening party, but fell flat thanks to the impact of Carl Cox's opening last week. However, despite Cox's numbers swelling this week, Annie Mac's appeal to the Anglo crowds was enough to show Tonight is in with more than a fighting chance, especially when names like Chase & Status, Skream and Katy B are around. I Want My MTV's bubble could not have grown any bigger than for the unique Snoop Dogg opening event on July 1st, which lead to the almost inevitable dip the following week with Kelis. Interestingly, the main room programming has proved popular, with Magda, Josh Wink and Layo & Bushwachka! among those that have held court so far.
Mixed fortunes so far in general also for Ushuaia and Sankeys, both newcomers essentially. Ushuaia's close relationship with Pacha has given them a solid agenda but at the expense of some of the underground grit that made parties there in the past so special. Sankeys have done the only thing you can do in their position and gone after as many big names as possible, particularly focusing on the next wave of underground talent. While it's fair to say it's not always been a roaring success, it's commendable and the most likely way of them realising long-term goals on the island.
Death row
I can't think of any absolute turkeys worth mentioning so far this year, albeit many parties (especially at Privilege) have barely started their run of events. If pushed to comment, it tends to be the nights placed into the weekly programming as nothing more than a gap filler on that particular day. Some of the freebies at Eden, Es Paradis and Privilege fit the bill here, and I wouldn't expect them to last to the next movers and shakers review at the two-thirds point.