RA
RA Japan
Global
Local
Music
Interact
Search RA

News


RA Ibiza weekly: Amnesia, We Love... and UK bass


We check out a few of last weekend's big opening parties, and chat with Paul Woolford about the island's latest newcomer: UK bass.
Words / Chandler Shortlidge
Published / Friday, 15 June 2012 10:00 AM
Category / International NewsSpain
Comments / 5 Comments

With opening parties from Amnesia, We Love... and Cocoon, last weekend was a pretty big one in Ibiza, and not without its surprises. Here's a run-down of a few of our highlights, plus a chat with the inimitable Paul Woolford.




Amnesia opened its doors on Saturday, with a party that lasted well past dawn. On the Terrace, Audiofly weaved their way through grumbling, melodic techno early on in the evening, while green lasers beamed around the room in every direction. As morning came, Mar-T dropped house anthems like Pirupa's "Party Non Stop," to the crowd's delight, and even when the music accidentally cut out for several minutes, it didn't slow things down a bit. Next, Davide Squillace and Matthias Tanzmann played a back-to-back set, rolling into low-slung funk with tracks like like Zohki and Roozlie's unreleased "My Swag" and Sabb and Eddy M's "Groove Calling," as a slightly thinned out crowd of the truly hardcore casually ignored the recent smoking ban and cooled off with Matinee flyers.
Photos: Amnesia Opening Party




On Sunday, Resident Advisor streamed We Love...'s opening party for the first time, something that we will be doing weekly throughout the season. On a heaving terrace, the full Innervisions crew began their new monthly residency, including a live Henrik Schwarz set that ran through some of his best known tracks. Detroit techno has long been a staple of We Love... and this opening was no different, with Derrick May and Carl Craig (performing live as 69) delivering to the high benchmark they've set over previous years. Perhaps most intriguingly, we watched Paul Woolford spar with Ben UFO in a back-to-back session in the Discoteca. This was part of We Love...'s unprecedented initiative to bring more bass acts to the island, with Woolford involved heavily along the way; he reveals more about this in the below interview.
Photos: We Love... Space - Opening Fiesta



Cocoon photo credit: phrank.net

Monday began with Circoloco at DC-10, with Jamie Jones playing upbeat deep house to a packed out room on the Terrace, while Art Department kept things deeper and dreamier with tunes like "Meetin' Again" by Ultrasone.

Next was the opening of Sven Vath's Monday institution, Cocoon at Amnesia. Cassy, who takes a much more regular role at Cocoon this year, played punchy house early on in the Main Room, before Papa Sven dished out the type of hard techno he's favoured recently. It almost sounded and felt like a Cocoon of old. Ricardo Villalobos, the terrace's master-of-ceremonies, definitely began with a retro feel to his set, jacking out '90s house before teasing with a regular trick of his, acid house. Cocoon's afterparty is so legendary that it's almost threatened to overshadow the main event itself; the remote Punta Arabi was the location for this year's marathon carry-on.




Following his back-to-back set with Ben UFO at We Love... on Sunday, we caught up with Woolford to talk about how bass music came to the island and how it's panning out so far:
How did Sunday night go for you at We Love..., playing with Ben UFO?

Really well thanks, we both agreed it felt instinctive and we had a lot of fun, which is ultimately of optimum importance. I knew immediately when he agreed to play that he would fit and he did so impeccably, maintaining the intimate atmosphere that his music elicits but at the same time being aware of the scale of the room. We had a blast.

This summer you're doing a number of back-to-back sets with generally unfamiliar names to Ibiza, such as Ben, Untold, etc. How did this idea come about and why did you pick these guys?

It followed on from Ben inviting me to guest on the Hessle Audio show on Rinse FM recently. We discussed taking it into a club situation and the next day on the train back to Leeds I tentatively floated the suggestion of We Love... at Space. I wasn't so sure Ben would be open to it, I know he used to prefer smaller situations but he went for it. At the same time, Mark Broadbent was asking me for my thoughts on Ben playing at the club, which led on to him throwing it open to me to invite anyone. Laurie Appleblim was a natural choice immediately, and after some careful consideration I then asked Jack Dunning who is someone else with a unique voice. I picked all three simply because their approaches are very individual, and I know with each that there's a synergy that creates sparks, so to transplant that into an environment like Space opens things up further.

It's the first real representation of UK bass in Ibiza, why do you think its happened now and why at We Love?

The time is right, the world is a huge place and there's a thirst for music beyond just dancefloor fodder everywhere. People want more from their experiences in clubs, and outside of bubbles like Las Vegas, especially right now because of economical restrictions, you want the best night you can possibly have. If you hear something fresh in the process then that's even better. These days artists are less afraid to step outside of the boxes that their peers and occasionally the media have perhaps painted them into.

As for We Love..., they have a bold commitment to pushing the booking policy forward, and to do it on such a scale requires belief and confidence, and you can clearly see this reflected not only in bringing in Ben, Jack and Laurie, but Shackleton is involved down the road, Cosmin TRG, Scuba, Skudge, all very individual artists with unique voices. It would have been easy to play it safe and throw money at whoever the "hottest" acts are but We Love... play by their own rules and always have.

Do you think the island's ready for bass music?

I don't see why not, why should we underestimate the ears of others? Having said that, there's definitely a careful way to introduce new acts to any club, some things require more care and consideration with programming, in fact the best results always occur when this is taken into account.

How much is UK bass influencing your own sound?

The energy and enthusiasm of the participants is key, but those people are not only from the UK, they are in different locations all over the world, with the common factor being the thirst to dig for the more interesting. The UK has been key, but you only have to look at the music of Dave Huismans (AKA 2562, A Made Up Sound) or Falty DL to see people from other nationalities contributing in wildly inventive ways. It's all fuel for the fire along the way, and it's manifesting itself in part on the Special Request project, and also in various other things. Ultimately, you have to take what you connect with and then put some kinks in the reflection somewhere or you may as well be working in a photocopying shop.
For more White Isle coverage, head over to our comprehensive Ibiza microsite.
comment 5 Comments
 

Comments

RA Ibiza weekly: Amnesia, We Love... and UK bass

You're not logged in. You need to register to
post your comments.

Anyone can register on RA. Even you.

Heartbeat_nightwrote
Thu, 21 Jun 2012i'm afraid by the time the bass manages to take off in ibiza it will have become outdated and exhausted in the rest of the world

FLYNN-DOGwrote
Mon, 18 Jun 2012Personally, I'd be surprised if bass took off in Ibiza. Just my two cents.

andidaswrote
Sat, 16 Jun 2012Aye.

felixtroywrote
Sat, 16 Jun 2012Nice....

Starpawzwrote
Fri, 15 Jun 2012Big Ups, Chandler - Another insightful examination of the cutting edge EDM scene. Thanks for the article. It's as close as we can get to Ibiza and for that I am grateful


Click here to view the full thread








News in June 2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012
Fish Go Deep to release new album, Draw The Line
RA Ibiza weekly: Opening weekend
Plan Be opens in Ibiza
Frozen Border release first compilation, Minutes In Ice
Hudson Mohawke Takes the Whole Cake at Sankeys
Below turns seven with Cocoon
Polymorphism launches with Ital and Maria Minerva
Volt 2012 brings The Black Dog to Sweden
Bassic celebrates 5 years with Goth-Trad
Justin Martin and DJ Dan have a Canada Day Picnic
Loco Dice and Joris Voorn play Brooklyn's Dekalb Market day party


Mon, 04 Jun 2012
Big Strick preps Resivoir Dogs
Thomas Köner preps Novaya Zemlya
Colony hears Voices from the Lake
Kastle creates Symbols
Gui Boratto goes stateside
Lee Curtiss goes to San Diego
The esteemed Berlin record shop now sells digital files.
Astral People set to tour Mux Mool


Tue, 05 Jun 2012
Loscil and Rafael Anton Irisarri compile Air Texture Volume II
Token compiles Binary Opposition remixes
Ursprung debuts at ://about blank
Resolute heads to Europe
Hum + Buzz throw Ikonika record launch
Hotflush gets off-Sonar at Nitsa
VIVa Warriors take over Wednesdays at Sankeys Ibiza
Deep Space goes on a Mission to Brooklyn
Thema launches Chronicle sub-label
Tom Trago does Sugar, Spice and The Mercat


Wed, 06 Jun 2012
Areal compiles 100 Years of Areal
Macro preps Stefan Goldmann doc, Parameter
Jacob Korn unveils debut album, You & Me
Robert-Johnson turns 13
Function touches down in Vancouver
Krankbrother stage Shoreditch street party
DJ Sneak opens 2012's 2nd Sunday season
Margaret Dygas plots North American tour
Leeor Brown and David Fisher are Young Adults
Huxley debuts in Melbourne and Sydney


Thu, 07 Jun 2012
Italoboyz launch label, Superfiction
AIAIAI unveil TMA-1 Studio headphones
Black Atlantic book Kode9, Moodymann for June
Mungolian Jetset play Mungodelics
Dave Clarke to play in New York and Chicago this month
Kyle Bobby Dunn preps two-disc album
Pépé Bradock jets to California
Future Disco returns to Space Ibiza
DJ Sprinkles to play extended set in New York City


Fri, 08 Jun 2012
Damon Kirkham readies first LP as Jon Convex
RA Ibiza weekly: 2012 changes
Martyn and Legowelt get Zleep in Nottingham
Samuli Kemppi and J.Kusti launch Deep Space Helsinki
Distance, DOOM headline Amsterdam Bass Festival
Kutmah gets Hungry in Belfast
Oneman mixes Fabriclive 64
Calamalka goes All The Way Up
Loft Studios announces summer season
Souvenir & Friends go off-Sonar
Shifted makes US debut in New York


Mon, 11 Jun 2012
Upperground Orchestra preps The Eupen Takes
Unsound 2012 reveals initial lineup
Agoria headlines We Love...'s off-Sonar party
Our new series goes beyond the beaten path with events in Shanghai, Beijing, Nagoya, Portland, Vancouver, Aberdeen, Oslo and more.
Floating Points for Clwb Ifor Bach
Sterac's Secret Life of Machines gets Remastered and Remixed
Ovum returns to Boulevard Beach Club
Holy Other preps debut album, Held


Tue, 12 Jun 2012
Electronic Explorations preps compilation
LWE brings Cocoon to London Pleasure Gardens
World of Wonders chronicles the Purple WOW
Turbo launches New Jack Techno in Berlin
Minus plots 2012 off-Sonar events
Hideo Kobayashi preps new album, Underground Business
Harvey billed for Paradise at DC-10
Kate Simko headlines Mercury Soul in Chicago
One Records and Illusion Recordings team up in Barcelona
Ewan Pearson and Sasse launch Machinists
13 PERCENT celebrates 4 years with Dixon
Carl Cox brings The Revolution to Melbourne


Wed, 13 Jun 2012
Otto Von Schirach is Supermeng
secretsundaze Go Bang! at London Pleasure Gardens
Phantom Ghost say Pardon My English
Laurel Halo headlines Leisure System's off-Sonar party
Just Wax plot off-Sonar parties
Christopher Rau plays in New York and Chicago
First details announced for BerMuDa 2012
Four Tet billed for Jazz:Re:Found 2012
Royal-T and Champion hit Philly
Pinksilver showcase at The Mercat


Thu, 14 Jun 2012
Old Apparatus strike a Sullen Tone
T. Williams comes to Berlin
Dixon headlines official Lovebox after party
Christopher Willits and Ryuichi Sakamoto prep Ancient Future
Highgrade Disharmonic Orchestra makes its UK debut
Full program announced for ENTER. at Space Ibiza
Buzz Goree gets Twice as Proper in New York
Oliver Huntemann readies PLAY! 04


Fri, 15 Jun 2012
Phil Weeks curates six-part Best of Robsoul compilation
RA Ibiza weekly: Amnesia, We Love... and UK bass
Jaymo & Andy George mix Moda Black
Audio Doughnuts goes head-to-head with Civil Music and Tempo Clash
Martin Buttrich headlines Jaded and Ovum afterhour
Pearson Sound and Omar-S go to New York
Crosstown Rebels invade Brighton
Due to hearing damage, the Chicago legend has most likely played out for the last time. We chat with him about why that might not be such a bad thing.
Digital Mystikz enter Smog in LA


Mon, 18 Jun 2012
The Cinematic Orchestra launch new series, In Motion
Day program announced for Electrosanne 2012
Amirali plays live at Bedlam London
Ekoplekz and Wanda Group share split release on Further
Appleblim headlines Farmfestival Somerset
Secretsundaze go boating in New York
Piknic Electronik comes to Barcelona
Downwards compiles So Click Heels
Golden Cage to host Text Book Music live show


Tue, 19 Jun 2012
Ambivalent mixes _ground
Naturally, the upcoming release on !K7 also features Another Bugged In Selection.
Fennesz soundtracks AUN
Steve Summers and Innergaze headline Solstice Block Party at Prince Charles
Oskar Offermann and Edward represent WHITE in New York
Genesis get Diffrent at Hidden
Synkro and Bering Strait are Kiyoko
Parklife 2012 lineup announced










Wed, 20 Jun 2012
Nick Sole preps debut album, Flowers For You
The Berlin house aficionado broke the news last night via Facebook.
The Cadenza DJ's upcoming mix weaves through tracks from Le K, DJ W!ld, Substance & Vainqueur and many others.
Mobilee get busy at Rummelsburg
Disclosure added to Gottwood 2012
Greco-Roman turns five in Berlin and Paris
DJ Q opens The Archive
Oliver Huntemann hits Atlanta


Thu, 21 Jun 2012
Rebirth compiles remix album for Bocca Grande's Little Pianist
Beatport launches Mixes
Anja Schneider hops on a Boat in Toronto
Jeremy P. Caulfield closes Dumb Unit
BASK begins with Ambivalent
Fur Coat prep debut album, Mind Over Matter
Stacey Pullen gets Deep Blue in San Francisco
Motorik turns one at 77


Fri, 22 Jun 2012
The Orb team up with Lee 'Scratch' Perry on new album
RA Ibiza Weekly: Sankeys Ibiza
Matthias Tanzmann mixes fabric 65
I-F and Sandwell District Have a Nice Day
Robert Hood plays New York and San Francisco
Discovery and Turrbotax bring Andrés to NYC
Huntleys + Palmers plots 2012 summer parties
Berlin clubbing community rallies against GEMA
Deadbeat readies Eight


Mon, 25 Jun 2012
SpectraSoul will Delay No More
DeepChord unveils new LP, Sommer
50 Weapons collects more Weapons of Choice
Make Me announce upcoming events
DFRNT starts Fading
Beretta Music heads to The EndUp
Reconstrvct turns one with Coki


Tue, 26 Jun 2012
Metronomy collect LateNightTales
Livid announce modular MIDI controller
Minotaur Shock readies Orchard
Com Truise is In Decay
Teengirl Fantasy announce world tour
The Detroit Series welcomes Belleville Three
Derrick May plays Sunset Campout
Evening Standard plots summer events at Drake Hotel
Alex Smoke heads to Australia in July


Wed, 27 Jun 2012
Huxley mixes 1trax Three
Aphex Twin debuts Remote Orchestra in UK
Adrian Sherwood preps Survival & Resistance
Brioski readies Hype Nothing
Cocoon Heroes returns to Miami
Benoit & Sergio play Cielo
Dark Sky descend upon the Tasman


Thu, 28 Jun 2012
Mala preps album for Havana Cultura
Rinse Presents Royal-T
PAN Records to hold showcase in Leeds
John Tejada preps The Predicting Machine
Thugfucker, Art Department, Boys Noize and more to play Wavefront afterparties
How To Dress Well unveils Total Loss
Voices From The Lake go Stateside
System Of Survival work with Needle And Thread
Sven Weisemann does Melbourne and Sydney


Fri, 29 Jun 2012
Barker & Baumecker prep Transsektoral
Groove Armada do London Pleasure Gardens
RA Ibiza Weekly: Gala Night, Ibiza 123 Rocktronic
Toby Dreher to release debut album, Freiluft
Les Siestes Electroniques hits Paris and Toulouse
Deepchild readies Neukolln Burning
Tussle team up with JD Twitch on Tempest
The Electric Pickle celebrates the 4th of July with Ben Klock
King Britt and Rich Medina bring Philadelphia to LA





About  
Staff  
Mobile (beta)  
Submit event  
Copyright © 2013 Resident Advisor Ltd.
All rights reserved. Terms & Privacy.