- Ricardo Villalobos polarises opinion in Ibiza. On the one hand, the Chilean DJ is revered as one of the few remaining embodiments of the island's wild, eccentric spirit. On the other, he's considered unreliable: too often has his laissez-faire approach to DJing negatively impacted the party. For those in the latter camp, his reduced involvement in Cocoon Ibiza's 2014 campaign will have been welcomed, with last summer's seven appearances (second only to Sven Väth) slashed to three. As a result, Villalobos's first island appearance of the season last Monday had a bit of a buzz about it, not least because Craig Richards and Seth Troxler would be joining him in the Amnesia Terrace.
Whether due to Villalobos' absence, or simply because June has been markedly slow in Ibiza, Cocoon has been running at a shade of its usual pace. That wasn't the case last Monday, however, with both rooms and Amnesia's outside area comfortably busy by 3 AM. Expecting to find Troxler in full swing when I arrived, I instead saw the small, bobbing figure of Cocoon debutant Craig Richards. Spinning back-to-back, the pair engaged in a stylistic tug-of-war, with Richards sticking to his dubbier textures while Troxler opted for bigger, more soulful selections. There wasn't a bad record played between them, but their set wasn't as fluid as you might have hoped.
Taking to the decks amidst a volley of heartfelt applause, Villalobos switched vibes completely, segueing from a mean techno cut into a trademark slice of floaty Latin house. What followed next was two hours of a DJ on top form. The first half was more measured, as Villalobos mixed between frenetic minimal tracks and tougher bits, gently increasing the intensity with every record. Almost bang on 5 AM, he shifted several gears at once, moving towards a more robust and incisive techno sound. Two tracks in particular—one nothing but a fiercely infectious Detroit electro loop, the other Robert Hood's Re-Plant remix of his own "Never Grow Old"—left the crowd mesmerised. From start to finish his mixing was impeccable, so tight you'd have struggled to notice the transitions had you been stood beside him.
To finish up, Troxler and Richards rejoined Villalobos in the booth for a three-way session. After an hour or so, though, the fabric resident stepped aside, apparently not in possession of records boisterous enough for the occasion. The other two melded house classics (Deep Dish's remix of De'Lacy's "Hideaway," Octave One's "Black Water") with box-fresh bangers (Head High's "Hex Factor"), as Cocoon's suspended screens traded party visuals for stills of Germany's recent World Cup triumph. Monday night was Cocoon at its near-best, showcasing edgy house and techno in a world-class environment. And as for Villalobos, any doubters will have left Amnesia happy to have given him another chance.