Detroit Love in Ibiza

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  • Carl Craig is spending a solid chunk of this summer in Ibiza. The Detroit native only visited the island for the first time in 2007, but has returned every year since, establishing strong working relationships with We Love..., Cocoon and Luciano's Vagabundos. Of the clubs, he's closest with Space, so when it emerged that Luciano and his Cadenza clan would be running Sundays on the Terrace in 2015, it seemed likely Craig would be involved. In the end, he decided to take advantage of the vacant Discoteca, announcing four monthly Detroit Love showcases. The second of these took place on July 12th, hosting sets from Mortiz Von Oswald, Robert Hood and Craig featuring Mike Banks. There was a third promoter in the mix on Sunday—Next Wave—and my night began dancing in the Sunset Terrace to bits of bassy minimal and old-school electro courtesy of Binh and Nicolas Lutz. It was after midnight so the sound had been turned down considerably, but the music was great and just about loud enough to shake an early leg to. In the Discoteca, Mirko Loko was playing bits of flowery tribal to warm the room. Von Oswald, motionless and with mouse in hand, followed, turning out snappy and oftentimes melodic techno. Frustratingly, the room was barely half full, and numbers wouldn't improve across the night. The Terrace was a different story. Vagabundos has always gone big on production, and this year they've coloured the room a deep blood-red using various curtains, lamps and overhanging drapes. They've also installed a second rig for a more full-bodied sound. And the theme, which sits somewhere between burlesque and circus, was as well-defined as ever. All of this, plus buoyant sets from DJ Sneak and Luciano, contributed to the night's smiley, zesty atmosphere, but the key ingredient was the audience. The Terrace was packed from 1 AM onwards, and it felt like the majority of people were there for the right reasons. Back in the Discoteca, the patchy crowd was trying hard to make itself heard. Robert Hood powered through 75 minutes of immaculate techno, before Craig and Mike Banks made their way into the booth. Craig went first, spinning half an hour of Detroit-style tech house, replete with stabs and stark emotion. Banks then joined him on keys, riffing over DJ Roland's "Knights Of The Jaguar" among other cuts. Had the room been fuller, it would've gone off. These dual parties are a strange beast. They're presented as semi-collaborative events, in theory designed to compliment, rather than compete against, one another. But as we saw last year at Space with Elrow and Kehakuma, it's hard for both promoters to come out winning. Plus, new parties need time to grow. Craig's Detroit-inspired lineups, however eye-catching to some, are still a hard sell on the island, especially when up against one of its darlings in Luciano. But with Detroit Love Affair—a free, six-part spin-off—already up and running at No Name, it might be sooner rather than later that Ibiza comes round to Craig's way of working.
RA