Following BBC Radio 1's island takeover at the beginning of the month, last weekend saw East London station Rinse FM try their hand at the same. From the 8th through 13th, the globally respected, underground brand broadcast from Ibiza, hosting shows and streaming selected parties live on air. Incorporated into the schedule were a handful of Rinse's own events, among them a collaboration with Hypercolour as part of the imprint's Monday night residency at Sankeys. With Pearson Sound, Space Dimension Controller, T.Williams and Horse Meat Disco making up the bill, it promised the island something a little different.
Different, however, does not often go down well in Ibiza. Entering the Basement to the sounds of Sam Supplier, there can't have been more than seven or eight people on the dance floor. T.Williams tore through cut after cut of peak-time floorfillers, attempting to draw in the numbers using the likes of Harry Choo Choo Romero's remix of Hardrive's "Deep Inside." The dance floor swelled slightly for Pearson Sound's bouncy, vocal set, but never to a size deserving of the Hessle Audio boss. Up against Circoloco and Cocoon, and sandwiched between VIVa Warriors and Diynamic Neon, Hypercolour's island debut was always destined to be tough. For Rinse, the pop-stylings of Katy B and P-Money might do it over in San Antonio, but they'll need to be patient if they want the more cutting-edge side of their operation to work elsewhere in Ibiza.
While 2013 has seen daytime partying return to the fold, it's been a market almost exclusively dominated by the Ushuaia complex. Just down the way at Sirocco, however, tINI and her gang have striven to offer something a little less polished. The beach setting, the mixed crowd and the makeshift wooden DJ booth all contribute to the party's carefree, easy demeanour. Musically, with tINI at the helm, it respects its position as a prelude to some of the island's more banging offerings.
Arriving just as tINI was finding her groove, the Desolat DJ was busy laying down her brand of super-deep, dubby house to a responsive mass of people. With the dial on so many of the island's headline performances set firmly to full-throttle, her considered, hypnotic pace makes for a welcome change. That said, certain tracks in the first hour of her set did feel a little sedate. As she rolled over into the final stretch, tINI took things it up a notch, quickening her mixing and opting for records with a touch more thump and drive. Maybe it's the free entry, or the fact that it's constantly pushing new talent, but tINI & the gang feels like the kind of party that Ibiza could do with a few more of.
If you were to just look at the Fuse lineups, which consist mostly of sets from the residents, you might say that they're this season's surprise package. However, given Sankeys' staunch British following, and Fuse's own, more cosmopolitan (and very Ibiza-focused) fanbase, the party's popularity was perhaps to be expected. With Enzo Siragusa, Julian Perez and Seb Zito heading up the bill on Wednesday, it looked set to be another all-night homegrown affair. However, news got out that Loco Dice would be prolonging his birthday week celebrations with an impromptu appearance.
On warm-up duty, Samuel Bellis threw down funky tech house to an already heaving and hot Basement. Coming on at the respectable time of 2 AM, Dice started off typically rolling before edging up the intensity through a combination of meaty basslines and thumping techno kicks. The likes of Len Faki's DJ edit of DJ Hyperactive's "Wide Open" and Geeman's "Bang't" lent his performance an old-school, incisive edge, well suited to the club's gritty aesthetic. It felt, at times, like the Dice of old, before his status and success aligned him with Ushuaia. Having played at Amnesia, Space, DC-10 and now Sankeys so far this season, could the Desolat boss be scouting for a new home in 2014?
Elsewhere...
Skream lines up his next track at his debut Ibiza showcase last Saturday. Joining him at DC-10 were Loefah, Hrdvsion, Matt Tolfrey and Simon Baker.
Heidi was Solomun's +1 this week, engaging the Diynamic boss in a show-stopping back-to-back.
Maceo Plex delivers the goods on the Terrace on Monday. Kerri Chandler, The Martinez Brothers and Ellen Allien also put in appearances.
Deetron takes it to the Discoteca, showing his seasoned class. Eats Everything was in support.
Magda and DJ T. take a moment to pose for a picture at Jamie Jones' Paradise party on Wednesday. Rumour has it this week's afterparty took place on a boat.