Following Monday night's washout at Ushuaia, which saw David Guetta's F*ck Me I'm Famous party forced to cancel its closing soirée, the club resumed business as usual the following eve for Luciano's weekly session. The Booom! debacle, coupled with the incessant club-hopping of his heavyweight peers, has meant that the Cadenza boss has slipped somewhat into the shadows this season. Nevertheless, judging by the sizeable crowd getting down to the sounds of Josh Wink, Luciano's third and final warm-up act on Tuesday, the DJ's appeal remains as solid as ever.
Keen to keep the floor as energised as possible, Wink's set incorporated a selection of audacious, quirky tracks, moving from progressive and driving to jazzy. As is custom with many of Ibiza's bigger DJs, Luciano's first record coincided with a dramatic hike in volume, enhancing the atmosphere considerably. However, rather than follow Wink's lead, he opted to set his own pace, meaning his initial, loopy selections came across a little bland. Using the timeless sway of C-Rock's "Funky Dope Track" and Lil' Mo' Yin Yang's "Reach" to add colour and character to his headline set, Luciano's overall performance nevertheless felt a little safe. The Ushuaia faithful, however, lapped it up.
Given the overnight success of his Sunday +1 parties at Pacha, many believe Solomun to have outgrown Sankeys during the course of this summer. In truth, the Diynamic boss would be foolish to turn his back on the Playa d'en Bossa establishment, considering what he owes to their continued, loyal support. Furthermore, the label's Neon Nights events remain, alongside VIVa Warriors, the venue's biggest draw. UNER warmed up the LAB, spinning low-slung beats to compliment the bass-heavy system. Dropping the big hits to get the floor moving, the likes of Manuel Tur's remix of Jimpster's "These Times" yielded the desired effect.
Rather than play alone, this season Solomun can more often than not be found performing back-to-back with H.O.S.H.. Together, they push and pull each in unexpected ways. Tonight, they followed on from UNER's accessible fare with several boisterous, driving cuts. Down in The Basement, David August was prepping his much-lauded live set. The young German has blossomed into an island favourite this summer, spoke of in the same breath as the likes of Nicolas Jaar and James Blake. Indeed, his set was as musical as it was pumping, at one point managing to cleverly reference The Beatles' "Come Together." For what is only ever an in-house affair, Diynamic's no-frills dance aesthetic suits Sankeys and its loyal clan down to a T.
If there's one night you can guarantee to offer the full Ibiza experience, it's that of Space's chief breadwinner, Carl Cox. With the big room sounds of Joris Delacroix and island regular Just Be joining him in the Discoteca, it was the Terrazza that offered the night a little sonic zeal. A DJ set from pop-house sensations Disclosure looked to be the highlight, which, though far from edgy, at least promised a spectacle. Indeed, Space's second room had rarely looked so full. Firing out smart, quickfire rounds of treasures past and present–including Todd Terje's "Inspector Norse" and their own "Latch"–the London brothers came across as adept, confident mixers.
Over in the main arena, Coxy was easing into third gear, muscling his way through slice after slice of huge tribal techno. Lending his selections a real percussive, afro-swing, it's almost impossible not to feel moved by his, and the room's, thunderous roar. Back in the Terrazza and the night's headliner, Julio Bashmore, took to churning out well-worn club tracks to a significantly thinner audience. Following Disclosure might be considered a somewhat fruitless mission, but one would've thought the Bristolian could look beyond the tried and tested formulas of his own "Battle For Middle You" and Joy Orbison's "Ellipsis." By comparison, the sibling darlings of today's scene looked every bit as fresh and current as the hype machine will have you believe.
Elsewhere...
Tobi Neumann and New York's DJ Qu were the guests at Loco Dice's Thursday venture last week, alongside Used + Abused staple Robert Dietz.
When talking techno, it doesn't get much bigger than Papa Sven at ENTER. The Cocoon man span a rare set at Space last Thursday which, by all accounts, took the roof off the Discoteca.
Renato Ratier and his Brazilian club D-Edge took control of the LAB and the Basement on Saturday, inviting Todd Terry, Waze & Odyssey and Phonique to perform.
Circoloco favourite Davide Squillace preps his rave lasso one more time on the Terrace. With August all but behind us, expect the Monday party to become a more relaxed affair in the weeks to come.
In a Chilean takeover on the Terrace, former sparring partners Luciano and Ricardo Villalobos trade blows for the first time this season. Felipe Valenzuela also played.
Dirtybird boss Claude VonStroke drops by to hang with Heidi and Dixon at DC-10 on Wednesday. The Innervisions boss took on the role of headliner while Jamie Jones enjoys a rare week off at Burning Man.