With Zoo Project Festival out the way, and Channel Zoo closed for the season, only the brand's flagship Saturday party, The Zoo Project, remains. Zoo, as it's more commonly known, might have built its reputation on the backs of San Antonio's young British holidaymakers, but musically it has always catered to more refined, underground tastes. Merging a carefree and colourful ambience with top-notch sounds, rarely is the balance between frivolous, nonsensical fun and serious music struck so genuinely. On Saturday, San Proper, George Fitzgerald and Will Saul headlined.
Performing topless to a packed seal pit, the Dutch innovator worked his way through an hour of rugged, acid-tinged house and techno. Flicking between his guitar, a microphone and his laptop, his live set-up lent his tracks a real rough, spontaneous feel, cultivating a palpable energy in the mini-arena. This is where the magic of Zoo lies: in bringing cutting-edge sounds to the attention of a crowd that, for the most part, are simply here to party. If you think about the way the rest of Ibiza works—depending on household names to build their fanbase—it makes for a refreshing change.
With the sad news that Barcelona's Row14 is to
close in October, and with the climax of the Ibiza season edging ever nearer, Elrow's third-last party at Vista Club on Saturday was attributed poignant significance. Having only attended their trademark, no-holds-barred Rowshow events this year, it was a little disappointing to find the club lacking the usual standards of decoration. That said, this was still far from your usual club night, attested to by the eight-foot robots parading around the dance floor.
Music-wise, the main attraction was 2ManyDJs. Performing in their signature white suits, they worked the charged crowd with plenty of classic edits, from “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood to Lil' Louis' "French Kiss." The Belgian duo are possibly the only act for whom mid-'00s electro still forms the basis of their sound, and while their remix of MGMT's “Kids” ought to be put to bed, they pull it off. At one point, as if to remind the crowd of their continued relevance, they dropped Matias Aguayo's “El Sucu Tucu." which worked well. And, as with every Elrow, the music was only one part of the fun. As the confetti rained down for the nth time that evening, everyone looked more than happy for the blend of party records and springy techno to keep on rolling.
It goes against the very essence of Circoloco to focus in on the performance of just one DJ. Defined by its mammoth, tag-team lineups, no jock ever spins for longer than two hours, regardless of their station. 2013's exception to the rule? Carl Cox. The Space man played DC-10 for the first time last year, dropping by unannounced for an extended four-hour set. Tailoring his sound to the Terrace, Cox spun chugging house for the duration—a spectacle many hoped he would repeat between the hours of 6 and 10 PM last Monday.
In what was a nice touch, Cox, (or at least his team), spent a reported €700 on fancy dress, meaning all manner of balloons and streamers adorned the comfortably busy Terrace. Looking fetching in a policeman's hat, Cox stuck to strong, groovy house, placing real emphasis on the force of the basslines. Playing for an extra 90s minutes in Tania Vulcano's absence, a rendition of Washerman's “Basement Chord” nearly took the roof off, only to be bettered moments later by Tom Trago's “Use Me." Spinning for a total of five-and-a-half hours, this was one of the sets of the season. Musically spot-on and as happy and infectious a character as ever, Cox showed the underground elite just why he's billed as the best in the business.
Elsewhere...
Yaya warms up the Ushuaia crowd last Thursday in preparation for a back-to-back performance from Loco Dice and Carl Cox.
Magda dresses appropriately in black for a rare appearance at ANTS last Saturday. This week, Joris Voorn and Nic Fanciulli spin an extended back-to-back set.
Tensnake throws some shapes during his set at Pacha on Sunday. It was the producer's second time playing for Solomun at Pacha this year. Next week, Marek Hemmann returns.
Sven Väth and his team salute the Terrace masses during the Cocoon boss' all-night performance on Monday. Meanwhile, DJ W!ld, DJ Koze and Roman Flügel took care of business in the Main Room.
Robert Dietz, tINI and Cassy pose for a picture on Wednesday eve. The latter dropped by for an impromptu headline set, much to the joy of the people.
In what was the penultimate party of the season, Tale Of Us joined Jamie Jones, Alex Arnout and Richy Ahmed for a set under the bright Paradise lights.