- When HYTE first announced their plans to take over Wednesday nights at Amnesia, the rumours were that Sven Väth was furious. The Cocoon boss was already up against it, fighting an uphill battle for the club's house and techno crowd with Marco Carola and Music On. But now there was another heavyweight in the mix, Loco Dice, and he was bringing serious reinforcements in the shape of Maceo Plex, Chris Liebing and DJ Harvey. From the outside looking in, it appeared that Ibiza had a new major player on its circuit.
Fast forward five months, though, and I'd imagine Väth is the one smiling broadly. Cocoon have enjoyed another stellar summer, while HYTE's has been one of ups and downs. The residency is a three-way collaboration between HYTE, Amnesia's artistic director Mar-T and Nacho Capella, a Spanish promoter with more than ten years experience on the island. Musically it went across the spectrum, with guests ranging from Marcel Dettmann and Anthony Parasole to John Talabot, Mano Le Tough and DJ Koze. On paper, it was an exciting project.
What let it down is what lets most nights in Ibiza down: numbers. Amnesia is a huge venue, with a capacity of up to 6,000. That's a serious amount of people for a new party to be trying to pull week-in-week-out, and it was made especially difficult by one of the island's other runaway success stories, Paradise, which also takes place on Wednesdays. I visited HYTE back in June, when Maceo Plex and Chris Liebing were headlining the Main Room and Terrace respectively. The club was a little over half full, which meant that while Plex played to a full room, Liebing was left fighting for scraps.
Unsurprisingly, the events that have worked best have been fronted by Loco Dice. The Düsseldorf DJ joined Pan-Pot, Liebing, DJ Tennis and others at the closing of HYTE on Wednesday, which, by all accounts, was the busiest night of the summer. Both rooms were heaving when I got there around 3 AM, and Pan-Pot were just starting up in the Terrace. Their brand of big-room techno can feel a little trashy, but the floor were loving the huge hooks and thundering drops.
Dice hit the decks an hour later, launching straight into a stampede of thrashing tech house. After 45 minutes or so, he eased up a notch, dropping his new cut with Chris Liebing, "Keep It Low." He's a wicked DJ whose rough, riding mixing style brings exactly the kind of energy required for the Terrace. He's one of very few who know how to really rock that room, even if it means that he never leaves fifth gear. His set marked the high-point of HYTE's season, and you'd like to think that they'll take the positives from the summer through to 2016. After all, look at Sven Väth and Cocoon—running a successful party in Ibiza doesn't happen overnight.