- Sometime back in 1993, inspiration struck Sven Väth as he sat in the audience of an abstract dance performance, in which young Catalan men wriggled out of large white cocoons and slipped lithely to the stage below. In some strange way, Väth saw his own ideas about music reflected in the show's sensual imagery, and from that point on, Cocoon would be the titular theme of his artistic and commercial ventures—first the record label, booking agency and traveling party, then in 1999, the summer residency in Ibiza, which would become one of Väth's most celebrated achievements.
Cocoon at Amnesia is now one of the world's most famous house and techno parties, with line-ups that draw mostly from the artists Väth helped propel to DJ super-stardom (Ritchie Hawtin, Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos, etc.). For this year's opening party, the bill was short and sweet: Väth and Chris Tietjen in the Main Room, Villalobos and Cassy on the Terrace. Attended by well over 5,000 people, it was a long, lurid night, and one that reflected just how far Cocoon has come in the past decade.
Photo credit: Amnesia
The lines outside Amnesia were absolutely enormous that night, and seeing as nearly everyone in Ibiza works at a club or is friends with a big DJ, the guest list queue was no exception. By the time I got inside, Sven Väth was already running the show in the main room and Cassy was almost done with her set next door. The Terrace DJs were much more my style, and so was the room itself— in spite of its name, the Main Room is actually much smaller than the Terrace, and feels more like a discotheque. While the terrace is massive, crowded and very hot, the Main Room is tailored to keep the average punter comfy; it is beautifully air conditioned, generally well lit, and treated to frequent ice blasts.
The Funktion One sounded excellent, but Sven Väth's selection rarely strayed from nameless schaffel beats, so I often found myself dancing half-heartedly as my gaze wandered around the room—first at the waves of bronze faces shifting around me, then at the troops of go-go dancers thrusting their crotches in the air, and finally at the video screens, which seemed weirdly focused on Väth's mossy chest. I respect him for being such a physically enthusiastic DJ, but would rather not see him pull his mouth open with his index fingers and wag his tongue back and forth during breakdowns. And, shallow though it may sound, the Main Room had just a few too many silk shirts and white pants for my liking.
Photo credit: Amnesia
The terrace, on the other hand, speaks to the tastes of more seasoned ravers. This is where the real mayhem occurred: masked dancers wielding orbs of flame, drunken Brits mounting large bronze statues, and everywhere people dancing with their eyes closed, taking pills, sniffing from small vials, etc. The floor feels like the size of a football field, and is somehow very easy to move across, despite being so packed. Cassy was going back to back with Villalobos as I worked my way into the crowd, and the two seemed to be in the final throes of their warm-up material.
The music turned serious sometime around 5:00 AM. Cassy was done, and Villalobos was getting into some very heady techno tracks, ala Redshape and Ben Klock. Compared to the Main Room's Funktion One, the rig on the Terrace sounded a bit muddy, but Villalobos used this to interesting effect, lulling the crowd into total confusion, and never relying too much on bass. As the night went on, the music got housier and soon Villalobos was busting out the party jams. Highlights included the ARPIAR remix of St. Germain's "Rose 2 Red" (perfectly suited to the room), a drab but funky tech-house track that mutters "we control the content" and plenty of other weird ditties that completely defy description.
Photo credit: Amnesia
As one might expect, the best stuff came after sunrise. The room was doused in pale, greasy light and everyone who had been so beautiful a few hours earlier now looked like awful; stained pits, blackheads and bleary eyes were all on clear display as Villalobos meandered through the final stretch of his set, interspersing long and lean techno with druggy microhouse. The vibe only got better as he dug into his own catalogue, showcasing "Baile," his new track with Los Updates, as well as a remix of "Easy Lee" that trades the original's robot voice for more sensuous female vocals.
My only complaint about the night was that, in some subtle way, it felt a bit unexplosive. It was an outrageously fun party, and most everyone seemed to be having an amazing time, but somehow I get the impression that not too many minds were blown. You could tell the crowd knew exactly what to expect—and why wouldn't they? This party has, after all, been going on for a full decade, with more or less the same cast of characters on the decks every summer. Furthermore, the night seemed more focused on the party than the performance: the crowd was often distracted by its own debauchery, and at times the link between DJ and audience felt a bit cold. Nonetheless, Villalobos was in good form all night, and left me feeling satisfied and very spent as I finally sauntered out into a mercifully cool and breezy day.