End of season summary/thoughts

W

Wayno

Active Member
I had two visits this season (my 18th year) both booked around specific events. I went for a week in July for the Clockwork Orange weekender when I also took in Ants on the Saturday and Carl Cox on the Tuesday and for four days in September for Carl Cox closing and the Zoo the next day.


Both trips where a success in terms of the events and clubs I went for lived up to all expectations. The Clockwork Orange weekender in particular was really great and if I return next year it will be for that again.


The fact I am saying if I return next year is big as every other year it’s never been in question that I would be back. I certainly don’t intend this to be a “Ibiza is over “ post as I am always the first to negate this whenever it’s said to me.


But I have found there has definitely been a change this year in atmosphere and vibe around the island. This along with the fact there have been so much clamping down by the authorities has me questioning whether I want to go back.


I know there will never be a return to the late 90’s/early 00’s glory days when there was a very little regulation and pretty much anything went, but does anyone else have the feeling that it’s all got a bit too under the spotlight now?


Also, the loss of Space leaves a gaping hole in the Ibiza landscape for me as it is/was my favourite club.
 
what's happening is that the second and third Ibiza generations are starting to come around to what the first Ibiza generation had already been saying for a long time - that the commercialisation, the rampant capitalism is a ticking timebomb, that the money men won't just rest on their laurels in certain corners, they want and plan to ruthlessly colonise the entire island. In the past there was a tacit understanding that broadly speaking the clubbers went to bossa/eivissa and the pissheads went to the west end and the rest of the island was left alone in its blissful, pre-industrial state. Unfortunately, that was blown apart by a heady brew of local politics, the internet/social media blowing the lid on every secret and social change elsewhere (especially in the UK), whereby the old breakdown between clubbers and non-clubbers has broken down to the point that everyone now think they are a DJ, everyone thinks they like "deep house" (when they couldn't name a single Nu Grooves track) or "techno" (when they couldn't name a single Transmat record) and Uncle Sam has suddenly cottoned on (albeit in a very naff, glitzy Vegas way) to what European kids had been doing since 87 and what Oakenfold was trying to open their minds to during his trans-american Perfecto tours in the 90s. Obv that had a impact. He paved the way for the stadium EDM/rnb crossover that Guetta and imitators later got very, very rich on and which now rules the chart world in the way Timbaland's productions used to 15 years back. Timbaland & co were just too early for Ibiza but that urban/blingy mindset has now finally arrived, whether you like it or not. What this means is that everything and everyone has converged (I'm talking about your under 30s here) into a messy holiday cauldron where everyone claims some kind of 'ownership' of Ibiza (never mind the poor Spanish eh!?) So the old notion of "house music", "house nation", "clubbers" is dead or dying. And tech will follow too as small town kids (who know nothing about dance music and who were brought up on pop/vocals) expect to hear what they know from home. All of you who went to the Space memorial service last week, all of you are a dying breed. The next generation coming up behind don't give a shit about music and don't give a shit about history or culture or where any of this came from. Some of them already write on this forum. They have breached the gates... So ibiza is at a cultural crossroads. Can it reverse the tide? Indeed should it reverse the tide to become some hermetically sealed rave bubble or is it time to accept the inevitable? We - all of us - created this monster as soon as we spread the word about the place. The idiots took notice and where they go, brash capitalism and illegal hookers and bad attitudes and all the rest follows. What you sow, you reap... but thankfully, the bad guys still have some way to go and there is still much to celebrate on the island. Enjoy it whilst you can...
 
Spot on, @Wayno
It was my tenth year coming to ibiza and I completely agree with everything you said, have the same feelings. And never had them before :/
 
I think the old addage still stands...the magic will still be there if you know the right places to look for it...

Fair play they are clamping down a bit and the general "lawlessness" that used to be taken for granted has reached a limit. Clubs will still open every night all week during the summer from midnight until 6am.
 
Oh I agree - I didn't mean to sound apocalyptic. there is deffo still fun to be had (we had a blinder this summer) but I was referring to the longer term trend which doesn't look so good. Happy to be proven wrong though!
 
Every year does feel slightly different but remember you change as well as the island and with that what you want from the island changes.

Every visit i've been on and its been 20 has been different but I have loved every one. The island is still an amazing place and there is still so much for everyone. I agree the whole EDM crowd are different and it does bring some change that some of us dont like but unfortuantly we can't change that. Ibiza to me has always been a place where anyone can go and enjoy themselves and hopefully this will not change.

I made two trips this year, one for carl cox opening and one for space closing and both were amazing as always, both for very different reasons.

I hope to visit for many years to come, there is still so much of Ibiza left that we all love!
 
Shady South American said:
what's happening is that the second and third Ibiza generations are starting to come around to what the first Ibiza generation had already been saying for a long time - that the commercialisation, the rampant capitalism is a ticking timebomb, that the money men won't just rest on their laurels in certain corners, they want and plan to ruthlessly colonise the entire island. In the past there was a tacit understanding that broadly speaking the clubbers went to bossa/eivissa and the pissheads went to the west end and the rest of the island was left alone in its blissful, pre-industrial state. Unfortunately, that was blown apart by a heady brew of local politics, the internet/social media blowing the lid on every secret and social change elsewhere (especially in the UK), whereby the old breakdown between clubbers and non-clubbers has broken down to the point that everyone now think they are a DJ, everyone thinks they like "deep house" (when they couldn't name a single Nu Grooves track) or "techno" (when they couldn't name a single Transmat record) and Uncle Sam has suddenly cottoned on (albeit in a very naff, glitzy Vegas way) to what European kids had been doing since 87 and what Oakenfold was trying to open their minds to during his trans-american Perfecto tours in the 90s. Obv that had a impact. He paved the way for the stadium EDM/rnb crossover that Guetta and imitators later got very, very rich on and which now rules the chart world in the way Timbaland's productions used to 15 years back. Timbaland & co were just too early for Ibiza but that urban/blingy mindset has now finally arrived, whether you like it or not. What this means is that everything and everyone has converged (I'm talking about your under 30s here) into a messy holiday cauldron where everyone claims some kind of 'ownership' of Ibiza (never mind the poor Spanish eh!?) So the old notion of "house music", "house nation", "clubbers" is dead or dying. And tech will follow too as small town kids (who know nothing about dance music and who were brought up on pop/vocals) expect to hear what they know from home. All of you who went to the Space memorial service last week, all of you are a dying breed. The next generation coming up behind don't give a shit about music and don't give a shit about history or culture or where any of this came from. Some of them already write on this forum. They have breached the gates... So ibiza is at a cultural crossroads. Can it reverse the tide? Indeed should it reverse the tide to become some hermetically sealed rave bubble or is it time to accept the inevitable? We - all of us - created this monster as soon as we spread the word about the place. The idiots took notice and where they go, brash capitalism and illegal hookers and bad attitudes and all the rest follows. What you sow, you reap... but thankfully, the bad guys still have some way to go and there is still much to celebrate on the island. Enjoy it whilst you can...
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If I was able to write in English what I am thinking, I would write exactly the same, well said Shady.
 
Mirror what's been said.

Of course it's still fun and still my destination of choice however (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) Ibiza is now seen as THE place to go and so that attracts all sorts. Families, knuckleheads, girlies, old fogies still living the dream (my generation) and so forth.

I'll be back next year but it's an ever changing world culturally and socially. Ibiza is no different.
 
There was an amazing video on Instagram shared by Tiga.. And re-posted by Ibiza Spotlight. It's a video from HYTE and it epitomises everything that is fugly about clubbing in Ibiza...

The best part is that those who were clearly aware that they were being filmed (hence pouting, posing, sh1t-dancing etc) didn't realise they were the butt of the joke.

Edit - I'd better add that Ibiza Spotlight weren't making fun of anyone but rather celebrating the one guy dancing.. It's Tiga's comments that were slating (and spot on)
 
First trip back in four years and saw a definite change, but actually had one of the best times out there in all the years of going - firstly down to us being a bit older and having a more balanced holiday than in previous years :lol:, but also just being more selective about where we went out, deliberately avoiding the more popular parties and places which we knew wouldn't be our vibe. The only negative was the clear lack of decent day parties, but it just inspired us to get a villa next year - the magic still hasn't gone as far as I'm concerned :)
 
Shady South American said:
what's happening is that the second and third Ibiza generations are starting to come around to what the first Ibiza generation had already been saying for a long time - that the commercialisation, the rampant capitalism is a ticking timebomb, that the money men won't just rest on their laurels in certain corners, they want and plan to ruthlessly colonise the entire island. In the past there was a tacit understanding that broadly speaking the clubbers went to bossa/eivissa and the pissheads went to the west end and the rest of the island was left alone in its blissful, pre-industrial state. Unfortunately, that was blown apart by a heady brew of local politics, the internet/social media blowing the lid on every secret and social change elsewhere (especially in the UK), whereby the old breakdown between clubbers and non-clubbers has broken down to the point that everyone now think they are a DJ, everyone thinks they like "deep house" (when they couldn't name a single Nu Grooves track) or "techno" (when they couldn't name a single Transmat record) and Uncle Sam has suddenly cottoned on (albeit in a very naff, glitzy Vegas way) to what European kids had been doing since 87 and what Oakenfold was trying to open their minds to during his trans-american Perfecto tours in the 90s. Obv that had a impact. He paved the way for the stadium EDM/rnb crossover that Guetta and imitators later got very, very rich on and which now rules the chart world in the way Timbaland's productions used to 15 years back. Timbaland & co were just too early for Ibiza but that urban/blingy mindset has now finally arrived, whether you like it or not. What this means is that everything and everyone has converged (I'm talking about your under 30s here) into a messy holiday cauldron where everyone claims some kind of 'ownership' of Ibiza (never mind the poor Spanish eh!?) So the old notion of "house music", "house nation", "clubbers" is dead or dying. And tech will follow too as small town kids (who know nothing about dance music and who were brought up on pop/vocals) expect to hear what they know from home. All of you who went to the Space memorial service last week, all of you are a dying breed. The next generation coming up behind don't give a shit about music and don't give a shit about history or culture or where any of this came from. Some of them already write on this forum. They have breached the gates... So ibiza is at a cultural crossroads. Can it reverse the tide? Indeed should it reverse the tide to become some hermetically sealed rave bubble or is it time to accept the inevitable? We - all of us - created this monster as soon as we spread the word about the place. The idiots took notice and where they go, brash capitalism and illegal hookers and bad attitudes and all the rest follows. What you sow, you reap... but thankfully, the bad guys still have some way to go and there is still much to celebrate on the island. Enjoy it whilst you can...
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Agree with everything except the part about "The next generation coming up behind don't give a shit about music and don't give a shit about history or culture or where any of this came from" - there is still a small percentage of us who do care (I think I can still get into that category being 24!!)

One really good point is about all the youngsters thinking they are dj's when all they do is play sh!te 'deep house'/tech house and don't have a clue about what they are actually doing - simply to look 'cool'

Will the bandwagon end ? I hope so
 
Just because someone can name a techno track and you cant doesnt mean they are enjoying the music more than you....
Im terrible at knowing tracks im listening to even the ones i actually know and have listened to alot but i dont try to find out largely so its understandable.
But i know that when i listen to music that my ears like regardless of genre it makes me feel something that nothing else does like im hypnotised and couple that with super clubs and generally a top crowd i will keep rerurning to Ibiza for many years.
The people who are going to say theyve been wont stick at it like the rest of us who love the music but i imagine the presence of those people will always remain in Ibiza for as long as it remains
 
Bucko08 said:
Just because someone can name a techno track and you cant doesnt mean they are enjoying the music more than you....
Im terrible at knowing tracks im listening to even the ones i actually know and have listened to alot but i dont try to find out largely so its understandable.
But i know that when i listen to music that my ears like regardless of genre it makes me feel something that nothing else does like im hypnotised and couple that with super clubs and generally a top crowd i will keep rerurning to Ibiza for many years.
The people who are going to say theyve been wont stick at it like the rest of us who love the music but i imagine the presence of those people will always remain in Ibiza for as long as it remains
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Exactly the same as you buddy. Top post
 
I guess my main gripe is with too many people jumping on and relabelling things they don't understand. eg with producers/remixers. It shouldn't matter but the crap REALLY DOES congest juno, youtube, soundcloud, promo lists I'm on making real house/techno so much harder and more time consuming to find. If it ain't house or techno or balearic don't label it as such!!! It matters also in the sense that a community that has grown up with something isn't going to take too kindly to people coming in and taking the piss. Sneak for instance often makes a fool of himself but his central argument about 'fakers' is 100% valid. If you're passionate about something, of course you'll be miffed. Now I certainly wasn't suggesting going around dancefloors with questionnaires!! Hearing and getting into NEW stuff and not knowing what it is, is obv cool. Also, as my recent experience at Sa Trinxa showed, certain types of parties are just a laugh and a social where nobody should care too much. I was merely referring to the need for genuinely real house/techno nights not to attract wallies who don't actually know why they're there.
 
Shady South American said:
what's happening is that the second and third Ibiza generations are starting to come around to what the first Ibiza generation had already been saying for a long time - that the commercialisation, the rampant capitalism is a ticking timebomb, that the money men won't just rest on their laurels in certain corners, they want and plan to ruthlessly colonise the entire island. In the past there was a tacit understanding that broadly speaking the clubbers went to bossa/eivissa and the pissheads went to the west end and the rest of the island was left alone in its blissful, pre-industrial state. Unfortunately, that was blown apart by a heady brew of local politics, the internet/social media blowing the lid on every secret and social change elsewhere (especially in the UK), whereby the old breakdown between clubbers and non-clubbers has broken down to the point that everyone now think they are a DJ, everyone thinks they like "deep house" (when they couldn't name a single Nu Grooves track) or "techno" (when they couldn't name a single Transmat record) and Uncle Sam has suddenly cottoned on (albeit in a very naff, glitzy Vegas way) to what European kids had been doing since 87 and what Oakenfold was trying to open their minds to during his trans-american Perfecto tours in the 90s. Obv that had a impact. He paved the way for the stadium EDM/rnb crossover that Guetta and imitators later got very, very rich on and which now rules the chart world in the way Timbaland's productions used to 15 years back. Timbaland & co were just too early for Ibiza but that urban/blingy mindset has now finally arrived, whether you like it or not. What this means is that everything and everyone has converged (I'm talking about your under 30s here) into a messy holiday cauldron where everyone claims some kind of 'ownership' of Ibiza (never mind the poor Spanish eh!?) So the old notion of "house music", "house nation", "clubbers" is dead or dying. And tech will follow too as small town kids (who know nothing about dance music and who were brought up on pop/vocals) expect to hear what they know from home. All of you who went to the Space memorial service last week, all of you are a dying breed. The next generation coming up behind don't give a shit about music and don't give a shit about history or culture or where any of this came from. Some of them already write on this forum. They have breached the gates... So ibiza is at a cultural crossroads. Can it reverse the tide? Indeed should it reverse the tide to become some hermetically sealed rave bubble or is it time to accept the inevitable? We - all of us - created this monster as soon as we spread the word about the place. The idiots took notice and where they go, brash capitalism and illegal hookers and bad attitudes and all the rest follows. What you sow, you reap... but thankfully, the bad guys still have some way to go and there is still much to celebrate on the island. Enjoy it whilst you can...
Click to expand...
One of the most articulate and accurate posts i have seen in a long time.
 
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