Ikoda
Well-Known Member
So, a review of 2014. My seventh trip to the island. Probably one of the best trips so far as well. Going out as an actual promoter, you look at things \ understand things in Ibiza slightly differently. This is a long post.
Saturday 14th June
Not really much to discuss here, as we hadn't flown out to Ibiza yet. Special mention to the Ibis Budget in Bradford, for how much of a seedy hotel it was. If you want somewhere with a bit of class (which I suppose we shouldn't of expected with it being a budget hotel at £27 between me and mate in central Bradford), stay somewhere else.
Sunday 15th June
Turned up to Leeds Bradford airport at 5am, and instantly hit the drinks. It's worth noting that Leeds Bradford now has a smoking area which it hasn't done in previous years. Never managed to check it out, gate came up as closing just as we got to it. Flight over was crazy, took one of my best mates with me who hadn't been before, alongside another six friends. One of the group was a promoter from a northern clubbing brand, and the rest were mutual friends. Drank on the plane... Drank quite a lot on the plane. Nothing like getting off the plane in Ibiza pissed at 10am. From there, we divided up into two taxis and headed straight to San Antonio, for a visit to Kanya for some more drinks, a dip in the pool, and catching up (been a few months since some of us saw each other). I have always loved the vibe at Kanya. Nice and chilled, and this day was no different. Stayed there for a few hours (racking up a small fortune), then headed to the hotel to check in.
We stayed in Hostal Tarba, which is just up the road which has Wips on the corner. Quite a nice place to stay it must be said. Beds weren't the most comfortable in the world, but that wasn't going to be such an issue with us being out most of the day and night. I must say, the bar staff were good. One of the bar staff said I could put some music on, so put on my recent mix that myself and three other DJs recorded for Transcend's vinyl event in May.
After a relaxed day in Ibiza, we all got ready and headed out to Buddha Bar to watch the sunset and get some food. Always been a big fan of Buddha Bar since I was first introduced to it, and this was no different. Moved things around a little since I was last there. All the sofas (I think they were) that used to be along the promenade are now tables. We all watched a beautiful sunset, then headed off to Tropi, the Trance bar in the west end opposite the strip club called Sin. Saw Andy Allwood, resident at V club and spotlighter, so had a quick catch up with him. Tropi was just nuts as usual, made even better now they've upgraded the DJ equipment in there (which would come in handy for Wednesday). €7 for pints of vodka red bull. Couple of those, and I was close to being on the floor. So drank another for good measure, then stumbled home. Can't at this point remember who I was with. I think I may have left a few people at Tropi...
Got woken up at 6am, to find one of my best mates I was sharing a room with had also turned up - he either came back with me, or he was let in. Either way, we both got woken up. The room directly above us, one hell of a screaming argument was going on. Two girls were full on screaming at each other. Following by loud thumps as things got thrown around, then shattering as things broke. A few moments later, a door slammed, and a suitcase was bounced from step to step down the stairs. Friendship usually becomes stronger in Ibiza. This was certainly not the case.
Monday 16th June
Woke up about 8am, feeling fairly fresh considering I'd had at best four hours sleep. As everyone was still asleep, decided to get up and head down to the restaurant next to wips supermarket and grab a fry up. Usually good food there, but the beans were a tad on the cold side. Oh well. Headed back to the hotel, to find people we're starting to come around, so we hatched a plan to go to Cala Bassa.
I have to say, it's a beautiful beach. Those that know me know how much I detest staying stuck in San An \ PDB \ Eivissa for the entire trip. I like to go and see new places. Was good that it was a short ferry ride away. We spent most of the day there, discussing all sorts of codshit. Parties we'd been to, experiences of being out of it, experiences of DJs being off their rocker. Got a text from another promoter running a night on the island, who let me know that the core chunk of Crasher's lineup (everyone I wanted to see) had been pulled, which annoyed me somewhat. No announcement from the club, mind you. I already knew from an agent that two guys had been pulled, but had been hoping (in vain) that they'd keep at least some of the guys I wanted to see. We were now just going to Crasher because it was Crasher, not because of the DJs playing. Shame they didn't halve the cost of the ticket.
Evening rolled around, and a day of drinking had taken its toll, so we missed the sunset strip. Watched the football, got ready, then headed to Gatecrasher for the Crasher launch night. Turned up, and they instantly gave us grief on the door. We'd bought tickets from the Kiosk opposite Plastik, which included a free drink. The staff at Gatecrasher then said that these drinks tokens were under no circumstances valid. Got in, to discover (unsurprisingly) that half the club was shut (including all of upstairs) and that, at half midnight, it was very empty, so hit the bar. €8 for a bottle of water, €15 for a vodka pepsi and €18 for a bottle of beer. I do hate Ibiza club prices. Still, smoking area was open upstairs, music was finally beginning to pick up... could be worse places in the world to be.
Tenisha played a great set, and Andy Moor b2b Lange built on that, banging it out (low bpm) and throwing some of their classic reworks in, which got the not exactly huge (can't of been more than 700 people in there at peak) crowd going. Chicane then came on. While I rate Chicane as a producer, I've never really rated him as a DJ. He played a much more down tempo set, taking all the energy out the room that Lange & Andy had built. Spent more of his set outside smoking than I did on the dance floor, which for Andy & Lange I'd been unable to move from, despite nicotine cravings. It was here I bumped into one of my international DJ friends. The ninth member of our group turned up about 4am, just as Ben Gold came on, having been on a flight a day later. Credit to Ben, for trying to salvage what was left of the dance floor. By this point, half the people of the club (if not more) had abandoned ship, and it was beginning to feel very empty. The atmosphere was gone, even if the music was great. By the end of Ben's set, our group split in half, with half of us staying at Crasher and the other half going back to the hotel. Suckley came on, and smashed it, proper in your face psy\hard trance. Shame it was so empty. Chicane's set had sucked all my energy to dance, so spent more time just chilling to be honest. The remains of our group decided to head home, with international DJ in tow.
I couldn't imagine as a promoter, doing what Gatecrasher did. Pissing around their customers, cancelling DJs without warning their punters. I know they've done at their events after this. It's shocking behaviour.
Saturday 14th June
Not really much to discuss here, as we hadn't flown out to Ibiza yet. Special mention to the Ibis Budget in Bradford, for how much of a seedy hotel it was. If you want somewhere with a bit of class (which I suppose we shouldn't of expected with it being a budget hotel at £27 between me and mate in central Bradford), stay somewhere else.
Sunday 15th June
Turned up to Leeds Bradford airport at 5am, and instantly hit the drinks. It's worth noting that Leeds Bradford now has a smoking area which it hasn't done in previous years. Never managed to check it out, gate came up as closing just as we got to it. Flight over was crazy, took one of my best mates with me who hadn't been before, alongside another six friends. One of the group was a promoter from a northern clubbing brand, and the rest were mutual friends. Drank on the plane... Drank quite a lot on the plane. Nothing like getting off the plane in Ibiza pissed at 10am. From there, we divided up into two taxis and headed straight to San Antonio, for a visit to Kanya for some more drinks, a dip in the pool, and catching up (been a few months since some of us saw each other). I have always loved the vibe at Kanya. Nice and chilled, and this day was no different. Stayed there for a few hours (racking up a small fortune), then headed to the hotel to check in.
We stayed in Hostal Tarba, which is just up the road which has Wips on the corner. Quite a nice place to stay it must be said. Beds weren't the most comfortable in the world, but that wasn't going to be such an issue with us being out most of the day and night. I must say, the bar staff were good. One of the bar staff said I could put some music on, so put on my recent mix that myself and three other DJs recorded for Transcend's vinyl event in May.
After a relaxed day in Ibiza, we all got ready and headed out to Buddha Bar to watch the sunset and get some food. Always been a big fan of Buddha Bar since I was first introduced to it, and this was no different. Moved things around a little since I was last there. All the sofas (I think they were) that used to be along the promenade are now tables. We all watched a beautiful sunset, then headed off to Tropi, the Trance bar in the west end opposite the strip club called Sin. Saw Andy Allwood, resident at V club and spotlighter, so had a quick catch up with him. Tropi was just nuts as usual, made even better now they've upgraded the DJ equipment in there (which would come in handy for Wednesday). €7 for pints of vodka red bull. Couple of those, and I was close to being on the floor. So drank another for good measure, then stumbled home. Can't at this point remember who I was with. I think I may have left a few people at Tropi...
Got woken up at 6am, to find one of my best mates I was sharing a room with had also turned up - he either came back with me, or he was let in. Either way, we both got woken up. The room directly above us, one hell of a screaming argument was going on. Two girls were full on screaming at each other. Following by loud thumps as things got thrown around, then shattering as things broke. A few moments later, a door slammed, and a suitcase was bounced from step to step down the stairs. Friendship usually becomes stronger in Ibiza. This was certainly not the case.
Monday 16th June
Woke up about 8am, feeling fairly fresh considering I'd had at best four hours sleep. As everyone was still asleep, decided to get up and head down to the restaurant next to wips supermarket and grab a fry up. Usually good food there, but the beans were a tad on the cold side. Oh well. Headed back to the hotel, to find people we're starting to come around, so we hatched a plan to go to Cala Bassa.
I have to say, it's a beautiful beach. Those that know me know how much I detest staying stuck in San An \ PDB \ Eivissa for the entire trip. I like to go and see new places. Was good that it was a short ferry ride away. We spent most of the day there, discussing all sorts of codshit. Parties we'd been to, experiences of being out of it, experiences of DJs being off their rocker. Got a text from another promoter running a night on the island, who let me know that the core chunk of Crasher's lineup (everyone I wanted to see) had been pulled, which annoyed me somewhat. No announcement from the club, mind you. I already knew from an agent that two guys had been pulled, but had been hoping (in vain) that they'd keep at least some of the guys I wanted to see. We were now just going to Crasher because it was Crasher, not because of the DJs playing. Shame they didn't halve the cost of the ticket.
Evening rolled around, and a day of drinking had taken its toll, so we missed the sunset strip. Watched the football, got ready, then headed to Gatecrasher for the Crasher launch night. Turned up, and they instantly gave us grief on the door. We'd bought tickets from the Kiosk opposite Plastik, which included a free drink. The staff at Gatecrasher then said that these drinks tokens were under no circumstances valid. Got in, to discover (unsurprisingly) that half the club was shut (including all of upstairs) and that, at half midnight, it was very empty, so hit the bar. €8 for a bottle of water, €15 for a vodka pepsi and €18 for a bottle of beer. I do hate Ibiza club prices. Still, smoking area was open upstairs, music was finally beginning to pick up... could be worse places in the world to be.
Tenisha played a great set, and Andy Moor b2b Lange built on that, banging it out (low bpm) and throwing some of their classic reworks in, which got the not exactly huge (can't of been more than 700 people in there at peak) crowd going. Chicane then came on. While I rate Chicane as a producer, I've never really rated him as a DJ. He played a much more down tempo set, taking all the energy out the room that Lange & Andy had built. Spent more of his set outside smoking than I did on the dance floor, which for Andy & Lange I'd been unable to move from, despite nicotine cravings. It was here I bumped into one of my international DJ friends. The ninth member of our group turned up about 4am, just as Ben Gold came on, having been on a flight a day later. Credit to Ben, for trying to salvage what was left of the dance floor. By this point, half the people of the club (if not more) had abandoned ship, and it was beginning to feel very empty. The atmosphere was gone, even if the music was great. By the end of Ben's set, our group split in half, with half of us staying at Crasher and the other half going back to the hotel. Suckley came on, and smashed it, proper in your face psy\hard trance. Shame it was so empty. Chicane's set had sucked all my energy to dance, so spent more time just chilling to be honest. The remains of our group decided to head home, with international DJ in tow.
I couldn't imagine as a promoter, doing what Gatecrasher did. Pissing around their customers, cancelling DJs without warning their punters. I know they've done at their events after this. It's shocking behaviour.
. 
I had probably my quietest ever holiday this time round with only 2 nights out you lot smashed it.