Transcend In Ibiza 2014 - Phil's Review

[Phil_Dicko]

My review of this year's Ibiza trip. Myself and @Ikoda were originally going to do this as a joint review but Ben hasn't finished his version yet and I'm itching to post this. (Sorry Ben!) It's a bit long as it is so I'll post in 2 day chunks over this coming week.

For a bit of context, here is my review of 2012: http://forum.ibiza-spotlight.com/threads/phils-review-ibiza-2012.66318/

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What a pisser! Suddenly the skies are overcast again, the September sun imprisoned behind a blanket of thick cloud, the sea is too far away and there are as many pigeons as people. And that's not even the half of it.

Don't get me wrong. I adore living and working in London, but I adore it at least half as much as I do visiting Ibiza. This on its own causes problems.

I hate the term 'Ibiza Blues'. But only because it underplays that potent concoction of feelings and thoughts that follows returning home from Ibiza. Regret, boredom, physical pain, extreme fatigue, nostalgia, remembered joy, flickers of as yet inaccessible memories. I'm never really 'blue' when I come back from Ibiza. I'm a hopelessly confused mixture of warm afterglow and hazy, agonising lament. Your perception of everything is immediately altered.

This may seem like a horribly negative way to begin a review, but it’s less about negativity and more about contrast. In 2014's Ibiza episode, that contrast was borne out not just in the return but in the build up as well.

Initially, it looked perfect. My fifth trip would be my longest ever - 9 days spent in Ibiza. We would return to the scene of my favourite trip to date in 2011, Villa Daisy in Port Des Torrent. It would be my first visit with fellow Spotlighter and DJing partner, Ben Dursley, (we would probably not know each other if it weren't for this website) as the two of us continue our unfolding journey with Transcend. Journey vs. Transcend at Tropi Trance Bar would be my first opportunity to DJ on the White Isle - another dream come true in 2014.

As always it's about the people you share the time with. I felt I had assembled one of the best groups ever and we would get to represent Transcend during trance's busiest week of the year - Island of Trance week. In particular we would get to spend some rave time with the guys and girls from Journey in Cardiff, a brand we at Transcend are growing closer to with every passing month or event.

Life is never that straight-forward though. And those who have read my previous reviews will know that I have an Ibiza curse that continues to stalk me like a crazed paparazzi photographer.

Two of the girls in the group had to drop out because of work and issues getting time off. One of our Transcend residents had to withdraw because of an illness in the family. While one of our group, NE, broke his knee playing football just 4 weeks before we were due to fly. And the day before we flew another, RG, told me he would not be boarding his flight because he was awaiting a scan on a damaged knee. What were the chances of that? Two guys, two damaged knees.

In the end, NE's injury didn't stop him travelling with us but, all-in-all, these events put a very different spin on things. So the curse continues...

All of my Ibiza trips have had a story though. Good and bad. In 2005, it was stepping off the plane aged 18 and doing my very first bit of starry-eyed clubbing at Cream Amnesia, filling up on Burger King and Pizza Hut and behaving like complete dicks with cans of shaving foam. (This feels like far more than 9 years ago.) In 2009, it was getting horrifically ill during the height of the swine flu "epidemic". In 2011, it was my first villa experience and meeting Tony McGuinness of Above & Beyond at one of the most exclusive events I will probably ever go to. In 2012, it was my crazed drinking antics, slipping into the depths of Grey Goose induced comas, in what was the messiest 7 days I've ever experienced - the excess-filled tipping point in so many ways for what was my original group in London.

2014, my first trip as a Londoner, will be remembered for my first 3 DJing gigs on the island - 2 of them completely unexpected and impromptu, the other probably the most successful one ever from certain points-of-view. A dream come true. This time around, it's the adrenaline of these gigs that has generated the muddled post-holiday malaise.

While so many elements of it were the same as other trips, this one was so surreal and different.

Saturday, 6th of September - Phil's Bumpy Start

Our flight wasn't until quite late on Friday evening. The weeks and months leading up to this holiday had been so hectic at work. The days before were no different. I desperately needed a holiday. Just to not think about my job for more than 2 days. I'd already taken off the Friday to help with packing. I'm so glad I did in the end. Packing was seamless and even NE with his broken knee was ready in time.

Despite getting to the airport very early indeed, we still managed to be the last two bodies on the flight. But we made it.

The flight was typical. The usual rowdy groups at the front and back. The football songs from one group; From the other, the one bloke who refused to sit down because of his desire to entertain the rest of the plane with his playfully 'laddish' antics. Next to me were a lovely couple named Johnny and Terry - probably in their early 40s. We chatted for a while about our love for the island. They were clearly party people in their day, now enjoying the beauty of the island to the full. Truly lovely people. They wished me all the best for my gig.

When we landed, it was going up to 2am. We collected our luggage and headed straight to the taxi queue to find WH and GW who had flown in from Gatwick on a different flight. We found them at the very front of the queue. With NE on crutches we had no problems queue jumping and getting in a taxi with the others.

Bad news struck. We were due to stay at an apartment in Ibiza Town and on contacting the person we were due to pick up the keys from it transpired they'd been a booking mix up. We weren't 100% sure what the problem was at this stage - all we were certain of was we would not be able to move in until tomorrow afternoon. It's good job that NE is a Spanish speaker. Had neither of us been we would've been in trouble.

We took the taxi to WH and GW's hotel - Hotel Don Quijote. We asked if they had any spare rooms and, after some deliberation, the guy behind reception said we could have a room for the night. Despite being frustrated, I was mainly just relieved not to be homeless.

Myself, NE and WH chilled with a brief beer in a bar next to the hotel after which we disappeared to bed.

We rose later that morning, having been woken up by drilling next door. I don't think either of us slept well. After a bit of breakfast just down from the nearby beach area, we left GW and WH and headed towards the port to move into this apartment. We had a beer at Bella Napoli and eventually, by just after 2, we were into the apartment. It was decent apartment. The view was poor, the furniture ancient, only about 3 of the light switches worked. But, on the street just off the harbour's Burger King, it was in a great location and was far bigger than we needed.

We caught up on sleep, did a touch of food shopping and lounged around for most of the afternoon. Having been overcast that morning, it was now very hot! Extremely hot.

We had no plans for the evening. GW and WH were off to Ushuaia for Ants. NE was hungry so we ventured out looking for a decent meal. It was a bit early for Ibiza Town though and any good places weren't serving yet. In the end, we agreed we'd wait for Ke Kafe to open, the restaurant that I'd been to towards the end of the 2012 holiday.

We waited with a quick beer across the road. (I also managed to knock over a cheap looking, ornamental plant box, spilling stones all over the floor outside.) We had a great meal at Ke Kafe. The food wasn't quite as good as it was in 2012 and the portion was quite small, but it was still the nicest meal I had all holiday. The place was popular too, the tables filling up around us quite quickly.

Afterwards, we walked down towards Cafe Mar Y Sol (another familiar place) for a drink. However, after trying about 4 cash points I appeared unable to get anymore cash out. I wasn't sure why and it was really worrying me. In truth, the thing that really irked me was the fact that I couldn't immediately ring someone I find out what the problem was. It was the not knowing. I didn't want to wait. I couldn't put it out of my mind and I just wanted to sleep until I could do something about it.

Eventually, WH and GW joined us following Ants. This cheered me up a bit. The two of them clearly had a good time at Ushuaia. They said it was wall-to-wall rammed. Despite a few more drinks and a few more smiles, I was still too agitated to do anything more with my evening. We parted ways and off we went to bed.

 

[Phil_Dicko]

Sunday, 7th of September - Bora Bora & We Love @ Space

I woke fairly early on Sunday – around 9.30. I was dozing when I received a text from JC who was now waiting at the Burger King at the end of the road. I went out to meet him and bring him back to the apartment. The group was now 5.

I immediately rang my currency card company and got assurances about my cash flow. Everything was fine. Although I learned about restrictions on withdrawal of money that would annoy me all holiday. This trip I never had enough cash, and if I did have cash I was spending it in clubs.

We sat on the balcony for a while with a few beers. We also grabbed a quick bit of lunch at a place on the front. Now it was time to get out and do something.

After repeatedly going on about it, I finally convinced the other two to go to Bora Bora. Since we were on that side of the island for a few days, I was clearly rerunning all the (respectable) old ground of 2012.

When we stepped onto the beach it was already quite busy. It always is on a Sunday. But today there was clearly something going on. There was a huge rig and a number of fenced areas coming out of the back of the Ushuaia hotel. There were loads of buoys laid out in the water. Eventually we worked out it was the Mediterranean Grand Prix for power boats and jet skis.

We walked up the beach to White’s and enjoyed the final few laps of the F1 Grand Prix at Monza on TV. When it was over we shuffled on out into the heat of the day and grabbed one of their beds outside. There was much to enjoy. Beers, the sand, the sea and the roar of the power boats just down the beach. When we were in the water we could feel the extra waves from the power boats bounding down towards the shore. By about 5pm, the fenced area we had walked passed earlier was absolutely rammed with people.

Eventually, we moved on up to Bora Bora Beach Club where we had a spot of food to the noise of an already pretty happening party. It was great; exactly what I remembered from 2012.

I’d also received a text from a couple of former work colleagues who I knew where in the area, AP and KS - two people who had recently left my company and for whom I have a lot of time. Shortly after, they joined us, to much smiling, hugging and laughing. It was truly great to see them. This was just another example this holiday of the many opportunities to meet up with great people – more so than usual.

After we had said our goodbyes to AP and KS, we moved further on down into the bar where a party was really kicking off. (Later I worked out the party was probably Baccanali Ibiza.) I’d had quite a few vodka and oranges at this point and was feeling pretty good.

There was a strange incident when I bought one of those drinks actually. The barmaid got distracted when returning my change and put it down a bit further down the bar from me. As she turned away, a person next to me pocketed the change. When she turned back again she was clearly confused and went back to get more change. When she handed it to me, I told her where the money had gone. The guy who’d taken it immediately reached into his pocket to return it. He tried to make out he thought it was his. Not the case I’m afraid – little more than opportunistic theft.

That incident was short-lived though and we carried on enjoying our evening…

From here there was debate about what to do next. NE wanted to stay. But I was wary that we’d said we’d meet WH and GW at around 9pm. It was getting late. With JC’s support, we left Bora Bora and returned to our apartment.

Later we met WH and GW at Café Mar Y Sol. The decision was to We Love or not to We Love. WH and GW already had tickets. I’ve said for ages that I wanted to check We Love out. I was easily convinced. So were the others. We were going out.

Over in Platja d'en Bossa, we got ourselves together and found a bar … and the games began.

In truth, my night was a blur - much like my first night at ASOT in 2012. I remember having a great time and much crazy dancing with WH. I remember the vibe being good and, because the entire place was open, that there was enough room to move around the club. But I was f*cked enough for the time to race away, for chunks of the evening to be missing from memory and to spent vast amounts of cash. And I mean vast amounts. I spent an absolute fortune.

Really, the way we did We Love wasn’t the best way to do it. We should probably have arrived earlier, we should’ve sampled more of the different rooms and generally been more laid back. But it mattered little. Sunday was infinitely better than Saturday – more eventful and more like what I know of Ibiza.

 

[DelMarSunset]

Great start! It seems there were loads of Spotlighters at that We Love! i spent most of the night on the terrace bouncing about like a loon

 

[Phil_Dicko]

Monday, 8th of September – Villa Arrival

Today was our villa move in day. We started the day by welcoming Ben and AP who had gotten the ferry over from the mainland. After spending a little bit of time in our apartment we vacated and got the bus to San Antonio from the bus station.

We headed for Itaca on San Antonio’s beach front where the Driftwood pre-party was in full swing. We would’ve loved to have gone to the Driftwood boat party but it clashed horribly with our villa move in and the tickets had long since sold out. But down at Itaca we mingled with the Island of Trance crowd and soaked up the atmosphere, which was great by the way.

Once the Driftwood lot had filtered out about 4pm, we got taxis to Port Des Torrent. Unfortunately, 3 years on, my memory of the exact location of the villa was a little hazy. We ended up taking a wrong turning up a hill, much to the dismay of the other lads – particularly NE on his crutches. We eventually got there and when we did there was nobody in. WH, GW, JW and NR had already gone shopping and were on their way back.

We didn’t have too long to wait.

After one of our traditional communal meals, and a brief supply mission, we decided that order of the day was drinking Uno. After my renowned drinking antics of 2012, I was understandably taking things easy. By the end, we were all supremely drunk, but there were none of the wild excesses of years gone by.

That was Monday done.

Tuesday, 9th of September – Captured Festival & Sunk

Today was the day we’d all been waiting for. The big double header. The line ups for both of these events were absolutely brilliant. You couldn’t help but be excited. WH, GW and JW decided that rather than do both, they would meet us at Privilege later for Sunk.

Ben and I got a lift into town from JW to get tickets and our usual communal dinner shifted to lunchtime instead - and off we went…

We already knew that a couple of the Journey lads had a warm up set at Captured. We were keen to support so we made sure we got our minibus down to the abandoned zoo around 4pm. After being huddled behind the Skiddle and Ibiza-Spotlight ticket queues for a while, melting in the sun, Sam Mitcham waved us over and in we walked.

We got to the Seal Pit in time to find Richie Knight and Hywell Matthews in full flow. They were playing a nice blend of melodic, rolling prog and some techier sounds. And all the rest of the Journey crew were congregated on the steps enjoying the sunshine. We said our hellos and got into the groove.

By the time Richie and Hywell finished I was dying for a drink. We filtered out and grabbed one. The Journey lads were shooting the shit with Woody Van Eyden behind us, who was as mad as ever, of course. We continued to drink in the sun, this time over by the beds near the pool area. Ben caught up with the OTR lot, who he knows well from his clubbing trips to Sheffield. We also caught up with Rick Power, who is Signum and Darren Porter’s agent.

By about 7pm it was dancefloor time. First up for us was Orkidea. I’m a huge fan of Tapio’s but this was the first time I’d seen him DJ. And this was a vinyl set. He was absolutely brilliant, bringing out the likes of Killa, Beautiful and Aalto’s Rush. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and it only built up further as the sets went on.

All the sets in the Seal Pit were vinyl sets and this had such an impact on the style of sets. (We have noticed this from doing vinyl nights for Transcend.) Later, I caught most of Menno de Jong and a little bit of Signum. As the sun began to set, things were hazy again, but I felt good and the music was near perfect.

We managed to grab a chat with Orkidea later. Some asked him about the meaning behind his name - apparently a literature reference. I rather weirdly asked him about Finnish producer, JS16 – a completely bizarre, random thing to ask him about. But genuinely a really nice guy, happy to entertain our messed up states.

Before the event was done, we caught a tiny bit of Solarstone and a bit of Will Atkinson. By the final few hours we were conserving energy for Sunk. And I was starting to develop a sore throat as well. As we got on the buses to head over to Privilege I was starting to feel a tad uncomfortable. Something was on its way.

By the time we got inside Sunk, and I’d refuelled myself with the necessary substances, I was OK again. JW, GW and WH were, in a perfect piece of timing, waiting for us inside the door as we came into the through hall of the Vista Club as well. We were back on again!

To me, it was no great shame that the entirety of Privilege wasn’t open. I’ve seen (and been impressed by) Privilege’s cavernous main room enough to understand how devastatingly empty this party would have been spread across the club’s whole. Even the Vista Club itself wasn’t that packed. But it did feel like a genuine after party.

The highlight was definitely Menno de Jong who played a completely different set to the one at Captured hours earlier; He absolutely smashed it. I spent the entire thing jumping with WH, as madly as we ever have. Menno played Adam Ellis remix of Creatures Of The Night, one of my tunes of the year, without doubt, and ended on Tiesto’s classic remix of Silence.

When we retreated to the smoking area, our group had acquired a new friend, VK. She was from Balham, mine and NR’s original London home. It was now about 4.30am. I was ruined by the point. It had been a long old session – a full 12 hours. It was time to go home.

Back at the villa, I jumped fully clothed into the pool to cool off. We chatted for an hour or so over a few drinks, after which I went to bed. I had a truly horrendous night’s sleep. As soon as lay down I was sweating buckets. And when my sleep was interrupted, my nose was completely and utterly blocked. Something was on its way. It was illness of some description. But how bad would it be?...

 

[Phil_Dicko]

Wednesday, 10th of September – Recovery Day 1

Wednesday was a slow day. There was nothing to do other than recover. And quickly, because I felt awful – from the neck up.

It was becoming clear that the incoming illness was a head cold. By Ibiza standards, I felt passable, but I was blowing my nose every five minutes to clear it. The pool definitely helped and I was able to relax a bit. But was there was impending sense of doom. It was Thursday tomorrow. Cream Amnesia. Would I be bed ridden like in 2009?

After a brief errand into San An to pick up a few things and a few drinks at the villa, I was done. Again, I slept but whenever I woke, I felt horrible. We’d been invited by the Journey guys to DJ with them down at Kanya tomorrow. We were due there at around midday. I thought, “When I wake up, I’ll have to tell everyone I’m bowing out and go back to bed.”

Thursday, 11th of September – DJing @ Kanya & Cream Amnesia

In the end, I didn’t back out. I got up and cracked on. It took me ages to prepare myself though – to clear my sinuses and wake myself up. I still felt rubbish.

When we arrived at Kanya, a few of us needed a cash point and we went out in search of one. Even at just after midday, the sun was so hot. It felt like we were walking for miles. I was flagging.

Once I returned to Kanya, Ben was already behind the decks and I jumped on after him. 6 of us were playing b2b, looking out over Kanya’s pool and out into the bay. Really, it was a pretty perfect setting.

After a few drinks, I started to feel much better. My head cleared a bit, concentrating on mixing as well as chatting with the guys took my mind off my ailments. This was my very first gig in Ibiza. How could I not enjoy this? And I did. A near perfect transition into the Ave Mea Remix of Anjuna prog classic, Trust Me, had me tingling all over. This was a good moment. “This is why I’m here”, I thought.

It was all over quite quickly. Over 4 hours whizzed by and before long we were back in a taxi heading back to the villa. JW and NE had been to the beach for the afternoon instead. As a group, we were reunited again.

After a disco nap and another swim, I felt much better that afternoon. I would easily be well enough to attempt Cream Amnesia. The question was, would it push my aliments to one side or be in the final nail in my coffin?

We stopped off briefly at Tropi to get tickets and then, after a bit of faffing trying to get a bus, we got taxis up to Amnesia. We arrived pretty early. Probably too early if truth be told.

As we made our entrance, Gareth Wyn was on and, to my surprise, he was playing house music. He actually played at least 2 tracks that I played in my own Ibiza warm up set for Transcend back in May, and also played Arty’s remix Hey Now by London Grammar.

In fairness, given the similarities in our sets, I had to tip my hat to Gareth – in terms of warming up a room with accessible house music, we are obviously on a similar page. I felt good about that.

But it was still really really weird to hear this music at Cream Amnesia. I’ve never heard house in the main room at this event before. Really it was a mark of the changing clientele coming through the door - changing times even. Some may say sad times. Accessibility has its price. It also marked out the stark contrast between the line ups supporting Paul Van Dyk and those support Above & Beyond. There’s no way next week’s early attendees would be hearing a set like this. It’s almost like it’s not the same event.

This Cream Amnesia wasn’t even that busy. Not by Cream’s standards. You could tell many of the Island of Trance crowd had stayed away.

The night itself was OK. Tony McGuinness was the only member of Above & Beyond in attendance. Only sending one member seems pretty standard from them these days and the set itself was just that. Standard. Super8 & Tab followed and were better. But nowhere near as good as they’ve been at recent appearances at Ministry of Sound. I had a good night, but nothing like the euphoria of two years previous.

I didn't stay up long after we returned. My brain was winding down. Before I slept the comedown started to kick in. My reflections were extremely emotional; the images in my mind’s eye strange and kaleidoscopic. It took a while before my thoughts settled down and eventually… I slept.

 

[jackmontandon]

Amazing review!

 

[Phil_Dicko]

Friday, 12th of September – DJing @ Tropi Pt. 1 (The Perfect Storm)

Friday was a weird day. It had many things. Good news, good tunes and all out drunkenness.

When we had visited Tropi the previous day, we’d been asked if Ben and I would cover for Oscar’s residents who had bagged a warm up slot at Space on Friday. We bit Oscar’s hand off. This would probably mean not going to Space for Full On ourselves. A couple of the Journey lads also had a set at Space and I would’ve loved to have seen John O’Callaghan again. But I’ve said many times recently that DJing comes before clubbing. All day long, wherever it is. You just know with Tropi – even if it’s a very small venue, there’ll always be enough knowledgeable tranceheads to entertain.

When I woke, I was again wondering whether I was in a fit state to DJ. Ben seemed pretty worse for wear himself. For me, Berocca was saving the day. And the usual dip the pool did the trick too. My cold was actually clearing now. Or at least, the worst symptoms of it. Cream wasn’t the final nail in any coffin. Now, I was developing problems in a different area – an area I will not divulge.

The day disappeared. WH and GW were leaving later that evening. They headed into town to have dinner at Café Mambo.

The rest of us headed back to Kanya for some pre-Tropi dinner. On route, we grabbed some drinks and sat on the rocks down by the Sunset Strip. It was a beautiful evening and I was immediately reminded why catching the sunset down on the strip is one of my favourite things to do in Ibiza. A little bit cliché it may be, but I love the refined, laidback bustle of the place. In 2012 I didn’t step foot in San Antonio at all. I realised I hadn’t missed San Antonio; I hadn’t missed the West End. But I had missed this.

At Kanya, we waited a long time for our food. We had to be at Tropi for 10 to start our set. We were getting a tad nervous.

Over dinner, JW and NR announced to us all that they planned to get married next year. This was obviously fantastic news. There were many toasts over dinner.

We got the kitchen to serve mine and Ben’s steaks ASAP so we could get to Tropi on time. They eventually arrived. I’ve never eaten so quickly. And AP rightly pointed out that they’d gotten the order wrong. They were pork steaks rather than beef. We simply had to move, and we did. This was just one example of Ibiza 2014 being a hectic holiday.

At Tropi, Ben and I DJed for most of the night b2b. We broke off briefly for a couple of others to have a stab but, for the most part, Dickinson & Dursley took centre stage. Oscar made it pretty clear early on what style he wanted us to play. When it comes to giving instructions, this man doesn’t f*ck around. It is his bar after all. There were only a couple of early mistakes from my side. But, for the most part, we smashed it. Ben, in particular, was on red hot form out in Ibiza. He was in the zone.

WH and GW made an appearance after their meal at Mambo and caught some of our set. After that we said our goodbyes to them. They were off home.

Aside from rushing your dinner to have to be at places, the other downside to DJing is dealing with the combination of requests and the drunkenness of punters. There were some people that approached me that night whose attempts to communicate with me were borderline unintelligible. When the drinks are as strong as they are in Tropi, it’s not difficult to find a person who wants to talk to the DJ but who hardly has the cognitive capacity to do so. Tonight, such people were everywhere and we actually had two of them in our own group. NR and JC were steaming drunk.

It was the perfect storm of elating news, seeing your friends behind the decks and quite simply being in Ibiza.

JC was so carried away in the moment that he ordered champagne from the bar, which Oscar had to leave the premises to go and buy. It was a truly surreal moment. I looked up from cueing a track to notice a champagne bucket heading across the floor. “Who the f*ck has ordered champagne in Tropi, for f*cks sake”, I thought. It dawned. It was JC and he’d bought it for us. Everyone else in Tropi at this early stage of the night was equally bemused. Once again, we toasted NR and JW’s news.

From a DJing p-o-v, my favourite moment was dropping Marcel Woods - Advanced to a packed bar. That track always gets a great reaction and this reaction was as good as I've ever seen playing it myself. A track that was probably overplayed when it was released but has been underplayed enough to regain its incredible impact. Still an all-time favourite of mine.

When we finally finished our set, Ben and I were completely sober. NR and JC definitely weren’t. Both were struggling to stand at this stage. NR had been jumping all over the place, practically with his eyes closed, careering into our table. JC was mumbling complete gibberish. It was going to be an absolute mission to get the two of them home. And indeed it was. We carried them to the taxi rank and headed home.

That was enough excitement for one evening.

Saturday, 13th of September – Journey vs Transcend

There was only one thing on the agenda today. And that was our event alongside Journey at Tropi. The gig we’d originally come to do in the first place. Tropi, pt. 2.

We’d invited the Journey crew to our villa for the afternoon as a pre-amble to the evening’s West End schedule. And much to our delight, arrive they did around 4pm. We showed them around and chilled in the pool for a few hours. It was great to have some fresh faces around the villa. The whole vibe of the afternoon was the perfect prelude to what was to follow.

We arrived at Tropi early to get Journey vs. Transcend rolling. Ben and I jumped behind the decks for an hour or so to warm things up. After that, from my point-of-view, it was time to wait. I was playing the closing set with Richie Knight. Playing the closing set is always fun because you normally have free reign. But the waiting to get on does kill me and tonight was no different.

The night itself built very quickly. It wasn’t long before the bar was absolutely packed. Tropi’s only a small place but, when it’s full, it doesn’t half pack an atmosphere. By the time Ben got on and opened up with OceanLab’s Satellite, the room was at fever pitch. For my money, Ben and Hywell Matthews played the set of the night. They were on each other’s wavelength for the entire thing. And the place was indeed packed.

By the time myself and Richie Knight got on, the bar had emptied a touch. And for the first few tracks, there were a couple of mistakes. (In my case, the curse of a mixer having way more effects than you're used to.) But after about 3 or 4 tracks, we started to settle in and things came together. And the bar started to refill again. Things were about to get interesting. My best pick of that opening part was definitely this:

Before the set we’d decided that after a period Richie would take over with a few hard trancers and then I’d switch back and close. This worked out really well because it gave the set a whole new direction and character towards the end. And the crowd loved it. When I took over again, I dropped Alphazone’s Rockin coming out of Rich’s pick, The Day The Earth Caught Fire (the latter is a track that takes me all the way way back to my very early hard trance days).

Alphazone are probably my favourite production outfit ever in trance music. I could have played any number of their tracks at that moment. Rockin' isn't even anywhere near my favourite of theirs. But on this occasion, it was exactly the right fit. The only fit. As the track broke down, there were so many smiles spread across the room. The place was rockin’. It was without doubt my most enjoyable moment ever as a DJ and, for me, will forever remain one of those defining Ibiza memories.

The whole night was a huge success. I can’t imagine Oscar has had too many better nights at his little bar this summer. I came off the decks dripping in sweat and absolutely wired with adrenaline. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it.

The original plan was to go back to the villa and celebrate by ‘getting on it’. But it turned out that the energy of Tropi has taken it out of us all. I was absolutely wiped out. Buzzing in the head; shattered from the neck down. But what a night it had been...

 

[Phil_Dicko]

It seems there were loads of Spotlighters at that We Love! i spent most of the night on the terrace bouncing about like a loon

Yeah, even from my hazy memories of the night, I remember the music being top notch. I wasn't at all aware of who was playing in any room at any moment, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will be doing We Love again for sure.

Great start!

Amazing review!

Cheers. Final part coming tomorrow.

 

[Phil_Dicko]

Sunday, 14th of September – The Final Recovery

Hardly a thing to report on Sunday. A warm afterglow from the night before; a warm day spent mainly in the pool - bombing, diving and photo-taking. It was a lazy day. And it needed to be because my ‘problem in a certain area’ was causing increasing discomfort. I enjoyed the day nevertheless. It was how a final day should be.

Monday, 15th of September – The Journey Home

When I woke up that morning, I immediately regretted booking a flight that was so late on Monday. Out of the villa at 10am with a whole day to kill. This wasn’t a problem in 2012, but today was hot and I was in genuine discomfort.

We had a little bit of brunch in San An and then said goodbye to NR and JW. We then sat in an Irish Pub in San Antonio – I just wanted to be home.

We got a bus to Ibiza Town and when we arrived I went straight to a pharmacy to pick up some things. It was the best decision EVER. In an hour or so, I felt much better. After some tapas at Café Del Mar Y Sol, I was even better again and, as we sat in the afternoon shade, I suddenly didn’t want to go home.

But, in the end, Monday was survived and home we arrived.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Before we left for Ibiza, there were two main discussion points on Ibiza-Spotlight. First, was about whether the island was quieter this year. The second was whether the island has had its day and 'just isn’t the same'.

I didn’t see any real signs that the island was quieter. It had been a while since I’d been in San Antonio but, even so, it didn’t feel quiet. It did feel like the resort was in transition though. And when I looked around, aside from the Sunset Strip and Tropi, I didn’t remember San Antonio with any great fondness.

None of the nights we went to were that busy, but I genuinely think that was more to do with the nights we chose than the numbers on the island. We Love is a spread over a large club over more hours, the nights popular with Island Of Trance aren’t that popular beyond trance itself and the Cream nights involving Above & Beyond are clearly becoming devoid of the true Cream magic, the crowd dwindling as a result.

This year Ibiza wasn’t quiet though. To me, it was as bustling as ever.

My first trip to Ibiza was in 2005 and, in all honesty, it wasn’t until 2011 that I really had the kind of holiday that most people would regard as special in clubbing terms. I’m a little young to have experienced clubbing at its idealistic, purist height. (In trance terms, I caught the back end of a fading resurgence.) You read the stories of old and look at the island now and it’s obvious that the authorities have stamped a big jack boot on some of the Ibiza party culture. And there is a sense, particularly from the slow pace with which promoters got themselves together this season that the island is still shuffling its deck in response to EDM and, to a lesser extent, the rise of Vegas as an ‘alternative’.

But there is still plenty of magic there. Even aside from the vanity, commerciality and the mistakes of greedy clubs and promoters, the beauty of the island and the coming together of likeminded people wins through in a way that it just doesn’t elsewhere. In terms of the latter, Island Of Trance was a clear example of that.

Ibiza is far from done and something tells me it will reinvent itself. Clubbing has phases and Ibiza reflects those phases better than anywhere.

Although this was my longest ever stay in Ibiza, weirdly, it really did feel like the shortest. It wasn’t as wild a trip as it had been in 2012 and, in truth, I’m glad of that. In 9 days I only went to 4 clubbing events but it was still a hectic trip. Getting to DJ 3 times in one holiday was not only a dream come true but the perfect way to temper and mediate what could have otherwise been a messy, whirlwind of clubbing nights. I wanted a less debilitating affair this time, and in comparison to 2012, I got that.

It was disappointing to get the head cold that I got around Wednesday and the later discomfort that I felt around Saturday wasn’t the best either. (I was still using a concoction of around 4 medications for over a week after returning to the UK.) But compared to 2009, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t crack on through. Being busy and the DJing definitely helped to keep my mind off that discomfort. All-in-all, I’ve felt better in Ibiza; I’ve also felt far far worse. Illness in Ibiza is something you come to accept and deal with.

The main downside to 2014 was actually spending an absolute fortune. I blew my budget away with some extremely reckless spending in the opening few days – particularly at We Love.

But from a more positive point-of-view, three things stand out with this holiday. They stand out by a mile.

Firstly, the 3 DJing gigs were not only hugely enjoyable but really important learning curves. I came away from Ibiza with some pretty clear ideas about what I need to do to improve myself as a DJ – the reorganisation, the type of practice I need to do. It was also a lesson in spontaneity. I enjoyed that spontaneity. My set with Richie Knight was the most fun I’ve ever had DJing, at home or in public.

Secondly, a new Ibiza trip wouldn’t be the same without some new experiences. Captured was my first trip to Benimussa, the abandoned zoo venue, and I absolutely loved it. Overall, Tuesday was easily the best day I’ve had in Ibiza, a double header that truly lived up to the billing. Menno De Jong, who fundamentally showed the difference between vinyl and the digital age with his two sets, really deserves a special mention. Both sets were brilliant in their own ways.

The surreal thing was returning to the same villa we’d used in 2011. As familiar as it was, everything still felt so different. And not in a bad way. The owner had definitely made improvements to the villa since we’d last been there. And the service we got from Ibiza Hire was the best we’ve ever had. It was still the perfect place to stay and, if it weren’t for the shifting sizes of our groups, I’d stay there every single time.

But the cherry on the cake was getting to share some time with the Journey crew out there. Musically, their DJs were spot on all week, but more importantly, each one of them showed their class as people. Fun, approachable, warm and full of smiles; it was a privilege to be out there with them. Ben and I have noticed over the course of the last year that not all trance brands or DJs share the spirit and goodwill that we expect from trance music. The Journey crew most definitely do. Ibiza is about the people you share it with. We had the best.

And NE managed to survive the week on his crutches. When he first broke his knee, I had visions of us pushing him around the island in a wheelchair. But his condition didn’t stop him doing anything and no night we went to was too busy for him to get around.

We are already planning next year’s trip - very much along the same lines as this one. With a little bit of luck, we will take the Ibiza-Transcend alchemy to the next level. It won’t be the same as previous visits. It never is.

 

[Elltot]

Awesome review dude!