Seasoned Ibiza DJ Steve Lawler was the first to feed in a little intrigue surrounding Hï Ibiza's Thursday residency, In The Dark. Earlier this year when we grabbed the British veteran for an interview on becoming a resident at Playa d'en Bossa's newest superclub, he told us that the new party series would be an “underground night for really getting stuck in.” And that's exactly what I set out to do last night with the In The Dark opening.
Having had a taste of the club opening and seeing its potential, to then getting a dose of Black Coffee's venom at his opener and being further won over, I went in there feeling pretty damn positive. Now, despite clubs expecting to see in less punters throughout the ten days that follow opening weekend, this place needn't have concerned itself. It was bouncin' in there at 2.30AM, and it was certainly an opportunity to get cosy in that crowd.
Dutch supremo Joris Voorn was feeding the crowd in The Theatre thick beats, with DJ Fronter's tech house growler Damn. I could have stuck with him, but as I'm still a little disorientated in there, I went in for mapping this place out in my mind once again. On passing through I caught sight of Hï Ibiza owner and CEO, Yann Pissenem, and thought that he's surely got to be buzzing with the turnout. The Wild Corner was packed with revellers gunning for a toilet sing-song, and the Magic Garden was glowing with the Singapore-inspired supertrees. From this garden spot - while mid-watching a couple canoodling for longer than I probably should have - I heard Voorn knocking out The Ones' 2001 house smasher, Flawless, and I was right back in that Theatre. There's nothing like a solid classic to really bring up the crowd, especially when there's a sense that you're not alone in recognising it. From Flawless, Voorn dug up another gem in the form of Basement Jaxx's 1997 brute, Fly Life. I'm that person that can listen to a tune for five hours on repeat, and this is one of those – sorry mum. Packing ragga, disco and UK garage influences into this house club classic, it just grabs you and you're left in one sweaty state once it's done with you. Thank you, Mr. Voorn.
Nic Fanciulli – a name that's synonymous with energy-loaded sets in Ibiza – was holding onto his territory in the Club. Happy, sweaty faces were all around, which for a DJ points to the conclusion that your job is done. The piercing lighting is incredible in here; a clubber cannot forgo the attention to detail in the way a club is illuminated. Like with Voorn, Fanciulli also had us held tightly on that dance floor with a solid flow of tech house thugs. From Blow Your Mind by Mat.Joe, to Play By Play by Luca Morris and Keep The Fire Burning by Emery Warman – it was chunky dance floor dirt.
Kölsch and Steve Lawler were the last to nail us into the ground, and I flipped the coin which first led me into the realm of Kölsch – ya beauty. Just superb energy in the Theatre. He had me gripping my thighs and spun into a sensual place with Rampa's remix of Deep Musique by Pastaboys Feat. Osunlade, and wanting to reach for his own vast discography with Goldfisch and Grey both fed in to perfection. A highlight for me (and undoubtedly others on going by the cheers) was when he brought in Undercatt's beastly track Futura – a dark, heavy nugget with a head-tilting climax. After sampling him, I sought a little interaction with Lawler, and I got on brilliantly with his thumping tech house artillery. Drastic Duo's jackin' house bruiser Funky Jam was deployed and he gave us tension-building moments that released themselves as high-octane beatings.
With Steve Lawler, Kölsch, Joris Voorn and Nic Fanciulli being the night's residents, they set this one up effortlessly. Luciano is the fifth part of the puzzle, and he's gunning to join the crew next Thursday. Will you be there? You should be.
PHOTOGRAPHY l Hï Ibiza
