Chapter four of our season preview series is all about Pacha, after a thorough look at the plans for summer 2018 of Ushuaïa, Amnesia and Hï. Pacha opened for business a few nights ago, so it is high time we finally speak about this legendary and iconic club located in Ibiza Town.
Same as with season preview part three, which was about Hï, we start by looking back at Pacha's immediate past, before looking ahead to the summer.
In winter 2016-2017 the Pacha group, up until then a family business run by Ricardo Urgell, was sold to Trilantic Europe, an investment fund. Pacha is a much-loved venue and after having been managed for such a long time by the same group of people, it is fair to say many people were worried that, with such a drastic change of ownership, Pacha would undergo drastic changes as well.
What happened in 2017 was a year of transition in which the new owners screened all aspects of the business in detail and then came up with plans to improve. One of those plans was remodelling the club, which happened this past winter and meant that the club closed all winter for the first time we can remember.
As we all know, humans are creatures of habit and most of us don't like change. Plenty of people feared Pacha might depart from their traditional roots as an old-school Spanish finca, follow Hï's example and turn into something ultra-modern.
Now, after seeing the club open two nights in a row, I am glad to say that Pacha is still very much the Pacha we all know and love. They have changed stuff - lots of tiny details, many things you don't see at first glance and obviously also some that you do notice. Our editor Elle has put together a great piece explaining all the changes - go have a read of it if you haven't yet.
The bottom line of the refurb is this: the essence of Pacha is still the same. If you liked Pacha before the winter, you will almost certainly love it now. If you were never a big fan of Pacha, then I genuinely think now is the time to give it another go.
Seriously, hats off to team Pacha - heu fet un treball molt polit (which basically means good job in Catalan!)
Now let's check out Pacha's programming for summer 2018.
Pacha's week starts with an evergreen. Flower Power has been part of Pacha's programme for longer than most of you readers have been around. This summer will be the party's 38th season to be exact.
Flower Power has always been a night you should experience at least once - the décor, the show and especially the music is really something unique in clubland Ibiza. This has not changed, and we still think you should definitely see the show at least one time. Even so, for this season, Pacha has decided that it's time to give the night a fresh spin.
We actually don't know many details just yet, but we can expect a new show, a bit more variety musically and some guest DJ appearances that might be especially interesting. Stay tuned...
For the last two summers, Pacha was Maceo Plex's playground on Tuesdays with his Mosaic night. A critically acclaimed night with an artist roster to die for if you were an underground electronic music head, the night faced very stiff competition in both seasons.
In 2016 it went up against Carl Cox's last weekly residency at the late Space, and in 2017, suddenly two new players, RESISTANCE at Privilege and Eric Prydz's new night at Hï popped up and made life hard for Eric Estornel and his Mosaic family.
Mosaic was one of those examples showing how tricky it is to run a successful night on this island: the night happened in an amazing club and they had a great line-up, but the competition was simply too strong. That said, I personally think that, as with Wisdom of the Glove a few years back (Guy Gerber's night at Pacha), Mosaic's line-ups were probably also just a bit too far leftfield for the Pacha crowd.
Enough of the past, though - 2018 sees a new party: Tuesdays on Mars. It happens all summer with the exception of 10 July, which is the date Carl Cox does one of his One Night Stands (in case you missed the news, apart from playing three RESISTANCE dates, he plays one night at Pacha, another one at Amnesia and one at DC10).
The first of the big names for Tuesdays on Mars has just been announced and it is Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim. He headlines the party on seven dates. More really, really big names are on the way, but I can't reveal them just yet - so stay tuned. Maybe just one hint: My House (the old Pacha Wednesday night) is gone... but not completely.
Certainly the biggest shocker of the entire Ibizan winter, Cocoon, the island's original techno party, moves to Pacha after 18 years at Amnesia. This move immediately changed many things here on the island and will have implications in the near and far future.
As a longstanding Cocoon aficionado, please let me elaborate on that story. In Amnesia's season preview, we already mentioned that, despite having some amazing line-ups, Cocoon just didn't succeed in always filling the vast club that is Amnesia, with its two big dance floors and also two pretty big table sections upstairs.
Both team Amnesia and the Cocoon family were interested to keep the run going and discussed the matter for a long time. In the end, Cocoon was left with only two options to choose from: either give up part of their musical identity by incorporating artists into their line-up that would bring new people into Amnesia (especially for the upstairs section) or stay true to the party's roots and look for an alternative place to keep Cocoon going.
Anyone who knows any of the Cocoon family is well aware of how straightforward and true to their ideology they are. The call was made and, even though it was unthinkable for many people, Cocoon moved to Pacha.
Actually, it is no secret that Cocoon and Pacha had been in talks for a long time already. The team behind Cocoon said so themselves: the change was a long time coming. And I suppose that I can also say that Pacha's refurb played a big part in Cocoon's decision to be so bold and move after 18 seasons.
If you think about it, though, it somehow does make sense. Both Cocoon and Pacha have always been two very authentic entities, very close to the island locals and very true to their roots.
Even though up until maybe five years ago, people couldn't imagine Pacha being a place for a techno night, history has taught us otherwise recently. Solomun +1 is one of the club's most successful nights and a great part of his DJ guests often also play sets at... yeah you guessed it, Cocoon.
With Pacha's re-opening and Cocoon seeing its time in Amnesia slowly but steadily running out, in my humble opinon, it was the perfect moment for Sven and his family to make the move. I, for one, am very much looking forward to seeing how Cocoon's story continues...now not in San Rafael anymore, but in Ibiza Town instead.
Cocoon's 2018 line up has come out last week. Since Pacha has only one proper big dance floor (the main room or room I as Cocoon call it), the concept of the Cocoon line-ups evidently had to change a little.
What they didn't change are the long DJ sets. These still consist of mostly two DJs per room only, sometimes three artists and sometimes just one for the whole night. However, Room II, which is Pachacha, holds only a few hundred people so it is understandable that they couldn't put up the same line-up as they used to in Amnesia which has two floors with a capacity of over 2000 people each.
Instead, Room II sees a fine selection of artists who, for the most part, are not massive headliners but DJs who are well-known for their musical know-how. Room II is also a proper alternative from an atmosphere point of view. In Amnesia both rooms are huge so the programme fits accordingly, but in Pacha with one big room and one small room, Pachacha, it is a really small and intimate affair.
While there will certainly be people who do not understand this change, lately we have all seen that here on Ibiza, nothing is forever. Space has turned into Hï, Cream has left Amnesia after two decades and Cocoon is now in a club that for a long time used to be famous for being a venue playing almost exclusively house music.
Ibiza is in constant evolution and after 18 years of youth, Cocoon is celebrating its adulthood elsewhere now. Can't wait.
Thursdays - F*** Me I'm Famous
Still going strong after well over a decade, FMIF keeps being one of Pacha's main attractions. Even after so many years at the top, David Guetta simply hasn't lost any of his popularity and is the only artist doing a double residency on the island this summer (Monday evenings at Ushuaïa and Thursday nights at Pacha).
This speaks volumes and just shows how much clubbers of all ages still care about DG. Line-ups for FMIF 2018 will follow soon, but in past years Monsieur Guetta has been joined by a host of EDM and house artists, as well as some massive surprise guests. From Afrojack to Oliver Heldens, from Snoop Dogg to Usher and Kelly Rowland - when David calls, everyone is in.
F*** Me I'm Famous is one of those nights you shouldn't wait to get tickets... because soon they will be gone. Sold out most weeks of the summer, VIP area full to the last table and Mr Guestlist nowhere to be seen - this night is a proper phenomenon. Even though Pacha has a new roof now, I am sure Guetta, his crew and the crowd will keep taking it off Thursday after Thursday. Get ready for the mayhem!
Season two for Hot Since 82 and his Labyrinth night at Pacha. Last summer's debut residency went well; the club was not packed week in, week out, but certainly busy enough and the night had a really good vibe.
Labyrinth had a very interesting mix of artists last year, covering a lot of sub-genres in the house spectrum, so we are rather curious to see how this season's line-ups are going to look. They are still under wraps as we speak, but it cannot be long before they see daylight. 2017 saw appearances by scene legends such as Sasha, Adam Beyer, Erick Morillo and Danny Tenaglia... If that's anything to go by, we should be in for a treat yet again!
Saturdays - Pure Pacha | Paris by Night by Bob Sinclar
Another evergreen inside Pacha, Pure Pacha has also been a bit of a chameleon over the course of the past decade. Sometimes it touched on tech house, other times on EDM - this summer it covers many styles as Bob Sinclar brings guests like Todd Terry and Louie Vega, as well as people like DJ Harvey and Felix Da Housecat to Pacha.
What has changed over the past few years is that Saturday night is no longer a 'weak' night on the island - there actually isn't any weak night of the week anymore. But, ever since elrow got so big (first in Space, now in Amnesia) and, in Playa d'en Bossa, the ANTS and Black Coffee combination attracts thousands of people every week, Ibiza Town has had somewhat of a little quieter Saturday nights of late. Let's see how it pans out this summer.
Pacha's week ends with the night that recently has wreaked the most havoc in this venue. Even though once again this winter everyone was saying that king Solomun would be leaving Pacha for somewhere else, Mladen stayed.
Seriously, having seen the refurbished venue now, I can really picture this night getting even bigger. The reasons are that the dance floor finally has more room and the sound system is better and more powerful - two absolute essential points for any night really, but especially for one that really demanded everything of its venue lately.
2018 line-ups are out for Solomun +1, too, and Solomun has many of his usual guests, such as Âme, Dixon and DJ Tennis. He also brings some new faces to Pacha - Bicep, Chloé and Lawrence for example. Sometimes it is exactly those new names that truly rock the night, so don't be put off if you do not know his +1 at all.
Much is always been said about Solomun: his heavy touring schedule, his party antics, the infamous afters... but there is one fact that just needs saying: ever since Solomun +1's inception in 2013, this night rapidly turned into one of Pacha's best nights atmosphere-wise. The vibe in the venue come 5:00 in the morning is palpable and up there with the best on our island.
Conclusion
After a season of transition from old to new management and a first-ever winter being closed because of the refurb, Pacha is ready and raring to go for summer 2018.
With an updated venue that has not lost its charm, a few new nights to spruce up the weekly programme and a modernized and much more attractive ticket pricing system, the Pacha of old has arrived in the present with a bang.
As much as we loved Pacha's old-school approach, a few tweaks were necessary and we feel that they have been done very very well. The Pacha we saw opening last weekend is a Pacha ready for the future.
Three more things to finish with...
One - if you are on the island this month, don't miss the Heartbeat Of The Island parties. Two parties are already done, but you've got four nights left to see the new Pacha, each with an all-night-long DJ set by a huge international artist:
Friday 11 May - Seth Troxler
Saturday 12 May - Dixon
Friday 18 May - Fatboy Slim
Saturday 19 May - Solomun
Two - as stated at Pacha's press conference on the day of the re-opening, the club will stay open again next winter, a very positive message for the island.
Three - no we haven't forgotten about Pacha's resort Destino. So far two events have been announced: The venue opening party on Friday 1 June, featuring a Cocoon Daytime party with Sven Väth, Adriatique and more. Also, Guy Gerber's RUMORS, the Sunday evening party with free entry, returns. Stay tuned for more news on Destino's other big parties to come soon.
