This season sees Space's in-house production night 'Ibiza Calling' occupy the quirky Wednesday night slot. Intrigue from Gerber's Wisdom; a departure in the form of Ushuaïa's Departures and foam-coated glint from Amnesia - Wednesday evenings on the island seem to flicker with exiting, fresh potential. Although mainly focusing on artists from the electro and progressive house camps Ibiza Calling has its musical arms flung firmly open - cultivating a boisterous, energetic atmosphere in which anyone can find their feet.
Progressive big room electro house is the banner that Ibiza Calling flies highest. The season so far has seen appearances from Hardwell, Fedde Le Grand and Kurd Maverick giving the slight impression that the party takes a substantial dose from its neighboring beach event - then again perhaps this is intentional: Ushuaia's faithful need only skip across the tarmac to gain another dose of their musical fix.
Camilo Franco opened the Terrace. The Space resident - voted as 'Best Ibiza Resident by DJMag in 2010 - treated the lively crowd to a quantum of tech-inflected electro. Straddling the boundary between gargantuan reverb and nimble rhythm the Spaniard lashed a clipped a cappella of Belinda Carlisle's Live Your Life Be Free with its euphorically instructive vocal to an ecstatic crowd. At the other end of the spectrum, Franco managed to tease a thin coating of grime over his selection of polished electro tracks - showcasing the parties diverse and accessible motif. Although receiving a positive reaction from the crowd Franco seemed more interested in impressing the girls lurking in his booth, rather than interacting with his 'fans'.
Main residents AN21 and Max Vangelli - a dissimilar pair if ever you saw one - overcame their physical differences with infectious camaraderie. Stodgy, rattling kicks with substance dipped between whirring synth builds and butchered vibrato kicks to create a pleasing dynamism. The dulcet tones of Michael Stipe and REM's Losing My Religion dribbled through the keys a flash before nought but an a capella of ABBA's Voulez-Vous took us all by surprise. Taking to the mic on numerous occasions Vangelli encouraged the crowd to lose every ounce of its abandon - if any at all remained.
Sharing the Size label platform with the above-mentioned residents the headliners for the evening, enigmatic duo Third Party were greeted with throat-scratching applause. Commanding an accelerated level of respect within the global and European progressive scene the pair deliver music with blistering vivacity and zest: to witness a Third Party set is to be wholly enveloped in a quick-fire broadside of electro-thrashed remixes. Alongside a full cohort of wheezing ice cannons the sound of both the electronic pairings seemed infinitely larger than the intimate confines of the Terrace space - it brought a sense of grander occasion. Their melodic rifts beset with spiraling peaks and sultry heterogeneous vocals seemed to lift the party high above its station; albeit in a simple format, Ibiza Calling represents accessible, euphoric enthusiasm.
