Last night was my first trip to Privilege and it left me wondering why, until now, I hadn't been before. Though I knew that the main room wouldn't be open, I was excited to add another Ibiza club to my checklist and see what the world's biggest nightclub looks like from the inside.
Walking into the club for the first time, I couldn't help but think that the eerie, pitch black walk to the club was perfectly matched with the eerie décor that lay waiting inside. Decorations for The Pharm at Privilege are designed to make the club look like a mental asylum and this is done rather convincingly – The first thing I noticed upon walking in was a bar that was decorated with signs saying ‘Mental Institution', ‘Sanatorium' and ‘Manicomio' – which means ‘asylum' in English. Lanterns were glowing around the bars, DJ booth and club, complementing the rather dark theme of the party. After setting aside a little time to take in my surroundings, I was ready to get stuck in to the music that was on offer in the Vista Club.
We got to the dance floor just in time to see Agoria kick off his two hour set. It was a night of firsts for me as I'd never seen Agoria play despite the fact that I fell in love with his production last year after hearing his hit Innervisions release ‘Scala' at ENTER, so I was pretty excited to see what sort of music he plays out. It seemed as though the first fifteen minutes of his set were dedicated to playing a much more mellow type of techno that you don't necessarily hear at other nights with similar music policies on the island. I've never felt so relaxed at a techno-based event! One particularly early track featured a flute melody that sounded similar to Mongol by Ten Walls and made for a great warm-up that proved to be a floor-filler, paving the way for the more heavy-hitting tracks to follow.
As soon as the dancers stepped up to their podiums dressed as nurses, things began to get a little heavier in the Vista Club as Agoria stepped up the pace. Double and treble kicks came aplenty as the InFiné co-founder switched things up to more punchy tech house that featured some tasty, stabbing synth chords combined with perfectly measured filter that blended the melodic elements of the music harmoniously. Considering how versatile Agoria's track selection was and the infusion of the familiar sounds of tech-house and techno with the more unfamiliar Arabic sounds and unique instruments featuring throughout; the mix flowed perfectly and was executed with virtual perfection by Agoria. The Vista Club's Funktion One sound system packs a ridiculous punch that no build-up can possibly prepare you for and more than worthy of featuring in the main room of any British club I've been to before, so it was no surprise to see Agoria using this to his full advantage. Confetti cannons brought about moments of excitement on the dance-floor that were just as much of a rush as the more established parties on the island. Seriously, if you're on the island over the coming months, make it a priority to see him play – you wont be disappointed.
Although the Vista Club was pretty busy, we discussed why you don't hear many British techno-lovers on the island talking about The Pharm. We were struck not only by the great attention to detail paid in the decoration of the club but also by the quality of the music inside. Even if techno isn't your cup of tea, it's impossible not to enjoy the night when you sit back on the terrace outside and look out on the astounding view towards Dalt Vila and Ibiza Town. In the past I've usually found techno nights both in Ibiza and at home a bit full on, the kind of night that you have to mentally prepare yourself for. Yet Privilege's answer to the island's love of techno is a great combo of good music and plenty of places to kick back and chill, before heading back in and partying some more. Genius.
WORDS | Janson Goldberg PHOTOGRAPHY | Privilege/Tilllate.com
