It's nearing the end of my first season on the white isle, and one of my favourite things about working for Spotlight over the summer has been the variety of parties I've had the chance to go to. Last night, a million miles away from the techno marathon of Friday night's Music On, it was all about glitz and glamour as I headed over to San An's very own super club for the Hed Kandi & Es Paradis Closing Party.
The venue was looking its usual lavish self, the sweeping white balconies dressed to impress in swathes of pink tulle, whilst disco balls and sparkly Hed Kandi keyholes hung above the dance floor. This is definitely a night targeted at the more sophisticated end of Ibiza's masses; the bright lights and over-looking balconies making it the perfect stage for this impeccably dressed crowd. Even the staff were dressed to the nines, with the hosts, bar tenders and door attendants all in an array of dresses, stilettos and suits.
The Hed Kandi DJs were on hand to soundtrack the night with a mix of funky house, electro and chart classics. It was a high energy, fun filled sound with tracks like Kings Of Tomorrow's Finally that had people finding their inner Mariah, and club bangers like Essess's Just Friends and Tocadisco's Sunny La remix of Faul & Wad Ad v. Pnau Changes ensured the crowd were up and dancing from start to finish.
The various VIP sections around the club were teaming with life, including some familiar faces in the form of the TOWIE cast, all fitting in with Es Paradis' luxury look perfectly of course. With bottles of Grey Goose lining the bars and an abundance of waiters on hand for table service, if you're looking for VIP treatment it's no surprise you'd head here.
Hed Kandi's mantra for 2014 has been to explore your excessive side and the key to excess, they say, is entertainment. Well they certainly pulled out all the stops in that department last night; with dancers parading above the crowds in various sequinned outfits, a scantily clad performer twirling a flaming hoop above her head on stage, and of course Hed Kandi favourite Lovely Laura, who recently featured on Hed Kandi's new album, Summer Of Sax. With two performances over the course of the night, she wowed the crowd giving chart favourites like Wanklemut's My Head Is A Jungle and Shadow Child's Friday a jazz twist. A tribal element was brought to the mix by fellow Hed Kandi percussionist Dean Oram on bongos, and between them they clapped and whooped the crowd into a frenzy, as gold confetti fell from the rafters and inflatable saxophones were thrown around the dance floor.
With so many dark, heavy underground nights popping up in Ibiza over the last few years, it's easy to forget that this sort of hedonistic, unadulterated fun and excess that Hed Kandi and Es Paradis put on so well was what Ibiza was built on, and still very much about.
WORDS | Joanna Wright PHOTOGRAPHY | Es Paradis
