As someone eternally attached to my bed, I'm not entirely sure how I feel heading to an event which promises that no sleep is going to be had. At the same time, dancing into the morning hours is what we eagerly anticipated booking our flights to Ibiza. Pointless internal arguments aside – it was time to check out what Darius Syrossian and his partners in crime Santé and Sidney Charles were up to one week into their official Do Not Sleep residency.
Inside the Vista Club at Privilege, Dennis Ferrer hopped from one side of the decks to the other, working up a sweat, blending rhythms with explicit lyrics. Feeling playful, he'd drop a bass drum in a few times, barely checking in with his headphones to help guide his way. The injections of flavoursome beats would see your knees raised into your two-step as you were taken by the groove. The curtain between the floor and backroom was pulled midway, spreading the sound and vibe, but most importantly allowing air through.
Once the B2B2B was underway, it was apparent that the trio hadn't started properly until they'd done some shots together, also giving away a couple of them to those at the front. Taking it in turns passing headphones, as one took a scroll for the next track another would be taking a look at the floor to gauge when to put another rhythm into play. As things got into full swing, the slow-burning kick drum to Volkoder's Destiny Child's sampled, Sensation, on Suara was particularly pleasing, while the polyrhythms of Marvinello by Michael Cleis & Klement Bonelli caused a downright frenzy.
On the approach to 5am, there were no yawns in sight amongst the up for it crowd. The gift of three brains on the job led to quick changes in direction, keeping things fresh. There were moments when they worked the fully immersed floor to its capacity, dropping familiar vocal lines to draw excitement. Echoed hi-hats, or the dazed synth line on Acamar by Frankey & Sandrino would build the anticipation for the return of a deep-rolling 4/4 beat, the most potent of which coming from Luca Donzelli's remix of Remember the Days.
Judging by the numbers it was plain to see that Darius had outgrown Sankeys, taking true fans with him and dragging two German DJs along for the ride, Do Not Sleep seems like a natural progression. As the sunlight filtered through the windows the set drew to a close, not without demands of one more song of course. Ibiza's not sleeping on this three-headed mixing machine.
WORDS | Emma Gillet PHOTOGRAPHY | marc de Groot
