Time flies my dearest friends and it seems that the farewell stint has just begun on the white isle. But before we get too sentimental, let me tell you that besides the nostalgic tidal wave that enshrouds them, closing parties are full of enthusiasm, vitality and enviable line-ups. Last night was the turn of the Cream folk, who offered a massive celebration setting Amnesia's floor throbbing to the rhythm of thousands who refused to miss the last fiesta of the season. The diverse range of sounds, the familiar faces on stage and the incredibly animated dancefloor made it one of my most memorable parties of the summer. But let's start from the beginning.
The last beats of the Brit Jordan Suckley's set, who has already had a generous sampling of Cream's booth this summer, welcomed me to the trance world that was settling in the main room. Heavenly breakdowns, layered synth patterns and mesmerizing beats cheered our first drinks which we had to leave unfinished at the bar to jump into the centre of the dancefloor and show our best moves by the time he sampled the banging trancer Culture Vulture by Adam Ellis. Suckley put the crowd into an absolute frenzy, warming our ears for what was coming up: Aly & Fila. Unfortunately the two pharaohs couldn't make it together and just the one of them spread pitches to the audience, playing a large repertoire of some of their classics and remixes. We slowly transitioned from harder beats into more uplifting and vocal trance towards the middle of the set, hearing beauties such as Aly & Fila's The Other Shore, Eric Prydz's Opus or OceanLab's Clear Blue Water.
While all of this magic was happening in the main room, Disciples were finishing their gig on the terrace. The London based trio filled the venue with How Deep Is Your Love - the amazing Calvin Harris collaboration that is sounding everywhere I go since its release – to which the massive crowd responded with fist-pumping and chanting as if the world was going to end. Lots of excitement and shouts of joy erupted in the room when the unique Fatboy Slim took over the decks, his skills such a pleasure to check in live. He made a two-hour house musical journey through his more modern tracks like Eat Sleep Rave Repeat to smooth classics like The Rockafellar Skank or crunchy slices of vocal filled EDM.
But the top moment of the night was courtesy of Paul Van Dyk. The legendary trance guru and long-time favourite of Cream brought an incredible set to the main room that will definitely never be forgotten. As big fans we ran to the front line to close our eyes and feel the beats he was sending forth. Starting with some heavy techno lines to get the legs warmed up, he quickly switched gears into euphoric trance. Accompanied by appropriate stage production with lights down low and colorful lasers, the German played true to his original sound through an array of classics that had everyone feeling emotional and some stellar vocal tracks that couldn't be left out of the pack. With song selection on point and smooth transitioning, it was a perfect night of trance where we could hear such gems as Delirium's Silence, Above & Beyond's Sun and Moon or Van Dyk's own productions like I Don't Deserve You or Lights, tracks which put the final charge into his performance.
Post 5am we wandered from the hard trance beats and the crazy moves that we had at the main room, to the peaceful and chilling ones that were about to come on the terrace. A soft saxophone melody introduced the talented Lovely Laura to the scene. Perched on the balcony above the booth, her soaring, piercing melodies sailed across the rafters of Amnesia's terrace to tunes like Robin Schulz's Show Me Love - a classy touch. Accompanied by Sean Hughes and Ben Santiago on the decks below, it was an incredibly good proposal from the Cream folks that either made people take to their cameras to record, or close their eyes to experience such a beautiful moment.
Cream knows how to finish its season leaving a sweet taste in our mouths, going for a complete line-up full of veterans and new faces besides dynamic programming that left none unsatisfied. This is not a final goodbye, it is just an au revoir; see you in 2016.
PHOTO CAPTION | Cream turned our Spanish writer into a massive trance fan
WORDS | Natalia Gutiérrez PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
