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This Friday saw none other than Carl Cox return to the terrace at Amnesia for the first time in 15 years, playing alongside Marco Carola at the Italian’s wildly successful techno extravaganza, Music On. It was one of the biggest, best and busiest nights of the season, as Carola and Cox went back to back for an utterly rammed terrace, and it’s easy to say, Friday night was one for the history books.
Even early on in the night, the place was packed to the brim, crowds ceaselessly filing into the terrace as Leon kept the vibe chilled and funky ahead of Cox. At around 2:30, screams erupted from the terrace, cameras appearing from every corner of the room as Cox took over the decks at Amnesia for the first time in over a decade. Immediately, electricity shot into the atmosphere, as everyone in attendance knew they were about to witness something truly special, Cox’s name flashing on the giant LED screen at the back of the room.
Cox carried the vibe from Leon perfectly, transitioning so smoothly that if you weren't looking, you would have never even realized the DJ had changed. Having only seen the master at Space here in Ibiza, I’ve become accustomed to King Cox launching into things right from the start, giving the eagerly waiting Space crowd exactly what they paid for. However, at Amnesia he built his set beautifully, precisely inching up the tempo with all the class and ease only someone with Carl's expertise could muster, finally hitting his groove point about 30 minutes in. As if one cue, Cox let out an 'oh yes, oh yes!' to euphoric cheers, balanced by an equal amount of awe and disbelief that the Space legend was finally on unfamiliar turf, and in one of the best rooms in the world at that. Topping it all off, his next track broke into a furious orgy of jazz, slugging right back into sleazy techno, everyone’s arms pumping along with the rhythm. From there, he headed over to Late Nite Tough Guy’s ubiquitous ‘I Get Deeper’ sampled over pumping tech house, and Josh Wink’s hypnotic and trippy ‘Superfreak (Freak),’ its vocals stretching as far and wide as the massive room would allow.
Over in the main room, Paul Rich was taking over for the Neverdogs, slamming ahead with funky yet straight laced techno grooves, grids of purple lasers turning the floor into a loosely woven mesh of smoke and light. As the crowd pumped along with Rich, a rebar Music On symbol coldly hung over everyone’s heads. Though more than a new take on the symbol, it slowly began to be lowered towards the crowd, a performer climbing on board. Once back up, the performer began twisting and crawling in and out of the symbol as countless colorful lasers filled the space below him.
Back in the terrace, Cox had the crowd right where he wanted them, with the energy squarely on high. Carl was keeping the frenzied crowd jacked with a constant drip of methodical, twisted beats, throwing in the occasional crowd favorite like ‘Sacrafice’ by Mark Fanciulli. Eventually it was time for Carola to join Cox on stage, going back to back for the second time this season, though last time Carola was on Cox’s turf in the main room at Space.
The two traded massive punches, throwing out bomb after techno bomb, the energy cascading up and down with the ease and grace only two of the world’s best jocks combining talents could offer. They knew exactly how much to give and when to give it, easing from funk laden hip shakers to hands in the air techno, and one look at the densely packed terrace said it all – smiles beaming from every face in the place, radiating all the energy the two jocks were pushing out right back to them. Everyone was feeling it that night.
Marco closed things down for the night, once again riling up the early morning crowd with cheeky edits of classic pop layered over Carola’s brand of dirty, funky, stripped down techno, including a Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ and Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise,’ as well as tossing in the timeless Green Velvet sample ‘La La Land’ over raw, jacking techno.
As has been mentioned in some of our earlier interviews, the issue of DJ swapping this seems to divide people, opinions seeming to lean more towards the negative. I’m not quite sure where I stand on the issue, but from what I saw this Friday, allowing someone as technically and artistically impressive as Carl Cox to spread his eagle sized wings only seemed to stir the pot of creativity and give the fans an extra special treat. For the artists, I think it’s safe to say that nights like Friday are not about money. They’re about trying new things, and playing alongside comrades and in venues that just last year seemed impossible. And none of that sounds all that bad.
Miss your chance to see Coxy destroy Music On? Well we can't help that, but we can make sure you don't miss next week's Music On featuring Marco Carola, TINI, Pan Pot, Anja Schneider and Mar-T, so grab your tickets today!
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Listen to Marco Carola on Pulse Radio.
