There’s been a vast amount of DJ swapping this season, with giants like Richie Hawtin and Jamie Jones headlining each other’s nights. And whatever your feelings on the matter may be, the fact remains that this new, unexplored territory draws plenty of bodies out the door onto the dance floor. Such was the case when it was leaked that none other than Loco Dice, who’s been spotted venturing far beyond the borders of his Used + Abused night at Ushuaia this season, would be taking the lead at the London turned Ibiza weekly, Fuse at Sankeys. So we headed deep into the red and black walls of Sankeys’ Basement to watch the master at work.
Official set times weren’t announced, stockpiling anticipation, as murmurs circulated around The Basement. One frantic clubber rushed in, asking his friend, ‘I heard he was supposed to be on at 1:30. Has he started?’ ‘No, I heard it’s 2am now,’ their more punctual friend replied. As the minutes passed, one could hardly bare it any longer, though the highly touted Fuse member, Samuel Bellis, who was playing his first ever gig at Fuse Ibiza, was keeping things locked in the groove ahead of Dice, making our wait for the big man that much easier.
Though once he did, there was no mistaking the man at work. From beat one, the pace went from laid back, stripped down Fuse grooves, to Loco Dice’s signature, snappy techno. Bodies packed in as tightly as possible, every punter with a smart phone recording the action, flash set to ‘on,’ casting Dice’s face aglow in a sea of white light.
Dice continued, throwing down bomb after bomb, taking things away with bass heavy techno and tribal tech madness, whistles and screams emanating from every corner of the ceaselessly rammed dance floor. His set dripped with signature Dice attitude, massive, raw funk pushing the energy ever higher, snare heavy, hip shaking rhythms that Dice is so famous for keeping the crowd pumping and thirsty for more, every drop eliciting an ‘ohhh’ and ‘ahhh’ from just about everyone with a pulse in the dark Basement of Sankeys.
If anyone had any reservations about seeing such a massive DJ on a platform like Sankeys’ legendary Basement, all was put to rest on Wednesday night, as one of the kings of techno made the famously low ceilinged room his for the night, putting on one of the hottest, sweatiest and most energetic shows of the season, the crowd raging on, still shoulder to shoulder all the way up until 7am with a two hour back to back session with Fuse founder Enzo Siragusa and Julian Perez, who closed the night out in style. No doubt, it was one for the ages.
Grab your tickets to next week's tINI And The Gang takeover at Fuse now!
