Ahhh, September in Ibiza. Locals and island regulars look forward to this month with Christmas-like expectations. Things start slowing down back to an island like pace, with bars and restaurants going from overcrowded tourist havens to sleepy local joints in a matter of days.
And much the same can be said about the clubs. As impressive as it might be to snap a few photos of an overly rammed Amnesia terrace in mid August, the reality can be slightly harsher. Don’t get me wrong, clubbing in Ibiza is almost always fun, and I’ve had some incredible nights out during the August rush, but it comes certain caveats. When things are that heaving, one must simply make peace with the fact that dancing isn’t likely to happen until light starts creeping through Amnesia’s glass ceiling. Instead, we all make do with moving out of people’s way time and time again.
But that’s what makes September all the sweeter. A bill with Dixon, Ame, Marcel Dettmann, Papa Sven and Loco Dice, combined with a knowledgeable and up for it crowd, and even a little space to bust a move or two on the dance floor, makes for one hell of a night. Cocoon superbly struck the balance on Monday night, with both rooms giving clubbers something unique to chew on. Over in the main room, Dettmann giving us a full force Berlin treatment with slamming techno straight out of the darkest reaches of club land, leading to a takeover by Papa Sven, who rolled on with the slamming techno, keeping the packed room pumping and jumping until the early morning, while over in the terrace, Dixon kept the BPM’s low and the beats groovy.
Not wanting to miss any of Dixon, we were lucky enough to walk in just as he was playing one of this season’s favorites, the Matthew Styles Remix of Dinky’s ‘Falling Angel.’ From there, the Innervisions co-boss kept everyone entranced with a mix of melodic and tech, bouncing back and forth between the two with surgical precision. Heading from bass driven fair like ‘The Clapping Track’ by Claude VonStroke, which has seen heavy rotation this summer by the likes of Heidi and other jack-meisters, over to tunes like Jimmy Edgar’s whomper, ‘Strike,’ Dixon slid back to more emotional territory with piano laden grooves like Agoria’s ‘Scala’ without skipping a beat.
Âme’s Frank Wiedemann took the reigns after Dixon, playing a live set for the packed Cocoon terrace, and brought nothing but warm grooves and leg moving beats. Frank couldn’t help but enjoy himself, bouncing right along with breathtaking tunes like the duo’s remix of ‘Re:Stacks’ by Mario & Vidis Feat. Barbarossa. The Innervisions man was using his live controls to his full advantage, casually tossing the duo’s 2005 breakout hit ‘Rej,’ instantly stirring the crowd up as he cut the massive melodic tune in and out, giving the familiar track an edge few else could create. From there, Wiedemann unleashed an uplifting, inspirational vocal track, bass hovering just below the surface as he expertly fingered haunting chords from his keyboard, playing his instruments with the unbridled joy of a child. Come close to 4am though, Wiedemann turned the controls over, unleashing one last bomb with ‘Where We At’ by Henrik Schwarz & Âme & Dixon, as it was time to switch gears completely, Loco Dice returning to his old stomping grounds for one last free for all on the terrace this summer.
With artists like Marco Carola, I feel like I can explain simply ‘I saw Carola,’ and they’ll immediately understand the sound and feeling I heard that night. Having seen Loco at so many different venues across the island this summer, however, I can’t honestly pin down his sound. Techno, of course, but the range and breadth of it spans greatly from room to room and club to club, the mark of any expert DJ to be sure. At Cocoon on Monday, Loco’s techno was some of the most beastly, jacking, in your face music I’ve heard all summer. Loco was in the house, and it was a full-fledged party.
Early on, the Desolat boss ripped us into a furry with bangers like ‘G'zu’ by Marc Scholl, playing with the track’s massive acid builder like the pro that he is, CO2 blasting a hit of cool air on the sweaty masses below. From there, the flood gates were open for the Cocoon favorite, as Dice tore the terrace a new one with hot messes like wAFF’s ‘Puke It Up,’ ‘House 99’ by Paco Wegmann, and ‘Pompino’ by Butch, released on the Dice’s own Desolat earlier this summer. Though the night’s highlight had to be the ripping edit of ‘XR2’ by M.I.A.. horns blasting us with their furry.
It was another massive showing for one of the world’s most celebrated party institutions, with nary a figure leving the dance floor until the last beat dropped. Until next Monday, Cocoon…