It’s well known that We Love… Space is as close as you will get to a festival on the island of Ibiza. Over the years, the Sunday party has become tradition, welcoming both cutting edge and highly established artists from across the globe each and every Sunday to make it happen in the hallowed walls of Space. This week, German whizz Steve Bug, Chicago legend Kevin Saunderson, and jackmaster Heidi, who went back to back with Scuba, smashed it once again as Bristol house brand Just Jack took over the Terrace. Simian Mobile Disco joined James Zabiela and Special Request Live (Paul Woolford) , who all manned the Discoteca, while Mr Doris and many more joined a string of We Love residents across the venue.
The We Love adventure with the living Ibiza legend Alfredo, playing early on in Space’s open air Premier Etage. Ibiza’s most infamous resident brought smiles to everyone’s faces, and even headliner James Zabiela was spotted enjoying a little early boogie, chatting away to friends and clubbers, explaining to all how he keeps those beautiful blonde locks in such perfect condition. All Sunday evenings should include Alfredo playing Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ on Premier Etage while sipping on a vodka and orange.
After Dark presented by Mr Doris started off with a few modern day classics. After weeks of hearing booming techno around the island, some stripped back and chilled out drum n’ bass was great to hear as an alternative sound, as We Love offers a little bit of everything, exploring the avenues of electronica in as many different ways as possible.
By 2am, Kevin Saunderson had the Terrace packed out. The Chicago legend has inspired many over the years. And while difficult to admit, this was the first time I had seen him in person, though it was certainly worth the wait. His set was a perfect mixture of old and new, ranging from Chic’s ‘Good Times’ to Michel Cleis’ ‘Mir de Nero,’ and with one of the contenders for tune of the summer with Finder’s ‘Ninetoes,’ The Elevator showed the effortless ability to breach any genre that few in the world can match.
Following it up was one of the more intriguing match ups of the season, with Radio 1 resident, Heidi, joining Scuba in a special back-to-back set. As usual with back-to-backs, you wonder who will be taking the lead, who will compromise their usual style to find the sound that will continue on throughout the set, though the two were perfectly matched, thundering out house that kept the crowd jacking all through the night. Leaving them to it for a bit to check out the gadget kid James Zabiela, I headed back right in the middle of Cirez D’s ‘On Off,’ a tune that was greatly received in the Discoteca, and one that brings back a few fantastic memories of previous seasons. Heading back into the terrace, Scuba and Heidi were finishing things off with house anthems such as Paul Woolford’s ‘Untitled,’ continuing to sound as good as it did early season, as well as KiNK’s ‘Existence,’ Jaydee’s ‘Plastic Dreams’ and Tensnake’s ‘Coma Cat,’ closing out the duo’s set in massive style, queuing Steve Bug to finish things off perfectly, reading the crowd like few others can.
With a very special Innvervisions showcase next Sunday, expect We Love... to continue this fine form into the closing weeks of the season, and for us to be here to report it to you.
