Monday night’s trip to Cocoon had all the signs of being one to remember – namely the prospect of Seth Troxler and Ricardo Villalobos going back-to-back to close the Amnesia Terrace.
Ever since I had seen the line-up, I knew that this night had the potential to be a particular landmark event this season. There was certainly an element of danger lurking around as well though, with Ricardo’s well-documented unpredictably the cause for some concern.
Whilst the night was still young, Seth Troxler and Craig Richards took the Cocoon soundtrack very deep, with minimalism at its very core. Having spent so many years warming up at Fabric, Richards’ record collection possibly reflects his musical circumstances, with a lot of his selections during the evening occupying the murkier end of the spectrum. The buzz of anticipation was pervasive however, as the growing pack filled all corners of the Terrace floor.
4am saw proceedings step up a notch with Ricardo Villalobos hitting the decks with conviction, control and bundles of unique charisma. Not many DJs receive a huge cheer once they take to the decks – such is Villalobos’ enormous wealth of character. Oozing emotion and a genuine love for the music, he was brilliant to watch as he swayed around the booth, simultaneously lost in the music and the party.
The beginning of the set saw Villalobos hitting the minimal side of things, with Spanish vocal influences and Latin rhythms thrown in for good measure.
This then made way for some pumping sounds around the hour mark, however, and Villalobos heated things up considerably, sending the dance floor spiralling into madness with each selection building on the last. Mixing flawlessly, he would cut snippets of the next record in, teasing us playfully, before dropping it out again and building more tension.
As we reached peak-time, the set carried a forceful driving motion, with tough raw techno pushing the BPM higher and pushing our heart rates higher still. By this point Villalobos was serving up some monumental tracks that were sending the dance floor into all sorts of thrilled states. A huge saxophone solo gave way to some heavy-duty break beats and then came one of my favourite moments of the set – an airing of Floorplan’s ‘Never Grow Old’.
The relentless techno rhythm coupled with some of the most powerful vocals you’re likely to hear becomes a match made in heaven, blending the disparate elements of light and dark perfectly to craft an out-and-out dance floor weapon that is sure to tear up peak-time dance floors wherever it’s played.
Eventually Seth reappeared in the Terrace booth ready to lay down some killer peak-time tracks. One that particularly stuck in my mind was Head High’s monster, ‘Hex Factor’, which combines swathes of aquatic-sounding pads with ear-drum battering break beats.
Craig Richards then responded with an old-school break beat track, and at this stage, around 7am, we had Villalobos, Craig Richards and Seth Troxler playing back-to-back-to-back. A pretty monumental trio if you ask me.
The threesome set about playing off each other’s vibe whilst the mass of early morning dancers still carried on strong. Whilst Villalobos and Troxler were pushing the atmosphere and playing to the heady mood of the room, Richards kept pulling things deeper, which wasn’t quite in keeping with the tone of the room, as Troxler looked to be encouraging him to select tracks that would maintain the momentum.
Before long though it was just Seth and Ricardo left to see out the remaining moments as the morning’s hedonism was laid bare by the ever-familiar sight of sunlight pouring through the Terrace windows.
As Papa Sven watched down from the balcony above, Troxler selected the last three tracks to see out the morning. Octave One’s ‘Black Water’ is one of the most uplifting tunes you’ll hear anywhere, then there was the hugely infectious Detroit classic, Underground Resistance’s ‘Transition’, and to round things off Troxler dropped some authentic Latin flavours to end the night in the most joyous of ways you can imagine.
The clubbing gods were having fun with this party, the stars aligned and we were treated to the real deal, which as far as I’m concerned is already going to be considered when looking back at the season’s best parties.
Amnesia is one of those clubs that sucks you in. I went to Cocoon anticipating a big night of partying and Amnesia swallowed me up. Before there was even chance for me to take stock of the enthralling rave experience which had just occurred, I found myself emerging from the Terrace’s side doors, shielding my eyes from the broad daylight and wondering what on earth had just happened. I knew it was incredible though.
Listen to Cocoon at Amnesia Ibiza on Pulse Radio.