MONDAY nights in Ibiza belong to Sven Väth. It’s been this way since 1999. For this monumental 20th season, Cocoon and Sven made dance music history. With shows this summer at Amnesia, Benimussa Park and Ushuaïa, those that were there to experience any of the parties this year on the white isle will be left […]
MONDAY nights in Ibiza belong to Sven Väth.
It’s been this way since 1999.
For this monumental 20th season, Cocoon and Sven made dance music history.
With shows this summer at Amnesia, Benimussa Park and Ushuaïa, those that were there to experience any of the parties this year on the white isle will be left with memories that will last a lifetime.
Featuring many of the world’s best electronic music talents along the way including Kraftwerk, Underworld, Richie Hawtin, Seth Troxler, Solomun, Carl Craig, Ricardo Villalobos and Bicep, it all came down to the grand closing on Monday 30th September at Amnesia with Sven front and centre on the terrace, joined by hotly tipped, DJ of the moment, Peggy Gou while Adam Beyer, Ilario Alicante and ANNA were left in control of the club room.
Having danced to ‘Papa’ Sven’s beat for more years than I can remember, witnessing him revel in his natural habitat not only in Ibiza but also across the dance floors of Watergate in Berlin, Time Warp, Love Family Park, various Cocoon parties both in Ibiza and the UK and too many festivals to mention, it’s always exciting when you arrive at a party to see him already installed in the booth as he was when we entered Amnesia at midnight last Monday.
Peppered throughout the review you will find a selection of tracks dropped across the epic celebrations.
The thing about Sven is you never know what you are going to get and he never fails to deliver a masterclass selection of mind bending music. He is a legend in his own lifetime with a commitment and passion that has influenced and advanced the evolution of electronic music.
On Monday, he didn’t disappoint, bringing the Amnesia terrace to boil with an intricate blend of deeper sounds that increased and bubbled to a simmering intensity over the first two hours of the night before he passed the baton to Peggy Gou.
I must admit feeling almost sorry for Peggy taking over from Sven, I mean how do you follow a master like him on a night like this? She did her best and reminded the floor why she has risen through the ranks so quickly. But it was during her set that we left the terrace to explore what was on offer in the club room.
There we found, Ilario Alicante in command and on fire, playing blistering techno which certainly kept the blood pumping.
As we made our way back to the terrace a little later, Peggy was finishing up her set, dropping old classics such as ‘Meet Her At The Love Parade’ before ending her two hour set with her own hit summer record ‘Starry Night’.
Then it was straight back to business with Sven returning to the fray and boy did he deliver, keeping us locked on from the moment he took over from Peggy to the last beat he dropped.
As the night came to an end, with Amnesia begging for more I was left replaying stand out moments in my mind, from the crowd surfer bringing Sven the tissue conga back to the booth (if you have been to Cocoon you will know what I mean by ’tissue conga’!) to Seth Troxler appearing alongside the maestro to dance to Lil Louis’ classic ‘French Kiss’.
Then it was time to rest. But the celebrations were far from over…
The after party at Benimussa Park was set to get underway from 4pm on Tuesday afternoon. After a well earned rest in the Ibiza sunshine, we arrived for the very first beat with Sven in control again from the beginning, welcoming the keen few gathered for his opening salvo of sun kissed grooves in the fabulous open air former zoo.
The afternoon and evening belonged to Sven. This was a chance to join him on a journey and as the park filled up quickly, the music became deeper and more twisted until Sven reached his zenith, commanding the throng with not only the music but with the physical gestures those who know Sven will be familiar with. It’s times such as these as Sven himself says; ‘Things get interesting!’
The 8 hour session came to a close at just before midnight and Sven thanked the crowd for their support for Cocoon in Ibiza promising another 20 years. He then invited us to join him down the rabbit hole at Benimussa for another extended session set to take Los Cocooneros into the wee small hours.
At this we had to decline.
One missed flight home was enough for us this time.
