• Published
    Thu, Aug 16, 2012, 18:17
  • Words
    Resident Advisor
  • Share
  •  image
  • This week we focus in on Ibiza's local community, the Ibicencos, to gauge their opinion of the electronic scene and the impact it has on the island they call home. We also round up several key parties from across the week, including a special appearance at Sankeys. Local perspectives There are just over 132,000 people native to Ibiza, who live and work on the island all year round. Every summer, between May and October, their home is visited by in excess of two million tourists, the majority of them seeking wild, hedonistic pursuits. To better understand the impact of such an influx, we sat down with three locals to discuss the positives, the negatives and just what happens on the island in winter.
    Juan Tur Guasch, business owner (Delta Discos)
    Valentin Huedo, DJ
    Marcelo De Souza, bouncer
    This week on the island
    Following on from BBC Radio 1's island takeover at the beginning of the month, last weekend saw East London station Rinse FM try their hand at the same. From the 8th through 13th, the globally respected, underground brand would broadcast from Ibiza, hosting shows and streaming selected parties live on air. Incorporated into the schedule were a handful of Rinse's own events, among them a collaboration with Hypercolour as part of the London-based imprint's Monday night residency at Sankeys. With Pearson Sound, Space Dimension Controller, T.Williams and Horse Meat Disco making up the bill, it promised the island something a little different. Different, however, does not go down well in Ibiza. Entering the Basement to the sounds of Sam Supplier, there can't have been more than seven or eight people on the dance floor. Next up, T.Williams tore through cut after cut of peak time floorfillers, attempting to draw in the numbers using the likes of Harry Choo Choo Romero's remix of Hardrive's “Deep Inside.” For Pearson Sound's bouncy, vocal set, the dance floor swelled slightly, but never near to a size deserving of the Hessle Audio boss. Up against Circoloco and Cocoon, and sandwiched in-between VIVa Warriors and Diynamic Neon, Hypercolour's island debut was always destined to be tough. For Rinse, while the pop-stylings of Katy B and P-Money might do it over in San Antonio, they'll need to be patient if they want the more cutting-edge branch of their output to work elsewhere in Ibiza.
    While 2013 has seen daytime partying return to the fold, it's proven a market almost exclusively dominated by the Ushuaia complex, associating the concept with the brand's upmarket, glossy sheen. Just down the way at Sirocco however, tINI and her gang of musos have striven to offer something, though far from rugged, at least a little less polished. The beach setting, the mixed crowd, the makeshift wooden DJ booth adorned with colourful fairy lights – all contribute to the party's carefree, easy demeanour. Musically, with tINI at the helm, it toes a considered line, respecting its position as a prelude to some of the island's more banging offerings. Arriving just as tINI was finding her groove, the Desolat DJ was busy laying down her preferred brand of super-deep, dubby house to a respondent mass. With the dial on so many of the island's headline sets set firmly to full-throttle, her considered, hypnotic pace makes for a welcome change. That said, certain tracks in the first hour of her set did feel a little sedate for a headline performance. As she rolled over into the final stretch, tINI took things it up a notch, quickening her mixing and opting for records with a touch more thump and drive. Maybe it's the free entry, or the fact that it's constantly pushing new, personally-prescribed talent, but tINI & the gang feels like the kind of party that contemporary, commercial Ibiza could do with a few more of.
    If you were to study the Fuse lineups, which consist mostly of performances from the residents, you might come to the conclusion that they are this season's surprise package. However, given Sankeys' staunch British following, and their own, more cosmopolitan (and very Ibiza-focused) fanbase, the party's popularity was perhaps to be expected. With Enzo Siragusa, Julian Perez and Seb Zito heading up the bill on Wednesday, it looked set to be another all-night homegrown affair. However, news soon got out that a certain special guest would be joining them, as Loco Dice looked to prolong his birthday week celebrations with an impromptu appearance. On warm-up duty, Samuel Bellis threw down funky tech house to an already heaving and hot Basement. Coming on at the respectable time of 2 AM, Dice started off typically dry and rolling before edging up the intensity via a combination of meaty basslines and thumping techno kicks. The likes of Len Faki's DJ edit of DJ Hyperactive's “Wide Open” and Geeman's “Bang't” lent his performance an old school, incisive edge, well suited to the club's gritty aesthetic. It felt, at times, like the Dice of old, before his status and success aligned him with the likes of Ushuaia. Having played at Amnesia, Space, DC-10 and now Sankeys so far this season, could the Desolat boss possibly be scouting for a new home in 2014?
RA