Every season, a handful of tracks epitomise the summer. Occasionally, there's even a runaway nominee. Such tracks can transport you back to a firm place in time and space at their opening chords.
With humanity in unfamiliar territory across the globe, our choice of tracks from yesteryear - one from 2010 through to 2019 - will put anxious heads at ease and whisk us back to happier times.
For the purpose of this feature, we're largely ignoring the mainstream hits and going a little deeper (although some of them did manage to break into the charts).
Whilst you might not agree with every selection, we are sure there's enough ammo here to break the monotonous cycle of isolation. Let's reminisce together.
2010
Tensnake | Coma Cat | Defected Records
Tensnake's twinkling house track was one of the decade's first dance hits. Gorgeous bells pitter-patter over a beat that builds and builds, before bursting with joy.
Originally released on Permanent Vacation, the single picked up such momentum that it was relicensed to Defected in midsummer. On Ibiza, it reigned from opening parties through to closing parties - an undiluted euphoric delight. “Can I get, can I get-get” a rewind.
2011
Azari & III | Hungry For The Power (Jamie Jones Street Ridge Remix) | Turbo Recordings
No matter if you were on Ibiza or elsewhere on the planet, you couldn't escape Hungry For The Power this year. The soundtrack to a generation, this remix helped shoot Jamie Jones to the stratosphere and the buzz surrounding him grew to fever pitch heights.
By the next summer, he had landed his own DC10 residency as Paradise launched. The rest is history.
2012
Luciano | Rise Of Angel | Cadenza
There are few secrets in modern life. The internet has made the world closer and more aware. Gone are the days when DJs broke a record and built its reputation over time, whilst the name, producer and label remained unknown. We do recall one fairly recent exception though.
Luciano teased this 16-minute gem, drawing out the suspense over almost the entirety of his 2012 Ushuaïa residency. Clubbers were clambering over each other to discover what this piano-driven melodic epic was before the track was finally IDed.
It might have been the last successful campaign from an underground artist to manage such a feat, before the arrival of Shazam and similar apps.
2013
Ninetoes | Finder | Kling Kong
Every summer, one or more producers take a pop at utilising steel drums in their music. However, few have been as infectious - or successful - as Ninetoes' effort in 2013. Finder was rinsed all over the island, from Ushuaïa to DC10 and everywhere in between.
The track proved so popular, it went on to get a vocal version and an endless list of remixes. What happened to Ninetoes? He seemed to fade into obscurity as quickly as he arrived, but we will always have this cherished memory.
2014
Maceo Plex | Conjure Balearia | Ellum Audio
Let's take you back to 2014. Richie Hawtin's ENTER. concept is a revelation at Space on Thursday nights. One Maceo Plex is consistently stealing the plaudits on The Terrace. He's strongly rumoured to be starting his own residency the next year. This is his big-time track.
We get goosebumps from the moment the track starts. He still occasionally plays it in his sets to date. Even now, the crowd reactions speak for themselves. Plus let's not forget, this is an ode to Ibiza as well.
2015
Whilk & Misky | Clap Your Hands (Solomun Remix) | Diynamic
Depeche Mode, SuperFlu, Editors and even Foals, Solomun lends his deft touch to remixing artists irrespective of their genre or status, turning each effort into a different dance floor beast. Indie pop outfit Whilk & Misky got the Solly treatment this year - and what a result it was.
2015 felt like the summer where everything fell into place for Solomun at Pacha and he cemented his status as Sunday's host. More so than his weekly residency, this track will forever remind us of his spellbinding set at Destino's closing party.
2016
Lee Walker | Freak Like Me (DJ Deeon vs Lee Walker Remix) | Defected Records
2016 can be summarised as the year of the edit. Modern-day producers jumped on timeless tracks to breathe new life into them and present them to younger audiences. One such example was Lee Walker's airwave dominating spin on DJ Deeon's Freak Like Me.
Similar to our entry for 2010, Defected knew a hit when they heard one and quickly snapped it up for official release. Lee wasn't alone, as everybody from Eats Everything to Henrik Schwarz reimagined classic tunes this summer.
2017
Patrice Bäumel | Glutes | Afterlife
Delivered straight from the cosmos, Glutes was Patrice Bäumel's sci-fi outing on Afterlife. The track is a hypnotic wobbler, featuring eerie bleeps and a disorientating synth line that swings from one channel side to the other like a pendulum.
Glutes got played everywhere in 2017, from Cocoon to RESISTANCE, and of course Afterlife's own party series, where it became the anthem of the summer in Vista Club.
2018
DJ Koze | Pick Up | Pampa Recordings
By the end of May, it seemed like little would stand in the way of DJ Koze's Pick Up becoming the unchallenged track of the season. Then out of nowhere, Krystal Klear's Neutron Dance made up lost ground and the two duelled for the prize until the very end of summer.
On the balance of things, either is worthy of the crown. Both got heavy rotation across the spectrum from commercial to underground parties. For the sake of picking a winner, we're going to give Koze the slim edge since it lasted for the duration.
2019
Roberto Surace | Joys | Defected Records
What's that, another Defected release? You bet. Roberto Surace's Joys was already doing serious business across dance floors in May and June, making it a red hot free agent. Understandably, lots of labels wanted to get their hands on it.
In the end, Defected came up trumps yet again.
The S.O.S. Band sampled hit grew from strength to strength and, we'll admit, we did suffer from playback burnout midway through the season. That's the sign of a monster track, though, a gift and a curse. The accountants won't be complaining either way.
2020
Here at Ibiza Spotlight, we're remaining optimistic. Therefore, we're leaving this year's entry blank for the time being to fill in at a later date. See you on the island for a dance soon.
Do you agree? Are there any glaring omissions? Cough, CamelPhat's Cola, cough. Of course, it's totally subjective and there's no right or wrong answer.
For an alternative selection using the same format, read back from our 2018 intern Kane, who chose his own tracks.
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