Techno for me is a personal favourite. The sound resembles nothing from this earth and takes me to a place so far from here it could be a world of its own. Last night's opening party of Reverse at Privilege completely captured this essence by giving crowds an extraterrestrial experience enchanted by sounds.
Entering the club, I was lead down a flight of stairs while the sound was dim in the background. Given the reputation of Privilege as a super club I was curious to see how the Vista Club would compare to the magnitude of the main room. The first room captured the theme of the night perfectly: an intergalactic world. A photo booth stood right by the entrance staging a scene from another planet; giant blue aliens posed in front of a galactic landscape made up of rocks, planets and UFOs which was a perfect place for me to start warming up my Vulcan salute (Star Trek handsign) for a few pictures.
Approaching the main room, I immediately understood why the sound was so muffled moments ago - it was its own universe in here. The DJ booth was transformed into a cosmic landscape, moon rocks protruded from the top as dancers in silver bodysuits and blue wigs framed each side. Planets hanging from the ceiling were spinning from the tech house mix Iban Mendoza was setting off. The crowd was intimate, but completely engaged in tech-heavy sounds. Smoke bombs filled the space wrapping the crowd in a starry eyed daze of techno and, to continue the clichés, it was quite magical.
3am hit and the energy changed as Vitalic took over control of the intergalactic universe. Opening with his techno rework of Ruff Rules by Chris Tietjen and Christian Burkhardt kept everyone's heads spinning around the galaxy we were being taken to. Pictures of a blue alien martian began to appear above the DJ booth as masks of his face were handed out to transform all of us earthlings. Remi the friendly martian became the face of the night and soon dancers in blue bodysuits crept on to the dance floor greeting us. The blue dancing martians had giant bobble heads with x's for eyes, big white glasses and a grin resembling the Joker. Unfamiliar with Vitalic, I was completely captured in his heavy electro sound especially his rework of Party's Over Los Angeles by ZZT. Confetti bombs shot off repeatedly as he rounded off his set with a few of his own monstrous hits like La Rock and Stamina (Maxi Version).
Dawn broke with headliners Uner and Technasia warming the crowd up. The buzz on the island following these two had me front and centre eager to hear what they had in store. Opening with the hit I Am Somebody by Technasia sent the earthlings into a cheering frenzy as well as my hands in the air. The main room in Vista Club is completely made up of windows overlooking the hills of Ibiza with incredible views of the island creating an unbelievable backdrop for the stage. As the sun rose and light began to seep onto the dance floor. Technasia pleased the committed ones left playing favourites like Sun Kiss and Heart of Flesh giving them that last wave of energy. The music continued until the sun was high in the sky and the martian masks became a necessity before venturing out into the daylight. Reverse has definitely become a personal favourite of mine, the music coincides with the theme perfectly giving you an out of this world experience.
WORDS | Sara McNutt PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
