Having only been to house nights of several variations since arriving to the island for the season, an evening of drum & bass, the genre that cemented my love for electronic music, made for a welcome way of upping the pace and was made all the more special because it was held in the biggest place for electronic music at least in Europe, if not the world.
After arriving at the club in the early hours, we headed straight to the main room to check out the mixing skills of drum and bass stalwart Andy C. Despite the Créche opening party at Gatecrasher on the same evening, Andy C had no problems drawing in a large crowd who were ready for a rare evening of fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping dance music. The main room was noticeably more packed than the Terrace, which contributed to the sense of community that is so tangible at drum and bass parties back in the United Kingdom. Andy C launched straight into a no-holds-barred mix that ranged from elements of liquid to jungle. Partygoers would have been forgiven for thinking that Andy C was the headliner, demonstrating no restraint with his selection of tracks. Looking back at a unanimously captivated audience, nobody could disagree with the quality of Andy C's transitions from one style to another, and the fact that he didn't stick with one particular sound for too long contributed to making his set not only broadly-based and flowing, but a pleasure to be in the middle of a densely packed crowd for.
When Saul Milton, one half of resident duo Chase & Status took to the DJ booth it soon became very clear that this was the guy that the clubbers had come to see. The ability to flit from one part of the club to the other was not as easy as it had been previously, and I'm sure the roar of the crowd could be heard from miles away. In a successful attempt to change the vibe at the beginning of his set, Milton opened with a deep dubstep track that took clear influence from the dub reggae sound that dubstep originated from. About five minutes into the set everybody on the dancefloor began to notice the arrival of English grime MC Tempa T, which got the crowd anticipating a live PA version of Hypest Hype, one of the tracks that helped Chase & Status to blow up on the world stage.
In the first quarter of Chase & Status' opening show of what promises to be an unbelievable season in Ibiza for the duo, Milton transitioned effortlessly from dubstep, to drum & bass, at points even including elements of UK garage and Jamaican dancehall. By the time Milton launched into an instrumental version of bongo-laden crowd-favourite Music Club from their debut album More Than Alot, the people on the dancefloor were throwing some serious shapes. On a sound-system as clearly defined and as loud as Amnesia's, Chase & Status' debut material sounded just as fresh as it did six years ago and served to remind us why they've been taking the world by storm ever since. Milton's minimal crowd-interraction was certainly compensated for by Tempa T, who clearly loved every second of performing in one of the world's most prolific clubs. T's excitable antics on the mic kept the crowd lively throughout the live PA parts of Chase & Status' set, and highlighted the versatility of a duo who can flit from live aspects of music to a gripping DJ set with relative ease.
Together is definitely one that all partygoers should make the effort to attend this season. Having started my clubbing ‘career' in London's Fabric for famous dubstep & bass night Fabriclive, I was hoping that Amnesia's weekly drum & bass night would have as much soul as events do back at home, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Together is not simply an event put on to appease the d&b aficionados that visit the island throughout the season. This party is one that will leave you wishing there were more drum & bass events in Ibiza clubs.
WORDS | Janson Goldberg PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
