Cream celebrates 20 magnificent years on the White Isle with the ever brilliant Paul Van Dyk - a man who has undoubtedly been an integral part of making Amnesia the place to be every Thursday night. Over the years Van Dyk has made the Amnesia main room his castle, leading crowds down a long winding road of hard hitting trance. For one very special day each season, Van Dyk makes an impeccable transition from his big room performances by taking a few fortunate souls on an intimate sea odyssey gliding through the Mediterranean.
The vessel of choice this year was said to be a bit smaller than in the past, making the strong undertone of excitement amongst the passengers a force you couldn't miss. Sunlight lit up the top deck and highlighted the sheer joy of the trance community on board : passengers recognizing each other from previous years greeted each other warmly and the uniform ‘Ibiza Trance Family' tee shirts were not one to be missed.
A free drink, wide array of inflatables, fancy dress and warm welcome from the hosts themselves greeted every passenger making their way on board. Leaving the port, Van Dyk began his deep hypnosis with a slow introduction carrying a powerful techno bassline which has also become a noticeable transition into multiple of his sets recently. As the coastline disappeared, Van Dyk's more familiar trance sound began to effortlessly weave us through his decades of rich musical knowledge giving us all an innate connection to the sound. The few seated passengers were quickly brought to their feet as the rhythmically energetic track, Nothing But You rang out. The eternal Norwegian vocals on this track translate to, “I have nothing, but I have everything when I have you” making even the most unloving soul turn their head to Van Dyk's ever present other half, to gush at this sheer moment of true devotion. Enjoying himself, Captain Van Dyk continued to embark on this musical voyage with his uniform and trademark dance moves which were brought to the forefront during his solo track, Don't Deserve You.
The party atmosphere continued to flourish as inflatable monkeys and flamingos scurried throughout the top deck. Van Dyk's wife was a very noteworthy appearance making us all feel apart of the family, while she shared a cocktail with fans and mingled about during his set. No trance evening is complete without hearing one of the most distinguished trance releases ever, For an Angel which turned the dancefloor into a full fledged choir. As the sun went down, Van Dyk wrapped the evening with his predictable and ever loved close with Coming Home by Armin Van Burren. The track includes the lyrics ‘built up statues to their gods' which begs the question as to where Paul Van Dyks statue is on this Island. This was not a party to be missed and while many other trance legends have taken a more commercial route, Van Dyk continues to successfully rock every party he plays at with his own magnetic and timeless style.
WORDS | Sara McNutt PHOTO | James Chapman
