It's not often that you can party at a world heritage site but with Annie Mac in town, it seems like the sky is the limit. Once again the old town of Ibiza is transformed into a playground for music lovers; a state of the art stage with a line-up that will get your juices flowing all in the medieval fortress of Dalt Vila. Thank you IMS and thank you Ms Mac.
Bouncing a long the cobbled streets we can hear the steady hum of the music, amping us up to get to the top of the viewpoint where the beautiful backdrop of Ibiza cascades all around us. Prowling around on stage we see Lion Babe, the soulful duo composed of singer Jilian Hervey and producer Lucas Goodman. Jilian looks stunning in her ripped jeans, her platform boots, and ferocious hair. With a voice like Erykah Badu and moves that reverberate a feline attitude, I'm sure Beyonce would give her Fierce stamp of approval. With sure-to-be hits like Jump Hi flying by, the crowd melts from the first note.
As the sky turns from hues of blue to pink and orange, Lion Babe leaves the stage and makes way for upcoming UK talent Après, and the dance floor now grows into a force to be reckoned with. The smoke machines come on and he starts his set with some old school house tracks that match the mood of the setting sun and the excited crowd, throwing in a remix of Lovebirds I Want You In My Soul, and Enzo Siffredi's Sometimes, which everyone goes wild for.
The groove continues, the night falls, the lights on stage come on and everyone eagerly anticipates Annie Mac to come on stage. As she comes forward her familiar voice greets us: “hello everybody, my name is Annie Mac, and I'm going to play for you for the next two hours” and the crowd streams forward to get closer to the one and only Annie Mac.
Her set starts off strongly, playing Disclosure's Bang That, and David Zowie's catchy anthem House Every Weekend,building up that groove and prepping the audience for what's to come. Towards the middle of her set she shifts from a bouncy house to a slightly heavier tech set only to bring it back to euphoria with a rework of classics like My House by Chuck Roberts, and several other heavy hitters.
Taking a step back and observing the view, the stage, the lighting, and the production that has gone into this and then the happy flailing limbs of the audience absolutely lapping it up, I can only smile and appreciate the beautiful surrounding that is Ibiza.
WORDS | Maya Dupont PHOTOGRAPHY | James Chapman
