With such a successful first season in Ibiza, it was only fitting that the Diynamic send-off was a thoroughly Ibicenco affair, with the extended hours Neon Nights at Sankeys prefaced by a day of sun, sand and music on the Diynamic Boat Party which set sail from Playa D'en Bossa mid afternoon yesterday. This was pure torture; I found myself standing opposite Solomun with a canapé in my mouth, a drink in my hand, neck popping and head knocking to Dr Dre as the waves washed beneath me on my way to a sandy cove for more partying… truly terrible. Later I had more complimentary drinks and a bocadillo mercilessly shoved down my throat, a refreshing swim and a stomp on the sand at the S'Estanyol beach restaurant (north of Talamanca and Ibiza Town) called PK2 (a Spanish play on words which sounds as pecados, or “sins”), which was all equally horrific. We eventually disembarked onto dry land around 9:30pm, at which point I wondered what demons I was to face at the official Diynamic Closing Party to come, beginning only a few hours from that point.
Well the official closing party was too good for sarcasm, so I'll quit playing with you and give it to you straight. My first impression was how wicked the box was looking. Usually not open for the Diynamic Neon Nights, the Box is a favourite space of mine so I was excited to see it given the Neon treatment. No holds barred on this front – the high ceilings and varying levels, when combined with glow-in-the-dark smiley faces on the walls and equally flurescent graffiti, had transformed this space into a 90s acid warehouse rave (though the music was at least 100% slower), with a bubble machine to boot.
Both Basement and Box rooms spent the first few hours at a lazy but enjoyable pace, easing us ravers into the groove one deep and soulful track at a time. David August, H.O.S.H. and Uner were rotating around the decks in the Box; sometimes alone, sometimes b2b, and things really swung into action when H.O.S.H. dropped his newest release Woohoo, featuring Ost & Kjex, which isn't out until the 16th of this month. This track is a serious party starter, which we were lucky enough to catch on the boat party as well, and in both scenarios had everyone singing along to the less-than-complicated lyrical passages that the name suggests. Over in the Basement, Stimming was indulging in some slightly more underground clicks and gurgles, emerging from these depths towards the end with his own remix of one of the better offerings from Deadmau5 – Raise Your Weapon.
Solomun began in melodrama unusual to the Basement, with what sounded like it could be the opening fanfare to some epic Hollywood movie, where lots of people die, yet truth prevails . . . or something. He then tickled us with some percussion for thirty seconds before plunging into a booming bassline – and from that point we were never really given the option to stop dancing. At the cooler and more collected opening end of his set, we grooved to gems like Solomun's remix of Let's Go Back, originally by Kraak and Smaak, but as we neared and then overtook the 5am mark Solomun's sound got harder and heavier, though he stilled weaved in the recognisable classics like the Daft Punk remix of Mothership Connection. The vibe in the Basement was electric – but the atmosphere in the Box was equally so, so I just had to duck back in there for one last warehouse experience, fortunately popping my head through in time to see the Bookashade vs MANDY classic Body Language, sending everyone present into joyous hysterics...
Then it was back in the basement with Solomun, who was cementing his growing reputation as The Party King, by dropping Chemical Brothers Do It Again, followed by Missy Elliott Work It, followed by Montell Jordan This is How We Do It, followed by everyone's head exploding from way too much happy times in just 15 minutes. It was around about now I spied Claude Von Stroke strolling in (does he ever not stroll?), who was later spotted front and centre of the Basement crowd, splashed in neon paint and fist pumping like a bandit!
Although homage was paid to many artists last night, the Diynamic crew had their deep and dirty paws all over the productions, through originals and a whole heap of remixes. They've well and truly established themselves on the Ibiza scene - and if it's good enough for Claude Von Stroke, it's good enough for us all. See you next season Diynamic!
