Last night David Guetta hosted his free IMS party in the heart of Dalt Vila and he brought Paul Oakenfold, Diplo and Goldfish along with him to get the fist of the two IMS gigs started. The party could be seen from the foot of Ibiza town in all its glory and the view of the stage and flashing lights was pretty awesome.
The bass could be felt rippling through Eivissa as we walked up through the old town excited to see the most unique party the island hosts during the summer at the Baluard de Santa Llúcia. Catching the end of Paul Oakenfold's set the first tune that could be heard was a remix of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers classic 'By the way', which of course made every bodies hands go in the air and belt out the lyrics in unison.
Diplo then took over the show and was accompanied by one of the most epic light shows I have seen and a production to suit. With vibrant red graphics as his backdrop and images of speakers and erotic women being projected onto the side of the old cathedral the show definitely pulled out all the stops visually. I could feel the deep base bouncing through me and the crowd was made up of people of all ages from children to parents all of whom were absorbing the breathtaking surroundings as well as the uplifting party vibe that IMS had created.
The bar at the back of the arena hosted the VIP area and matched the main stage in light and colour which added to the visual feast even more. What made the sell-out party even nicer was the fact it was busy enough to create a real buzz but not so over crowded that it was unbearable; so you really could enjoy the unique experience of partying in the heart of Ibizan history.
Diplo's set featured real hard bouncy basslines and his progressive electro style was perfectly suited to the crowd and as the set went on he incorporated a range of commercial tracks from both the past and present; such as 'Roxanne' by Sting and Azealia Banks' more recent track '212'. The American DJ and producer also remixed some reggae, garage and dub-step tracks which went down a treat with the younger crowd and throughout his set Diplo maintained a great repore with the crowd whether through his music or his interaction over the mic. He also mixed a Beastie boys track in tribute to the late Adam Yauch.
Taken over by Goldfish who performed live using a range of musical instruments such as a flute, keyboard, saxophone, synths and double-bass as well as including the turntables. The South African duo were also joined by vocalist Sakhile Moleshe who has collaborated with the guys on several tracks and their music video 'Cruising through' could be seen played out over all the screens on stage. Visually the performance wasn't as electronically influenced as Diplo's, however the guys pure skill and musical talent in what they did was not only captivating but pretty jaw dropping stuff - especially the mad skills of David Poole on Flute.
Finally, the moment the crowd had been waiting for... enter David Guetta! The chart topping French DJ took to the decks just after 11pm to end the night with a bang and began his set with his most recent track 'Titanium'; immediately appealing to the kids in the crowd and ensuring that they were awake and dancing. Their was one child in particular who didn't stop moving, pulling out some dance moves which had probably never been seen before but he represented the infectious atmosphere that the Dalt Vila party had... bring on round 2 tonight with Carl Cox, Loco Dice, Pete Tong, Seth Troxler and Azari & III.
