Defected’s Ali Miraj reports on the most hotly anticipated opening party of the season.
Having received numerous tweets on Saturday morning (20 July) about the keenly anticipated Defected launch party at Booom! in Ibiza that evening, it was 2pm London time and I faced a dilemma. Walk five minutes down the road on Sunday and see Frankie Knuckles play at Lovebox in Victoria Park, or catch a plane to Ibiza for the Defected opening party and see him play alongside his Def Mix compatriot, David Morales. I hastily booked a flight.
The glamour began with the statuesque models on the door, otherwise known as admittance staff. That was hardly a surprise given that the newly opened club is part of the chic Cipriani stable that prides itself on attending to the needs of the well-heeled. As soon as I walked into the club and bumped into Defected boss Simon Dunmore, I knew it was going to be a good night.
The rectangular shaped dance floor was surrounded by tiered balconies as VIPs sitting on plush ruby red sofas looked down on a diverse crowd gesticulating wildly to pulsating beats as green and purple strobes engulfed the room.
UK Copyright opened proceedings and warmed up the audience with uplifting tracks including a remix of “Follow the Step” the summer smash by the KiNK featuring Rachel Row. But the atmosphere immediately intensified when the godfather of house took to the decks. I last saw Frankie Knuckles at the Defected In the House Party at the Amsterdam Dance Event in 2011 at AIR. He always rises to the occasion and Saturday night was no exception.
Absent his trademark baseball cap and with an expression on his face denoting a master at work, Knuckles treated the crowd to an eclectic display of utter professionalism.
Tracks ranged from 'Back to Basics' by The Shapeshifters to Todd Terry's 'Keep on Jumpin’'. Bringing things bang up to date he dropped Duke Dumont's 'Need U (100%)', however the set would not have been complete without a rich array of soulful vocals, the highlight of which was what has been dubbed the greatest House track of all time – ‘Your Love’ featuring Robert Owens. It may have been a glorious, clear night in Ibiza town, but the vibe was unquestionably Chicago, we could have been back at the Warehouse in the 1980's.
The tunes were accompanied by energetic bongo slapping, cow bell tapping and rhythmic whistle-blowing from Shovell the Drum Warrior, appropriately adorned with face paint and his signature tribal costume.
Morales, complete with white vest and matching trilby hat played one classic after the other for the next two and a half hours ranging from Everything But the Girl's “Missing“, to a pumping remix of 'Big Love' by Pete Heller. More recent input came in the form of Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' which was finally dropped after the crowd had been teased with elements of the seminal 'Around the World' for several minutes.
But the unquestionable highlight for me was when he casually flicked the controller hooked up to the Traktor application on his Apple Mac and dropped the original version of 'Believe' by Ministers de la Funk featuring Jocelyn Brown. The club's Pioneer sound system was outstanding. Rarely have I heard such impressive reverb and effects anywhere in the world.
I left the club at 7am and headed straight for the airport for a flight back to London. It had been a night to remember and as I settled down on the plane clutching my “I Am Defected” tote bag, I had a satisfied smile on my face.
Words: Ali Miraj (DJ, former politician and banker)
Photo credit: Charles Turner - click here to view the full photo gallery
Defected In The House is at Booom! Ibiza every Saturday while Defected at The Tower takes place every Monday throughout the season - click here for full line-up details
