This season Defected's Hannah Thomas will be bringing you weekly updates direct from Ibiza.
It’s only my first season out here on the island so I don’t really have anything to compare things with, but I definitely believe people when they tell me just how much more militant the police have been out here this summer. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it’s a rare event when I don’t see a police checkpoint when I’m out and about. From full on car searches at DC10 to quiet Sunday afternoon check points on the sleepy streets of Jesus and Cap Martinet, the Guardia civil are regularly on people´s cases. I’m all for deterring dangerous drink-driving, but their threatening presence is almost verging on harassment. Apparently they´re on an earner after having their wages cut but I mean, really, they need to stop being so blummin´ intimidating with their Robocop ways!
So, a word of warning: unless you want to lose a few hundred euros in one fell swoop, make sure you have all relevant documents with you when driving, avoid drinking all together if you’re the designated chauffer and make sure all passengers have any bits ‘n’ pieces well hidden.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all regarding the police so far this season occurred last Wednesday, the eve of the eagerly anticipated full moon party at Cala Conta organized by Ryan O Gorman, the legendary Ibiza free party aficionado. I had such a brilliant time back in May and was looking forward to another night dancing under the stars, free from all of the commercial nonsense and that feeling of being monitored that is so part and parcel of clubbing on the island nowadays. It was also set to be a pretty special Vitalik event as Shonky, Carl Craig and Bushwaka! were set to play. But no sooner had we pulled up, just as Shonky was getting going, the police arrived and shut things down. We got wind of another more local affair a few coves south and headed there instead, but it seems as though the powers that be were incessant on ruining any free fun that night and in doing so, sabotaging what is in many respects the true spirit of Ibiza. I just hope for the island’s sake that in the face of an increasingly oppressive commercial scene, the crave for the alternative free raves manages to stay alive!
On the state-condoned side of things this week, it was yet another busy night for Defected at Booom!; the hard work from my PR team having paid off as the familiar faces from the beaches of Salinas and Bossa arrived in their droves to see FCL, Dennis Ferrer and Nick Curly. I only caught the second half of FCL´s set who impressed with their splattering of tracks on vinyl. They had warmed up the crowd nicely by 2:00 am and as Lady Linn started to sing the crowd were absolutely loving it. Needless to say ‘It´s You´ smashed it but what resonated most with me was her covers of Quentin Harris´ ´Joy´ and Octave One´s ´Blackwater´.
Later on that night, the vibe couldn’t have been more different at DC10 where Dan Ghenacia, Dyed Soundorom and Shonky were deep into their second of their four back to back to back gigs under their Apollonia alias. It´s the first time I´d seen this three-way, one track each approach and it definitely came with a few surprises. It was refreshing to see something more experimental, but overall I thought the set didn’t have the same flow you usually get with a one man show. The uber-cool music heads and worker crowd were lapping it up, but for me, after a 13 hour day and having come from listening to FCL, it was at some points just that little bit too hard and sometimes verging on monotonous (something that wasn’t helped by the soundsystem in the main room). They dropped some ace tracks however including ´God Made Me Phunky´, Jason Blakemore´s ´Sleepwalking´ and DJ Sneak´s ´Latin Seoul´ which kept me going til the sun came up.
My favourite night out though this week was my first trip to Viva Warriors where the crowd was refreshingly different, probably due to the almighty appearance from Guti (There are only so many bulging muscle men with their wee PE kits, bless them, one can handle before they begin to blur into one). To my ear the Argentinian musical genius can really do no wrong, particularly when he drops exquisitely produced tracks like ´Mayaancholoy´ and ´Hope´. Steve Lawler also impressed with a solid driving set and it was great t hear him finish with the classic track ´Bass Heads´. Detlef closed the proceedings and I reckon he´s definitely one to watch as he read his crowd perfectly holding them until closing with his tough edged sound.
I´d like to say I made it to the beach this week on my days off but electrical storms, torrential rain are never a good idea when sea´s involved. The storms were pretty spectacular but I have to say, there´s not an awful lot to do in Ibiza when the weather turns. At least I managed to catch up on some much needed sleep at long last!
Defected In The House is at Booom! Ibiza every Saturday throughout the season - click here for full line-up details
