As painful as it sounded, me about to hit my first closing party of the Ibiza 2015 summer, it was an ace one to kick them off. Do Not Sleep as you’ve probably heard me repeat myself & say loads before has been such a bangin’ party this summer. Vista Club (the raw offset warehouse room of Privilege) has proved to be an impressive host to the Do Not Sleep dudes and their unique weekly guests based around the much-loved b2b2b sessions where Darius, Sidney and Sante bounce clean off each other and keep the punters smiling as well as dancing solid moves ‘til the sun comes up behind their three boppin’ silhouettes behind the decks – the closing party speciality being fellow Scot, Jasper James, who hails from Glasgow’s vibrant music scene and has been smashing out the beats since the fresh dancin’ age of 13! Holding the imaginary beat medal for being the youngest ever DJ to play at the quality underground venue Sub Club in Glasgow and with his debut E.P. ‘Sneaky’ makin’ dancefloors worldwide bounce, he was the perfect exciting artist to join the boys for the closing shenanigans along with season residents Bones and Griff.
As usual the Vista Club was pounding with bass, packed with fans that loved to stay awake when they were told not to sleep + literally jumpin’ to the rhythm! When I arrived I was pumped + ready for a belter of a night! Here we go once again…
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Bonobo releases live film of Royal Albert Hall concertThe iron-clad warehousey room was filled from wall to wall and front to back with bass-heavy house-ness and nothing but a raw club feel with no frills apart from the huge LED panel hanging above the decks with it’s trippy visuals reminding us not to sleep and I was lucky enough to get a view from behind the decks (call me nosey but I like to check out Darius’ knob-twiddling, Sidney’s hair flowing and Sante’s bum shaking at every opportunity!) and the fist pumps of the punters were almost hittin the air in sync to the highs of the beats & high-fivin’ their pals with big cheesy smiles on their faces as the next dude took to the b2b2b session and the next tune kicked in.
There was all sorts of flexing goin on the whole night actually. The threesome have a way of keeping their set exciting & full-on and proudly belting some of their own tech-tastic tracks in our faces – Sidney’s ‘Cave Rave’ and the double delight Sidney & Sante’s ‘Blade’, broken up by spinnin’ the likes of the legendary Laurent Garnier’s ‘Crispy Bacon’ which was randomly a huge part of the soundtrack at Tomorrowland this year even though it’s not exactly a fresh faced one!
It’s always a party that feels pretty intimate between the DJ’S and the crowd, Darius, Sidney and Sante interacting with their fans and eggin; everyone on with their passion and smiley fun faces when they play, jokin around with each other – you can really tell how matey they are with each other & it’s ace to see! They smashed the night’s beats out from 3am until close – at points of the night, my favourite, Sante leaped down from behind the decks to join the beat lovers in their dancing haven (of course cos I love him I bagged a sneaky wee dance & selfie, yesss!) and Sidney joined him for a hip shake while Darius made them move. Really, really loved this and you don’t see it happen much.
One of the quotes from them when I had the pleasure of interviewing them recently was “You know what? The success is all down to the PEOPLE that have come and supported us, the crowd – THEY make the party – we provide the music and the vessel for the party to happen but the crowd has been AMAZING” and them lovin’ a wee dance with the crowd shows their appreciation – the Do Not Sleep goers seem to be die-hard fans and it’s no wonder why…
It’s bloody magical when the sunrises up through the famous glass walls of the Vista Club creating a stunning view and the silhouettes of Darius, Sidney and Sante, such a mind blowing atmosphere and the music is chosen perfectly to reflect the scene – a gorgeous track with a heavy bass drum that is so perfect for the moment… time goes by in a tune that stops time. It actually sparked a few emotions if I remember rightly! Kinda makes you stop and appreciate where you are right then.
For their first season in Ibiza, the boys have created something that’s about to flourish… There’s gonna be people with sleep deprivation all over the nation after the Ibiza stint has passed for 2015, a sure fire hit of a rave-up in the UK with their follow up party in Manchester which I’m sure won’t be the last.
Chatting to Do Not Sleep resident Griff, who made solid connections with Darius last year who held a tight grip of the Scottish DJ & producer after him being noticed playing at a few parties, he told me…
“I met Darius last year in Ibiza and after hearing me play at a few after parties he told me that he really liked my style and presence as a DJ so wanted to get me involved, the rest is history! The 1st season of Do Not Sleep has kicked off. This is my 3rd season on the island and I’ve never seen such a new brand/party do so well so quickly. It gives me great pleasure to be one of the residents alongside Bones, Darius, Sidney and Sante and I’ll see everyone in Ibiza on the 24th in Space and in the UK on the 26th in Manchester for our 1st DNS in the UK!”
So there you have it – the beans have been spilled and the word is out that there’s gonna be an extra special edition of Do Not Sleep so we can kick sleep’s arse once more in Space on September 24th for a final encore in Ibiza 2015. It’s gonna be emosh!
Photo credits Do Not Sleep
