I just got home from the Hyte closing party. 10 hours later and satisfied dancin’ has been achieved! I used to say HYTE and ENTER. were my equal favourites of the summer but last night/this morning has well + truly bumped Hyte right up to the top!! Also used to say Amnesia and DC10 were shoulder to shoulder being my fave clubs – that was a lie. Amnesia is my Ibiza home!!Also (can’t believe I’m sayin this!!)… Josh Wink + Steve Bug might have a contender for the best set of summer after that belter by Cuartero b2b with Mar-T! Crazy!
It’s all hitting home now… 7 days to go in Ibiza. I literally don’t know how i’m gonna cope after the sensational music filled season I’ve had.… It’s parties like this that really capture the hearts and souls of a clubbing generation + beat lovers like myself. Nowhere else in the world can imitate. HYTE has completely smashed it’s debut year on the island and for me was up there with the events by the likes of ENTER., Music On and Music Is Revolution by Carl Cox – Loco Dice, take a bow!!
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Bonobo releases live film of Royal Albert Hall concertAfter Loco being absent for a year from Ibiza he’s made a MASSIVE imprint on 2015 with HYTE – regular artists Pan-Pot (2 other loves of my life!). Maceo Plex, Chris Liebing, Cuartero the wee Spanish wonder from Malaga who’s been a major part of Ibiza (and an Amnesia favourite) 2015 and who I had the pleasure of interviewing the night before at the Ibiza DJ Awards after winning the award for Newcomer of the Year, Mar-T and Henrik Schwarz have played smashing sets alongside guests DJ Tennis, Gardens of God, Fritz Kalkbrenner, DJ Harvey, Marcel Dettman and many more beat genius’ throughout the spectacular season. Such a bangin’ comeback has been made by Mr Loco Dice with HYTE and I sure as hell hope it returns next year even bigger, better and more stunning than this year!!
The queue for Amnesia hadn’t been this size since the actual club opening back in May. When other clubs were starting to die down for the end of season, Hyte is still going full pelt and more. The car park had a silhouette of heads, all different sizes and heights. Loads of them. Worth the wait? I think massively so!!
I was most thirsty for the beats of Cuartero, my new favourite (for anyone who knows me and my music obsession, I have a new love every week!) – the young Spanish artist was playing b2b with Mar-T and after chatting to him the night before at the DJ Awards 2015 held at Pacha where he scooped the award for Newcomer of the Year and played the closing set at the after-party from 5am till 7am I wanted more… They were b2b from 2am till 4am in the main room and I made sweet moves straight into their set on my thrilled arrival. The two were well into it, Cuartero more of a shy one focussing on the tools in front of him + Mar-T givin’ it laldy into the crowd and the camera that’s filming their set. I can’t wait to watch it back haha! He makes me laugh, and there’s nothing better than a DJ who’s enjoying his set as much as the crowd is! He was loving it!! And so were we. Mar-T is a real character behind the decks, I reckon he’s like that all the time in life – a proper funny man – his Billboard all over Ibiza is him sitting on the toilet reading the ‘Amnesia News’ – and it’s no wonder he’s an Amnesia resident, he’s damn good!! In fact I liked watching him play just as much as I liked what I heard! They’re a good pair, so different yet so perfect together.
The main floor was packed out to the max so I found myself a spot big enough to flex in right at the front, parked my dancin’ feet there and did not stop dancing – I was in my absolute element and tune after tune after tune was just awesome! You know when you know somethin’s gonna be good but then it just blows you away? That happened here. The guys bounced off each other, Mar-T takin Cuartero’s hands and punchin’ the air with him and singing along to the vocal of the track they’d belted out. I went crazy on the dancefloor when they played Kollectiv Turmstrasse ‘Sorry I’m Late’. I have sooo much LOVE for that track right now!!! I literally could’ve passed out when I heard it!! Mar-T gave me a cheeky wave and laughed when I made the ‘T’ for tune sign at him and made sure he saw me!! And Cuartero showed a shy smile to my thumbs up. Everyone wanted them to know they were killing it! There was appreciation being shown everywhere.
The set was witty with it’s track choices yet full of bass and quirky vocals with a heaviness to get lost in. I literally did NOT STOP dancing the whole time they played!! A bass twisted remix of Run DMC raised the bar big time and my fellow beat lovers dance moves were captivating. Mar-T was hilarious! This was a real closing party!!! The busyness was crazy but bearable, helped along by the goodness of all the people there – there was people in fancy dress kickin’ around (i’m not biggin’ up the proper creepy gorilla suits that were near me at the front of the main room dancefloor!!) and the vibes were through the roof.
Another smasher from the boys as they watched us love them – Pele and Shawncey – ‘Better For My Brain‘ lived up to it’s promise and was well + truly better for both my brain AND my dancin’ feet. Again Mar-T was like one of the punters himself, mouthing the words to the camera and Cuartero laughed at him and bopped to the beat along with him. They must have been the happiest dudes alive to see how much every single person enjoyed themselves on that floor in front. I’m about to say something I never thought could possibly be said… A few weeks back I saw Josh Wink go back to back with Steve Bug in Kehakuma at Space. It was the best set of my summer (and yes, I knew that even though it wasn’t even the end of summer yet!) but this… it had to be on par with it!!
Next after the boys in the main room was Chris Liebing. He was supposed to play at 4am. I’m not sure why – my guess is that cos Cuartero and Mar-T were so good :-) – Liebing didn’t appear at 4am so we got an extra 30 mins dose of their techno running through the free spirited and crazy audience which was more than welcome. As Liebing’s bald head showed up from behind the decks next to the guys and a huge smile beamed from his face, Mar-T and Cuartero got a roar and a round of applause. They high fived and faded off the stage as their techno friend took over. I literally realised that I hadn’t even been into the terrace yet. I had been dancing right through their entire set without stopping and my feet were killin’! That’s a full-blown success if you ask me. I didn’t even go through to see Pan-Pot’s set cos I was so lost in the music. And NO ONE keeps me away from my beloved Pan-Pot – but they just had. I’m still shocked by that but it just goes to show how satisfying the last 2 and a half hours had been. Nice one guys, this will stick with me for a very, very long time!!
I slipped away from the main room into the terrace to hook up with Pan-Pot for their last 10 minutes of a trembling bassline journey, climbed up to the highest spot in the room I could find and watched my beloved techno gods do their thing and bring in Loco to his loyal following. Loco Dice fans aren’t just loyal, they’re die-hard! I was expecting a sea of backwards caps + a simultaneously bouncin’ stomping ground also known as the Amnesia terrace. He makes people abandon their world when the dance floor in his reign. There’s always a real relationship between the beat-maker and listener in HYTE and that’s what Loco thrives on. This was the best one yet…. As I knew from every single HYTE, the whole room bounced along with his virtuous, hefty bass that stems from his hip hop past – the typical Loco sound
Loco Dice fans aren’t just loyal, they’re die-hard – they’re LOCO!! I was expecting a sea of backwards caps + a simultaneously bouncin’ stomping ground also known as the Amnesia terrace. He makes people abandon the world on his dancefloor. There’s always a real relationship between beat-maker and dancer in Hyte and these guys create the best one I’ve seen yet. As I knew, the whole room bounced with this his wholesome hefty bass that stems from his hip hop past… the typical Loco sound. Hoodlum ‘Traumer’ was one of the welcoming tracks to bring us into Loco’s world easily enough. He teased us with an easier going track like this one, then belted out a huge fat beat that you couldn’t not punch the sky to.
The LED screen at the back boasts the reply to anyone’s questions with a simple ‘BLAH BLAH BLAH’ – the slogan we’ve seen all over the island since HYTE decided to make it’s takeover. The dancers on the podium centre-dancefloor are kitted out in their fluffy crop tops and tiny tight black shorts and blonde block wigs and flexin to the beats in a true HYTE fashion. I hadn’t seen Amnesia this busy on a regular club night before. Before I knew it the sun was rising over the terrace roof and shimmering through the panels above us. I literally couldn’t believe the time! Still lovin’ it I took my baseball cap from round my wrist, flipped it backwards onto my head + joined then Loco lovin’ troops dancin’ into the morning light.
A track I’ve heard before at HYTE filled my ears – Mennie’s ‘Pocopoco’ – with a more pumped up bassline than before. YES LOCO!! I’m a real watcher and I love to see what’s going on all around me. People in the VIP terrace were all on their feet giving it what the punters on the packed out dance floor were. I saw something drop from the terrace up to the right of me. Oh yeah, as usual there’s die hard fans with a massive ‘WE LOVE LOCO’ sign they’ve dropped to the time of the beat for all to see. Every single week there’s fans with something like this to show Loco. Imagine having this in your view as you play to thousand of beat lovers? So cool! I scanned the upper terrace and smiled at everyone in their beat wonderlands.
There was a dude dressed up as a red devil on the terrace above the decks. His moves were second to none and he kept me entertained watching him bounce around up there like. I spied one of the Martinez Brothers in the corner of the terrace grinding with a girl, loving the music with his eyes closed haha! The morning went by so quickly it was like a dream. Amnesia was still completely packed out at 9am, like I said before, never seen at a regular club night apart from the opening night. Unbelievable. There was no signs of anyone stopping anytime soon. It really felt like a closing party. A celebration of victory and a bloody bangin’ summer season from HYTE!
As it got towards 10am in the morning, I came to terms with the fact that I’d just done a full 8 and a half hour shift on the dancefloor. Nice work!! My legs could take no more (the rest of me coulda taken so much more though!) and the minute I started to realise that the security started to close the place down…
Amazing. I was fulfilled. Time to step foot out into the Thursday morning sunshine with beaming smiles on our faces, tingly feet and buzzing brains. HYTE fans say ‘NO LOCO NO PARTY’, they’re Loco about Loco… I have to say though – next summer I hope I’ll be saying ‘BLAH BLAH BLAH’…
