Amnesia's chameleon-like skills bring a whole new question to the pre-drink conversation. Is your arse still numb from the plane? Is Dave still wearing his mankini cause he lost that bet? Reckon if I tie toilet roll around my wrist I can sneak into VIP? What could Amnesia possibly look like tonight?
Saturday night was the grand opening. A collective of Amnesia specials hand-picked from each night's roster took to the booths, a sort of DJ-off: Marco Carola represented Music On, Gorgon City for Together, HYTE was shown off by Cuartero B2B Mar-T and Patrick Topping gave us a taste of Cocoon.
The immense space between ravers and the ceiling was filled by mesmerising prisms, with the club being rewarded with a licence to stay open until the break of dawn. I'd imagine the atmosphere was a lot like that of a sporting competition. A determination had taken over: we were in this for the long run. Claptone with his ever-mysterious golden mask was my walk-in sight. The Main room was plastered with international music lovers as his infamous track Liquid Spirit bounced from wall to wall.
The sight of men sporting suits with bowties contrasted with the sounds of old-school whistles. Erik Hagleton's radio mix of Basement Jaxx's Jump N Shout took vocals to the next level. Complimented by gusts of smoke, the main room never looked so busy. As expected, Topping had turned right at techno-street and performed to Amnesia's expectation, taking clear inspiration from Ricardo Villalobos's warping samples.
This particular opening will be remembered for its vocals. The voices of women and men from all kinds of countries had been sampled by each DJ, showing off the line-up's diversity. Hannah Wants played Mihalis Safra's Egg as Topping showed off Mall Grab's skills with his track Pool Party Music.
Erick Morillo brought the sweet sounds of Acid into the mix with Wink's Higher States of Consciousness. The sun finally broke into the slits of the Amnesia roof pouring down on unwavered dancers. That time of day, of course, could only be taken over by Marco Carola, who injected Music On vibes to complete the victorious Amnesia opening.
The opening ticked off one more vital season event for Ibiza, getting back to its old roots with morning prancing and bringing the music of Amnesia together for one big jamboree. Things are looking up this season.
