It is finally that time of year again. The ultimate progressive trance and house party Cream has begun welcoming ravers back into the legendary Amnesia. Always a thrill to attend, the opening party showed us why this party is as big as ever.
Pretty much directly off the Float Your Boat - Cream Ibiza Official Boat Party, Sean Hughes and George Kwali got the Terrace going while Wil Atkinson held down the Main Room. When we arrived before 2:00, the crowd was already settled in for the evening and visibly enthused.
Soon thereafter Gabriel & Dresden got on their remarkable one and a half hour set in the Main Room. Reworking all-time favourites such as Beautiful Things with their own personal twist, trance was back with a vengeance. To every trance head's delight, the American duo went all out with Take Me Away (Into The Night) by 4 Strings, L.E.D. There Be Light by Rank 1 and reworkings of the duo's own Tracking Treasure Down followed by their remix of everlasting classic As The Rush Comes.
Gabriel & Dresden continued to pull out samples and remasterings of trance classics while piercing red laser beams sliced the room into impressive grids and veils. The svelte Amnesia dancers displayed their moves from atop, and the energy level rose exponentially. A very friendly crowd reacted by totally letting loose and riding the bassline. Cream lovers are a jolly lot. The only difficulty we seemed to have was choosing between the two rooms. Both proved testaments to the success and grip of electronic music from the 90s.
When Paul van Dyk appeared in the DJ booth of the Main Room, all were beaming in anticipation. His set took off like a space rocket and the ice cannons going off around him. Still a king of German trance after over three decades he brought on a full-on energy beast. Besides samples of decades of our favourite riffs, melodies, and segments of some of the strongest progressive tech trance of the past 20+ years, he also pulled out recent releases such as Galaxy of Blue by Lostly.
Meanwhile the Terrace had the big beat electronica of multiple-award winner Fat Boy Slim. Slim Shady himself went all the way, and judging by the reactions of the crowd, delivered exactly what they wanted. Pulling out samples of mainstream smash hits, the solo electronic act remains not only undoubtedly talented but also always great fun. As he alternated between serious displays of craftmanship and more than a fair share of antics, he went from wowing us with overlapping tracks to honking his infamous air horns.
At one point, Fatboy Slim had the entire Terrace get down to the floor. Having everyong repeat after him, 'I am not a sinner', he kept us all there until the skyrocketting climb and peak drop. Throughout it all, clubbers were utterly engaged. Pulling the best of three decades smash hits, Slim Shady interspersed all our fave bits and mashed them up. With his bouncy captivating beat, virtually impossible to resist, the whole Terrace was wrapped around his little finger.
Towards the latter part of his set, he brought in some deeper house traces, so stick around till later if you are after a slightly more underground version of the global superstar. With marching basslines, Fatboy Slim ended with another sampling of Ultra Nate's Free.
Meanwhile PvD concluded in the Main Room. As the giant screen behind him projected fantastical geometrical shapes, he had barely perceptible samples going. So enveloped in multiple layers, the original pieces became almost unrecognisable yet teasing us in the background. His set was in a constant peak state of tech trance at ultrasonic bpm.
Ben Nicky took over from there and dove right in. With a brief sample of Children by Robert Miles followed by You're Not Alone, Nicky went at it hard bringing really steep rises and hardcore breakdowns. He did have his moments of release, too, such as the all-time trance favourite ResuRection. This track by the Russian trance group PPK still captivates after 16 years.
Next door, it was time for Faithless. Surrounded by fuchsia lasers, a very fierce Sister Bliss came on and blew the roof back off Amnesia. Starting with Oliver Holden's Ibiza 77 (Can You Feel It) and the baddest ass Shout sample, Sister bliss put on a high energy set. with We Come 1, Music Is The Answer, Aevion's Polygon, God Is a DJ and Domino and Nic fanciulli's remix of Ascenion by Gorillaz, the set was nonstop, making it impossible to leave.
The crowd lost it to Faithless favourite Salva Mea in its Above and Beyond remix. Speaking of whom, you can catch Above & Beyond during the summer, as Cream alternates between the two residents throughout the season, an experience we highly recommend for a more trance leaning night.
The entire summer is fabulous on Ibiza, but the first part of the season is magical and seductive in its own way. The clubs are comfortably full with just the ideal amount of people to fill the venue while leaving everyone enough room to dance -- not too many not to few.
The opening of Cream showed once again that quality lasts and music is timeless. For over two decades now, Cream have been famous worldwide for their mammoth line-ups and events. The Cream opening night was no exception, and just like that, the season took off.
