Audio Rehab has been running house beats through London town for some years now. Hosting regular nights at Ministry of Sound Club as well countless other nights throughout the UK, they have built a loyal community of followers. The label night that focuses on freshest cuts of lights out, bass heavy house music is now hosting regular events at Eden until end of September.
The event was born from the Label that carries the same name, founded by RinseFM DJ, Mark Radford. Since its inception, the brand has gone from strength to strength, releasing artists such as Low Steppa, Skapes, Carnao Beats and many others.
As July is here, I thought that I better check myself in for some Audio Rehab at Eden, especially as the line-up featured an artist that I had been following since I had become interested in House music.
Flashmob first came to my attention in 2012 with his track Need in Me, a real deep house jam with passionate vocals, quite simply a classic. So naturally I was excited to hear what he had in store for Eden that Wednesday evening.
I arrived at the San Antonio venue around 2:00 to see Lance Morgan on the raised stage overlooking the filling up dance floor. Something is different on this particular night in contrast to other nights at Eden. The tribal element of the music and vibe of the event make it feel slightly underground.
Mark Radford, the main architect of Audio Rehab, chatted with me briefly about the event briefly over a drink before moving to the DJ booth to watch Lance Morgan play. Keeping the dancefloor moving with a fast tempo mixing tech house beats with more popular uplifting vocals, Lance finished with Scream by Andrea Oliva. The sharp vocals blasted through the crowd from the Eden VOID sound system.
As more smoke covered the neon-lit dance floor, Flashmob stepped on stage and took over from Lance. He started with a personal favourite of mine: the Coyu remix of Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim.
As the beats continued to increase in aggressiveness, the crowd stepped to the music at an excitable pace. With iconic white crosses of the Audio Rehab logos hanging from the ceiling, the club's lights spun around illuminating ravers in green light.
The crowd last Wednesday were particularly friendly, twisting in between each other with fun loving ease. Flashmob continued his set in a crowd pleasing fashion, dropping remixes of club classics such as Tell Me Why by 2elements and What the F**K by Santé. These selections kept the diverse attendees happy as there was a real mix of guests at Eden.
Holidaymakers sat at the bar whilst enjoying the music were watching the craft of the cocktail spinning barman. He poured me a G&T in an elaborate fashion and it tasted divine. The other half of the guests were dedicated fans of the artists, having come from all places near and far to watch Flashmob play in Ibiza.
As the esteemed artist approached the end of his set, he pulled out all the stops playing some stompers for the crowd. He pulled tracks straight from the Audio Rehab label, like Rippin Up Wax by Skapes, which was released only a week ago. It's good to see that within the label they support each other's music, adding to the community vibe of the brand.
Flashmob finished with All About You by Matt Tolfrey, stepping aside to allow label boss Mark Radford to take over the decks at 03.00. Mark started his set with a track that sounds like its straight out of a 80s underground disco, The Pacman by German Brigante.
As the strobes flickered around the enthusiastic crowd, the rhythm of the records kept the dancefloor moving. The beautiful Audio Rehab dancers moved along with enigmatic poise, flowing sensually to a deeper sounding set from Mark. Mark finished his set with a deep house classic remix, Don't Go by Dusky.
The loyal crowd that was left in the venue were smiling and relaxed as Vanilla Ace took to the stage. He started off by mixing old school classic vocals into other mixes, similar to his peers of the evening. One notable track was a popular selection for Ibiza DJs this season: a rework of Deep Inside by Daniel Stefanik.
Audio Rehab certainly hit the spot with the crowd, grooving away to the tribal tracks, mouthing the vocal sample in time with the songs. Nostalgia plays a big part: they love and appreciate the classics but always put their own twist on the original. Vanilla Ace dropped his own track Scandalise mid-set, a recent tasty tech house release from the London-based DJ.
As yet again I prepared to leave the venue around daybreak, I thought about the night and label as a whole project. In the south of England, Audio Rehab holds down the London underground house scene. For a relatively new music brand, they certainly have made an impression on Ibiza. I personally hope we see more of this authentic concept in years to come on the island.
Photography | Marta Krystyna J
