Right, folks, we're cruising into the last uproariously boisterous two weeks of the season and we're looking at the gunners who've had an absolute blinder. The crews that have come out on top have a good chance of returning next summer. Now, it's a little early to start spitting juice on Ibiza gossip for next season, but one second through the door for the Defected In The House closing at Eden would certainly hint that they've hit BINGO by returning after a 2016 break, which means plenty of demand for 2018.
From the outset, clubbers were buzzing about residency chief Simon Dunmore re-establishing Defected as a dominant force in Ibiza clubland, and it was a buzz that converted into big numbers through the doors every single week. Therefore, there wasn't a thunderbolt of surprise to hear that queues had been close to being round the block two hours after opening, nor to see Eden's main room and upper terrace absolutely bouncing with elevated humanoids. But isn't it superb to see Eden full to the brim and filling out into the darkest of light-evading corners? That's a rhetorical question, obviously. It's fucking fantastic.
Franky Rizardo – a DJ, producer and label boss who's considered to be one of Holland's finest exports in house – was nailing his update of Till West & DJ Delicious' 2006 electronic smash, Same Man, and he continued with his own venom as he introduced his rework of Camelphat & Elderbrook's official track of the season, Cola. Meanwhile, through in Room 2, Waifs & Strays held down a more tech-driven touch with the Gene Ferris remix of Luna City Express' grooving track DJ Dynamite.
Keen to throw myself back into the deep end, I took a tumble back into the main room for a whipping from one of Defected's most essential residents, Sam Divine. DJs want a reaction from us, otherwise they may as well chill the hell out at home with a YouTube playlist and a kitchen filled with their mates. That doesn't necessarily mean yells of appreciation at fever pitch, but that's what Sam Divine was launched from every direction in the house throughout her peak time set.
What engulfed our ears was a top-notch selection of anthemic house records. Push The Feeling On by The Nightcrawlers is a classic that's instantaneously recognisable, and doesn't it just hit that tender spot every time. Divine continued to inhabit the ‘90s for her sonic ammunition and tore right into Gypsy Woman by Crystal Waters, before quickly flipping into a sample of Chuck Roberts' My House and then Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix of Tori Amos' Professional Widow minus the vocals.
With her crowd tonight, it wasn't difficult to read them. Their cheers were easily translated into demands for more, and thus, she rewarded them with another feeding of both by flipping back into My House, and then delivering the vocals of Tori Amos.
As comfortable as she is with drawing inspiration from the dance era of those bygone years in dance music, she exhibited evidence of her being inspired by the present. Cutting off the nostalgic heat from Professional Widow, she took it down a notch with fun-loving 2017 summer record Loving Life from British breakout artist Rationale. Her audience went with it, but it was clear that classics were their venom of choice. As soon as Marlena Shaw's frequently sampled vocals from Woman Of The Ghetto struck out from Catz ‘N Dogz Remix, it was take-off, yet again. Good choice, Miss Divine, because this has been doing the damage everywhere on the island in 2017.
A brief tousle back with Waifs & Strays proved that Room 2 was a space more dedicated to outpourings of thumping tech house with D'Julz's rework of Phil Weeks' Mind Game. As sonically satisfying as this was, I couldn't help but dive in for more classics. I was rewarded with Mousse T's Feel Much Better Mix of Shakedown's At Night, and then roars of appreciation vibrated throughout the club as George Morel's 1993 weapon Let's Groove was dropped into the sweat pit. Get in.
To see us spilling out onto the streets of San Antonio, Low Steppa and Sonny Fodera went back-to-back before Defected shut down the systems. With a little bit of shameless promotion, Fodera burst through with his own remix of Rudimental's I Will For Love, before asking the crowd, “How are you fucking feeling?” Not bad, I'd have thought. “YEEEEEEEEEES”, was their answer.
Mash-ups were the modus operandi, with Ninetoes' Finder finding breathing space alongside MKM Feat. Cherri V's Where Love Lives, One More Time from Daft Punk and for the second time, Push The Feeling On from The Nightcrawlers – all of which were spun around Fisher's tech house jam Ya Kidding.
Defected In The House, let me hear ya for 2018.
