After having an in-depth look into Ushuaïa's and Amnesia's plans for this summer, part three of the 2018 season preview series is all about Hï.
But in Hï's specific case, I think it makes sense to quickly look back first.
After an emotional and remarkable closing party at the end of summer 2016, the Night League team, running Ushuaïa and now Hï, had five months to convert what used to be Space into what now is Hï.
They got the keys to the venue handed over on 1 January 2017, and the remodelling started right away. Builders worked in three shifts to get the job done and on Sunday 28 May, the transformation was complete. Hï opened its doors for the first time.
It was impressive to see how much got done in so little time. The club saw a complete facelift and Hï is a totally different venue. The club opened with a bang and generally had a really good first season.
When I said the builders had five months to get their job done, the clubbers of this world had the same amount of time to get used to the fact that where they used to find Space, now there was Hï... and it would be silly to think that everyone was able to simply flip the mental switch so quickly.
From what I personally experienced during last summer, there was a multitude of different opinions and feelings about the change. There were the youngsters and Ibiza virgins who couldn't wait to go, see and experience the world's newest club.
There were the folks that had been to Space maybe just once or twice and were super excited and curious about Hï.
There were people that used to be Space regulars but were open to change, maybe also because in some of their minds, Space hadn't been the same since the moment the club suddenly couldn't open in the mornings anymore.
And of course, there were the Space diehards who had been going to Space for years and simply couldn't stomach the fact that their single absolute favourite clubbing location had gone and turned into something entirely different.
It is fair to say that there was always going to be positive and negative feedback. And let's be quite frank here: Space was a legendary place and played a pivotal role in the evolution of clubbing, not just here on the island but on a global scale. Filling its boots was never going to be an easy job. Team Hï was well aware of that.
A friend of mine summed up his feelings quite well when I saw him once in Hï last summer. We were sitting in one of the teepees in the garden outside, having a breather and so I asked him "OK, hand on your heart, what do you think?"
I need to advance that he had spent hundreds of nights in what used to be Space. He has been here on the island for over a decade and used to go to the club mostly twice a week all summer.
So he got silent and pondered for a while and then he said "You know, I just can't like it YET. It's too early. It is all so fresh still. No matter how much they changed, when I walk into the Theatre, I can somehow still feel the Discoteca right now... They really did an extraordinary job and have turned it into a super modern club that is doing extremely well, but I personally just need time to adapt."
And I think this is exactly what a lot of the old Space lovers need: time to get accustomed. We humans are creatures of habit and most of us simply don't like change. But the fact is Hï is an extremely exciting venue with all the bells and whistles and eventually will win over even the biggest of critics.
Some of the new parties for 2018 should help with that, so let's now have a look at what's in store at Hï in summer 2018.
Hï's week starts with a novelty which has just been announced today. Diving into the urban music and hip-hop world, Mondays are going to sound rather different than last summer when Martin Garrix ran the night. Garrix is still in Playa d'en Bossa every week though, over at Ushuaïa on Thursday evenings.
GangStar will be hosted by Cathy Guetta and is Hï's first non-electronic night. Expect mainly hip hop and RnB, maybe some soul and funk, possibly some grime too...anything urban really. The actual line-ups aren't out yet, but we know the night will not just see DJs spinning their tunes, but also a lot of shows and big production.
The island has seen a steady rise of popularity related to urban music events in the past few years. As much as house and techno music purists will say Ibiza has always been about the four to the floor, that actually isn't true at all - do some research guys.
Obviously, a lot of the mainly younger crowd is massively into anything urban these days. So to me, it was no surprise seeing Hï put up a night covering that genre and catering for exactly that crowd.
Tuesdays - Eric Prydz / Club Solardo
One of the best performing nights at Hï in season one - and certainly one of the most talked about ones - is back for round two. Even though Eric Prydz had played Ibiza in the past, 2017 was his first proper own residency on the island and was a straight-up winner.
This summer, Eric gets weekly support from CamelPhat and Cristoph. Strictly seen his line-up is a little less varied than last year, but both CamelPhat and Cristoph have turned into very attractive acts lately. But let's be honest here: the main attraction of that night will always be Mr Prydz himself.
The Club room will be in the hands of the Solardo guys this summer. Presenting Club Solardo, the duo will be hosting the Club on Tuesdays all summer and bring along lots of friends and surprise guests from the tech house sector. We sat down with Solardo recently, so look out for a video to hit the web and social networks soon.
Wednesdays - Armin van Buuren / Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
No changes at all on Wednesdays at Hï. AvB is back in the Theatre while SJ & RM keep on running the club. Trance was electronic dance music's biggest crowd puller around the Millennium and was still massive a decade ago. Since then, it has turned into somewhat of a niche on Ibiza. The genre's followers are both very loyal and vocal, though, so Hï dedicates one weekly night to that style.
The week-by-week line-ups were released only last week. Armin brings lots of big names of the scene to Hï such as Aly & Fila, Cosmic Gate and Markus Schulz. Then one very interesting booking on 11 July sees The Orb's very own Dr Alex Paterson taking to the decks for a DJ set.
Lovers of long sets should pin 1 August when Armin plays solo all night long. Last but definitely not least, let's not forget about the Above & Beyond gig on 15 August which is also the only date Armin himself won't be there.
The club is hosted by Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano this summer again and sees guest slots taken by the likes of Mark Knight, Fedde Le Grand, Sam Feldt and Roger Sanchez just to name a few.
Hï's transfer of the year - no less.
From what is known, Afterlife couldn't get things in place for 2018 over at Privilege in time. Also, even though the 2017 season at Vista Club had gone super well for them, a few things needed to change.
So Afterlife started looking for an alternative and ended up back at the venue where it had originally started in 2016 at Space... I will be honest and add that for Hï, this move meant hitting the jackpot because last year's Thursday nighter In The Dark didn't quite live up to expectations.
This night will be the the one attracting a lot of people who haven't been to Hï yet or maybe wouldn't go otherwise. The reason is simple: the line-ups are simply oustanding. If you like techno and the deeper and more underground side of house music, literally not one single week all summer could you say "Nah, nothing special on this Thursday at Hï." Yes, it's true: we will all miss the Vista Club sunrise vibes, something truly unique that made for weekly goosebumps material.
However, simply from a programming point of view, Afterlife at Hï 2018 is up there with the very best Ibiza has seen in a long time. Having spoken to one of the guys of team Afterlife, I can reveal that they will transform the venue as much as they can to really produce that typical dark and moody Afterlife feel.
We'll see how the upside down man will do at Hï, but I have a feeling it will be a very big night this one.
Being the only promoter that stayed through the transition from Space into Hï, Glitterbox had a very good season in 2017 and is back for this summer as well.
The line-up is out already and combines both legends such as Masters at Work and DJ Harvey with names that have made waves more recently such as Honey Dijon. Then add to that the Glitterbox regulars such as Todd Terry and Dimitri From Paris, as well as island support by DJ Pippi and Mr Doris, and you've got a really powerful house and disco night.
Glitterbox is always popular with both a little more mature crowd as well as the gay circuit, so expect a fantastic atmosphere!
South Africa's biggest electronic music export is also back at Hï. This year, he actually opens the club since his opening party is at the same time the venue's first night of business.
2017 was a very good summer for Black Coffee. Not only did it grow his name further on a global level but also his night at Hï was always very well-attended.
The night was certainly helped by the fact that a lot of people continued at Hï right after ANTS had finished across the road. People obviously were in the mood to party on for a few more hours and curious to see the island's latest nightlife addition.
For this summer, I believe more people will not simply decide spontaneously as they maybe did last year but rather directly get their tickets beforehand. There are enough reasons for it if you look at the line-up.
Black Coffee is, of course, there every week himself, but the guests joining him in the Theatre this season is rather impressive: Damian Lazarus, Jamie Jones, Luciano, Âme, Bedouin, Guy Gerber - quite the list!
There are also still a few TBA's to be added, and the guests for Housekeeping, who will be taking care of the Club, are also still under wraps.
With Ushuaïa next door having its busiest event of the week and Black Coffee presenting a really good line-up, I am sure Hï will be very busy on Saturday nights this summer.
Here is the second big transfer for Hï. After two decades at Amnesia, Cream suddenly had to find a new home because the San Rafael venue decided it was time for a change on Thursdays. Conversations turned into agreements, and Cream is now happening on Sundays at Hï.
A lot of the trance fans weren't happy when they saw the Cream line-ups because there simply isn't one single trance artist on the roster. While I understand the disappointment of the trance family, I also understand the venue's decision of only having one weekly trance night (AvB, Wednesdays).
The move is simply a result of what I explained earlier: like it or not, trance just does not have the same pulling power it once used to.
Pulling power should be provided by the likes of Hardwell, Steve Angello, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Diplo, plus many more, all set to play Cream Theatre dates this summer.
Moreover, the Club room is hosted by Jonas Blue, making it an attractive carry-on for the crowd enjoying Kygo over at Ushuaïa on Sunday evenings.
One last thing for all the trance heads: don't worry, there is a second weekly trance night on the island this summer. It literally just got announced, have a read of this!
Conclusion
Hï has both rounded out and vastly improved its weekly programming for season II. The two transfers Afterlife and Cream bring very popular brands to the super-club and with them a loyal crowd.
The new Monday night GangStar will be an interesting one to watch. Tuesdays (Prydz) and Wednesdays (AvB) will do well no doubt. Finally, both Fridays (Glitterbox) and Saturdays (Black Coffee) have much stronger line-ups this year, too. All the signs point towards a very good summer for Hï.
On some days of the week people also get attractive Ushuaïa-to-Hï combos in terms of genres. ANTS into Black Coffee on Saturday and Kygo into Cream (with Jonas Blue in the second room) are especially very well thought-out.
I recently was allowed a sneak peek into Hï. While there aren't any big structural changes, they still have been ironing out some of the finer details that they simply didn't have time for last year. It looks as though both the venue as well as the people behind Hï are ready for a busy summer.
To finish, I think team Hï deserves a genuine pat on their shoulders for their winter work. They have been out very early by making early-bird tickets for all their parties available at affordable prices.
Still today, for all nights except Tuesdays you can buy an early-entry ticket (entry before 1:00) which will get you in a fair bit cheaper, even in peak season. Thumbs up for that. In our humble opinion, this is the way forward.
Part four of the season preview follows once the next venue has completed its weekly programming!
