Club-wise, Ibiza is on sabbatical now until early May 2020, with the exception of some pretty cool off-season parties. However, its influence continues elsewhere in the world.
During the cool season, we bring you club reviews from Ibiza favourites at other party destinations from around the globe.
From one 10,000 capacity venue to another, after checking-out Warehouse Project's Mayfield Depot in October, we turned our attention to The Drumsheds. The craziest party people on the planet, elrow, were in town for the frightfully suspenseful Horroween. Here's what went down.
The Drumsheds | London | 3 November 2019
If ever there was a club brand that aligned with the shock, frenzy and madness of Halloween, then elrow would be it.
Starting in Las Vegas before home country stops in Granada, Madrid and Barcelona, the Horroween roadshow's final leg would take place in London on Sunday 3 November. We donned our devil horns and headed along to witness the gore-tastic theatrics for ourselves.
Even to the keenest witch and most committed banshee, clubland's insistence on spreading the Halloween festivities across two weekends this year seemed a tad ambitious. It was in danger of being, not just overkill, but a full-on massacre.
Historically, the observed firework weekend has a poor turnout as people cosy around the family to watch illuminations in the sky. But elrow obviously didn't get the memo.
Just like it always has a habit of doing, elrow Horroween sold out ahead of the day. 7,000 tickets sold, and with it the biggest indoor elrow event to date.
We're no longer surprised. Selling out is just what elrow does, no matter if at Amnesia's flagship Saturday night or the party's various elrow Town festivals. There's a reason why we refer to it as the biggest clubbing brand on the planet.
The Drumsheds hosted Field Day festival earlier in 2019
From Meridian Water station, the venue is only a ten minute walk. The Drumsheds is London's latest high-capacity, inner city warehouse space. The project is a collaboration between promoters Broadwick Live, Enfield council's regeneration programme and property developers.
The Drumsheds itself is a gaping chasm of a venue, whose scale needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. Three airy warehouse units parallel to each other, plus a smaller space and two expansive outdoor areas comprise the site.
Only the middle hall was used as a music arena on this occasion, but still, you get the idea.
House of horrows
True to form, elrow went all out on the decoration. Did you expect any less?
The stage design was a haunted Horrow House. Giant cobwebs clung to every inch of ceiling, with scorpions and other nasties entangled within them. There was even a man-eating plant, straight from the Little Shop of Horrors.
Equally, attendees went the extra mile too. Amongst the fancy dress, we saw an impressive Teen Wolf, Lara Croft Tomb Raider and a six foot tall man dressed head to toe as Scooby Doo.
Alongside these more elaborate efforts was an assortment of recurring accessories: Maleficent horns, boiler suits and hair dyed every shade of the rainbow. Then there were those who looked more suitably dressed for a day of frolicking on Salinas in midsummer, but I digress.
Eddy M was our highlight from elrow Horroween
Sets would come from Steve Lawler, Groove Armada, Guti (live), Denney, De La Swing and the Menedez Brothers, with Eddy M playing our favourite of the day.
In true elrow fashion, we heard memorable classics from Technotronic, Jungle Brothers and Daft Punk, brought up to date with modern edits. Groove Armada even gave us a play of Chic's Everybody Dance, appeasing us old-timers.
Bright, colourful and bombastic, this was Halloween as only elrow knows how. Check out our gallery to see the highlights.
The scene that greeted us: welcome to The Drumsheds
"Who ya gonna call?" Obviously the Ghostbusters, DUH!
Knob-twiddlers: Guti (left) and Denney (right)
"Beetlejuice... Beetlejuice... BEETLEJUICE!"
No CGI, just giant puppet wizardry - Dobby the House Elf
Andy Cato and Tom Findlay erupt the dance floor
Fluorescent confetti shower by elrow
In the presence of The Count - Steve Lawler holds the floor
Blowing the cobwebs off The Drumsheds
In the crow's nest - the view from the booth
PHOTOGRAPHY | by Jake Davis & Gemma Parker
For an in depth analysis of Ibiza 2019, read our full season review. During the interim, we'll be bringing you more Ibiza worldwide reviews from the UK and beyond in the coming weeks.
