Top raver, booth infiltrator and our very own AM to PM girl, Lissy Lübeck is back for summer 2023, sharing her thoughts, experiences and inner musings from Ibiza's clubland. A year older, but a year wiser? Probably not.
If you heard it from anybody else, you'd dismiss it as hyperbole, but Lissy Lü's real life is like that.
Partying as a profession is a hard life... but somebody's got to do it!
Sunday 8 October
By and large, Sundays have been a day for wholesomeness this summer.
Today I headed into Ibiza Town with Jo for what was intended to be a shopping trip. In our ignorance, we hadn't realised many of the retail outlets had switched to their winter opening hours, which meant a lot of our favourite were closed.
This didn't stop us having a lovely little afternoon out. We looked in shops we wouldn't usually go in, and browsed the beautiful market stalls for some last minute Ibiza goods.
The wholesome vibes may have lasted throughout the day, but by night the tables turned.
My pal Nicole Reynolds (AKA the DJ Blondi) notified me of yet another villa party happening. How could we resist? I wanted to show Jo the ropes, as she had never been to one. Off we went into the night. The secret location was at the very top of Cap Martinet, above Talamanca.
After a tense half an hour wait due to our names not being on the guest list, we walked in with Prunk.
This was the coolest villa I'd seen yet by far. There were giant inflatable mushrooms taking over the main lounge turned dancefloor. Hot Since 82 was already playing when we got in. He soon jumped off and Blondi went back-to-back with Prunk, before Max Dean took over.
Some of the antics that went down at this one aren't PG enough to write about in my diary. You'll have to let your imagination do the work. Needless to say, it was a "proper" villa party.
The music was excellent, the free bar was flowing and I caught up with some pals and met some more beautiful new faces. It would have been too easily to get carried away here, so we decided to make the sensible, executive decision to leave around 01:00.
Tuesday 10 October
One last hurrah at Casa del Spotlight. The end is getting very real now and we're beginning to think we haven't made the most of our beautiful, temporary home. We threw a little sunset barbeque we dubbed Sausage Fest, courtesy of Stephen and his hidden cooking talents.
For someone who actively chooses to eat one ice cream a day out here (and little else more), he's a surprisingly good chef. Maybe when we get back to the UK, we can all start enjoying a proper, balanced diet again?
From homemade potato salad, colourful greens and lots of sausages, it was the perfect pre-Pikes feast. It was lovely to spend some quality time with the house, as we often vanish to our bedrooms most of the time to catch up on some much-needed shut eye.
The tunes were on, the funny stories were out and so were the mosquitos. Thank god for citronella candles, eh.
Charlotte and Lucy also joined us for a few drinks, before we headed to Pikes for the closing of Disco Disco. After lots of speculation, the special guests turned out to be Bonobo and Skream. How often do you get to see these scale DJs play at such an intimate club space?
For someone that isn't much of a Disco fan, I thoroughly enjoyed my night.
Highlight of the evening was Michael Bibi walking into Pikes with his girlfriend. Seeing him on the dancefloor, embracing friends and enjoying the music made my heart full.
Nobody hassled him and it was probably the perfect environment for him to be out in, as it wasn't overly hectic. A slight contrast to the emotional scenes of his comeback at Solid Grooves a week and a half ago. It's so good to see him living his life again after such turmoil.
Wednesday 11 October
Wednesday was the last day of school for team Spotlight as we had our final weekly session at theHub.
I probably won't miss the mandatory attendance scuppering my Tuesday night plans, though I do have to say it's the nicest office I've ever worked from. Maybe I will miss it once I get back to the UK and cold, hard reality.
Severely hungover, Jo and I were practically falling asleep at our screens.
We made it to 16:00 and headed back over to San Antonio for an early dinner. I slept the whole way there, and again nearly passed out once I'd eaten. I've been to Golden Buddha so many times over the last two years, yet I never noticed the little terrapins in the pond there. This kept our sleepy brains entertained for a while.
Not the most exciting day of the summer, I was asleep by 19:00 and slept all the way through to morning. I guess a day like this is acceptable at the end of the season, right?
Thursday 12 October
With only three days left of summer, I decided to make a start on packing. At the time I thought I was being well prepared, as I had intended to do it all on Sunday. Thank goodness I started when I did. I cleared out over four bin bags of clothes and still ended up with over three full suitcases of summer attire to bring back on the plane. The airport is going to be fun (!)
A room in disarray - starting to get real now
After a day of hard graft, we went to Tim's for a little barbecue in the evening.
Today was a gorgeous day, still super hot and bright sunshine. Lauren cooked an amazing leg of lamb with a pomegranate and creamy yoghurt sauce - it was wonderful. We sat around the table, joking and catching up and I said my goodbyes to Phil for another summer.
All the animals joined us: the dogs, cats and even the hen.
I made the wise decision to have an early night so that I had the energy for the big weekend ahead. However, the others let loose and stayed up being silly and putting the world to rights until the early hours. I am told there was laughter and tears in equal measure.
Friday 13 October
This morning, I picked up a rather hungover looking Lauren and Steve, to take them to lunch. We went to our favourite Es Cuco. The chicken, chip and gravy here is the only thing that can cure a hangover, I swear. We indulged in a lovely, filling lunch and reflected on the night before.
After some catching up on work, I spent the afternoon on the fort soaking up some rays. I even went for a dip in the pool. It's already got a lot cooler.
In the evening, I was a little hesitant to go to Marcel and Nathalia's villa party, especially with one eye on Amnesia's Closing Party tomorrow. That one's always a test of stamina.
Every time we end up at Marcel's, I end up staying past sunrise. Vetoed by management, we chose to go for a few hours, with our sensible hat firmly on. It was lovely to catch up with some of Tim's friends, who I only ever get to see when I go to such gatherings.
After P-Dawg's (AKA Balearic Beat Pete) sunset set, me, Tim and his friend Matt alternated behind the decks, playing a range of Minimal, Tech House and some melodic Afro-Tech towards the end.
Luckily, I bought my USB stick with me this time, so I could actually mix tracks that I knew! I really enjoyed being back behind the booth. It's made me realise just how much I want to practice and hone my craft to get some more gigs under my belt.
Saturday 14 October
The final fling. Thinking back to when I arrived at the start of the summer, it only seems like a week ago. When I realise just how much I've squeezed in over the last six months, it reminds me that a full summer has been had. I guess the saying time flies when you're having fun is true.
I woke up with a spring in my step, ready for the last slice of clubbing action of summer 2023.
Myself, Steve and Jo returned to Can Pou for a spot of lunch, as our restaurant reservation for dinner wasn't until 22:30. I love this little spot. I don't know how it passed me by before. It's the perfect eatery that serves wholesome dishes and is away from the madness.
Dinner was set for CÔTÔ Ibiza, another restaurant I had no idea existed. Crouching down to enter the restaurant through a tiny wooden door, it was like walking into Narnia. A far-eastern oasis lay before us.
There was a DJ, singer and the restaurant was full to the brim, despite it being the end of the season. I ordered the spring rolls, chicken satay, edamame beans and gyozas, as well as duck pancakes. It was so delicious. I can't wait to return next summer.
The van collected us soon after midnight to take us just a minute down the road to Amnesia. We chilled in our spot in the green room before heading out to a very busy Terrace dancefloor to support Danny Howard. I met Fleur Shore for the first time, who was so sweet and down to earth. She absolutely smashed her set!
Lots of laughs were had throughout the night and seven hours flew by. This was brought to my attention when my stomach started to rumble and a yawn crept out of nowhere. Bed was calling. Not even the allure of the afters at Tuk Tuk in Playa d'en Bossa could sway me.
Thank you Amnesia for another incredible summer. No one does a closing party like you do. Bye tiny island. See you soon. Over and out.
Sadly, that's the last instalment of Lissy Lü's dancefloor diary this summer... from Ibiza, at least. She'll be back in 2024, but as an end of season bonus you can read about what Lissy got up to after Ibiza at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE).
Read previous weeks' capers here:
Ibiza closing parties: part two
Ibiza closing parties: part one
Looking after Cleo
Storm clouds gather
For daily insights, you can keep up to date with the life and times of Lissy Lü by following our TikTok channel here. See you in The 'Dam.
