When it comes to writing the previews for the big parties on the island, it seems I always end up talking about the history of the party... how long they have been around and so on, to the point that more and more parties have been around for years. They all have history, they all have a story to tell. But none more so than Cream Ibiza. The party strolls towards the end of their second deacde of parties at Amnesia, with 15 weeks of the finest trance, house and electro spread across the two rooms of Amnesia, from the opening party on the 13th June until the closing on the 19th September.
The Cream formula for a good party works every single Thursday, with regular reports of the club totally locking out by early morning with plenty of time to go proof of Cream's ever growing popularity and relevance to todays dance music fans. The Thursday night party has rightly become clubbing ritual for many of the islands visitors over the years, with the club featuring in films and documentaries and the brand being one of the most referenced and recognised in the dance music scene. The parties focus all the attention on the DJ playing, with no overly extravagant production more than some Laidback Luke superhero capes or a well placed laser and flash/bang combo - all the essentials really.
The format for the lineups for the 2013 season ensure that no matter which week you come to the island on holiday, you're getting a great balance of trance, house and electro across the 2 rooms. Cream has managed to hold on to all of the star artists who have been associated with the club over the last few years, which is credit to Cream for remaining so important an outlet for todays music. Long serving resident Paul Van Dyk is set to play the main room, with its newly improved and moved DJ booth, no less than 8 occasions, including both the opening and closing parties, heading up a few of his own 'Politics of Dancing 3' parties along the way. The legend with the name Paul Oakenfold returns to Amnesia with Paul Van Dyk for one set at the opening party, seemingly having the taste for Cream again having played at the clubs spiritual home of Nation, Liverpool, over the winter.
Trance royalty will be playing Cream across 6 dates, with their Ajunabeats label hosting half the parties, as we welcome back the trio of Above & Beyond for some much needed group therapy and inspirational words. It'll be interesting to see how the new booth set up works in the main room. For those of you who don't yet know, the booth has been moved to a lower position under where it used to be, to help further engage the crowd with the DJs, and removing the infamous Amnesia Main Room neck ache. Eddie Halliwell plays 6 dates across the season, Gareth Emery plays 3, with these two regulars being joined by a host of main room trance talent. Names including Aly & Fila, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Arty, Mat Zo and more. Bringing up the rear of the party will be the even faithful band of main room residents you can find kicking the parties off, such as Gareth Wyn, John O'Callaghan and Adam Sheridan.
Moving over to the ever impressive terrace, with the purpose built stage at the opposite end of the room to where you might find the DJs for the likes of Cocoon, there is good news as Cream favourites Calvin Harris and Laidback Luke return for a mammoth run of dates. Laidback Luke will be in attendance with his Super You&Me party for 5 dates total, of which a few are without his brand, whilst Calvin Harris will be playing the Mixmag Terrace a total of 8 times - a fact I'm sure many of the Cream faithful will be pretty happy about.
There's more to the terrace than these two though, joining them will be some great guests including Benni Benassi, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alesso, Chris Lake, Michael Woods, Nicky Romero, Dirty South, Otto Knows and Hardwell. With resident duties coming from Sean Hughes, Burns, Anthony Probyn, James Dutton and Jemmy.
Tickets for all of these parties are of course available through Spotlight, check below for full details of he lineups and ticket prices. Don't forget for a little extra, you can take advantage of the VIP balcony access ticket, for which the view aline is worth it.
Not forgetting that you can kick start the party a little earlier with the Cream Ibiza Sunset Boat Cruise in the evening, full details and tickets HERE. See you on the 13th June.
