Solomun, a European house music beacon commanding a stalwart Balearic presence this season, stepped from behind Pacha's booth into Ibiza's stellar sunset for Destino's second birthday party celebrations.
At a sprawling, iconic boutique resort awash with understated glamour with panoramic views across the Mediterranean Sea that awaited a showcasing from a titan in electronica, I expected to find an eclectic crowd basking under the beauty of their surroundings - I was not misguided. The celebrations began in the early evening and when I arrived at 8pm, the place was buzzing with its blend of ages, hotel guests perfectly timed for a big party and of course, house music devotees already well acquainted with Solomun's dexterity behind the machine.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the Balkan-born (Hamburg raised) bombshell injected the Pacha resort's cliff top crowd with his ‘music is moments' mantra in a set which gathered momentum as night replaced day. Whether you were packed at the front under the curvature of the vaulting wooden structure or serenely sprawled across one of the sun loungers round the poolside oasis, his emotively inducing craftwork was released for a session of aural absorption.
The energy he gives out is as infectious as the sounds he delivers to the crowd and it was obvious that I wasn't the only one who felt this. He is a charismatic presence who was clearly visible to those who took a moment to direct their attention to the booth over the floor and each other. He brought the deep, synthesized basslines, the funk and a generous slathering of emotive human vocals weaved through strings and scapes of journeyed peaks and troughs.
Big track from last summer, Traumer's Hoodlum was just one of the standout moments for me, but the high had to be hearing the unmistakable melody of the timeless savage disco hit, I Feel Love by Donna Summer coming through. What a dancefloor knock-out beast. Every time. A unifier of a smash that never fails to draw out instant gratification from each and every one of us.
Earlier in the night, he sampled the haunted lyrics from Michael Jackson's Thriller and to neatly wrap this up, Solomun, the bassline demon, did just that – thrilled to the bone marrow core. I'd have him at my birthday.
WORDS | Aimee Lawrence PHOTOGRAPHY | Destino
