Hed Kandi Tropical Paradise At Ocean Beach

Posted on June 10, 2015

Words: Abby Lowe
Images: La Skimal.

Behold, Monday! The start of another action-packed week, the gateway to things unknown, the official start to the weekend countdown. Great things happen on Mondays and that’s fact. They get a bad rep and overall I think that’s a little unfair, although I’m happy to concede Mondays are probably better in Ibiza than a lot of other places. For example in Ibiza you can swap the office for a pool party, so instead of staring blankly at a screen all day you can swan about in a kaftan carrying a glass of cava. And in Ibiza you can go to Hed Kandi Tropical Paradise at Ocean Beach and watch live DJs in action rather than sit glumly with your earplugs in on the tube. So that’s exactly what we did. We donned our swimwear, walked around San Antonio Bay and made a beeline for Ocean Beach – a hotbed of fun and frivolity. In your face, office life.

Hed Kandi_ocean_beach by la skimal

Hed Kandi branched out to launch a daytime party last year and found the perfect partner in Ocean Beach – their joint ethos of easy-going vibes, happy house tunes and an obsession with all things sparkling making them the best of playground buddies – it’s no surprise this hook up has so far been an astounding success. There have been some changes at Ocean Beach over winter, so there’s now an additional Jacuzzi area near the entrance, and intermittently amid all the revelry a giant podium is lowered into the pool to showcase performances from mind-boggingly bendy acrobats – essentially they’ve add more of the show-stopping same.

Hed Kandi_ocean_beach by la skimal

After spending a few hours milling around the pool, drinking smoothies and singing along to some soaring vocal house, there are a few questions that pop into my head. Firstly, where does everyone buy their bikinis from, because I swear not a single person there – and it was packed – was wearing the same one? And secondly, how do girls manage to maintain their make-up in 30-degree heat? I mean that’s got to be a feat of modern engineering. Is everyone using some kind of industrial-strength foundation I don’t know about? Answers on a postcard, please. In summary, these clubbers all look immaculate – but I guess that’s to be expected when getting glammed up is all part of the fun for the Hed Kandi crowd.

Hed Kandi_ocean_beach by la skimal

All afternoon the feel-good vibes abound, refracting like rays of sunshine off the myriad glitter balls hanging around the pool. Upbeat crowd-pleasers fill the air, but it’s Lovely Laura who unsurprisingly gets the biggest cheer of the day. This diminutive saxophonist has garnered a cult following in recent years, and the elation at seeing her play is written all over the crowd’s faces. She arrives in spectacular style – lowered into the pool on a giant flower, a vision in skin-tight, glittery pink. She freestyles with gusto to Vandaag’s ‘One Day’ and last year’s song of the summer, ‘Klingande Jubel’, leaving everyone staring agape at her unquestionable talent. She reappears later on in the day to play alongside Ben Santiago, causing a stampede as everyone runs to the dancefloor to catch a glimpse of this rising star.

Hed Kandi_ocean_beach by la skimal

Ocean Beach resident Tom Crane takes the evening slot and ends the day’s action on a heavier house note. We stay to watch the sun set on a not-too-shabby Monday and then wander home, thinking next time we need to seriously up our bikini game.

Hed Kandi_ocean_beach by la skimal