Images: Phrank

As the summer draws to a close and another season sees its concluding weeks pick up speed, every night becomes a final hurrah. The third to last Cocoon of the summer brought out the best that the global event concept, Amnesia and the industry has to offer, with a remarkable lineup, top of the line venue, entertainment and a perfectly buzzing crowd.

Arriving early in club has its mystique, as one discovers corners and parts of the venue never seen before and gets to claim one’s favourite spot if not enjoying the party from the elevated balconies between the two rooms. Looking striking, bathed in deep shades of crimson, fuchsia and violet, Amnesia welcomed revelers into the splendid world of techno and its visual representation. Always beyond spectacular Dub Video Connection, brings visuals to a whole other level with spellbinding graphics and beguiling designs accompanying Cocoon’s enrapturing music. Last Monday’s lineup made it quite challenging to choose which room to be in.

With the genders more than equally represented, talent poured forth from both rooms. The Club showcased exclusively women DJs with three brilliant ones on the roster. Dana Ruh got the night going with a steady bassline driving her rhythmic magnetic techno. As the circles and O’s of the Cocoon logo in the screen above her turned into bubbles dropping into a crumbling circle motif, the LED-lit circles above the dance floor swirled round and round. Dancers in black string suits moving provocatively on the VIP balconies, the techno boomed on until Dana handed the decks over to Sonja Moonear who put on a full display of her eclectic taste and background. Spinning on vinyl, the Swiss DJ is the real thing. With psychedelic twists and turns she brought on a techno as diverse, original and stimulating as her classical musical background. With a sturdy bassline and psychedelic sounds, her fine set brought in house traces with dabs of underground history. As endless dots spiraled out of a black hole in the screen, long-tressed dancers led the way into the night.

Meanwhile in the Terrace, Guy Gerber had been hard at it as a couple of dancers in neon-coloured bob wigs and black revealing suits pranced in the middle of the room. The Israeli DJ put on a mystic set that had the crowd absolutely enthralled. The handover to Sven saw an ultra-hefty bassline reverberating through the air, as Sven rocked it out. Banging techno from the get-go, Papa Sven was accompanied by a show of the whole team of fluorescent haired dancers engaging one by one in a solo act with a letter of the word Cocoon until they’d spelled it out. Each still carrying a letter, the dancers moved to the balconies of the Club, where the crowd was just as engaged. As she finished her set, Sonja brought her pure techno to a climax, filling the air before Nina Kraviz took over. As revelers hailed and cheered both DJs, Nina’s reverberated around the famous room. Also playing vinyl, an important element of the Cocoon ethos, Nina went deep and dark but never for too long. Interspersing an ever so subtle, almost imperceptible, sample of Inner City’s “Good Life” in her hard often dark techno, she delivered an intense, never predictable multilayered set. Switching it up with an ever-present element of surprise, the talented DJ never stayed too hard or too soft. Mist-machines mystifying the dancefloor, she maintained a stamina sapping BPM, much to the delight of the crowd, with some charming melodies, slaying it till the end, while Sven kept at it in the Terrace, ending on a super-emotional note, in preparation for the upcoming closing.

In its sweet 16 season, Cocoon at Amnesia has been nothing short of outstanding. A testament to its sway, this past Monday showed how the global brand remains a force to be reckoned with, a player constantly at the top of its game. With two more dates remaining this season, each more appetising than the other, grab your chance to experience some of the finest underground techno on the island and indeed the planet.