Privilege Ibiza (originally known as Ku Club from 1979–1995) is the ‘world’s largest nightclub’ according to the Guinness Book of Records, also defined as a superclub with a capacity of 10,000 people… And this year’s run of the successful RESISTANCE residency has seen no issue in filling the cavernous space. And even as we are approaching the – gulp – end of another big summer on the white Isle, the concept is not short of an extravaganza of a line-up. With no other than Carl Cox, Joseph Capriati, Nicole Moudaber, Sasha & John Digweed, plus more – seven heavyweight techno DJ’s under one massive roof – I was in for a treat!

I arrived just after 11pm and walked into the side room (the space that sits between the main room and the terrace), got myself a drink and headed into the Terrace, also known as Vista Club to check out Joris Voorn’s early set. Although the terrace seems intimate in comparison to the main room, it still holds around 600 people, nevertheless it gives you a more one-on-one experience with whatever globe-trotting DJ is playing at the time. The impeccably tuned Function-1 sound system was crystal clear, giving out the perfect amount of high-end to low-end frequencies, which, to a music geek like me, was heaven to my ears. The Amsterdam-bred DJ was pumping out rolling tech house, but not going too hard – perfect for warming up the crowd without burning them out too early.

After about 45 minutes relentlessly dancing in the terrace, I made my way into the main room to the sounds of John Rundell, who, of course, is signed to Carl Cox’s very own record label Intec Digital. Before I get into the details of that particular set I have to talk about the truly mind-blowing lighting and stage construction that RESISTANCE provides week-in, week-out at Privilege: huge LCD screens take up the immense space behind the DJ booth, flashing, moving images of the well-known ‘Robocop’ like RESISTANCE techno alien you see on all of the posters that dominate the island. The high ceiling space was awash with bespoke lighting that made you feel like you are in a mammoth spaceship-like dome; add a few hundred laser beams perfectly timed with the four-to-the-floor techno and you have yourself one of the most impressive staging productions on the planet!

John Rundell was playing straight-up techno, teasing in glitchy vocal samples, and building up moody drum rolls that sent the crowd into a fist-pumping frenzy on every drop. Up next was the Queen of Techno and MOOD records boss, Nicole Moudaber; the Lebanese-Nigerian DJ was not messing about, going in straight with driving techno, playing long loops of 808 kick drums that really hit your chest on every thump whilst building up dark but beautifully arranged synths.

It was 2am now and Italian techno icon Joseph Capriati was stepping up to the DJ booth; after a few friendly hugs and praises with Miss Moudaber, he got right underway. Playing his signature groovy but thrashing tech-house – Capriati has a very energetic, and at times emotional presence behind the DJ booth – his energy transferred to the crowd, which in turn added a truly amazing element to what was already a spectacular track selection and world-class mixing technique.

It was hard to leave the main room as JC was playing the set of his life, but there was no way I wasn’t going to catch some of Sasha & John Digweeds set in the terrace. I walked into what I can only describe as blissful , melodic techno; accompanied by smooth rolling basslines, which the 600-strong crowd was riding like a wave throughout. The mood in the room was positive and you really felt like everyone was dancing together as one big family, which in my opinion is one of the most important aspects of raving – feeling safe in an out-of –this-world environment. In the blink of an eye I had been grooving for a solid hour, and it was time to catch the headliner in the main room.

Carl Cox is without a doubt the King of Ibiza, and he started his set with an iconic intro full of striking synths and electronic clatters, before the big man himself got on the mic and spoke his signature words, “Oh Yes! Oh Yes!” The percussion was slowly teased in, becoming louder and louder – Cox got back on the mic and shouted, “IBIZA LET’S GO – UNO – DOS – TRES – CUATRO!”, before dropping into a truly epic bassline that sent the packed out main room into a frenzy. It honestly felt like an eruption of pure energy, the likes of which only Carl Cox would be able to create. Throughout his set Cox showed the RESISTANCE crowd why he is still the King; mixing and blending up to three tracks at a time, teasing in vocals and drum loops, switching up bassline patterns and truly giving it his all throughout. The energy was perfect and the production was mind blowing; King Cox truly led the RESISTANCE!