Images: Phrank

In case you’ve just returned to earth from a far off planet, the news is that it is the busiest start to an Ibiza season for as long as anyone can remember. Here at Essential HQ, we can vouch for that, with the launch of our new TV platform and an ever-increasing client base has meant we have all been kept on our toes, with multiple events daily. Not that we’re complaining you understand, we love what we do and the fun we have doing it.

When a recent cancellation offered a gap in the diary and a chance to chill out on a Monday night and catch our breath, you know we were going to make the most of the opportunity to rest, right? Wrong! Sven Väth was on terrace duty all night long, KiNK was playing live and Ricardo Villalobos was returning to the club for the first time in a decade. There was only one place to be and that was Amnesia! Besides, going out is the new staying in, haven’t you heard!

By the time we got ourselves ready and to the club it was already 2am, not too late in Ibiza terms but Cocoon was already packed, this is a party crowd that appreciates the journey that its heroes take them on and it seems that everyone made a special effort to get in early. The terrace was the place to start our epic adventure and with Papa Sven in control all night long, it promised to something to remember. One of the things I love about Ibiza and probably Cocoon in particular, the mixture of people is amazing, from Ibiza virgins soaking up that first island experience, witnessing the phenomenon for the first time and sporting that kid-at-Christmas glow from start to finish to the seasoned Cocoon follower that has seen and hear it all before but still approaches the night like a newbie.

Sven Väth is a master at working a dancefloor, no matter where in the world he finds himself, but at home, in Ibiza, overlooking the terrace in Amnesia is where he lives and breathes. He is immersed in the experience, interacting with faces in the crowd, teasing and tantalizing with some of the finest beats as he gives 100 percent to make sure his crowd gets the very most from the time they spend together. It’s personal and it’s clear to see and it’s one of the reasons that Cocoon has been the driving force in Ibiza for over a decade and a half. Sven tales a brief break on the Terrace as KiNK delivers yet another time stopping live performance that has seen him become one of the most influential electronic music artists of his generation. We watched, open-mouthed, from the balcony as he raised his mini-keyboard into the air, mush to the delight of the massive crowd, goosebumps as the roar hit us, how he manages to stay focused on his multiple controllers and gadgets as he weaves a magical musical spell is beyond us.

Of course, the temptation to remain on the Terrace for the duration of our stay was huge but history was also unfolding in the Club. Ricardo Villalobos, normally presiding over the Terrace like the Tsar of techno that he is, was making his return to the Club for the first time in a decade! He cuts a striking figure behind the booth, lean, sweating for the cause as he joins the capacity crowd on an eclectic electronic mystery tour that only he could deliver. Ricardo Villalobos has an undeniable ability to take any preconceptions you had about what constitutes a great night on the dancefloor, smash them into a million pieces then rebuild them in a unique fashion, leaving you breathless, astounded and thoroughly satisfied. It was the first Cocoon of the month as Ibiza breezes into July and what a way to welcome the ascent into peak season. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, or how crazy the summer gets, Monday night in Amnesia, at the hands of some of the most talented artists on the planet is a reminder of just what it is about Ibiza that hooked us all in the first place.