Season Review 2010: Ibiza Rocks, Eden & Es Paradis

San An special to cover 3 venues with some of the most diverse music you'll hear on the island.

Ibiza Rocks

Well and truly established at their San An base now, the I-Rocks family will be sitting happy after their 5th anniversary season. The Prodigy show in July was quite simply one of the great moments in Ibiza's music history and there was a constant blend of old and new as well as 'but of course' and 'what the…' across the programming. LCD Soundsystem performed what is likely to be one of their last ever gigs and after all the talking, The Specials closed the summer in style. Set to move to Wednesdays in 2011, can we have status quo please……..that was lower case you'll note.

Eden

Another on the rollercoaster ride of mixed fortunes, with Judgement Sundays and Wonderland the club's best nights. Judgement had a meaty roster of trance and is perhaps the only (??) event in Ibiza catering for hard house niche that was so popular when it began in 2000. One thing critical to its continued existence is the connection with the worker's community, with several San An ressies holding down regular slots here. 

Tong's line-ups were stronger than ever with guaranteed roadblocks for the likes of Fatboy and Groove Armada, but whether Felix da Housecat or 2000 and One can ever really be enough to make a San An party prevail, well, we know the answer to that one. 

Nuts Magazine was even too trashy for Ibiza whilst Garlands and Mondo Loco - with the most bizarre selection of guests - ticked over but nothing more. Finally, Twice as Nice proved that, after 10 years, there is still definitely a place on the island for it and was actually one of the tickets we saw the biggest % jump in sales for here on Spotlight.

Reclaim the Dancefloor had the problem of having fantastic looking line-ups on paper, but still perhaps for the wrong marketplace. Names like Tiga, Major Lazer, Chase & Status or Switch lead to some weeks good, some weeks bad, but forward thinking and different for sure. It would be a shame if this music wasn't in Ibiza.

Es Paradis

The most beautiful club of Ibiza will be content after a season that saw two huge brands, Ibiza Rocks and Hed Kandi, flourish under its pyramid roof. The after-party for the former was a natural step for post-gig rocking ravers (or raving rockers?!), whilst Hed Kandi slotted in to life at Es Para like they were right at home. They changed the DJ booth away from the central circular dance floor, changing the dynamic entirely and allowing the solid house and disco soundtrack to tease you to the dance floor. Make no mistakes here, this is a proper party and not a load of kids poncing around to some one dimensional compilation CD, so expect some decent house tuneage with a soulful edge and the odd curveball too. For example, didn't think I'd ever hear the same track being played at a Hed Kandi night as I had at Cocoon a few weeks earlier (it was Willie Graff & Tuccillo '1,2,3 Yeah' for the anoraks!). Jolly good show HK!

Elsewhere, Es Paradis have pitched it about right all things considered, with Clubland, Guru Josh and the Fiesta del Agua all offering what most of their potential clientele are looking for and served up.