Bringing a home-grown party onto Ibizan soil is no mean feat. But, dare I say, our London-based compadres Elliot Schooling & Liam Palmer and their Appetite party series made it look easy.
After two sold-out happenings at Chinois Ibiza last summer, the boys returned to Ibiza Marina on Thursday night for the first of six dates on their extended à la carte menu this season.
Hosting the first party during the thick of International Music Summit (IMS) could have gone one of two ways, in terms of body numbers. Our compliments go to the chef, as Appetite drew in an energised and diverse crowd who expressed peak-summer devotion on the dancefloor.
Chinois was deliciously decked with doughnut props and surround screen visuals to match. It was as if we had entered a Willy Wonka-style dystopia.
01:00 soon rolled around, and it was time for Elliot Schooling & Liam Palmer to serve up the jams - and that they did.
As the next 90 minutes unfolded, our party hosts curated one of the strongest setlists I’ve heard in a long time. Tossing up flavours of Techy grooves, subtle hints of Minimal Garage and downright classic House heaters.
Repping fellow UK breakout artist Issac Carter’s latest one, Had To, featuring Biyi, proved to be a sweet treat amongst the crowd. The track is laced with a Deep House groove and a punchy vocal rap line.
If the aforementioned had set the pace, then by the time Riva Starr’s 2010 remix of Reboot’s Enjoy Music was loaded, the roof was ready to blown clean off. Another standout selection from these two House music aficionados at work.
In the final ten minutes came the chef’s kiss: Fish Go Deep’s The Cure & The Cause, an Ibiza club classic! I’m no seafood lover, but there was no denying the succulence of this catch of the day.
Twenty-something-year-olds Elliot and Liam may only be new kids on the block, but they’ve clearly done their homework on what makes an Ibiza dancefloor tick.
The night continued with Saoirse b2b Shanti Celeste, who continued with chunky House music deep into the morning. Whilst sadly we didn’t catch closing acts Dr. Banana and Eliza Rose due to work commitments in the morning, it’s fair to say that we left feeling hungry for more!
Even for notoriously eager me, it’s far too early to start throwing around the “set of the summer” label. Let’s just compromise, by saying Elliot Schooling & Liam Palmer are the ones to beat.
Appetite Ibiza next takes place on Tuesday 27 May. Tickets for all dates can be found below.
For a full list of Elliot and Liam’s confirmed club dates, please visit this page.
PHOTOGRAPHY | by David Montes Aldea
