Cream Ibiza presents the Essential Mix live on BBC Radio 1
Boasting an incredible line up to suit all musical tastes, it's no surprise that our annual show at super-club Privilege, part of BBC Radio 1's Ibiza weekend, is looking like a road block and this year is extra special because Radio 1 are broadcasting a special 4 hour extended Essential Mix live from the main room.
Drum n bass duo Chase & Status, king of the urban scene, Benga, and Radio 1's very own Zane Lowe were all on the bill in the Vista Club alongside Monsta and Mistajam. In Vista Blue, the low ceiling and relatively smaller space provided the perfect environment for some seriously sweaty raving. British production duo Gorgon City smashed out some delicious deep-house beats, with their own track 'We Used To Be Real' really going off, as well as Hot Since 82's newest release. Brighton-born Friction then delivered some serious dnb alongside his MC, the lyrical wizard that is Linguistics. But for many, the main room was the place to be. As soon as the doors opened at 11am, The Frederik kicked things off on the main stage which had been specced out with a massive LED screen and so many dazzling lights that it resembled the Starship Enterprise. As the predominantly British crowd started to spill into the venue, the gigantic main room space was bursting at the seams by the time Danny Howard, Radio 1's king of the Dance Anthems show, started to play at midnight.
His set was rich in summery beats that will become synonymous with the Ibiza season of 2013 and warmed the epic crowd up in time for the arrival of Radio 1 stalwart Pete Tong. Then after just thirty minutes, the music stopped and the lights dimmed. As Danny Howard told the excited crowd that we were live on Radio 1, the room was bathed in a sea of purple light, CO2 cannons blasted cool air into the crowd and multi-coloured ticker tape showered down from the ceiling. As the sea of smiling bodies got goosebumps in anticipation, Pete Tong dropped MK's remix of Look Right Through by Storm Queen and went on to play a house-heavy set including two new Pryda releases, giving a nod to the super Swede that was on next - the mighty Eric Prydz. As he took to the decks, Tong encouraged the crowd to make some noise but he didn't need to because as soon as they got a peek of his trademark baseball cap and beard, they couldn't contain their excitement.
Prior to his set, Eric admitted that he was going to lay down a lot of techno released under his alter-ego of Cirez D and he didn't disappoint. The highlight of his set was when he dropped Green Velvet & Harvard Bass - Lazer Beams - with On Off, which had everyone hot footing it to the stage to dance including Eddie Halliwell, one of a handful of DJs who heroed the track when it was first released in 2009. Prydz's 2013 re-work of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus was another standout track and the latter part of his set saw him dip into Pryda productions that had basslines and kick drums on a par with his earlier releases like Miami To Atlanta and Animal. As his set came to an end, I don't think anyone wanted him to leave the stage. Last on the Essential Mix bill was Hardwell, who played a set filled predominantly with his own productions, opening with his Intro Edit of Spaceman but it was the last 30 minutes that really got the crowd going with tracks such as Clanga by Michael Woods and Lion (Feel The Love) by Fedde Le Grand and Michael Calfan proving the most popular. Over at the Vista Club the sun was starting to rise and as long-standing Cream resident, Sean Hughes, played the closing set to a still-heaving room, light started to seep through the windows giving a beautiful view over the hills below.
As Hardwell exited the stage in the main room and the Essential Mix came to an end, Cream Ibiza residents Josh Demello and James Dutton, closed the room in style playing a back to back set of epic proportions. The beaming crowd would have happily continued to party through to lunchtime and gave the pair, nicknamed Double JD, a massive cheer as each new tune was dropped. They ended the night on a massive high with Groove Armada's Superstylin' which had the crowd chanting 'one more tune!' which unfortunately we'll have to wait until next year to hear....
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