15 YEARS OF CIRCO LOCO
DC-10, Ibiza | July 29th
First, a bit of history on the much talked about club DC-10, where we attend the institutional Monday night party, put on by the Italian dance promotional juggernaut, Circo Loco. Initially, Circo Loco was a 24-hour session, opening once Space had closed at 6am on a Monday morning and running all day.
Taking place in a former roofless aircraft hanger at the bottom of the Ibiza Airport runway, DC-10 was and still is one of the number one underground music spots on the Island. Although top end DJs such as Sasha, Pete Tong and Loco Dice would play regularly in the mid 2000s, moving on to form their own weekly residencies and parties, the current cast of residents reads like who’s who of trendy house, with a slither of techno. Kerri Chandler, Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones are all regular fixtures, not to mention the presence of head resident Tania Vulcano.
Crack had been to DC-10 before but not for a while. Tonight was a special line-up. It was the 15th Anniversary of the Circo Loco parties and they’d invited plenty of hot talent down for the two room show, seemingly toughening up the bill with Berghain talent in Marcel Dettmann and DVS1, as well as our pick of the bookings, Running Back boss Gerd Janson.
The first DJ we set our eyes on is Brawther, who plays the infamous Red Room aka The Terrace. He throws down a selection of vinyl-only cuts and has the early crowd full of reverence with his acid stylings and seamless mixing between big room house tracks.
Next up over in the much darker main room is Gerd Janson, who could be described as – as much as we’re not keen on the phrase – a DJ’s DJ. Jansen is a vinyl-only selector and label owner who does not produce. He spends his time digging for new cuts, and such attention to detail certainly translates into the club environment. We don’t recognise a single slab of the incredible quality house that he throws at us. What we do realise, though, is that this is the highlight of the entire evening.
A fan favourite at DC-10, and around the world, Kerri Chandler has just stepped up to the decks on the terrace. Last time we crossed paths he was playing some very heads down original New Jersey house in Glastonbury’s NYC Downlow. Tonight he’s tearing the roof off Circo Loco with some upfront techno selections, propelling some of our party outside to take a brief breather. It’s another clear indication that everyone had accustomed their selections for the occasion and the slightly harder-edged line-up.
Which is exactly where we’re at next, back in the dark main room, the perfect setting for Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann, aka The Ice Man. But first up long-time affiliate and Midwest techno figurehead DVS1, who clatters his way through 90 minutes of something which edges towards the definitive Berghain sound. Perhaps the good-time crowd weren’t quite prepared for the full onslaught, and he dropped in occasional house classics, leaving us wishing he’d go ever so slightly harder. Dettmann sensed it and pumped through some big main room numbers including Egal 3’s Time Train, in a breathless masterclass.
As Dettmann drew to a close, we were faced with the choice of Maceo Plex and The Martinez Brothers, and after 15 minutes of each – Maceo’s plodding, predictable trendy house and the chaotic, unstructured tech-house of the Bros – it was time to step outside. We probably should have left, but we sat outside on the picturesque decking, had our photos taken by the DC-10 sign with our taps aff, and watched the planes go by. Sounds like a nice ending, right? It was.
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Words: T. C. Flanagan
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