Club Review: Sankeys Ibiza Opening Party Part 1

Now open for its second season on the White Isle, Sankeys Ibiza has pulled out all the stops this year with a new main room and a programme of international bookings. Jack Law checked out the club's opening party.

Jayne Robinson

Last updated: 30th May 2012

A new season on the White Isle has begun, and the booming collection of super clubs are all opening their doors for the first time in 2012, with upgrades and additions aplenty. And one of the first to do so is Sankeys.

Sankeys arrived in Ibiza last year, a move which many felt had been a long time coming. It had been a relatively successful season for them, but this year they have most certainly come back with a bang - with two opening parties over two consecutive days, playing host to some of the biggest names of the moment…

Arriving at about midnight, we were held up outside a little while, due to some sound issues. But this was quite quickly resolved. Once inside, we took the opportunity to explore and see where there had been any changes. A smack in the face came from the huge and completely new main room called 'The Box' (last year’s main room was now ‘The Basement’), which easily rivals those of its competitors. But they were still having some technical difficulties and this wasn’t open just yet, so we headed for The Basement.

David August was first on, playing his unique take on deep house, starting off quite slow with a blend of beautiful synths and sexy vocals. Over the course of his set the club continued to fill and his sound was perfect to break us all into the setting, which progressively got more energetic. The enthusiasm of the crowd beamed like a bright light and it was clear that as the night went on everybody was going to be giving it their all. August’s DJ set was a great way to start things off, a highlight being a fantastic remix we hadn’t heard before of Soul II Soul’s ‘Back To Life’.

The Box was now open so we headed into the madness that had already transcended. Tobi Neumann was doing his thing in the DJ booth that towered above the main dance floor. To the sides of the floor, clubbers were grooving to the techno house on a series of large, raised steps that gave the room a real arena feel. The trippy visuals behind the DJ booth enhanced the sensation pumping through from the master at work as Neumann hit us with belting beats, choppy vocals and real stompers that saw tonight’s party shape into something extraordinary.

Time for a little rest, and the smoking area (now doubled in size) provides a great setting for chatting to mates and meeting fellow party animals. Tonight’s clientele was largely dominated by workers that have flocked from all corners of the earth, and Spanish locals revelling in the madness of one of their local clubs. Plenty of seating and plenty of space allow for a comfortable fag break, something which some clubs do struggle to provide!

Back to The Basement now where Stimming was showcasing his very special live set. It was an absolute pleasure to witness, minimal bleeps and deep punchy beats with samples of a whole array of instruments that combined to give a very pleasing sound. He even treated us to his clicky production “After Eight”, one of the highlights of Claude Von Stroke's highly acclaimed Fabric 46 album. The lighting combined for a trippy experience, with what look like pipes running across the ceiling in square shapes, flowing lines of coloured lights moving slowly in parallel to the next and a backdrop behind the DJ booth for more visuals.

Back into The Box, where Guti was performing his live set, someone I had been wanting to see for a long time. I hadn’t expected it to be as heavy as it was, but it was great all the same. You could tell he was absolutely loving it, really engaging the crowd and putting his all into what he was creating. Banging techno and a stomping crowd took me into a place which could only be described in my own head as the stampede out of Jumanji.

One final transition as we moved back in the The Basement for Solomun’s set. The man is a genius, and everybody was locked in. It had been a whirlwind of a night already and now Solomun was smashing it to the deserving crowd. Smiles were plastered over every face on the dance floor as he worked his magic, the electronic bass pounding out of the speakers that surrounded. The visual experience was just as important, and the visuals correlated perfectly with the tunes. He took every single person in that room on a journey, one which would not be forgotten in a hurry. Tunes like his huge remix of Noir & Haze’s ‘Around’ were worked and looped in ways that created more of a show than a set, and when he dropped the Chateau Flight remix of Joakim’s ‘Come Into My Kitchen’ the crowd went into a frenzy. Hats off to you Solomun.

And that was that, the end of the part one of the Sankeys opening.

What we will say is that if you had the pleasure of going to Sankeys Ibiza last year, then be prepared for something else. If you hadn’t, make sure to check it out this year - you will have no regrets. Thanks to its massive improvement, Sankeys should now be viewed as one of the big contenders, up there with Space, Amnesia etc.

Massive thumbs up from me. Bring it on, it’s going to be a good season for Sankeys!