Club review: Armin Van Buuren presents A State of Trance @ Privilege, Ibiza

As we approached the world's biggest superclub on the free party bus that departs from most of the major resorts on the island, we couldn't fail to notice the giant white metal dome of Privilege. As you near the doors it feels like you are being invited to someone’s plush villa in the countryside for a party - the exotic gardens around you are beautiful. But this is way more than that, the largest nightclub in the world beckons!

Upon entering the colossal main arena, Armin Van Buuren had already taken to the decks and the dancefloor was packed. We admired the impressive indoor swimming pool and the awe-inspiring lighting system and headed straight up to start partying.

Armin's weekly radio show of the same name has over 25 million listeners so it's no surprise that he has been picked to host one of the biggest nights on the island. For keen trance heads, this night is not to be missed.

Armin took the dance floor by storm with a mixture of classics such as a fresh remix of PPK 'Resurrection' and some less well known tunes, our personal favourites being The ASOT 550 anthem - W & W  'Invasion' and Gareth Emery's 'The Saga'.

We then decided to explore this massive club. It has some amazing features that not only make it the largest but also one of the most impressive in Ibiza. The 25m high ceiling allows for spectacular shows and a complete re-design of the club every night, whilst the biggest Funktion 1 stacks we've ever seen towered over the crowd. Together with bikers in hanging hamster wheels and the new 140m2 LED screen that stretched the entire width of the stage, this all created an unbelievable experience. And to think the whole venue started off as just a swimming pool and a bar called Club Rafael in the 70s.

The giant metal dome houses the smoking area, with a reasonably priced bar (for an Ibiza superclub!) and beds dotted around to chill on until the uplifting trance draws you back downstairs.

Orjan Nilsen was next up, an up and coming Trance DJ we hadn't heard of. Look out for his name in the future; these are the places where DJs are made. It was exciting to listen to something new in anticipation of Markus Schulz who we had seen the previous year at Nature One in Germany - where he was very good.

Perhaps the only thing we would say about the night is that Nilsen and Schulz should have built up to Armin, as the main room wasn't as busy once Armin had left the stage - probable down to the sheer size of the place. The headliners being on towards the end of the night is standard procedure in Ibiza. Schulz however didn't disappoint, playing a remix of Omnia & IRA - 'The Fusion', which was really banging.

What a night!

Words: Sean Bainbridge and Mark Williams

A State of Trance takes over Privilege every Monday until September.

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