Club review: We Love Opening Party @ Space, 10/06/12

Jack Law heads to Space for the first We Love party of the season, featuring an Innervisions showcase on the terrace and a Carl Craig headline slot in the discoteca.

Jayne Robinson

Last updated: 15th Jun 2012

The season is a couple of weeks underway now, and the main clubs are all open for business. Two weeks have passed since Space (possibly my favourite club of last year) opened its doors to the public and now We Love are ready to begin their 17 week marathon.

All the line-ups have been released and over the next four months we can expect to see the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Claude Vonstroke, 2manydjs, Carl Craig, Derrick May and James Zabiela - to name but a few - take to the decks.

Starting as they mean to go on, We Love have organised a line up bursting with talent to kick off proceedings. With an Innervisions Showcase on the Space Terraza taking place whilst Carl Craig presents 69 Live and Derrick May spins one his legendary sets, there was certainly plenty to be going on with.

We arrived at about 1am after a quick beer on the beach, and once inside familiarised ourselves with the club. The only noticeable change we spotted was the Red Box, which has been transformed into a VIP room. Some of you may remember the Red Box for its intimate little parties which were sometimes a great alternative to the madness of the rest of the club, but unfortunately it is no longer open for business to the general public. Apart from that, Space is the same old club - just how we like it!

Tensnake began his live set on the Terraza, quickly building up into a funky and fresh selection of fist pumping house music to get us all in the mood. With a big grin on his face he set about working his magic through the use of electronic samples such as what sounded like Kurd Maverick's 'Strings of Tortuga', whilst dropping remixes of his own productions like the Round Table Knights version of 'Coma Cat', which was at one time a big hit. Tensnake got the crowd going with feel good house beats and didn't fail to get us in the mood.

Next up was the Innvervisions Showcase, which had been an exciting prospect for us; the label is on fire at the moment, playing host to huge artists. Tonight, Henrik Schwarz (live), Dixon and Ame were collectively representing from 1:30am until the end. Dixon began. He started with an eerie build up that led into Tanner Ross' 'B Side', a wobbly bass fitted perfectly underneath sweet, high pitched synths. The team had all night to give a true reflection of their spectrum of sounds, and Dixon gradually warmed up the Terraza for the bouncy beats that were to come.

We took a time out to explore the roof terrace, a great place to have a smoke, a chill and a chat. There's plenty of seating to accommodate everybody in need of a rest and there's a dance floor to the side for those that just don't want to stop. After midnight the music is turned down considerably as it is an open air terrace, but that doesn't faze the DJs who keep the party going, albeit quietly!

Carl Craig was about to begin his '69' live set, taking place in the perfect place to host his big room techno round; the Discoteca. The huge main room is kitted with a stage at the front of a massive dance floor, with bars trailing down the sides. Craig didn't mess about as he turned up the tempo with some serious fist pumping tech. His '69' material is heavier than the usual style of his that I have seen before, but the sound is just as euphoric. The amazing highlight for me was what I thought to be a very different rendition of Craig's classic 'At Les'; the synths hazily flowing over a big beat with dramatic sound effects. The one hour set was certainly a work out.

Once Craig finished his masterpiece we flew right back into the Terraza where Henrik Schwarz had taken over the reigns from his Innervisions comrade Dixon, to perform the second live set of the night. He delicately worked his sounds from the booth and sported dubs of some his fans' all time favourites, including his remix of Bill Withers' 'Who Is He' - the vocal led track giving rise to a bit of a sing-a-long from the floor. The crowd greatly appreciated his music, and he appreciated their response.

Finally, Ame picked up the last slot of the Innervisions showcase with his dark, trippy, wobbly deep house. It was the final piece of the puzzle that had been carefully crafted by the three representing the label and by that point I was totally lost in the music. The last part of the night is somewhat hazy for me, but I know the crew rounded things off in style.

It had been a great way to kick off the season and as always We Love had set the standard high; huge bookings and huge tunes. They have definitely got me excited for the rest of the line ups which are top quality week in, week out. Space as a club has to be my favourite, and We Love is a MUST for your Ibiza itinerary!