Glitterbox with Dimitri From Paris and Basement Jaxx review

In preparation for our night ahead, we donned ourselves in glitter and anything else we could find that was remotely shiny, put on our dancing shoes and then headed to one of the biggest Friday nights on the island. You guessed it, Glitterbox.

Despite only having a presence on the island for two summers before 2016, the enormous amount of respect and notoriety that this event has built would excuse you from thinking that it has been a fundamental part of the Ibiza scene for decades.

The vibe when you walk through the doors of Space when it’s a Glitterbox event is different to any other at the venue. A warm, ‘all are welcome’ atmosphere is matched with no judgement about how you should act, what you should wear and how you should dance – anything goes!

First up on the Terrace was everyone’s favourite French disco don Dimitri From Paris. His deep-rooted 70s funk, soul and disco sound is what makes him the perfect addition to any Glitterbox line-up.

His set was filled with classics including Sister Sledge and Chic as well as contemporary productions from the likes of Todd Terje. Stand out moment had to be when he dropped his edit of Prince's ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ as the whole room lifted their arms in praise. Even the bar staff were bringing out their best moves.

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Aesthetically, Glitterbox is exactly how you want it to look. The huge disco-ball in the middle of the dance floor really adds to that Studio 54 vibe and spotlights draws attention to the fabulous array of Glitterbox dancers. Throughout the night there was a duo in mirrored suits and top hats, gorgeous Boogie Wonderland style girls on the podium and a more raunchy, dominatrix theme throughout.

Next up we had Basement Jaxx. We’ve seen them a couple of times at Glitterbox and yet again their set was lively, dynamic and full of surprises. They know how to work their crowd and they do it so effortlessly. Their set seemed to be more contemporary than Dimitri's, playing standout tracks like Offaiah's ‘Trouble’ which then merged into a great mix of one of Basement Jaxx’ own hits ‘Angel Is Coming’.

They closed their set with one of their own classics - ‘Where’s Your Head At’. Unsurprisingly this whipped the crowd into a frenzy and when you throw a confetti cannon in there…boom! A beautiful sight indeed.

The final set of the night came from the boss man himself, Simon Dunmore. The force behind Defected and now its sister brand Glitterbox, he knows these events and crowds inside out. He started his set with ‘Believe’ by Ministers De-La-Funk feat. Jocelyn Brown and wow, what a way to get the dance-floor prepared for what was to come.

The next two hours were completely insane and a true homage to all things disco. We are taking about the kind of disco that seeps right through and infiltrates your soul. When ‘Hallelujah Anyway’ by Candi Staton filled the Terrace the whole of Space seemed to be united as one. It was such a beautiful moment.

Whether you knew the person dancing next to you or not, by the end of that track you had this mutual respect and connection that you can only find through the power of music.

Other tracks on his set ranged from ‘Pasilda’ by Afro Medusa, ‘You Take Me Higher’ by Rogerseventytwo, before ending with ‘Pushing On’ but Oliver Dollar and Jim Jules. 

Glitterbox is one of those nights that you have to experience to understand. If you ever wanted to know what the world would be like if everybody just got along and let go of all negativity, then a night here is just the ticket. When the music has ended and you step outside, life just seems that little bit brighter.

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Read more: Ibiza Insider's Guide: Simon Dunmore 

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