Saturday 16 October would herald the next milestone in Ibiza's 2021, the reopening of Octan Ibiza.
After two years away, Octan has made some alterations whilst still retaining that worn, warehouse vibe that underground clubbers find so appealing. Clubbing stripped down to its bare essentials: great music, great crowd, great sound and not much else - powered by that iconic Void Acoustic soundsystem.
There was no way we were going to miss the first in a series of autumn parties at the venue.
First port of call was to check-out Octan's new roof terrace for its official, and much delayed, public unveiling. This also happened to be the dedicated drinking zone, so a few beers were ordered to ease us into proceedings. It felt good to be back in familiar surroundings.
For the opening night, The Lab and Spectre side-room remained closed, with only the infamous Basement open with a dancefloor. That was all that was needed on this occasion, however. It made perfect sense to condense the crowd into one floor with a wild atmosphere.
Sound sister
Ibiza's own Anna Tur was awarded the prime 01:00 to 03:00 time slot and it was a role she basked in. Clearly relishing the fact she was playing in front of a live audience, and not a stream or sit-down event, Anna held nothing back and went for it from the off.
Anna was enjoying herself, throwing hands up behind the booth, and those of us on the floor . At one point, our very own Katie Knight joined her and after a warm embrace, both launched into impromptu dance.
If there was one moment that is sure to be remembered by all that were there, it was Anna hitting play on Sharam Jey's Last Dance. The whole room erupted. If this was a home run, then we reckon the ball is currently fizzing somewhere past Mars!
How good did it sound beneath the strobes? Wow. Everybody in attendance gave it their all - a defining clubbing memory of this short and late 2021 season.
Anna was rightfully applauded off.
Submerged below the aqualine
After that the bar had been set pretty high, so headliner John Acquaviva had the somewhat unenviable task of keeping the momentum going. Perhaps wisely, he chose to slow things down a little to begin with and reset the dancefloor.
Within less than half-an-hour, the tempo was back up again, and we were more than ready to get lost in the music.
John manoeuvred from funky to trippy, from Minimal to thumping Techno with the nimbleness only a DJ of his experience can pull off.
The penultimate track of the night would be early CIREZ D, and a bit of an Ibiza anthem from the late naughties, ON/OFF, which kick-started a finale that saw the Basement yet again rise together as one.
Tracks such as this just feel custom-made for those imposing speakers. Brutal.
The lights would come up with a second bout of applause, from DJ, entourage and crowd alike. Not only for their mutual appreciation of each other, but for everybody who made the night possible, from management to staff, bookers to security. A flawless execution.
Hibernation is over. Octan is back and means business.
Next week, Octan returns on Sunday 24 October, with another sound sister in Kellie Allen, plus headliner Matthias Tanzmann, East End Dubs, Francisco Allendes and Daniel Orpi.
Tickets for this date can be picked up below for the great value price of only €25. See you under the red lights.
