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"Be not afeard. This isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not."
The famous words spoken by Caliban of the fictional island in Shakespeare’s The Tempest could well have been referring to the Ibiza of today. The 'sounds and sweet airs' of the Mediterranean Mecca of music and dance have long enchanted curious travellers, non-conformists and hedonists seeking an alternative to the more prosaic side of life. In fact, the island's very name is derived from the early Phoenician settlers’ belief that it was the home of Bes, the Egyptian god of dance, music, fertility and revelry...
And with the ancient strands of the island’s cultural DNA woven with those of the dissidents and poets of the Spanish Civil War, who sought peaceful shelter out of sight on the shores of the Balearics, and later the hippies, refugeed by the end of the 60s and looking for a site on which to build their New Jerusalem, Ibiza’s reputation as a welcoming party paradise should come as little surprise.
Today Ibiza's nightlife can take different forms: from all-night bacchanals at legendary super clubs, pumping out funky house, trance and minimalist techno, to relaxed beach bars where international DJs infuse the island’s fabled sunsets with the sound of chilled Balearic beats.
We at Villanovo explore the best nightclubs, on the mythical island of Ibiza.
It wouldn’t be too much to state that Ibiza wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for the vision of a young philosopher, Antonio Escohotado, who bought an old finca used as a meeting point for counter-cultural thinkers, and inn 1976 created “The Workshop of the Forgetful”, a disco designed on the premise that those who go out and dance the night away somewhere exotic, in doing so breaking from the mental habits to which they are otherwise bound, will have forgotten many of their troubles by the morning. The very next day he realised the Greek word ‘Amnesia’ contained within it everything he was striving for, et voila!
Although it is not regarded as the first super club to have opened (that honour is often given to Pacha), it can lay a strong claim to having created the philosophy and sound behind the island’s identity as it developed during the 1980s. In 1983 it employed resident DJ Alfred Fiorito, who imported and blended new sounds from Chicago’s club scene with the Italo-disco and European beats of the era, helping to define ‘the Balearic beat’. It was also crucial, during 1988s ‘second summer of love’, for introducing British DJs Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling to the house music and love-filled party lifestyle that they would then bring back to the UK, in doing so lighting the fuse for the explosion in dance music and rave culture that spread across the somewhat colder isles in the late 80s and 90s.
Today, Amnesia (pictured, © Amnesia) has a capacity of 5000 people, who can spread out between the Main Room and the Terrace, and continues to enjoy great success, with the world’s finest DJs regular playing sets, and live performances from the likes of Public Enemy, Underworld and Snoop Dogg helping to fill the vast dancefloors.
Also worth checking out: Amensia’s sister club, Cova Santa, in the Ibizan countryside, near the village of San José. This friendly, open-air party straddles both ‘sunset beach club’ and ‘late-night party’ in the most wonderful surroundings.
Despite its aversion to blowing its own trumpet (it releases very little promotional material), DC10 has spent the past 20 years slowly becoming one of the very best clubs in all of Ibiza. Its preference for low-key promotion ties in with its status as one of the best underground clubs for new artists, launching the career of some of the island’s best-loved DJs.
Easy to reach by taxi from Ibiza Town and Playa d'en Bossa, this low-key favourite started out in 1999 as a spot for raucous, all-day sessions for those who had 'had too much black coffee' the night before and needed to dance it off to some throbbing loud music. DC10 has since aligned itself more with other top night-time draws across the island - including by setting high ticket prices. However, it has made a point of keeping drinks prices at a slightly more acceptable level.
It specialises in minimalist techno but you can expect to find all kinds. This now legendary venue can hold 4000 late-night revellers across its three rooms and is housed inside an old aircraft hangar near Eivissa Aeroport – making DC10 the perfect venue for those who fancy one last hurrah before hopping on a plane back home!
Pacha was already an institution before it arrived on the beautiful island of Ibiza back in 1973. However, back then no-one would have guessed the new heights it would soar to. Now arguably the world’s foremost clubbing brand, Pacha nightclubs and lifestyle venues have sprung up the world over. However, it is the Ibiza venue to which it owes its huge global reputation.
Having founded his first Pacha club in the coastal town of Sitges, between Barcelona and Tarragona, Ricardo Urgell set about establishing other Pacha’s along the Catalan coast before embarking on a new project in an old, rustic-looking finca in Talamanca, not far from Ibiza Town. Founded in the hippy ethos of free love, openness and hedonism, by the late 70s the club had found kindred spirits in other recently opened clubs Amnesia and Ku Klub, and around these coalesced the island’s identity for which it is known today.
To this day its venue in Ibiza remains the flagship of the brand. Famed for adding a certain amount of glitz to the sometimes sweaty and savage dance scene of Ibiza, Pacha employs a smarter dress code than other clubs and enjoys a VIP area frequented by some of the biggest celebrities in the world. However, it has never forgotten its hippy roots, with its long-standing Flower Power club night still a landmark on the island and Pacha still among its very best clubs to visit during the summer season.
With its huge 5000-person capacity, top-of-the-range sound system, plush interior and loyal following, San Antonio’s Eden has all the hallmarks of a super club. But any notion that it is some sort of overgrown cultural behemoth are quashed by its outstanding commitment to new, underground music, with it constantly seeking out and championing up-and-coming artists, much to the delight of its dedicated clientele.
Offering both a large theatre-like, two-tiered main room and more intimate back room, as well as a roof with fantastic views across the bay, it’s no surprise that Eden is so highly regarded among the island’s rave scene.
In no way comparable in scale nor reputation to the aforementioned Pacha, Amnesia and Eden, the friendly Ibiza Old Town venue of Lolas is a treat in its own right. A favourite among the LGBTQ+ community due to its friendly vibe, Lolas continues to uphold the laid-back, open feel associated with Ibiza’s heyday, with its doors open to all who simply want to discover underground music and have a good time in a fun atmosphere.
“Pikes for me is the Spirit of Ibiza”
So says Fatboy Slim, and he ought to know, given his long association with the island. The flamboyant-yet-laid-back Pikes was opened in the late 70s by the late, colourful promoter Tony Pike and has gone on to achieve almost mythical status among visitors to the island, displaying a rock ‘n roll side to Ibiza somewhat obscured by the island’s towering reputation for electronic music.
During the 80s, everyone from Grace Jones to George Michael, Kylie Minogue and Julio Iglesias could be found at Pikes, a time and a place for which the phrase ‘if these walls could talk…’ was invented. Such a favourite among its rock star clientele that the video to Wham’s famous Club Tropicana was filmed there, with Tony Pike even making a cameo in the video. However, it was Freddie Mercury’s infamously debauched 41st birthday party at the venue that further enhanced the hotel/club’s cult-like status, an event that is marked to this day with an annual celebration, with partygoers dressing up as the former Queen frontman and the proceeds going to the charity set up in his honour.
Today, Pikes is still very much the place to go down the rabbit hole and bask in the free-wheeling, eccentric, open and generous spirit the island is famous for.
Something of an outlier among Ibiza’s electronica, house and techno flavoured venues, Swag specialises in showcasing the finest in Hip Hop, Afrobeat and RnB to its dedicated followers, who come to Playa d’En Bossa in droves to shake it until the early hours. For an island that has built its reputation on its hard dance music, Perhaps the thin end of the wedge, Swag has broadened the appeal and added a new lease of energy to the music scene.
Swag employs a laxer dress code, and prides itself on being a more accessible club, drawing younger crowd.
Long-standing visitors to the island will talk in hushed, reverent tones about Ibiza’s former jewel in the crown, Space. With its location directly below the flight path of the island’s incoming planes, the roar of their engines would be met with gleeful cheers by the club’s ravers below, the jet engines forming a part of the soundtrack and indeed identity of this legendary club until it closed its doors after the summer season of 2016 following the expiration of its lease.
In its stead opened Hi Ibiza, which – while perhaps not enjoying the same status among romantics as the fabled former custodians – has quickly set about establishing itself as one of the premier clubs on the island, regularly packing its 2500-person capacity, thanks to a spectacular décor, magnificent light show, and top live acts, as it continues to draw the happy hordes to its famous location on the famous Platja d’En Bossa.
It hasn’t been open that long and, of course, it has had to navigate a tricky path through the covid-19 crisis, but if it continues to establish itself as one of the best places on the island, the signs suggest that in a decade’s time, visitors to the island may well be talking in the same hushed, reverent tones about Hi Ibiza as they do its fabled predecessor.
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Formally the legendary gay-friendly bacchanal-like Club Ku (think ‘Studio 54 in the sun’), in 2003 Privilege was recognised by the Book of Guinness World Records as the largest nightclub in the world, with a surface area covering a monumental 6500m² and holding up to 10,000 clubbers. It previously hosted the 90s’ star party Manumission, but in recent years has fallen on hard times, and faces an uncertain future. Temporarily closed as of 2019, at the time of writing it is unclear whether it will reopen in time for the 2023 summer season, or indeed ever again…
Not a club in the strictest sense, but the setting for a top party in Ibiza, the Oceanbeat Boat Party is a 3-hour fiesta of drinking and dancing coupled with a cruise into one of the island’s most beautiful coves, the picturesque Amante Bay. Once there, the anchor is dropped and the partygoers are free to launch themselves into the turquoise waters for a splash around under the Mediterranean sun.
On deck, internationally renowned DJs fill the dancefloor, while the young and beautiful sip cocktails provided by the free bar and move their bronzed bodies to the Balearic beat. Below deck there are beanbags and a chill-out area, as well as tasty dishes served up by the on-board chef.
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