A true stalwart of the Ibiza scene, legendary EDM producer David Guetta has been stunning Balearic audiences for the best part of two decades, curating a truly eclectic career path which started on the terraces of now defunct superclub Space, where the Frenchman could be found spinning vinyl in his early days.
In more recent times, Guetta’s made the move to the two jewels in Ibiza’s crown; Hï and Ushuaïa – both owned by visionary maestro Yann Pissenem – with his F**K Me I’m Famous event holding a spot at the former this year (via a long stint at Pacha), and David’s legendary “BIG” residency taking place at the world’s number #1 open air club for another stunning season. Focusing on the latter, We Rave You were in attendance on Monday 9th September to witness a mesmeric masterclass from the internationally acclaimed superstar, who was joined by a support line-up of Lovra, GlowInTheDark, and Robin Schulz.
The first detail to strike the casual visitor to Monsieur Guetta’s residency is how Ushuaïa have truly catered for every detail here to ensure the sheer audacity of many of the production techniques pulled off to the gasps or amazed guests. The centre-piece of this; A gigantic ‘dripping tap’ hovering mystically from the sky and pouring a constant stream of water into the famous mid-dancefloor pool, an optical illusion that would take a seat on the throne of anything Derren Brown could ever dream of mustering. With staff handing out free bright-yellow trucker caps, and later, branded giant glow-sticks, the emphasis on this residency – as the name suggests – is on going BIG or going home.
But to match such scale of operation, a true superstar is needed behind the decks and from the opening chords of Guetta’s intro, new MORTEN & Aloe Blacc collaboration ‘Never Be Alone’, it’s clear this is to prove an evening of truly epic proportion. Not only has a seasoned veteran like Guetta potentially found the white island’s ideal party-starting opener of 2019 in the form of the slick production, but as you’d expect from a man whose spent the best part of a double-decade at the wheels of steel, David offers a truly unrivalled DJ’ing experience. Hands up in the air, showcasing his slick tan in white tee and new chiselled physique, his head constantly bobs from left to right as he reads his crowd and watches their every reaction to each mix. Roars are met with blasting confetti cannons as Guetta takes the 4,500 strong capacity crowd on a journey from the progressive Swedish classics of his peers Sebastian Ingrosso, (‘Reload‘), and Axwell (‘In My Mind’), before taking things to a deeper level as the lights around him fade to black as he showcases a 20 minute mix of the brooding sounds of his tech-house alias, Jack Back. Bringing the spotlight back up, a hoard of athletic female dancers stride onto stage, hip thrusting with every beat of David’s whopping EDM back-catalogue, including ‘Titanium’, ‘Sexy Chick’, ‘A Little More Love’, ‘Memories’, ‘Play Hard’, ‘Say My Name’, and his recent Martin Solveig collab ‘Thing For You’.
Grabbing the mic, David pays tribute to deceased legend Avicii, who would have turned 30 this week, and drops his brand-new remix of Tim’s iconic hit ‘Heaven’, blasting an emotional tint into the crowd which continues to waft through the audience during his Usher collaboration ‘Without You’. But now 115 minutes into his 2 hour set, the only tears Guetta intends to inflict on his public are tears of joy, as he opts for a truly classic closing track; Daft Punk‘s ‘One More Time’. Pandemonium breaks loose throughout Ushuaïa as a flurry of fireworks crackle into the night sky, each low-flying plane that soars overhead met with raptures of cheer from the crowd, their fingertips outstretched in euphoria. Once again, throughout the 2019 residency, both Ushuaïa and David Guetta taught the people of Ibiza what it means to throw a truly BIG party on the white isle!
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