- In 1999, when Cocoon threw their first parties in Ibiza, dedicated techno nights on the White Isle were thin on the ground, with the big clubs like Cocoon's home at Amnesia dominated by glossy house. Harder DJs like Richie Hawtin are now among Ibiza's biggest headliner, thanks in no small part to Cocoon. As Johannes Goller recently told Carlos Hawthorn, it's not been an easy ride, with the night having weathered both Ibiza's nightlife industry politics and the recent police crackdowns on the island. But even as Ibiza changes, Cocoon has stuck closely to the musical ethos it first brought to the island 18 years ago, as can be heard on the annual Sound Of The Season compilations and, more recently, the Cocoon In The Mix series that showcases the club's guests.
The Ukrainian DJ Nastia steps up for the first CD. Anastasia Topolskaia has established her reputation at festivals like Kazantip and Stritchka, the Ukrainian event she cofounded, and online mixes that have included forays into drum & bass. (The closest she gets to drum & bass here is via Calibre, though he appears in his house guise via "Getter Go.") While there are thunderous kicks in tracks like Pacou's "Funk2Funghi," the mix feels more fleet-footed than the tough, loopy techno for which she's known. Selections from artists like Slam and Luke Slater are on the lighter end of their spectrums. There's the jazzy piano and percussion of Kuniyuki Takahashi's "The Session." And the pads on tracks like Theorem's "Igneous" are as cosy as a pair of slippers.
Einzelkind's CD is a different affair. Whereas Nastia—known solely as a DJ—is playing other people's tunes, Arno Völker's mix is packed with his own music, whether as Einzelkind, Hot City Orchestra, or his Implosive Inc. collaboration with Randy Fox and Robin Scholz. The second CD is slower, funkier and housier—the ace bassline in "Clubnight," the bouncing groove of Hot City Orchestra's "Oh Oh" and the US house-style vocal loops in Implosive Inc.'s "Milli Jean" are among the highlights. Apart from a brief snippet of his collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos, "Arnorac," and a penultimate track full of farmyard noises, he mostly follows Nastia by playing it pretty straight down the line. That may reflect how Cocoon, as a long-established party in Ibiza, has changed (or not) after nearly two decades on the island.
TracklistCD1: Nastia
01. 100 Hz - Liquid
02. Theorem - Igneous
03. Plastic - No Language
04. Slam - Life Between Life
05. Luke Slater - From Time To Time
06. Sanasol - Naked Singularity
07. Bernard Badie - Time Reveals
08. Oscar Schubaq - Take It
09. Calibre - Getter Go
10. Kuniyuki Takahashi - The Session (Cobblestone Jazz Remix)
11. Terrence Dixon - Beat
12. Pacou - Funk2Funghi
13. Present Perfect - Lession 01
14. Differ-Ent - Gem In Eyes feat. DJ Bone
15. John Daly - Solar Sailing
CD2: Einzelkind
01. Implosive Inc. - Russ Key
02. Hot City Orchestra / Einzelkind & Charlotte T - Phantom Force (Delt Mix) / Don't (Acapella)
03. Rhythm Factory / Einzelkind - Oh Oh / Maferefumeco
04. Hot City Orchestra - Barimu
05. Einzelkind - Just In Jack
06. Hot City Orchestra - Metropolis / The Observatory (Tool)
07. Einzelkind & Robin Scholz / Villalobos & Einzelkind - Clubnight / Arnorac
08. Einzelkind - Meinste!? (Delta Mix) / Lumumba
09. Einzelkind - Aya Curanderito
10. Implosive Inc - In Tracy feat. Markus Fix (Delta Mix)
11. Implosive Inc - Milli Jean
12. Einzelkind - Imagine They Came To Get Everything We Took From Them Back (Delta Mix)
13. Einzelkind & Markus Fix - Good Evening Anoserl