We made the return to our favourite party on the White Isle last Monday and Papa Sven’s Cocoon party did not disappoint…no surprises there!
The lineup was full to the brim with talent. Art Department, Guy Gerber and Roman Flügel held fort in the Terrace while Sven and our fellow countryman Mano Le Tough took the reigns in the club room.
Although slightly quieter throughout the night (relative to our previous Cocoon experiences) the atmosphere was still electric from the get-go. There is nothing compared to the palpable excitement in the Amnesia air on Mondays.
We arrived at 1.30 to the sounds of Roman Flügel flooding the terrace. Nice light techy grooves to loosen the eardrums before we paid visit to the other room. With fellow countryman Mano Le Tough on deck duty before the maestro himself, we knew in advance we’d be spending the majority of the night in the dark heaven that is the club room.
With Mano styled in a tee reading ‘Hi’ to perfectly encapsulate the welcoming atmosphere of the Cocoon crowd, he was already in full flow laying down the tracks to really get things going. Stood towards the back of room in the centre, the system was sounding as fresh as ever and with tracks like the Knife’s ‘Silent Shout’ coming through the huge speakers as well as Tale of Us’ unreleased edit of Jamie XX’s ‘Gosh’, Mano really was in control.
Peak of Mano’s set for us was one of the biggest tracks of the summer to date, Kink’s ‘Cloud Generator’. No matter where we hear this track it’s always gone down a treat and from the reaction of the almost full club room Monday, Mano’s spin was no different. Huge track in the middle of Mano’s perfectly manicured set.
It’s always a such a unique experience when Sven spins and the anticipation was rife when he took control at 3AM. He took over where Mano left off, giving the shaken-up version of ‘Silent Shout’ a whirl. It’s a track Sven loves to play out and it’s a track we love to hear. That whet the appetite nicely for more and there was certainly more to come.
We’d seen Sven play Amnesia 3 times before, twice closing the club room and last year warming up the terrace for Richie Hawtin to finish things off. All three times each set has been different but this one was certainly the best. His set trundled on, the pace gradually building with each track that was effortlessly and seamlessly mixed in. The pace and the sounds never seemed too heavy or too slow, just perfect.
He played a couple of Pig&Dan productions. ‘Universal Love’ and a favourite of ours this year, ‘Bambola’. The duo have been on fire this year with their releases on their own Elevate label so we were delighted to hear them filter through.
After 5AM, he dropped the Bergweg remix of Stranger’s ‘Warehouse Memoires’ to a rousing reception, our pick of the set if we’re honest. A cracking track with all the perfect elements to tickle the fancy of the Cocoon attendees.
We soon took brief relief to venture into Guy Gerber. We’d missed Art Department throwing it down but from the recent Fabric 82 mix, we’re sure Jonny cooked up a storm. We waltzed into the sound of Guy bringing some melodic Rumors to the party. But unfortunately, tonight was all about Sven.
We returned into the dark cavernous main room and the party was well and truly on wheels. Alex Bau’s Cocoon release ‘On Synth’ was belting out and the movements of Sven were being projected onto the giant screen behind him. Very sick visuals on display!
As the room began to empty around 6.30, Sven kept the party going with tracks such Atom’s ‘Ground Loop 2’ and towards 7AM he was playing some lovely tracks to round off a perfect night, this lovely Gerd remix for example.
Once again, Sven brought the heat and Cocoon triumphed again. The fact that we spent little time on the terrace is not to suggest in the slightest the likes of Guy, Jonny or Roman are inferior or did not bring their A game, we’ve no doubt they did. Everyone brings their A game for Cocoon at Amnesia and when Sven brings it, it’s a joy to behold. Impressive.
Cocoon runs every Monday until September 28th. A must for anyone visiting the island this season. Get involved!
Words by Hugh G