It was the news story that surprised many over the cold winter months, the move by Afterlife to Hi from the Vista Room at Privilege. The party had developed a cool underground following, with roots in DC10, before its progression to Space and then onto Privilege. It was at Space where the party made its name, but the well documented closure of that venue resulted in its short stop at Privilege, where it was successfully courted by Yann Pissenem’s Night Leauge. It was a big coup for Hi, to sign one of the up and coming techno parties to its club, which had not been feeling the love from the educated Space faithful and a number of elder lemons in the industry. It was a shrewd move by Hi and a brave one for Tale Of Us, and I wanted to check it out, so here is our review of the Afterlife party of Thursday July 12 last.
Afterlife in The Theatre Room at Hi.
Arriving at Hi is always a pleasure. Lots of parking, ease of access and staff who know what they are doing. There was a big crowd present, not all of them underground I would guess, but everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hi had opened the VIP roof area to the public, with nothing happening in the Wild Room and when I arrived, the Club Room was going off to Helena Hauff who had the crowd eating out of her hands. The Club has a lot of potential and I like the way the DJ’s feel part of the crowd here. The room was full of energy until Maceo Plex came on, grinning as he took it it down a notch, knowing that Helena’s set was a hard act to follow.
Helena Hauff killing it in the Club Room.
I then moved to the Theatre room, where Recondite was playing to a sizeable crowd, nothing too heavy or dark from the respected German producer, as he built his set up nicely for the arrival of headliners Tale Of Us. The Italian pair curated a solid set, keeping it down the middle, as they were playing to a different clientele than at Space or Privilege. It was a younger, more holiday crowd but looked to be enjoying themselves and the music. I had attended the party with two good friends both of whom were loyal Space and Afterlife fans. Not saying that they had a road to Damascus moment, but their opinion of Hi after visiting the Club, has softened.
I also felt that the production in the Theatre Room could have been better. There was not much happening in the way of LED screens or digital effects, something I was hoping would add to the AfterLife experience at Hi, but that omission may have been by request. The fate of Afterlife at Hi, will be a real barometer to the Clubs standing on the island, as the party develops over the season. I feel a new generation of clubber is looking for a more polished and modern clubbing experience and Hi offers this compared to the outdated facilities and overcrowding at some other clubs. Contrary to what some people are saying, Hi and Ushuaia are packing them in this summer. Ibiza is not dead, the clubbers that are coming want a different product and judging by the young crowd at Hi, not all of them are into EDM, which is a good news story to report.
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