As most of the Cream faithfull grapple with the transition of their beloved brand into a glorified EDM condom, the island of Ibiza, where trance was the warm, melodic and sun drenched sound on the terraces back in the 90’s, looks to have a real fight on its hands to keep it real. Personally, trance was the sound that started my love affair with dance music. Platipus, Hooj Choons and Bonzai, were the record labels that I saved my hard earned cash to buy the 12″ vinyl that first quenched my thirst for a new wave of music that washed across the dancefloors. Unlike EDM, Trance in its purest form can’t be fucked around with, but Cream have managed to produce a Crying Game surprise penis moment, by unveiling an EDM heavy lineup for its new residency at Hi. In the classic words of Leonard Nimoy, ” Its life Jim, but not as we know it”
Long time Cream fans took to social media to vent their anger and disgust at what Cream has now become. In soccer terms, it would be akin to Jurgen Klopp replacing the current Liverpool squad with a team of performing cheerleaders and turning the KOP end into a VIP area with bottle service and prawn sandwiches. It’s truly a sad end for such a revered party, which was the flagship Trance event in Ibiza for the past 25 years. So where does the commercial curdling of Cream leave the sound of Trance in Ibiza? Many of my clubbing mates will argue that the golden era of Trance in Ibiza was from 1993 to 2006 the year it started its greasy commercial shift towards EDM. After the Lord and Master of the scene Tiesto abdicated to Las Vegas, Armin Van Buuren and ASOT tried to keep it real but had to cater to the younger kids who could not understand the sounds monotone complexities, so it was sugar coated with sprinklings of EDM to aid digestion.
Sasha and Paul Van Dyk in 1997
The future of Trance in Ibiza is now unclear, as Tropi Bar in San An, a small oasis of pure Trance in a desert of techno and EDM sounds, has announced its closure due to the new licensing laws aimed at exterminating the West End. However, there may be a light at the end of the trance tunnel as rumours suggest the arrival of a new Trance baby conceived on the island. One born of pure blood, ready to shine and take on the mantle as the last Samurai of the genre. It is believed that the old team at Cream, the people in place before the brand was sold to Live Nation in 2012, are involved with an exciting new Trance party set for the Vista Room at Privilege. Already old skool Trance artists like Paul Van Dyk, Cosmic Gate, Lange, Aly and Fly and Paul Oakenfold are being associated with the event which is expected to be confirmed with lineups later this week. All eyes and ears will be waiting with bated breath, to find out what a resurgent Privilege has to offer us in a club that was a temple to trance during Tiesto’s legendary Monday night residency which lasted five seasons.
Update 3/5/18; Shine announced as new Trance Party for Vista Room at Privilege on Monday Nights. See above poster
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