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WE ASK 19 DJS TO RECALL THEIR FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM SPACE IBIZA

Josh Wink, Dimitri from Paris, Catz 'N Dogz, Richy Ahmed...

DJ Mag Ibiza chats with some of world’s biggest DJs — from Booka Shade to Josh Wink — to ask the question: “What’s your most memorable moment ever from Space Ibiza?” 

JON RUNDELL

"My most treasured memory of Space is the time I played for four-and-a-half hours in the Main Room when Carl wasn't well. I was due to open up the room that night and we switched sets, so that he could still play and then go home to rest up. I was bricking it, to say the least! I can't really remember too much about it other than I know I did it and afterwards I just sat in a corner on my own with all this adrenaline rushing through me — covered in sweat. I felt that something pretty special had just occurred — a total dream come true." ​

EDU IMBERNON

“It has to be the Space Opening party from last year — 2015. I've played both the opening and closing parties at Space for quite some time now, and they are my favourite shows of the year. Last year, closing the terrace — which is my favourite place and time to play at Space — was super-special. The sun was rising as I played, and the terrace was still completely packed. We'd been there pretty much all night and the energy was still electric. I remember one particular highlight — playing a Stephan Bodzin track ‘Wir’ that Coyu and I went on to remix this year. Stephan has been one of my favourite artists for a long time, so this was a real honour.”

ROGER SANCHEZ

"There have been many amazing moments for me playing Space but I think the most poignant was when I played with Frankie Knuckles two years ago at what would turn out to be my last time seeing and playing with him, as a few months later he had passed on. The set was soulful and full of energy and the crowd loved it."

DIMITRI FROM PARIS

"Space is the club I’ve had the best times at in Ibiza. I remember my first gig there during WeLove Sundays. The music before me was very dark techno but 20 minutes (into my set) and the whole room was rocking and cheering to an original James Brown track I was playing. Never thought I'd pull that one off! That's what Space is, and even more so with my Glitterbox residency — it’s full of surprises and great people!"

SIMON DUNMORE

"The best nights are probably those I can’t remember! We’ve been associated with nearly all the clubs on the island now as Defected or as Glitterbox, so watching Basement Jaxx literally have the Terrace in the palm of their hands last year at Glitterbox was great — both as the person who promotes the night and as a clubber, it was magical.”  

CATZ ’N DOGZ

“Space is a very special club for us, we played there many times. We DJ’d there on the Terrace, Discoteca and Sunset Terrace, in every room the atmosphere was amazing. It’s hard to say which room is our favourite. The best party we’ve played there is Carl Cox’s Revolution, it’s always super-packed and you can feel the good energy! We played on the Terrace and then we stayed for the whole night just having fun. Space is the definition of a proper club, it’s so addictive for clubbers and for the DJs that it’s just hard to leave.”

ANNA

“My first time playing at Space was last year for Carl Cox's party, which is one of the best parties on the island. I felt so privileged to have been asked to play for Carl Cox on his penultimate year at Space. I remember when I went to Space for the first time in 2014, I thought to myself ‘One day I will come back and I will play here' — then the next year my dream came true. It feels amazing to have been granted the wish to have been part of such a legendary club.”

BOOKA SHADE

“The first time we ever went to Space Ibiza is our most memorable moment. It was 2002 and we accompanied our buddies M.A.N.D.Y to their first ever Ibiza gig. We were so excited and proud of them to be the first ones from the then very young Get Physical camp to play there. We felt like the new kings of techno, taking over the world, and now we would take over Space, too! They played on the terrace, which back in those days had no roof — you would hear the wonderful noise of the airplanes flying over the club. We were going crazy on the dancefloor, off our heads, in love with the techy disco sound that M.A.N.D.Y. played, until the real headliner, Fatboy Slim, and his crew entered the DJ booth — and threw the boys out. And I mean, really threw them out — followed by their records and cases. It was crazy and funny at the same time!”

JOSH WINK

“This was before I had a cellphone to call anyone... But it was in the ‘90s and I was stuck in a confrontation at the main entrance to the club with the doormen when they refused to let me enter — they thought I looked like a drug dealer because of my dreadlocks. I had my records and I didn't have my passport, so they simply didn't let me in. It was so long ago and I can't remember 100% what happened, but I went back to my hotel and called my contact at the club who couldn't believe what I was telling him. Thirty minutes later I met them at the door, and finally was allowed in to play on the terrace!”

MAN POWER

 

“The last time I played at Space was for We Love — alongside my good mate and resident, Ian Blevins. We actually had Alfredo warming up for us, which was surreal considering he's an absolute legend and a personal hero. I kind of loved the way that most people were oblivious to how significant to the island this small and unassuming guy was, drinking his glasses of red wine and looking very much like any of the local shopkeepers. I like the fact that there are several very different co-existent Ibiza experiences happening at any time. Space was always a good place to witness this...”

JAMES ZABIELA

“Just one memorable moment is absolutely impossible for me to say because playing there for so long marks the journey of my career as a DJ. From warming up for Sasha in the early days, to learning how to fill (and clear) a dancefloor, to then headlining and going on to support real musical legends such as Aphex Twin and Jeff Mills. I played on my birthday one year and was spoiled with a line-up of my choice, which comprised of Apparat and Pearson Sound. Not your average Ibiza billing, but in that main cavernous room at Space it somehow worked. Just as Aphex somehow worked (twice)! The memorable moment that night, though, was leaving the club in the boot of someone’s car to carry on the party in a field with a herd of sheep, a farmer and a Martin Audio soundsystem. I will miss that club, it was an integral part of my education and I’ll probably be having a little cry in one of its many corners when the closing party comes around.”

FRAN LOMBARDO

''I think it was 2011, and a really hot night in August. I went to Space with some friends to listen to Aphex Twin for the first time. It was magical, I was in the middle of the dancefloor surrounded by old school music lovers — it reminded me of a ‘90s rave in the UK. On my way out of the main room, I got lost and went outside the club instead. It was late and the security wouldn't let me back in, and that's when I started to fume a bit — how would I tell my friends I was outside? And that's when I saw another man standing at the exit and I approached him with a bit of an annoyed tone and said: ‘Hey, you work here, right? I came out by mistake and all my friends are inside. Can you please let me back in so I can leave with them and I won't be stuck out here on my own waiting?’ We started talking and I asked him how long he had been working at Space and what was his name. He wouldn't really talk about his job that much, but he seemed friendly and smiley. After a while a friend of mine came out, turned and said, ‘Hi Martin, how was your set tonight?’ — It was Martin Buttrich waiting for the driver to leave.”

PIG & DAN

"I have a lot of great memories from Space but one that stands out was when I was 18, around 21 years ago. I was with my mate Sebastian and I remember going into the main room for the first time. I don't remember who was playing but I was in awe of the soundsystem and how dark that room was at 5 o’clock in the afternoon — it really felt like being in space, because it was pitch-black. I remember those massive speakers and getting on top of them and dancing my ass off for hours with, of course, the help of certain substances that make you want to dance! But the crazy thing was that I was on crutches and my leg was in a cast, so I spent hours waving my crutches around getting the grins of other club-goers who were just as lost in the music as me."

JONAS RATHSMAN

“My most memorable moment was tinged with a hint of panic on my first time there warming up for Disclosure. The room filled up whilst Jason Bye was opening, so when I started the room was so completely rammed! I mixed my first record, Jason left, and then I realised there was some issue with the Traktor set-up and I had to restart my laptop! I had about three minutes left on the current track, so I had to sprint and grab Jason from backstage — not having a clue where he might be. He was literally just leaving the club. I found him, brought him back and there was under a minute left — the track was in the outro! With seconds to go, he delivered the tightest mix, I had a chance to restart my laptop and calm was restored! I have to say, that was one of my favourite ever sets playing to such an amazing crowd. Space taught me to carry back-up USBs, so for that I thank you. And Jason Bye, of course – what a legend.”

WAZE & ODYSSEY

“So many memories from Space, it is hard to lock one down! But one that does always make us chuckle is this one. In Ibiza, they have these places where they drill for water. After We Love, loads of us would venture to an after-party and walk through a field that was next door to where we were staying. One night, I accidentally fell down one of these holes and was up to my waist in what seemed like clay — I was literally stuck in there! I lost my flip-flops, shorts and very nearly pants! From that day on, we named it Clay Day, and it would always be the first topic of conversation on each visit back to Space.”

RIVA STARR

"One moment that will remain in my mind forever is when I got to play on the terrace during one of Carl Cox’s nights. I remember I was quite excited as it was one of my first big Ibiza gigs and I really wanted to deliver. I had spent so many long nights on the dancefloor as a customer with my friends, and being able to play in that actual room was something I still can't believe. I was so nervous that I ended up drinking way more than usual — so by the time I had to start I was really drunk and for this reason maybe I started with the very first tune looped on a brass sample for five minutes! Five minutes with no kick and bass in a club at peak-time sounds like infinity. I used some reverb and delay here and there, plus a cut-off filter but it was still a simple loop of brass. I still remember the crowd’s reaction when I released the loop and the beat dropped in — mayhem! A superb way to start my set."

OLIVER HUNTEMANN

"It’s not easy to publish a story about this crazy club, as the unwritten rule reads as follows: ‘What happens at Space, stays at Space!’ I can only say all rumours are true! When I entered Space for the very first time as a young raver in 1990, it changed my life and opened my mind. Futuristic music, incredible sound, the hottest dancers and the wildest crowd you can imagine created my absolute will to be behind the Space decks one day and to become a professional DJ. Muchas gracias Pepe, muchas gracias Space for everything."

RICHY AHMED

“My best DJing memory of Space was playing back-to-back with Eats Everything for one of the last seasons of We Love. We played for four hours on the terrace and it was absolutely amazing. It got voted in the 15 best sets of the 15 years of We Love, which was a real big one for me because I've seen some amazing sets. As a raver, it would have to be the first year I went to Ibiza for a two-week holiday. I went to Space nine times in two weeks! The terrace didn't have a roof, you'd just go there and see so many different types of people — it was just the most amazing clubbing experience. For me at the time, especially as a kid, going from all the raves in the UK and then going to Space and seeing all those different types of people and music, it was really special and blew me away.”

STEVE LAWLER

 

“The one party that always sticks out in my mind is my 30th birthday. I was closing the Terrace, and Pepe the owner came into the booth... he just walked up to the mixer and turned the music down. I was shocked, thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’ The club is absolutely rammed. Pepe then gets on the microphone and starts singing ‘Happy Birthday' in his slightly broken English, and then the whole terrace actually joins in — singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me! Next, all the dancers of Space came out carrying a giant cake! It just doesn’t really get any more memorable than that. I mean, playing on the Space Terrace was always such an incredible experience. Out of all the clubs this island has ever had, the most legendary dancefloor in Ibiza has to be the old Space Terrace. There was nowhere like it in the world. It broke down boundaries, it was the best gig to ever play. So whenever you played that show, it always was the most amazing feeling — but then for that to happen... it doesn’t really get better than that. I thought I was gonna explode with excitement. I mean, it was incredible. I feel blessed having experiences like that in my life. So there really is no memory that sticks out more to me than that.”