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DJ Mag Top100 Clubs
35
Eden
| NEW ENTRY

Up until this time last year, admitting you were going to Eden would have got you laughed out of DC10. That was until the most powerful man in dance music stepped in, announced he was taking Wonderland to the venue and called in just about every friend and favour to pull out the most surprising line-ups of last summer.

That man, of course, was Pete Tong and it was through his gravitas that names like Timo Maas, Nic Fanciulli, James Zabiela and Eric Prydz were lured to the San An market for the first time.

If only to see what all the fuss was about, Eden was suddenly the place to go but for each newcomer the reaction was the same. Much like Space on a Sunday, Wonderland was big room Ibizan clubbing at its most high octane with ecstatic cheers commonplace and a soundtrack based on quality underground beats.

"Dancefloor-wise, Wonderland has more in common with Space or Amnesia than Pacha - it's more of a rave," explains Pete. "The music is often underground, rolling and heads-down, which isn't what people used to associate with Eden. Every DJ that played was blown away by the energy and the crowd's were strong each week."

Of course, to put Eden's changing fortunes down to Tong's magic wand alone would be unfair. The product of bold vision and colossal investment, when Eden was refitted last summer it was a job that would have cleaned out a lottery winner with a state-of-the-art LED lighting rig, a new outdoor terrace and a digital Martyn Audio system. In short, the place is a beast.

It would also be churlish to ignore the place of Judge Jules's Judgement Sundays in any discussion of Eden. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, it might be as subtle and fashionable as one of the T-shirts in Julesy's 'Fashions & Villains' line but the trance institution is still one of the busiest and wild parties on the island.