When we think of a Cocoon party we immediately think of Sven Vath, and last night the legend himself hosted an 'All night long' party of his own on Amnesia's terrace. Not wanting to miss out on the party himself, Sven made room on the line-up for colourful duo, Benoit & Sergio to treat the crowd to a live set. Wearing a vibrant shirt - which would have been the envy of most of this season's workers, Sven warmed up the terrace with Steve Bug's lovely track Those Grooves which anchored its rhythm into the dance floor with its slow moving tempo and infectious melody.
He then went onto drop Clap II This by Kiki & Chaim feat. Carl Golden plus Osunlade's summer tune Envision (Argy vocal mix) and a venturing a little into the mainstream he smashed out Dan Genacia & Shonky's record Closer to the edge which obviously made the room erupt. All who were there were doing their best techno swoosh and dancing the night away in a little more dance floor than expected... with enough crowd to create a buzz whilst allowing the terrace to remain at a calm and most importantly cool level I was in no means complaining. Then the time had come for the special treat from Benoit & Sergio...
Thumping out big bass supported by vocals which clearly pulled on their Daft Punk and Talking Heads influence their sound beamed with elements which stood out from the usual Cocoon sound. Their style was undoubtedly a little more edgy and even slightly bizarre - regarding their vocals anyway, but in no means was this a negative as their powerfully effective groove swept from booth to platform as the excitable pair performed on their Allen&Heath set up with keys set up behind them. Whilst having booth banter they constantly interacted with their fans and boosted the atmosphere even further creating a new wave of excitement for Sven's return. Performing their track Everybody which was a hit last summer, they simultaneously knocked back some champs and boogied away to their bouncy groove. With a really nice vibe buzzing through the nicely busy room - a little surprised that it wasn't chock-a-block considering that we are now in peak season, but nevertheless the time soon came for a bit more shoulder rubbing and side stepping as Vath stepped back into the booth.
Clapping was clearly the theme on the cards last night as both terrace acts had their arms raised at several moments during their sets encouraging the crowd to join in which in time created a sea of whooshing hands under the flickering lasers. Bringing a firmer techno beat back in, Vath oozed old school charisma and everything about him screamed 'I know I'm good', and with that he pulled out a chosen record from his vinyl collection and lifted it up to an adoring crowd and then the beat began. Playing Touch the Sky by Alden Tyrell feat. Mike Dunn released a Chicago groove from the speakers which is a sound that everyone's ears yearn for and at this point there was an undeclared battle between a Mr Motivator impersonator clinging to the edge of the booth whilst fiercely pumping his arms and a Techno Terminator who persisted in stomping his way through the track... both worthy of an acknowledgement - wha la! Also dropping After All by Frank Roger & Mandell Turner (Burnski Remix) Sven had the room eating the funk that he was serving up from star to finish.
Moving into the main room - which saw Daniel Stefanik, Mathias Kaden and Adam Beyer take to the decks. Stefanik began by warming up the main room later to be joined by Mathias Kaden for a b2b where they treated the crowd to the unique sounds of Kevin Saunderson's track featuring Inner City - Future (Kenny Larkin Tension remix). Also managing to catch Adam Beyer bringing a much harder techno sound to the packed room. Using stronger synthlines and a faster bass the room had no mercy for the crowd followers and the dance floor was packed with true tech fans. Everyone from the female dancer with the energy of a Duracell bunny to the token body builder dancing on the balcony in the world's smallest pants was feeling the electricity given off by Beyer's set. Overall Cocoon definitely hosted a nice party full of rhythm, soul and dirty basslines but with so much competition on the White Isle this season they are going to have to keep providing stella line-ups week after week to keep their Cocoon cadets charged up.
