Seven DJs tell us about the Ibiza sets that changed their lives

Jamie Jones and six of his favourite Ibiza residents describe the best set they've ever heard on the White Isle...

Cocoon, 2005: The two best sets I've ever heard in Ibiza were Laurent Garnier on the Space terrace in the early 2000s, and Ricardo Villalobos at Cocoon on June 20th, 2005. Ricardo's was the one that changed everything for me.

Back then I had only visited Cocoon at Amnesia a few times since I'd started going to to Ibiza in 1998. Around the Millennium, it was predominantly a heavy techno night: BPMs in the main room would rarely go under 135 or so with Sven Väth and Richie Hawtin, who was a regular with his decks and FX experience (which was amazing!) The terrace, from my recollection, was never that busy. The minimal sound had been experimented with in clubs like DC10 the summer before, but to be honest, hadn't really gone down very well.

All of my friends, and most of the DC10 crowd, would head to Manumission on Monday nights, once DC10 had finished. The music in the back room was cool, in 2003 and 2004 especially. But in 2005, Manumission and Privilege had a falling out in the early part of the season, so Manumission didn't open its doors until mid-season. Because Manumission was closed the Monday after Sónar (when all the industry types go to Ibiza directly from Barcelona), everybody went to Cocoon.

This is when the Amnesia Terrace had a different layout. The DJ booth was to the right hand side of the Terrace, near the steps to the VIP, and there were telephone booths and camel props in there (and a big tree!) In my opinion, it made for a much more intimate room – and DJs seemed to get a bit weirder there in those days, which I loved.

The best way for me to describe Ricardo's set is that I was on the dancefloor surrounded by a lot of people I knew, and some of my best friends. I was dancing next to Damian Lazarus, and another friend of ours, Ed Cartwright: both, I can safely say, extremely hard to please, as I am. The night went on – the sun had come up – and I remember that no-one had said a word to each other for hours. I stopped and tapped Damian on the shoulder – and as I tell you this story, it gives me goosebumps – I said to Damian, 'What the hell is going on? What is this? It's ridiculous!' Ed and Damian both turned to me and said, 'Yeah, it's unbelievable'. Everybody was mesmerised in a way I'd never seen before... sometimes there would be five minutes of a breakdown with crazy jazz pianos: it sounds weird, but it worked, trust me. It was the first time I'd ever heard Mathew Jonson 'Decompression'. I think he played it twice – I probably would have too – it turned out to be the beginning of a period in house and techno that Mathew Jonson dominated with the pure class of his productions, and ended up with him being my inspiration as a modern-day house and techno producer.

Ricardo played for god knows how many hours, as the closing time in those days was much more unpredictable. Up until that point I hadn't really explored buying old house and techno music. I did what every kid I knew did:
I went to Phonica or Black Market Records every week and spent what money I had on records from the wall, or if I was lucky, under the counter. That all changed that night, because I knew that the music Ricardo was playing was not new. He twisted house and techno in the way that I have never seen before – and still haven't seen to this day.

The next thing I did was go on Juno Records and look through everything they had in their back catalogue in two or three genres. I selected around five hundreds records out of the tens of thousands of clips that I listened to, and I slowly saved up to buy them – and that became my sound.

DC10 Terrace 2006 or 2007: "What DC10 was about: two titans of the underground in a sweaty, jam-packed booth. It was a six-hour set and I think I caught every track. I remember the contrast between them: Richie, a blond android with half a haircut, Ricardo a rusty robot you'd buy from some Jawas. They started groovy, finished pumping, and hit every adjective in between. The peak was when one of them dropped Daft Punk's 'Indo Silver Club' – and the asylum went mental."

Space Terrace 2002 or 2003: "The way Garnier hopped seamlessly between genres, playing classics from techno, house and d'n'b – without it sounding weird – was one of the best things I've ever heard on the island. He took risks, which the crowd appreciated, but he didn't go so far left-field that he lost the vibe. I think he even threw in Donna Summer – sometimes that can sound sort of tacky, but it worked. He left the whole terrace wanting more and I was so glad to be there."

DC10 2005: "It was in the middle of the minimal explosion at DC10 but Jennifer's music was such a refreshing change: lots of energy, very electronic, with minimal elements and dark at times, but always musical. To see her play the inside room at DC10 (which at the time was a lot more intimidating) was amazing. She had such style and confidence, and was in total control of the vinyl and the crowd. I loved every track she played. She totally nailed her first ever gig at DC10."

Cocoon Amnesia 2005: "This was when minimal was becoming prominent at places like DC10 and Cocoon – 'the less music in the music' was the motto – and Ivan just came and tore the rule book up by blowing the roof off Amnesia with house , techno and even some banging disco edits! It sticks in my mind to this day."

DC10 2001: "The first time I went to DC10 it was a revelation: all female DJs, the atmosphere was completely crazy, no security, outdoor vibes with no roof. Tania's set was in the second year I'd been going; she was playing the terrace with the sun shining, you could feel such a strong communal vibe, such a unique moment, everyone smiling and happy and such a feeling of freedom. It was raw, almost like a Mad Max movie, and it was so hot the vinyl was melting under the heat of the sun. She played a track I really love, 'Westchester Lady' by The Space Invaders. That track symbolises a lot of deep house from the nineties, it's one of my all-time favourites."

La Plage (now Ushuaia) 2010: "It was an intimate venue, rammed with people who seemed astonished to be seeing Luciano play such a personal set in a beautiful, beach-side venue. We were presented with top hats upon arrival, which helped set the tone for one of the best nights I've ever had. He played for three hours and had us all in the zone. It was the first time I heard Josh Brent 'Dicargo', which has been one of my favourites ever since; he ended with Inner City 'Big Fun'. Perfect."