Circo Loco at DC-10 is Ibiza’s most legendary all-dayer. Officially the after-hours party of the island, it’s the first club to open and the last club to close during the Ibiza season. No surprise then, that it takes the form of a mad, messy all day party located at the end of an airport runway featuring guest DJs such as Pete Tong, X-Press 2‘s Rocky and Fatboy Slim.
The music takes the form of deep and twisted house, melodic techno and hands-in-the-air crowd pleasers. Just like Ibiza’sSpace, the club has an inside – showcasing the darker, techier sounds of the club – and an outside terrace playing all things house. Resident Jo Mills plays on the terrace and DJ Cirillo (also a resident) takes care of things inside, hence the two CDs making up this compilation are called Inside (Cirillo) and Outside (Mills).
Mills’ mix takes in tribal house, featuring the twisted sounds of Joeski and Chus’ El Amour, and the metallic percussion of Dark Endeavours by Patric Turner. The highlight of this CD is Welcome To The Jungle by Thick Dick. A Circo Loco favourite of last year, Mills describes it as reflecting the vibe of the club – “It’s like a mad jungle, full of mad people, stomping.” However, many of the tunes here are just reworked oldies such as Definition Of House by Minimal Funk and Foremost Poets’ Moonraker. And do we really need the over-played and overhyped Lazy included at the end?
Cirillo’s mix, on the other hand, takes in all sorts of influences, making it a much more interesting affair. Kicking off with the ultra-minimal skipping hi-hats and monotone Germanic lyrics of Ich Will by Filmpalast, it gives way instantly to the dark yet tuneful droning bass that is unmistakably Slam (Eyes Of Your Soul).
Also taking in the euphoric techno of Samuel L‘s Merengue and Bushwacka!‘s bouncy, jazzy, Underground Resistance influenced electro, Cirillo does a great trade in deep, dark disco and twisted, melodic techno. The only low points are the two Quasistereo tracks. A bored sounding female ‘vocalist’ reeling offa long list of drugs does not a great song make.
This compilation is a bit of a mixed bag, offering up two very disparate mixes. Although Mills’ mixes can get stodgy at times, it’s worth getting through for Cirillo’s competent mixing and unique tune selection.
Jo Mills MP3s or CDs
Jo Mills on Spotify
