| |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| |||||||
            |  OLIVER AZOR
Website: djoliver.com* As far as clubbing is concerned, DJ Oliver is the main reason I've been spending my entire summers in Ibiza. At the forefront of the Balearic house scene, Barcelona-born Oliver remains one of the most popular DJs in Ibiza, not just to the local Spanish crowd, or the hordes of gay clubbers who go to La Troya Asesina, Oliver is also routinely name-checked by visiting international DJs for his profound influence. In those days, the encores would follow and follow and follow... Hits such as Rise, Flawless, Keep Control and The Underground, which would become familiar anthems over the next couple of years, touching my 'virginal' ears for the first time. Fast forward eight months, and I'm in Ibiza for my fifth visit of 2001, heading eagerly down to my first ever opening party, naturally at Amnesia, and in anticipation of DJ Oliver's musical talents. Oliver didn't fail to deliver, and at La Troya Asesina's Opening Party that same week I got a sufficient hit of his music to see me through a brief spell in London. Just two weeks in London, however, and the call of Oliver brought me back to Ibiza on a Wednesday night, and straight down to Amnesia for La Troya. The set's were always scheduled to finish at 6am... If we made enough noise, the sets would routinely go on until 8am... That summer, a few select individuals on the dancefloor, myself and dancefloor god Max included, would make enough noise to keep the party going till 10am and later each week. By the time I said goodbye to Amnesia at their Closing Party in September, I'd danced to more hours of Oliver's music than any other DJ on the planet, at 10 La Troya Asesinas, 3 Zeniths, 4 Dance Valleys, a couple of White Parties, and the Opening and Closing Parties. I was also firmly amongst the fixtures and fittings of Amnesia, and more in awe of Oliver's talent than ever before... In 2002 I finally got to hear Oliver DJing at venues other than Amnesia, when he played Pacha for the Gorgeous party in May, and at Space, not only when he played at the La Troya Carry Ons throughout the summer, but also at his final appearance of the season as part of the line-up for Space's Closing Party. 2003 saw more of the same as I heard Oliver every week at La Troya, at Amnesia and the after-party at Space, his occasional appearances at Gorgeous, plus the opening and closing parties of Space. And I acheived a personal goal I've getting him down to Bora-Bora for a beer after the La Troya opening party, where I also met his girlfriend Rosa for the first time. 2004's a bit up in the air so far, and I've only been able to hear Oliver DJing atKM5, for his and Rosa's birthday party, and once each at Amnesia and Space, for the opening parties of La Troya and AfterTroya. Still, it's early yet...
If God is a DJ, his name is Oliver Azor.
* beware of low-flying banner advertising! |
The first couple of times I heard Oliver play, at Amnesia's White Party in September 2000, and Heaven's final appearance at La Troya Asesina that same week, my life changed completely. Seriously, it was like my whole life had been building towards the day when I first heard this DJ. I'd probably never have gone along in the first place, if my two favourite DJs from London's gay scene, Wayne G and Gordon John hadn't also been on the bill, but once I heard for myself the magic that Oliver created for his home crowd I didn't want the party to ever end. As La Troya's closing party was the next week, me and Des did the only sensible thing and skipped our flight home and stayed, just for the closing of La Troya.
