Addicted got its glad rags on, last Saturday, to join 2,000 pleasure seekers and DJ’s Andy Norman, Kellie Acreman and Ben Santiago at the Disco’s Revenge opening night. The uber-brand’s 9thIbiza summer flutters its disco lashes back to the Studio 54 era. But with the White Isle buzzing about the return of Pete Tong to Pacha, Space’s continuing domination, a sprinkling of fresh underground parties and live music coming to the fore – what’s the allure of Hed Kandi?
The Hed Kandi sound is distinctive if not challenging. Hed Kandi’s Chloe Lecash defines it as “not just an electronic beat – it’s got guitar and sax and the intense vocals”. A new album is released every month, worldwide sales exceed 5 million and the music leads the clubbers to the Ibiza party. Jade from Merseyside told Addicted to Ibiza that her group of girls were at Disco’s Revenge because they “love the CD’s – it’s accessible not like hard house”. There seems to be value in knowing what you’re getting as one Hen Party explained “We like Hed Kandi at home and love the music – it’s been the same for years”. DJ Andy Norman re-emphasised the importance of this constancy by telling Addicted to Ibiza that he was looking forward to his set “continuing from the high of last year’s closing party”. And the tune that encapsulated Saturday night? The David Jones re-mix of Disco’s Revenge.
Tough financial times have always led to the need for escapism (Saturday Night Fever was released as the US struggled to deal with the aftermath of the Oil Crisis) and Disco’s Revenge is a very timely theme for this year’s Ibiza night. It not only plays tribute to the sounds of Hed Kandi through the years but its glamour and it’s exuberance mean that for one night clubbers can assume a jet set lifestyle. Tony, one of the Disco’s Revenge PR’s, agrees “It’s about everybody having a good time”. It’s not trainers clubbing - people come to Hed Kandi to dress up. And this sexiness has magnetism - a group of lads from Canterbury were very clear about why they were at the opening party “loads of fit birds”.
But possibly the most progressive aspect of Disco’s Revenge is the Hed Kandi production. It’s a sensory circus from the moment that the entertainment girls in pink Kylie-esque hooded leotards be-decked with fairy lights roller boot into Savannah’s sunset pre-party. Upstairs Es Paradis is playing a slide show of the crème of its rock royalty visitors from Mick Jagger to Grace Jones whilst a giant roller boot dominates downstairs. Chloe explains that at Hed Kandi the show is “maybe as important as the music” and the night whirls with shimmering dancers, a towering transvestite, live sax from the Lovely Laura, more roller girls and sky acrobats swinging off a silver heart above the dance floor.
And when the live singer started Just Can’t Wait (for Saturday) – the entire sunken white dance floor sung it back to her proving that the good times epitomised by the razzle dazzle of Disco’s Revenge are here to stay on Ibiza.
Fran Harris is the editor of ladyadventurer.co.uk. Disco's Revenge by Hed Kandi is at Es Paradis every Saturday this summer.
Can I please coradrect your first coemnmt.…I never sold hed kandi ..it was never mine to sell and had I had true ownaderadship of the brand I would never ever have left. I creadated the label and the overadall concept while workading for Jazz fm . They supadporadted and funadded my mad decisions and we ended up with one of the most hi proadfile, best selling dance comadpiladaadtions. Jazz FM was puradchased by GMG and things began to change. I stayed with the comadpany for nearly 2 years more but was unhappy with the diradecadtion it was takading, I decided to leave in 2005 and walked out with no money and not even a leavading party. Shortly afteradwards I had a legal case taken against me arguing that hed kandi felt they owned the look of the illusadtrated covaders drawn by Jason Brooks. A long legal battle ensued with our comadpany winadning the first hearading. Our new comadpany had already spent of 135,000 fightading the case and were already on the brink of coladlapse.We were then told the case would be appealled at High Court and we could be lookading at a legal bill of 250,000. In the end we settled for around 30k and wrote off the other money. Although we won it was by no means a victory.SO to any of those who say I sold it…kindly point out it was never mine to sell. Had I been in that posadiadtion I would never have let the branda0go
Posted by: Sidneia | Monday, April 23, 2012 at 11:56