As the night drew, standing out in the legendary terrace area of the club Amnesia, Ibiza, with striking techno booming across cavernous walls, circus acts scaled the ceilings and confetti blew around the air.
In this moment—as has happened all party season—creative events company elrow had successfully imprinted itself on Ibiza and one of its foundational institutions. Transporting me to my very first time on the island nearly a decade ago, the draw and allure of Amnesia is always enough to return to time and time again. Just last year, I'd followed the elrow process up close, in a hectic 24 hours involving a private plane and two set times across Europe, ending in Rotterdam with elrow faves Santé & Sidney Charles.
The elrow brand of party has now touched down in over 70 cities, requiring space, scale and production on a size most in the field would never have to think of. It's all hugely necessary in bringing a spectacle widely enjoyed by nearly two million party-goers since 2010. Following eight years of whirlwind parties across the globe, the new residency at one of clubland's grand cathedrals is a remarkable story on the surface and on closer inspection, the story stretches back even further.
The sixth generation from a long line of Spanish entrepreneurs, elrow owners Cruz Arnau and Juan Arnau Jr. have ties to Ibiza stretching back to a time fondly recalled as "the old days” or "the golden years." Hailing from Northern Spain, the Arnau family have been throwing events for over a century, most prominently opening Florida 135 (one of the world's oldest techno clubs) in the 1940s, and Monegros Festival, a non-stop all day experience in the Monegros desert in Aragon.
For the season's schedule, Amnesia's Club Room plays host to 'elrowcity', a concept allowing an international DJ all-night long reign, and on this occasion Brit firebrand Skream took to the decks for six straight hours. "Amnesia has this soul, this history, and a fantastic team that encompasses the essence of the white island," Cruz tells me. "Ibiza smells of sea and peace but also music and dance, and for me, that is the perfect combination. I love the island's history, listening to my parents' stories about the old Qu and imagining the revolution that they experienced."
On where to next for elrow, for Cruz, the answer was a simple but nonetheless poignant one: "For us, Vegas is very romantic and endearing. My great-grandfather, Juan, made a trip from our small town to Las Vegas in the '60s to convince the great musician, Xavier Cugat, who was performing at the Cesar Palace to do a performance in his ballroom in Fraga, called Florida. He got it and Xavier Cugat died suddenly one day before his show. Now, the Arnau family returns to Las Vegas, but this time to present our own show."
Almost a spiritual home of sorts, the madcap, ostentatiousness of elrow meeting the world's Sin City and entertainment capital is plainly exciting for obvious reasons. "We hope that everyone can enjoy it in the same way that we have enjoyed preparing it for over three months. It is, without a doubt, the most important event for us right now," Cruz adds. A case study in building an entertainment brand, Cruz Arnau doubles as a motivational speaker, going at length on their growth and ideals: "The most important thing is to improve, improve and improve, always offering the best of myself and that this improvement has the reflection in the show."
The younger Arnau's have admittedly been given a springboard, but they handle it all with great responsibility and awareness. In the face of rising costs, hectic scheduling, impossible logistics and the inevitability of burn out, as the weekends blend into one another, in an electric haze of confetti and costumes, money seems to be a secondary afterthought for elrow, highlighting where it's all gone right for the brand. There's a warmth, a positivity that they exude, identifiable between aficionados of electronic music the world over, and it's this the intense focus on experience that appears to be the secret ingredient. As long as we retain an appetite for magical realism wrapped in noise and colour alongside a main course of great music, elrow will remain at the forefront of clubland.
elrow closes in Ibiza this weekend, headlined by Jooris Vorn and Claptone with Eats Everything on all-night duties in 'Elrow City'. The same night also brings in elrow's Las Vegas debut at the Wynn and a month later, New York calls.
