The summer, the city, the views, the water, the toasted and sunburnt bodies… la musica.

An awesome cocktail awaited all of us as the sunglasses protected us from glorious sun fire that smashed from the heavens and concealed the weary eyes of the soldiers that battled on from a messy and active Friday night. From the outset it felt like it was going to be a splendid day with music and summer vibes dazzling us as we jumped onboard the Lady Rose.

Kane Bligh had the main deck warming up with a tasty array of eclectic tunes and some thumping basslines with lush breakdowns. There was a admirable presence behind the decks which transcended to party goers around the area who were moving leisurely with fresh, cool drinks and free sandwiches which were lapped up in the first couple of hours. Simon Caldwell played some beautiful tech and minimal beats, whilst on the top decks Pete Farris had control of proceedings dishing some groovy, funked up house tunes.

For the first few hours, the ambiance was largely relaxed, yet eagerly tensional about what the following few hours were to bring. The cruise provided such majestic and beautiful sights, it made me think of how utterly lucky I am to be in such a prime location in the world, where I can freely enjoy who I am, isolated from suppression and with no ‘real’ dangers in my life.

Omid 16B, with a rye look in his eyes and a mysteriously mischievous smile, he adorned the headphones and started his three hour salute in the main deck where the enthusiasts had gradually begun to emerge like virgin flower in the spring. With his blue Hawaiian summer shirt, Omid splashed the faders vertically, horizontally and inside out in an admirable display of sexy feel good tunes which had a strong house feel to them and although the old prog child inside my craved for darkness, I knew it just was not apt for that moment.

It was difficult to tell if his admirers in the front row were having more fun than he was as the ever likeable Lee Burridge emerged like a swaying jack-in-the-box, talking to fans, pulling ridiculous faces and posing like a runway model in the name of good fun. The appealing thing was that Lee just took off where Omid left off, no fakeness, just wholesome quality craziness and fuck-it-lets-party attitude.

I’m not one to promote djs, but in the two and only two times I have heard Lee Burridge he has been absolute class with quality mixing and a vibe which is felt from the very first track. The atmosphere did not let up and the biggest downer was the abrupt end to the final track which was immediately forgotten in the cheers and claps offered as small gratitude to the journey he offered.

So that (in a nutshell) was the kick off to the Musica Summer Series. The promotional team, provided a quality and unique venue, fresh fruit, comfort and top class djs which paved the way for a friendly ambiance and a surreal form of seeing that great ball of fire disappear behind one of the most beautiful cities in the world.