We burn along the motorway a few hours after daybreak. On the edge of the city now, Barcelona airport behind us, Elrow up ahead. Stepping out of the vehicle, the structure that greets us is part DC10, part renegade garden centre, fused with a strong element of multi-coloured psychedelia.
We wander through the dust, passing inside the main gates, multicoloured camo netting shading the sun, sand beneath our feet and a giant inflatable lizard swaying in the breeze. Ker Beach is the first of the two outdoor stages to open. The dancefloor is all sand, the surrounding bars and burger vans decked with dried palm leaves. In the DJ booth, decorated with pop-art magic mushrooms, resident Tini Gessler drops ‘Blizz’ by Tolstoi. Her sound is chugging, fresh, not too hard. The first ravers of the day are pouring in: mostly young Spanish kids in vests and denim cut-offs, plus a few English ravers enjoying their first European clubbing vacation.
“I’ve been to Elrow at Parklife,” says Emma, 19, from the Wirral, “but this place is totally mad. It looks like some kind of multi-coloured jungle. I feel like I’ve dropped acid!”
