Kalimera, readers! Greece is probably one of the most popular summer destinations in Europe: white beaches, lovely little towns, delicious food… and parties. Always fun, memorable parties. But you don’t need to go to a remote island to enjoy the best of electronic music this year because Ace Hotels is there for you. In their beautiful Hotel & Swim Club Athens, a little bit outside of the city and right in front of the beach, they’re programming their Summer Series with DJs like Ross From Friends, Damian Lazarus, Avalon Emerson, Horse Meat Disco, Âme, and Hunee on the lineup.
Since its founding in 1999, Ace Hotels has been strongly linked to music. In fact, when you get to your cosy room in Athens, you find out that there’s a vinyl player right by your bedside, and a well-curated selection of vinyls ranging from ‘70s Greek psychedelic rock (Nostradamos and Peloma Bokiou) to post-punk (Trypes) to avant-garde (Dimosioypalliliko Retire). The lobby and common spaces to chill out are also well equipped with a surrounding sound system and a controller for DJs. So, as soon as you’ve checked in and look around, you know you’re in for a treat — but perhaps you knew that already since this is only the second swim club in the Ace Hotels family (the other one is in Palm Springs, California).
But let’s get to what we came for: celebration, community, and electronic music. The Summer Series is divided into different parties. Starting with Odyssey, the main one, which takes place on Wednesdays. The line-up has included artists like Ross From Friends (June) and Damian Lazarus (July) so far, and will see the likes of Horse Meat Disco (August 20) and Midland (September 17) in the coming months. But there are other parties, like Eden, taking place the last Sunday of each month. This coming Sunday, July 27th, Âme will take over the poolside of the hotel, following the acts of Ophelia and Fall Forward that same day. And then, on the 31st of August, Hunee is landing with a secret special guest. The icing on the cake will be Avalon Emerson’s set on the 28th of September, preceded by Jay Jay.
You don’t need to be a hotel guest to get into these parties, by the way; you can buy your ticket for the event, spend the day by the pool, and then dance to the rhythm of some acid, house, jungle, or melodic techno when the sun starts to set. In the meantime, you can also grab a bite at Sebastian, the hotel’s delicious restaurant, which combines local food (Greek salad, dips like tzatziki and black bean hummus, octopus, etc.) with other options like garlic mushrooms, fries, etc.
Now that everything’s clear, we’re here to tell you more about the opening Odyssey party of the Summer Series. The afternoon kicked off with a playful, creative activity: a workshop with artist Aristeidis Lappas. https://www.instagram.com/aristeidislappas/ Starting with some suggestive verses that he himself wrote, we had the space to unleash our inner children again in front of a blank paper. Using colour crayons, we translated Aristeidis’ words into images, an exercise that was fun and surprisingly relaxing.
After taking a shower and a quick outfit change, we were ready to start the music. Shjva was the perfect opening act: slow BPMs, good mixing, and some unexpected songs here and there to keep us on our toes. And then, the star of the night: Ross From Friends. With a schedule packed with festivals and parties worldwide, the British DJ and producer didn’t want to miss the opportunity to celebrate such a special night — and we thank him for that. He clearly understood the assignment: the set was groovy, playful, and had some incredible moments like closing with Kylie Minogue’s On a Night Like This, which put a smile on everyone there.
If you want to find solace this summer away from overcrowded festivals or indoor parties, Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens’ Summer Series is the perfect getaway for that: an open air space, laid back approach, but still an incredible selection of DJs and producers to enjoy and dance to.
