Featuring some of the biggest names in the electronic music scene, ‘Asia’s largest festival at sea’, set sail from Singapore this month. Tone Deaf was there.
Picture this: 4,000 partiers and 94 international artists coming together for a four-day bacchanal in international waters. It’s no wonder IT’S THE SHIP is the one of the giants of the world’s EDM calendar.
The first thing you’ll notice as you board is probably the Thai Playboy Bunnies (dressed as mermaids) splashing about the pool in the centre of this mammoth of a ship.
The next will be one of the ship’s “Party Doctors” who – with a genuine look of concern – will take your temperature, shake his head solemnly, and then inject a cocktail into your mouth with a giant syringe.
From the moment you step aboard, the energy, the people and the sheer enormity of this event can leave you a little disoriented. Wandering the 19 decks, everywhere you look there’s something cool happening.
Should we take the advice of those guys dressed as bananas and head to the pop-up party? Or should we do a high ropes course, chill at a bar with a whiskey or go deep in the foam party dance floor?
Decisions, decisions.
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After the first 24 hours, you realise trying to find any coherent way to navigate this seafaring rager is lost cause, and letting go of the timetable and just seeing where it takes you is really the only sensible approach.
For the fifth year running, IT’S THE SHIP has rallied EDM lovers from all over the world, with Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Australia scoring among the top attending countries this year.
Livescape, the peeps behind this genius, put on a jaw dropping line-up including EDM icons Cash Cash and Showtek, and household trance names Paul Van Dyk , Darude, and Vini Vici.
For those not experienced in partying in Asia, the atmosphere is surreal. Everywhere you look people are drinking and dancing like crazy, string bikinis and near-nudity quickly become the norm, and a loving vibe encapsulates the entire ship as it cruises the Malaca Straight.
You meet people everywhere: in the jacuzzi, on the dance floor, in the buffet line. And each is more loose and more lovely than the next.
From a uniquely Australian perspective it’s easy to feel a moment of disquiet over the exceptionally good behaviour of literally everyone on board. Even the guys chugging whiskey by the bottle and dry humping a blowup doll had near perfect manners. (If there was a dick-head on the ship, we never met them).
Surely with this many people and this much booze, something is bound to kick-off sooner or later, right? It never did.
Talking to a security guy we meet in the lift, he seemed almost surprised at the suggestion anyone on board would get too out of hand, “Occasionally someone will need a bit of time to sober up, then its back to the party to get naked.”
Just, wow.
Headliner Darude, who sat down with Tone Deaf, agreed the vibe on ship was unlike anything on dry land.
“I love performing on these cruises,” he began. “I like to think of myself as a personable guy so it’s fun to meet people, slap a few high fives and grab a few pictures.”
“It’s a contained space but everyone is just so lovely and respectful here.”
Aussie artist Courtney Mills agreed, “Gigs like this are so different to say, Stereosonic or Future Music, because you can really get amongst it. Everyone is so lovely and these guys know how to party.”
Asked to sum up ITS THE SHIP in three words, she replied without blinking,”Backflips and boobs.”
Lucille Croft, another Melburnian artist, told Tone Deaf when she first booked IT’S THE SHIP two years ago, she had no idea what to expect.
“I thought it would be really strange because you can’t avoid anyone on a ship, but it’s been the funnest experience ever. I also feel like you don’t get a hangover on the ship.”
The unofficial goal for each night is to party until sunrise, and just about everyone on board makes it at least once.
The ship itself only seems to rest from late morning to early afternoon. This is the time to eat, sleep, hit up a yoga sesh, and have swim before the bassline fills the veins of the ship for another 20 or so hours.
Looking down from the top deck onto the main dance floor we spot several dudes – probably the loosest and loudest on the ship – proudly draped in Aussie flags, and air-thrusting in every direction.
The scene prompted a question that the Livescape team confirmed, Asian events like IT THE SHIP are attracting more Australians every year – and promoters want even more.
Vini Vici also welcomed the growing Aussie presence, “I love the Aussie crowd. The girls are amazing looking, the boys are all cool. And they really understand music.”
Check out a recap of ITS THE SHIP 2018:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaXv47E5_U
Head to ITS THE SHIP to pre-register for next year’s party and keep up to date with all new announcements via their socials:
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