Carl Cox at Space Ibiza: The Music Is Revolution Years
Fifteen summers, one club: how Carl Cox’s Music Is Revolution residency grew at Space Ibiza from 2001 and ended with an all-night vinyl set in September 2016.
- Carl Cox held a yearly residency at Space Ibiza from 2001 to 2016, under the name Music Is Revolution.
- The final season, “The Final Chapter”, ran on Tuesdays from 14 June to 20 September 2016.
- He closed it with an all-night set on vinyl and CDJs; Space itself closed in October 2016.
Carl Cox and Space Ibiza were linked for fifteen summers. From 2001 to 2016 his Music Is Revolution nights were one of the club’s anchor events, and the residency ended only weeks before Space closed its doors. This is the story of that run, from the terrace to the last record.
Before Space: the three-deck DJ
Carl Andrew Cox was born on 29 July 1962 in Oldham and grew up in Carshalton, south London. He started as a mobile DJ at 15, playing disco, and became part of the British rave scene in the late 1980s. His trademark was three-deck mixing: in 1995 Mixmag described him “absolutely smashing three decks to bits”. He topped DJ Magazine’s poll in 1996 and 1997, was global resident of BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix in 1998–99, and set up his label Intec at the end of the decade.
From the terrace to Music Is Revolution
Cox began his yearly Space residency in 2001. He first played the terrace at “We Love… Space on the Terrace”, then moved inside the club with his own Thursday night, Music Is Revolution. The same year he started his Global radio show, which ran until February 2017. In 2004 he also opened the Carl Cox & Friends arena at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
The nights were built on long sets and deep line-ups. The 2016 bill alone shows the range: Adam Beyer, Kölsch, Magda, Masters At Work, Fatboy Slim, Nina Kraviz, Danny Tenaglia, John Digweed and Cirez D, the techno alias of Eric Prydz.
The Final Chapter, 2016
Cox announced 2016 as the residency’s 15th and last season. The Final Chapter ran on Tuesdays, from an opening party on 14 June with Luciano and Matthias Tanzmann to a closing party on 20 September. For that last night he was billed “all night long”, with DJ Sneak, Nic Fanciulli, tINI and Popof also on the line-up.
He brought records: it was his first vinyl set since 2006, mixed with CDJs. Accounts of the length differ. Resident Advisor had him starting at 11pm and finishing nine hours later, DJ Mag reported nine hours and Mixmag about ten. Mixmag’s list of highlights included Jeff Mills’ “The Bells”, Joey Beltram’s “Energy Flash”, Paul Johnson’s “Follow This Beat”, Guy Gerber’s “Stoppage Time” in a Max Graham remix, and The Doors’ “The End”. The set was streamed worldwide.
After Space
Cox returned for Space’s closing night on 2 October 2016, and the club then shut. In April 2017 he curated Pure festival in Sydney and Melbourne, and the same year he became global ambassador for Ultra’s Resistance concept. In 2018 he co-founded Awesome Soundwave with Christopher Coe, a label focused on live electronic artists. Ibiza called him back in 2025, with a Sunday residency at UNVRS, followed by a June-to-October run there in 2026.
FAQ
How long was Carl Cox resident at Space Ibiza?
Fifteen years. He began in 2001 and closed his Music Is Revolution residency on 20 September 2016, a few weeks before Space shut for good.
How long was Carl Cox’s final Space residency set?
Reports differ: Resident Advisor and DJ Mag counted about nine hours, Mixmag about ten. He played vinyl for the first time since 2006, alongside CDJs.
Where does Carl Cox play in Ibiza now?
In 2025 he launched a Sunday residency at UNVRS in Ibiza, and he returned there for a June-to-October residency in 2026.
