I’ve been aiming to start putting together mixes more regularly, so after my first offering in a long while in February I finished off my second mix last night. As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been staying up at Pikes for the last few days, and this next mix packed full of 70′s and 80′s disco, funk and soul seems to tie in quite nicely with my current surroundings, as both Pikes and the more obvious places this type of music was getting played when released (Studio 54, Paradise Garage etc) were both known as pretty wild places to party around that era!
1. Bobby Patterson – I Got A Suspicion
2. Kennie Delt – Funky Musak
3. Donald Byrd – Thank You For Funking Up My Life
4. Dayton – Meet The Man
5. Claudja Barry – Sweet Dynamite
6. Surface – Falling In Love
7. Stephanie Mills – You Can’t Run From My Love
8. George Duke – Reach Out
9. American Gypsy – The Champ
10. Ritz – I Wanna Get With You
11. Azoto – San Salvador
12. Imagination – Burnin’ Up
13. George Duke – I Want You For Myself
14. Tata Vega – Get It Up For Love
I landed back in Ibiza early Sunday morning for my fourth consecutive summer on the island, and as soon as I got into San Antonio I felt like I’d never been away. The traveling to the Balearics was a bit of nightmare, and despite the flight clocking in at just over 2 hours, it took me the best part of 12 hours to travel door to door from where I was staying in the UK to my temporary bed in Ibiza. I touched down just after 9AM in the morning, and the after effects from my Friday night send off in Leeds combined with minimal sleep on the plane meant that I was feeling very disjointed stepping out of the airport.
I shared a cab with a young couple from Burnley (whom I bumped into later on in the day and they were perplexed why the whole of San Antonio was shut!) and then sat down for a quick bite to eat at La Cantina in the main square near the fountains before heading off for some sleep. I’ve found it very hard to get a decent fry up in the whole of San Antonio (and I have put a lot of hours in trying) and I’d say that this is about the best you’re going to find.
I’m lucky enough to be staying at Pikes Hotel for a few days until the apartment I’m moving into has been decorated and cleaned, and what a beautiful place it is. I arrived just before midday, the sun was beaming down and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. I contemplated fighting the tiredness, getting changed and heading down the beach for a couple of hours in the sun, but I physically couldn’t do it and climbed into bed for a much needed kip. After waking up a few hours later feeling a million times better than I had done, I went for a stroll around San Antonio to stock up on essentials for the next few days. I didn’t realize how difficult this would be to achieve on a Sunday in April in San Antonio! Nearly everywhere was closed, and even the small corner shops and 24-hour supermarkets that are ALWAYS open were still on lockdown. I feel more like I’m in a foreign country than I’ve ever felt before in San Antonio; there is no ‘workers’ here at all yet, you can’t get along just speaking English (which is actually a plus for me as I’m trying to learn Spanish and need to put more effort in) and almost everyone that walks the quiet streets looks as though they live here all year round.
The only places that seemed to be doing any business were a couple of restaurants in the main square, and Buddha Bar and Mint Lounge, which was the only bar on the whole of the sunset strip that was open for business. Zero 7 was slipping out of the speakers, and the mambo / café del mar strip looked amazing with only a couple of tables and chairs and a few people spread about sitting on the rocks, and I imagine that this is what it must have been a bit like ‘back in the day’, before the owners realized they were sitting on a massive cash cow and decided to milk it dry.
After realizing I was going to struggle to get what I needed in San Antonio, I decided to hop over to Ibiza Town on the bus, which I was sure would have a bit more life in it. I bumped into four or five different people I knew walking around both places in my first day back, which was in stark contrast to the last four months I spent in London, where I can count the number of people I bumped into randomly on one hand for the whole time I was there. I had a similar thought again about the sudden contrast in my life again this morning; only a week ago I was getting sandwiched on the tube and almost racing people up and down the escalator each day and night, and now I find my commute to work involves walking down a long dirt path in the countryside and past fields full of lambs and chickens. The only downside of the dirt path is that I have to run the dog gauntlet every time I want to go anywhere – there must be about six different dogs that live in houses along the dirt path, and it is like Russian roulette wondering which one is going to come flying out of the gate and start barking at me. So far there’s only been two little shitty things circling me as I head off to work, but there’s a couple of big ones that I hope stay locked up for the duration of my stay!
I was back in the hotel for my first day today, and it was a very quiet start to the summer for me – I was the only person in my office for the whole day. There was a few people floating around elsewhere in the hotel though, and there was some cool changes to the venue taking place in the pool / stage area, which I think will make a big difference this year.
The plan for these first couple of months is to take it very steady – I’m here for over six months this time, I’m working loads and don’t want to burn out. So the plan for the first 2 or 3 weeks at least is no alcohol, lots of exercise and lots of good food. This lack of doing anything fun is probably why I’ve just typed out nearly 1000 words on only my second night here!
I’m back at the Ibiza Rocks Bar DJ’ing on Saturdays again this year. I had a really good time doing the Hed Kandi pre-party every weekend last summer, and I’m looking forward to getting involved again. There is a new team of resident DJs at the bar this year, with Propaganda’s ‘The Postman’ and ‘Danny Beck’ taking over as the new full time residents after winning the recent mixcloud competition. A lot of the old guard seemed to have moved on this year, and for the first time in Ibiza there won’t be any of my mates who I had lived with during my Uni years out for the summer.
I’ve tried not to use this blog as a means of self promoting DJ sets, events and the like, but seeing as nothing much has happened on here since October last year, I figured linking into the latest mix I’ve put together wouldn’t be so bad. The mix has been built up with a smattering of disco influenced remixes of current indie bands, and was definitely put together with one eye on the summer ahead. Still waiting on final confirmation of what the imminent season holds, although it’s fair to say I’m going to be even busier than last year, and it’s going to begin again sooner rather than later. I’ve been keeping myself occupied over the winter months living & working in London for the first time, which has been a very interesting, enjoyable and fast paced existence. I moved down here just before Christmas, and I’m still not quite sure where the time has gone.
A 20 minute tease of the mix is hosted below on my soundcloud page – you can download the full mix by clicking HERE.
1. Shiny Toy Guns – Fading Listening [Five Seven Music]
2. The Gossip – Perfect World (Rory Philips Remix) [Columbia]
3. Sam Sparro – Let The Love In (Tiger & Woods Remix) [Capitol]
4. Rhye – The Fall (Maurice Fulton Remix) [Innovative Leisure]
5. Hot Chip – How do you Do (Todd Terje Remix) [Domino]
6. Metronomy – Loving Arm (Get a Room Remix) [Because Music]
7. Lana Del Rey – Summertime (Yam Who, Leo Zero & Robert Owens Remix) [Polydor]
8. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Stronger (Miguel Campbell Mix)
9. Haim – Forever (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas Remix) [National Anthem]
10. Marcus Marr – The Music (AD ‘lose the breakdown’ edit) [DFA]
11. St Lucia – September (Punks Jump Up Funhouse Mix) [Neon Gold]
12. Foals – My Number (T.E.E.D. Remix) [Warner]
13. Padded Cell – Guardians of The Night [Different Recordings]
14. Alt-J – Something Good (Fort Romeau Remix) [Infectious Records]
15. Friendly Fires – Why Don’t You Answer (Hot Since 82 Remix) [Late Night Tales]
16. Two Door Cinema Club – Sun (Alex Metric Remix) [Kitsune]
The fact that this is only my 2nd post of the summer sums up how busy I have been over the season. At times it has felt like this summer was never going to end, but now that it finally has come to a close, the general feeling inside of me is that it’s all gone that bit too quick. Having a quick scan through my sent e-mails for the summer, some of the actions that I recall trying to sort out seem like they were only a couple of days ago, when in actual fact they took place at the start of July. I think the best way to describe how this summer has felt is that it’s been like one really, really long day at work; no sooner did one whirlwind week of pool parties, hotel events and mammoth 17 hour gig days finish than another one began, with very little time for recuperation. This is the first time I have had more than 24 hours off in a row since the middle of May, and my brain is finding it hard to adjust from the work-sleep-work pattern that has carried on for the last four months.
This is in no way a complaint, though – this season has definitely been the most productive summer I’ve had since I first ventured out to Ibiza. The first summer was perhaps still the most fun because everything was new, the clubs were fresh & exciting, I was a little more reckless and I had a lot less responsibilities to worry about, but in terms of progressing and moving on with things, I’m very happy with how this season has turned out. Cutting down on DJ’ing and just playing once a week at the Ibiza Rocks Bar on a Saturday night has meant that I was really up for it each time the weekend rolled around, it was a lot more fun and less like work, which was inversely the case at some points last year when I was doing six-hour sets four or five nights a week. The dance floor was still going until 4am almost every weekend this summer, which is another improvement on last year. Another twelve months on, and the bar appears to be getting stronger again.
Despite only being able to catch something like the sum total of 60 minutes of the shows all season due to in large being positioned in the courtyard and the hotel lobby when the events took place, feedback from the gigs has been positive. Numbers were great for Ibiza Rocks, and the new ‘We Are Rockstars’ Friday show definitely cemented its place as a new solid night on the island. I was a bit disappointed not to catch any of the Happy Mondays or Kasabian, although I did see the last ten minutes of New Order as they performed covers of ‘Transmission’ and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, and I caught Zane Lowe & Mark Ronson finish off the season with Prince’s ‘Wanna Be Your Lover’, which both surprised and delighted me in equal measures.
Everyone that came out to visit this summer pretty much did so in the space of one month, so it meant I had thirty days in a row of having to go out quite a lot, and then the rest of the time I was left to my own devices, which means that I probably won’t feel like I need to go to a drying out clinic once the season has finished. Despite pretty much wrapping up work here for the season, I still have around two weeks left in Ibiza to chill, go to some of the clubs and have a bit of a holiday, which has surprised a few people as they can’t understand why I would want to hang out in Ibiza any longer than necessary after being here all summer. I don’t really get the logic in wanting to rush straight back to the UK, especially when the weather sounds as bad as it is over there. One of my friends heads out on Saturday for a week, and the plan is to hit up the closing parties for Space, DC10 and Sankeys, although we’ll see how this goes, as at the age of 28, I am not quite the disco warrior that I used to be.
I’m quite excited about the winter this year, too. I still don’t really know quite what it holds, but I’m hoping that I’ve met enough people this summer and sent out enough e-mails to score some work in a related role before the summer swings around again in April. One thing for certain is that I feel more positive about the summer ending than I did last year, when I was returning to the UK to pursue a full time career in a completely unrelated profession, and was potentially turning my back on Ibiza forever. DJ’ing wise, I have a nice little gig in the UK almost as soon as I return, warming up for Aeroplane in Leeds, alongside fellow Kill The Disco comrade Sebastian Budniak. Aeroplane is somebody who’s productions I’ve always taken a shine too, so it is a pleasure to be on the same bill.
San Antonio has taken on a completely different aura over the last seven days. It’s quite crazy how it has gone from being a 24/7 party place packed full of football t-shirts and lager drinking brits, to the much more sombre and peaceful place it is now. Almost all of the tourists have disappeared, and a lot of the bars, shops and hotels in and around the West End have called time on the summer season. I’d love to stay out here until November and see what the place is like when everything bar supermarkets and the odd Spanish eatery has closed down. I think it’s bewildering that one small place can take on two totally contrasting personalities in such a short space of time.
Highlights of the summer this year? Nights out have been few and far between, and bar Space opening and the odd cameo appearance at the Ibiza Rocks aftershow at Es Paradis, the only club that I visited as a punter was Together at Amnesia, and that was for one hour to see my mate Mak do the warm up for Tiga. The San Antonio Beach Party was good, but our staff meal at Pikes Hotel was the same night, so I ended up drinking a bucketload of red wine there and chatting/slobbering all night upstairs in the Ibiza Rocks Bar, rather than getting into a groove on the beach like the previous year.
The Ibiza Rocks closing after-after party at Pikes was a lot of fun – it was one of the those nights out where you swear all day and night that you’re not going out, then decide to go out for one just to be social, and then the next thing I know I’m stood in the top bar of Pikes at about 7 in the morning with about 20 other stragglers from the hotel and events staff, with the sun creeping in through the many nooks and crannies Pikes has to offer. Simon Guirao is knocking out a fine workout of 80’s disco and funk, and then to top it all off for the last hour or so, one of the Pikes staff lifts a huge plastic bucket onto the bar, fills it up with ice and an assortment of spirits, beers and mixers, and declares ‘Club Tropicana – drinks are free!’. The nighttime closing of the Ibiza Rocks Bar was good last Saturday too (despite getting off to a slow start as an Italian film crew were filming and wouldn’t let us put any music on until 11PM!) until around 2.30 when the boss culled the music in the bar because all the bar staff were too hammered…
I did a lot more of the non-club things that I have being meaning to do since I arrived in Ibiza this year, too. We’ve hired a car, drove all around the island and up to Portinatx, took the ferry over to Formentera and fooled around on a scooter for the day, and finally made the long walk right up to the very tip of Cap D’Negre, which was an absolutely amazing day right up until the way back at Cala Salada. Thirty or fourty minutes from the end of the walk I managed to smash my head open on an overhanging rock and cover the sand in my blood. It really fucking hurt.
So, all in all, amazing season, probably my best yet. I’d like to think that I’ll be back again next year to do it all over again and maybe a little bit more. I’ll have to wait and see.
It’s been nearly 10 months since the last time I posted anything on here, so I thought perhaps a little update on the ‘Ibiza Dream’ was in order. After returning home on the last Friday in September from another brilliant season playing for Ibiza Rocks, I landed back in the UK and promptly started work on the Monday for a company that had sponsored me throughout my MSC, in a subject that could not be further removed from my involvement within the music spectrum. That first day in the office was quite possibly one of the strangest experiences of my life; after passionately DJ’ing and writing about music for a living, and spending the rest of my hours in the glorious sunshine and laidback Balearic vibes, the sudden jump to turning up to work in a shirt and tie, slogging my guts out on an excel spreadsheet over a subject I had little more than a passing interest in, and waking up at the crack of dawn for the packed daily commute with the rest of the rat race was more than a shock to the system. Was this really how I intended to spend the rest of my days?
After torturing myself for the entirety of the time I was back in the UK over the choice to return or not to return to Ibiza this summer – and at one stage being 95% certain within myself that I wouldn’t head back – I received a very, very, very last minute phone call from Ibiza Rocks HQ at the end of May, offering me a position ‘behind the scenes’ working at the hotel for the events side of things, whilst still allowing me to keep one finger in the DJ’ing pie for the Ibiza Rocks Bar. 24 hours of nail-biting decision making later, I made the call to quit my job, book a flight and head out to the island only 72 hours on from the initial contact, in what was quite possibly the boldest decision I have ever made in the span of my life thus far. Some people said I was following the right path, whilst others expressed their concern that I was throwing away a ‘proper’ career for another four months in the sun. Right decision? Only time will tell, but I guess that if you don’t buy a ticket, you’ll never win the raffle. I feel like I’m out here for the right reasons this year; I want to work hard for Ibiza Rocks, do well in my job, and hopefully get offered something that will provide a role with the company that will offer a little more longevity than the traditional May – October role. As I said last year at the start of the summer, keep your head screwed on, and fingers crossed.
Looking back on the first 6 weeks, I think it has all gone pretty well so far. I enjoy my job, I work with a lot of really sound people, and I’m enjoying the lifestyle, which is very different to the one I lived last year. I work a lot of hours from a relatively early time (especially on Ibizan hours), but I knew that was to be expected with the role I was given, and even though I work probably twice or even three times as much as I did in the job I had previous to this, it doesn’t feel like I do, which is always the sign of doing something that you enjoy. DJ’ing wise, things are going well, too; I’ve landed a residency at the We Are Rockstars afterhours at Eden every Friday, and I’ve also been keeping up my slot at the Ibiza Rocks Bar every Saturday, playing for the Hed Kandi pre-party. This seems to be going really well so far, and the music and dancefloor has kept going until 4am nearly every Saturday, which wasn’t a weekly occurrence last year. All the Hed Kandi crew are spot on too, and it’s a pleasure to be involved with them.
Clubbing wise, it seems like another year on, and another year older – I’ve hardly been out at all. I hit Space for the opening Fiesta back at the end of May, which was amazing, but apart from my jaunts to Eden/Es Paradis for the WAR/Ibiza Rocks aftershows each week, I’ve yet to visit any of the other clubs on the island. I finally made the trip to Ibiza Rocks House at Pikes last Wednesday, which was amazing, very refined, and much more tropical and spread-out than I had previously imagined. The We Love DJ (I forget his name) playing low-slung disco grooves inside the bar area was amazing too. It was great to hear those disco vibes in San Antonio.
This could be the first of many posts this summer, or it could be the last one for another six or seven weeks. I guess time will tell. Ben Howard then Zane Lowe and Mark Ronson stop off for gigs at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel this week, so another couple of busy events are in order before the absolute beast that is the 7th Birthday with Kasabian lands next Wednesday. I think this has the potential to be the best gig at the hotel so far? I’ll let you know soon.
Wow – what a summer! The 18 weeks that the Ibiza Rocks Bar has been open so far have zipped by quicker than anyone could ever have imagined; was it really that long ago Johnny Borrell was teasing the crowd with those famous Razorlight numbers for his live acoustic set at the opening party? It seems like only yesterday!
Where do we start with the DJ’s that have played here, too? It’s not really a question of who has had a mix here this summer, more a question of who hasn’t spun some tunes behind our DJ booth over the season?!?! Calvin Harris absolutely tore up the bar in August to one of the busiest crowds we’ve ever had, Annie Mac loves the venue so much she played here 4 times(!!!) over the course of the season, Zane Lowe rocked it back-to-back with Doorly in June, and Eddie Halliwell smashed the place up twice with his live shows. Who else? Skream, Skrillex, Jack Beats, Roska, Diplo, Kissy Sell Out, Riva Starr, and Rusko, to pluck just a few more from the top of my head. Every single DJ event has been free entry too!
A special mention must also go out to Ibiza Rocks superstar resident DJ Doorly, who, after delivering consistently brilliant sets and stoking the crowd to the max between acts at the hotel gig, headed straight down to the Ibiza Rocks Bar every single week to continue the party, spinning on 3 CDJ’s, and cutting and scratching everything from dubstep, d’n’b, house, rock, techno, and electro with his hands, nose and teeth!
Before we all jettison off to far-away lands to hibernate for the winter months, I managed to sit down over a cocktail with the other two Ibiza Rocks Bar residents, Mak and Grainger, to argue the toss over what the best records and parties at the bar have been this summer.
Q: How have you found the summer on the White Isle this year?
Mak: Yeah it’s been amazing. I introduced dubstep to Ibiza Sonica and have built on what I achieved last year.
Grainger: It’s been a great summer full of music and marathon DJ sets!
Adam: Really good, a lot more chilled than last year for me personally, but still very enjoyable. It’s felt a lot more like home this season, as opposed to a four-month holiday in the sun.
Q: How many years have you been coming to Ibiza?
Mak: I’ve been on holiday a few times but this is only my second year as a working entity.
Grainger: This is my third season in Ibiza.
Adam: This is my second season. I had never been to Ibiza before the start of June last year and I was beginning to think I had missed the boat!
Q: You’re a resident DJ at the Ibiza Rocks Bar. How did this residency come about?
Mak: I started out last year as a resident for Reclaim The Dance Floor at Eden, which was heavily involved with Ibiza Rocks. I played at pre-parties for them on a weekly basis down here, struck up an affinity with the bar and the people that worked there, and decided to take up a residency here this season.
Grainger: In 2009 I somehow managed to blag myself a set at the Ibiza Rocks end of season workers party and, to be honest, I was awful! In 2010 the bar had been renovated and was in need of a new resident DJ. When I heard of the vacancy I was determined to get the slot but because of my terrible ‘09 performance it took some persuading for Griff and Stu to entrust me with the job. After a lot of pestering I finally got a phone call the day of the bar opening to warm up for Pete Doherty and Colin Peters. Luckily I impressed the right people and have been a resident ever since.
Adam: I originally came out to Ibiza in June last year for a residency at another night that never really got off the ground. Penniless after six weeks with no work, I was just about to call it a day and head back home when, thanks to friends and contacts I had made through work and DJ’ing in the UK, I managed to get a trial at the Ibiza Rocks Bar for a Hed Kandi pre-party. The trial went well enough and I was then asked to play the following night at the Judgement Sundays pre-party. Things continued in a similar fashion for the rest of the summer and I was lucky enough to be invited back again this year.
Q: What else do you do in the Balearics over the summer?
Mak: I’m resident for ‘Tonight’ at Amnesia on a Tuesday night. They mainly play dubstep and bass music in my room with Annie Mac as the main resident. Eric Prydz heads things up in the other room.
I also put together mixes that go out on Ibiza Sonica. As well as this, they sometimes broadcast my sets live from Amnesia out on the radio. I also play at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel pool parties during the week.
Grainger: Apart from my bar residency I’ve gained a weekly main room spot at the Es Paradis official Ibiza Rocks after show. I play a no holds barred, genre weaving back-to-back set with Nicola Bear every Wednesday on the Ibiza Rocks boat party, and I also managed to squeeze in a gig on the sunset terrace at the We Love opening at Space.
I like to go to the clubs too but I’m very selective of what nights I visit. Ibiza town is nice to do the culture thing but most of my days off are spent catching up on sleep.
Adam: Workwise, I also DJ at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel pool parties twice a week, write a column for the weekly Ibiza Rocks fanzine about the goings-on at the bar, and help out with the social networking/blogging/online media side of things too. Other than that I try to keep fit and eat well enough to negate the effects of living in Ibiza for the summer!
Q: What has been your favourite DJ set at the Ibiza Rocks Bar this summer and why?
Mak: Skream, for bringing heavyweight dubstep to the bar for the Come Together pre-party. I also really enjoyed Leon’s set; he brought some of the best deep house music I have heard all summer on the island.
Grainger: There have almost been too many great nights to mention! Annie Mac’s sets were always good. The Calvin Harris nights were really special; it felt as though a super star was in the building every time he played and the atmosphere matched. Skream’s disco to dubstep mix is definitely up there as one of my highlights of the season too.
Adam: I also really enjoyed the Come Together pre-party when Diplo and Skream were on the bill. Diplo played some wicked future garage, cool dubstep and techno’y bits, and then Skream surprised everyone by dropping thirty minutes of old school disco, which was amazing. Zane Lowe and Doorly back-to-back was really good back in June too – the place was heaving and the two of them trying to out-do each other created an electric atmosphere.
Q: What has been your favourite DJ set elsewhere on the island this season?
Mak: Probably Sub Focus for ‘Tonight’ at Amnesia with MC IC3. Really good party vibes, and the crowd’s response was amazing. He tore up the main room.
Grainger: Elsewhere, Dixon and the Innervisions’ crew were incredible at We Love, as was Villalobos at Cocoon. Jaymo And Andy George did a great job of warming up the Space terrace for Greg Wilson and Nicola Bear’s Ibiza Rocks gigs warm up, boat party and after show sets are always spot on!
Adam: I’ve not gone out nearly half as much as I did last year so I don’t I have that much too choose from – I think maybe only six or seven times over the entire season! I thought DC10 was wicked again; for me, it’s the best club on the island. To pick out individual DJ sets there is hard as they always have loads of people on the bill playing for a shorter than usual time period. I don’t think it matters at all though because the whole vibe of the place is so special. Midland’s set in the Red Room at Space for Kehakuma in July was one of the best I have heard in a long, long time – utterly brilliant deep and emotive music.
Q: Name your top three Ibiza Rocks bar tracks of the summer…
Mak: In no particular order, Chase & Status ‘Flashing Lights’, Pig Bag – ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Pig Bag’, and my tune, Mak – ‘Bhasa’. You can listen to a sample of this on http://www.soundcloud.com/makstep.
Grainger: These are the three main tracks that I have been driving the bar staff mad with! 1. Breakbot – ‘Fantasy’ (Jacques Renault remix) 2. Lykee Li – ‘I Will Follow’ (The Magician Remix) 3. Social Disco Club – Daft Funk.
Adam: Like Grainger, I’m going to go with the Magician remix of Lykee Li – ‘I Will Follow’. Also, the Shadow Dancer remix of Chilly Gonzalez’s ‘You Can Dance’, and Roger Seventy Two’s ‘You Take Me Higher’, on A-Trak’s Fools Gold label have been doing the business down here.
Q: What do the winter months hold for you?
Mak: Residencies for both Metropolis and Wax:On in Leeds. I’ll be playing around the UK as part of the Sound of Sumo records tour, and I’ll be spending plenty of time in the studio working on my album for Shifting Peaks.
Grainger: More Dj’ing, a part-time day job and the real world. Ugh.
Adam: DJ gigs here and there, a bit of freelance writing and a day job! My biggest aim is to get my arse into gear and start taking production a bit more seriously, rather than playing around with it for a couple of weeks then putting it to one side like I normally do!
Q: Will we see you back again next year?
Mak: Yes, definitely. I love the lifestyle out here, I’ve made a lot of good connections this year and I am looking forward to taking my career further in Ibiza. I’ll be rejoining ‘Tonight’ at Amnesia, and expect some more crazy nights down at the Ibiza Rocks Bar.
After a whole summer of not bumping into anyone I know at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, now that the season is nearly over I have bumped into two groups of lads in the same day! I knew a couple of Scottish lads I met travelling a few years ago would be coming along already, but after I had finished DJ’ing at the pool party on Saturday afternoon I saw another lad I know from back home just as I was about to leave. It was his first full day in Ibiza, and he told me that the night before – after probably going a bit to too crazy on the plane with the dutch courage – he had fallen asleep after a few drinks on a bench at the bottom of the West End, and had awoken a couple of hours later to find that his camera, wallet and phone had all been removed from his pockets. Not a good start to your holiday!
I’ve only got a few more gigs left at the Ibiza Rocks Bar now,and you can tell that things are quieting down a lot now, both in the bar and all over the island. The upstairs balcony is very rarely open on an evening anymore, when little over a fortnight ago you struggled to get a space up there! I am quite looking forward to tonight’s gig though – after a lot of ear bending coupled with the fact that a lot of the weekly pre-parties and events have ended for the summer (Tonight, Come Together and Underground Rebel Bingo), Griff has allowed me to put on Kill The Disco, an event I have promoted and DJ’ed at on and off for around five years now, at the bar this evening. Not only that, but the ex-Manumission resident (and now my boss!) has agreed to come out of DJ’ing retirement and don the headphones one more time for a classic house and disco set! I think it should be a lot of fun, as I will get to show the other side of my DJ’ing and get to play what I would like to spin if I didn’t have to adapt my sound to suit the event/venue/crowd etc. Think disco both old and new, slo-mo, various bits of house, italo and a few other bits and bobs that have been gathering dust in my CD wallet!
It’s the final party of the season at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel on Wednesday with Noah and The Whale, Tom Vek and Zane Lowe. I’ll be playing at the after-party at the Ibiza Rocks Bar, where Doorly will be on hand to spin some tunes too after the show has ended. Zane Lowe is playing at the hotel too and I do wonder if he might be tempted to come and have a mix at the bar one last time this season? We’ll see…
I’m in the process of touching up the last bits of my Ibiza Rocks Bar end of season round-up, where you can catch an interview with me and the other two Ibiza Rocks Bar residents, Mak and Grainger. It should be online within the next couple of days.
