In Deep
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life is a an events production collective of DJs and professionals within the dance music industry who all believe in getting out there to raise funds and essential awareness for humanitarian and environmental causes in order to be part of positive change. Hopefully, seeing the current problems within our world overcome with unity, community and ‘serious fun’: a concept which was born in Ibiza in 2009 and is launching in Ibiza on May 29th and London on June 5th/6th. Official ambassadors include Danny Rampling, Mark Wilkinson and Nancy Noise. We speak to the man behind the project, Jonny Lee from Follow Your Heart Productions…
Large couple of weeks coming up with the Balearic launch in Ibiza at the wonderful Blue Marlin. Who will be appearing and how will you be promoting your cause on the day?
“Yes it certainly is a really important build up to 11 months of hard work putting together the concept for the charity. Our weekly events in Ibiza are Balearic Mystique and we felt there was no better way to launch the charity with a collection of true Innovative Balearic Dj’s & artists. Alfredo, say no more the legend from the early days in Amnesia ’86 & ’87 and an inspiration for so many. He was also the first DJ to become a patron of the charity. Phil Mison, Cantoma & Reverso 68 – Phil heard about the charity concept way back in November and has seen it come together bit by bit, he has offered his full support in both this Ibiza launch and the London launch. I use to listen to Phil back in ’93 at the Cafe del Mar, and always had a couple of tapes of his at hand on my travels. It has been great meeting the man behind the inspiring mixes through a mutual friend. Phil hasn’t been on the island for a while so he is certainly looking forward to soaking up the vibes alongside the others. Jon Sa Trinxa, another Ibiza resident who I know well and have been close to Jon’s mixes for a few years. I use to do the duplication of Jon’s CDs so always had the first hand privileges to all his fresh mixes. Jon has supported us on various charity projects and offers to share his love of music with others for free on many occasions. Lucci Capri (Messalina Records) is one of my oldest pals and an excellent DJ/ producer, now living in Ibiza as well. It has been a joy seeing his musical creations peaking lately with his label Messalina Records. He is also a part of the Balearic Mystique collective and will be playing with us throughout the season here in Ibiza and at the London Launch at Corsica Studios. Rico Loop, I first met Rico last year and was blown away by his improvised performances using Bose loop station. I asked him to perform at the Earthdance festival for Charity and he was more than willing to take part for free and performed a stunning set. I felt I wanted him as an artist to be a patron of the Charity and was over the moon when this creative soul from Berlin gave us a big yes. We will be promoting the Charity throughout the week of the IMS with various meetings. We will be using the time to be signing up agents, djs , artists etc and will be aiming to get various video interviews. Also we will be doing an interview on Ibiza Sonica to raise the awareness of what we are about. Through our local networks we are pushing out to get a real Balearic loving crowd down to Blue Marlin.”
What is your main/ultimatte objective for Last Night A DJ Saved My Life?
“Our main objective is to become a focus for the Dance industry to start supporting more charitable causes and raising awareness and funds for them. We are asking for DJ’s, artists, promoters, venues etc. to donate one gig a year to our charity. With this long list of supporters we are then able to put together various events designed for various charitable causes. We are therefore acting as a bridge for charities to get involved with the Global dance music community, and also helping djs & artists to get involved in more charitable work and therefore help create positive change. With industry sponsors we are talking about doing events globally and involving many facets of the dance music community. We see the events as awareness raising events and as conscious events which bring people together for something greater than themselves. The result is Unity, Community & Serious Fun!”
Tell us about Earthdance last year…
“I was initially involved in Earthdance back in 1997 when I first met Chris Decker in London. I was going to the Himalayers with a pirate radio station and we set up an Earthdance party in Vashist. Last year was when I reconnected with Earthdance and decided to bring it back to Ibiza, the first time being with Lenny Ibizarre in 1997. With our production company ‘Follow Your Heart productions’ already under way and producing various events we decided to recruit all our contacts and take task of getting everyone involved. With a good solid team from members of the community of Ibiza , and 12 weeks planning we eventually got the party up and running. After 10 weeks we unfortunately had our venue pulled due to them going bankrupt leaving us floating. We then had the offer from the Local Ecological center to host it there in the day time and Privilege offered us the night time slot. We had so many people working for the party which added to the amazing events which happened that day. So many great artists, healers, DJs and smiley happy people. The day time vibe was very much like a day time festival, complete with hot air balloon rides, music and lots of organic food. The night time half at Privilege, we screened “As The Beat Goes On’ – the movie directed by Jimi Mistry. and had DJ Samir & Lenny Ibizarre playing for us. All in all it was a good success raising funds for three local charities and sending out a prayer for peace which is the main focus for Earthdance.”
How long have you lived in Ibiza, why did you choose Ibiza and what are the best and worst things about living on the white lsle?
“I have been living on the island for 11years. I have a few reasons for choosing Ibiza. I used to come every year from 1971 onwards on family holidays and grew to feel really at home here. I was fortunate my parents moved here in 1988 right in the thick of the summer of love and all which was perfect for me. Through the early years spending the seasons’ here and living that acid house lifestyle, I had numerous experiences which had a positive effect on my life to this day. With years spent in Asia, the vibe and climate my girlfriend and i decided we wanted a European base and moved to Ibiza which ticked all the boxes. The best things about living here is the sense of freedom which Ibiza gives you, a real freedom of expression to be who you really want to be and a feeling that all is possible. I have two kids and for me it has been an excellent experience being a parent in Ibiza, with the adults still being able to live that party lifestyle and take there kids along with them. The Spanish have a completely different attitude to kids and allow them to be included in so much more. Of course the stunning coastline, beautiful sunsets & clear waters are certainly something at my home in Cala Conta that i feel privileged every day to call my home. The worst things for me is firstly that it is greatly over priced for so many things. The greed that has set in over the years which seems to have brought about less unity with businesses on the island. The paper work involved in anything legal can be a nightmare sorting out and seems to take so much of your time. The stopping of the free parties was a real gutter for me, as dancing beneath the stars for free together with other like minded people was a joy to all.”
The island is back in vogue again, more money is being thrown at new hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, bars – even San Antonio is being cleaned up. Does this sicken you being someone trying to preserve the environment and protect places like Ibiza?
“I guess in reality once tourism has taken over an island like this it has to sustain itself and go with the trends, therefore more money is needed to be invested. It’s frustrating seeing so much been earnt by the big super clubs /brands and travel companies and that they don’t seem to support and environmental initiatives to keep the place clean post events. We ran a beach cleaning awareness program last year, alongside our Balearic Mystique events and each week we cleaned up 2 buckets of fag butts of the beachs. All it would take was some beach ashtrays potentially sponsored by these companies and the problem would be solved. Trying to ask for money from them certainly appeared to be a waste of time. It’s also down to us all as individuals to be as conscious as possible at all times about our environment and just respect it.”
The following week after Ibiza sees LNADSML hit London with two very special parties with the likes of Danny Rampling, Bill Brewster, Alfredo, Trevor Fung and Phil Mison spinning – what are the plans for the rest of 2010 and beyond?
“Well are first thoughts are we just wanted to focus on these launches before spouting off all the other plans we aspire to achieve. Although we seem to be already gaining a number of exciting projects which seem to be attracted to us. We are soon to launch a DJ charity challenges initiative called DJDARES.com as a fund raiser for various causes. Myself & Mark Wilkinson one of our ambassadors recently completed Barcelona & London Marathons and felt we could inspire other DJs to get involved. Watch this space soon… We will use the summer in Ibiza to refocus and start gathering more DJ sign ups throughout the season and building a website which represents them all in the best possible way. The summer will provide us with an even stronger roster of talent to create our next time table of events which will be taking place across the globe. Taking our time with things will really help us to grow organically and build a charity concept that will be able to sustain itself from Industry sponsorship deals and therefore be able to commit to raising funds from the events to the various charities we will support. A membership scheme is something else we are working towards which will offer lots of positive benefits for getting involved. Other projects: We will be hosting our weekly event Balearic Mystique at Sunset Ashram (Cala Conta) the day of the week is TBC. We will be inviting numerous Balearic DJs from all over to join us to spin music to the sunset and help us create another beautiful summer full of good vibes. Plans are already underway to create a Balearic DJ agency through Balearic Mystique and a record Label. We are also co- producing www.folkibiza.co.uk – which is the Balearic music festival taking place here on July 22nd- July 26th. Earthdance will also be taking place 18th September.
Where and when was the concept created?
“The concept was created last May in Ibiza after I was already working on a Charity model which could slot into the Dance music community. A top night out in Ibiza with my ibiza resident and good friend Nathan Coles gave me the inspiration for the name. Once I had that I then decided to approach another good friend Danny Rampling at the IMS 2009 if he would be up for joining me and becoming a trustee. When Danny said yes I knew from that moment on I was clear I had to keep on pushing this idea forward.”
Where is your favourite place in Ibiza to chill and also the club where you like to party?
“My favourite place to chill would have to be at Sunset Ashram at Cala Conta, the clear blue water there, white sands, stunning sunsets, natural beauty surrounding with no hotels is ideal for me to run, meditate, DJ, swim and seriously chill. The best thing is its only 10min walk from my house. The best place I would say I like to party would have to be Aura on the San Juan Rd, off the beaten track and with my friends Antz and Danny doing their Friday night’s Dantz. The atmoshphere is always very friendly and a good vibe guaranteed. This year they have Danny Rampling as a resident on Wednesdays and Nightmares on Wax on Tuesdays so happy daze ahead.”
There is also an exclusive screening of the movie ‘They Call It Acid’ in London on May 6th – what can you tell us about the film and the connection to your charity?
“I bumped into Gordons Mason’s movie last year and felt it was ideal to tie this into our Acid House Launch party. I called Gordon explained what we were doing and asked him if he wanted to come on board. It’s working really well as lots of our DJs are featuring in the movie also. The film depicts the important true story of Acid House and interviews 60 key people from back in the day. The film took 11 years to complete and Gordon has put alot of passion into the movie to get it this far ,any extra publicity we could give it the better. Although I have still not seen the full movie yet. I know myself and 74 others at the exclusive screening will have an experience for sure.”
When you think about Ibiza, what tunes instantly spring to mind?
“Art of Noise – ‘Moments of Love’
Carly Simon – ‘Why’
A Man Called Adam – ‘Barefoot in the Head’
Beloved – ‘The Sun is Rising’
The Cure – ‘Lullaby (extended mix)'”
There have been numerous charity based organisations that have tried embracing dance music and most have come up against brick walls for one reason or another. Why is Last Night A DJ Saved My Life going to be different?
“We have a lot of experience within the industry and numerous friends have been made throughout the many years of an Acid House lifestyle. With the initial support from these friends we are already gaining what is looking more and more like a sustainable working model to push this concept forward. Based here in Ibiza we find it easier to market the concept and easier to get the industry to support. I am sure there will be brick walls, but with a positive mental attitude to all I take on in life, I can see clearly the positive solutions to most problems and with the team of professionals behind us, I see no reason why this concept will do anything other than succeed in Unity, Community and Serious fun.”
Get involved:
Sat 29 May: Balearic Mystique press & industry Launch @ IMS Ibiza /official sign-up of DJs & Patrons.
Sat 5 June: The Acid House Film Preview Screening in Soho for press and industry only.
Sat 5 June: The Acid House Effect – Last Night A DJ Saved My Life Charity @ Corsica Studios, London.
Sun 6 June: Balearic Mystique – Last Night A Dj Saved My Life Charity @ Light Bar, London.
Competition
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122888817736336&ref=mf
Join our group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=368505162584&ref=ts
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