Ibiza – May 27th – 29th.
We speak to the key players…
Second up, a music industry legend and another main player behind IMS… Ben Turner
Hi Ben, thanks for talking to DMC. So how important is IMS to the record industry world? Is it Miami in the making, did a lot of deals get done last year?
“IMS is a back to basics event focused around a back to business ethos. I remember my first WMC in 1996, and going to a DMC party with the Prince family, one of only three parties that opening night! I crave for that level of intimacy, where you had everybody in one room, a sense of unity, of sharing a belief. IMS is going back to those days, but with a forward-thinking philopsophy of change, change, change. Without wishing to sound like Obama, we want to help shape the future of the electronic music scene, and that means handpicked professionals in an intimate setting, sharing thoughts and visions, and helping shape change for labels, artists, managers, clubs and festivals. And if the brands want to get in the middle of it all and learn, well, that’s good news too.’
This year you have an hour long discussion with Richie Hawtin in front of some of dance music’s most famous luminaries, does doing something like that not phase you?
“I can’t wait. Last year it was Pete Tong in the chair, this year Richie Hawtin. I feel I have a lot of history and knowledge to share of the careers of artists like this, people I guess I’ve documented in great detail through various media outlets over the years, and people I’ve enjoyed some of the best times of my life with. As a former magazine editor (Muzik, Orbit, Pacha), you were always looking to get into the deeper side of artists to make magazines more readable, and to satisfy my own fascination. Richie to me is one of THE most iconic artists this scene can be proud of, and his thoughts are often the most astute, articulate and, yes, visionary. I was once accused of being obsessed with him back in the days of my dance pages in rock newspaper Melody Maker, but even then in 1993, Richie stood out as a maverick. His sets in the UK at that time were the stuff of legends: Lost, The Orbit, Full Circle. My first ever visit to America was in 1993, I stayed at Richie’s family home in Windsor, just across the border from Detroit, to document an event that he put on in a warehouse and it was a defining moment which when you look back, was packed with the people who are around him today in Berlin. That says a lot about him. The relevance to this is that even at a time when the original Detroit techno godfathers were slightly cynical about the media interest in Richie, he took me to seminal clubs like Heaven to hear the late Ken Collier (something that will live with me forever), he introduced me to Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, he just wanted to share his passion for the scene that inspired him. And looking back that also says a lot about him, it wasn’t about keeping international media for himself, he wanted to educate excitable, young journalists like me to ensure they got the history and facts correct, and to shine a light on the Detroitmovement, whilst of course expressing his own take on things musically. Will the interview phase me? Ask me again two minutes before we begin!”
So you are now an integral part of the Ibiza music world, your Pacha magazines are stupendous. What’s the attraction of this Balearic white island…?
“Thanks for the compliment. I first went to Ibiza in 1993, and I still haven’t moved there. I love dipping in, and dipping out. I need the buzz of a big city to be honest, and whilst I’ve spent large amounts of time in Ibiza and Miami, I need the bigger cities for the bigger picture. That said, I take great inspiration from seeing how content my IMS partners Danny, Simeon and Mark all are living there and still feeling as inspired by their work as I do. Ibiza is something that brings so many of us together, it gets you in the end, something that’s exemplified by somebody like Richie Hawtin who had terrible first experiencs on the island back in the mid-nineties and now adores it. In my own case, Ibiza struck me down on my first visit, I’d never seen anything like it. My circle of friends back then wanted to go to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, and I did reluctantly, until A Short Film About Chilling on Channel 4 changed my life and I made a friend come with me to Ibiza. He was destroyed on day three, I carrried on for eleven more nights, meeting Jose Padilla, Phil Mison, Darren Emerson, going to Pacha and Amnesia, just being inspired day after day, night after night. Like so many like me, I must be on my 200th trip to Ibiza now which equates to over £60,000 in Easyjet flights to the island. What more do you need to know?”
What do you think of the current state of the record industry in the UK?
“Pass. OK, I’ll answer it. I can speak for our own label Sunday Best which I run with Rob da Bank and Sarah Bolshi, that after ten years of graft, the label is making more money than it has since its inception which I put down to better A&R from Rob, but also being a better run business that is not tied to selling units or charting pop hits, but sticking to what it believes in and finding new forms of revenue and treating them as our main source of income – syncs in particular. I think the whole beauty of the IMS, and the reason industry legends like David Enthoven are attending, is that they can learn from our industry and vice versa. The electronic industry by its nature be light on its feet, it’s quick to react, we embrace technology, we’re the genre that can lead change. The UK is the same as anywhere else in the world, these are scary times, but as they say, the greatest fear is fear itself, and we hope the unifying feel of the IMS can help people through bad times.”
Is Spanish radio still shit?
“Ibiza radio has traditionally been poor, but in recent years Global and now Sonica both play important roles in directing party goers to the right events on the island. We admire Sonica a lot, they are partners with us this year, we feel their ethos is very close to the thinking of the partners within the IMS. As for mainstream Spain, I couldn’t tell you but Ibiza’s media is improving period and should be encouraged.”
What are yo most looking forward to at IMS 2009?
“I love the debate, I love the banter, I enjoy seeing people get passionate about their work, and I love the business of doing business. Anybody who is making their way to Ibiza to enjoy our content agenda is inspiring to me, that people trust our judgement, that people seem happy to roll with our timetable of events. A lot of people feel nervous about talking to their bosses and convincing them to let them attend because it’s in Ibizaand people see to find it funny when you mention business and the island in the same sentence. But IMS:08 was a focused business event, and we aim to keep it that way. The world does not need another Miami Winter Music Conference, they do that very well, what it does need is a Back to Business ethos to help shape the future of electronic music culture.”
What are the best Ibiza…
Restaurants?
“Es Caliu for rustic local food. Pacha restaurant to rub shoulders with your music community. Las Dos Lunas for the setting and the stars above. And Giardinetto for Italian fare with rose wine for lunch.”
Bars?
“El Privado at El Ayoun remains my most enjoyable environment. But I hope in 2009 to see some new additions, and we know of one very special one not too far from the IMS event…”
Beaches?
“I rarely get to the beach due to work pressures, and a difficult case of vitiligo which means I have to shelter from it. Which makes spending time in Miami and Ibiza very difficult, but makes me read more, and work more! I think I developed it in Ibiza from sleeping it off in the sun all day, and now I pay the price, but a small one in all honesty.”
Amazing you now have the backing of the Consell Insular d’Evissa…
“We’re very proud to have them on board. The President of Ibiza attended last year, and it was a true honour that we’d created such interest so early on. To have them as official partners is a testament to their understanding of the importance of dance culture, and to the hard work of my IMS partners on the island who have worked so hard to ensure the understanding is there and the relationship developed. We hope to do many things together with them. Whilst our reason for the IMS is about the international business community, we take very seriously being in Ibiza and being respectful of its creative industry.”
Tell us about your new venue where the event is based…
“Five-star hotel in Ibiza? Does it really exist? Well this is as close as it gets to the kind of palatial palaces we’ve enjoyed in Miami over the years. I have to say it has a special feel around the pool, something which takes me back to the Fountainbleu in Miami in terms of its intimacy, but with a modern contemporary South Beach feel, minus the dead bodies buried underneath (allegedly!).”
What was the best night you had in Ibiza 2008…
“Minus night at Cocoon towards the end of the season. Incredible event, I love the way Sven appears from the VIP for the last record out of respect for the DJ when he’s not playing, just the whole vibe of being locked into the future sound of our music world. And then the legendary after-party, with Sven, Magda, Richie etc. And playing Connect 4 in the dark at 10pm with Konrad Black who I have to say very quickly put me back in my box. Happy, Happy times.”