More more more! From Ibiza to Brazil to Tunisia for the biggest beach DJ in the world
Welcome back to DMC Gee. Exciting news about the new 1500 capacity open air Bora Bora venue in Tunisia opening up in two weeks. How did this exciting development begin?
“Hi DMC! It’s nice to be back with you. Yes the new club is incredibly exciting, there’s a real happy vibe going around between all the members and supporter of Bora Bora. It started with an e-mail request from a very nice guy called Noomen who is the venue artistic manager. It’s a very good looking venue and on viewing Noomen’s DJ wish list, it showed that he knew his stuff – there were some great DJ’s/producers who are at the front of todays new house styles and so I know he is in tune with Bora Bora very much. All of that is of course very important when forging new partnership that evolves around a music and club concept.”
Promo video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO8uD2jYocI&feature=plcp
How has the Tunisian revolution and liberalisation change things in 2010/2011…
“I think I’m not the best person to answer that question really, I wasn’t there before or during the revolution. I was of course more than interested like many people. It was the start in many ways of the wave of peaceful revolution that is starting to change things all over the world. I hope that wave continues as of course the current problems of the world need to be addressed. I am part of the Zeitgeist movement so I have a lot to say and many answers on that subject mainly concerning a resourced based economy, Now the people of Tunisia have started to take their future in their own hands they have a real chance to make their own destiny. Concerning what has happened in the country I think that Noomen is in a better position to answer that question as he is from there and part of the revolution…
Noomen: “After the revolution we now have more freedom than before, everyone has their own right to do whatever they want in the right way without loosing their rights to others. This is how I saw Tunisia after revolution. I see now the economic situation like in the rest of the world is difficult of course but its in our hands to make the future.”
Tell us about the venue, it’s location and the sound system etc.
“The venue has a capacity of between 1500 and 2000 people. It’s close to the beach so although it’s not a beach club It is very spacious open-air night club. I always enjoy dancing under the stars J. There are large podiums and the venue has a Lineaire (Eighteen Sound) sound system.”
Who are going to be the residents at the club, how regularly will you be in Tunisia?
“The resident is Meher who is a local DJ. I will be there on the 14 July to play the last party before Ramadan. I am of course split between Brasil, running the Bora Bora music label and performing on the World tour, so I will try to be at the Tunisian venue as often as possible.”
What is the music scene like in Tunisia?
“From what I can tell it’s the same as the rest of the world. There’s the commercial end of course and then there are others that understand good music. Like everyone in the world they love to party.”
Noomen says: “We are influenced by all those of new scene of music like Nu disco and Deep house.”
“I am in agreement with Noomen especially with Deep house, I personally don’t have much of an opinion of Nu Disco but I do know that he understands very well what works over there and I am very confident that he will always book the best quality and creative Dj’s for the venue.”
Tunisia is only a short dinghy paddle to Ibiza. Any plans to return to your spiritual home?
“Yeah I’m getting closer. Now things are settled here in Brasil it feels like a good time to have a venue on the Mediterranean coast again. I don’t know if I would attempt a dinghy paddle across to Ibiza although that would be some boat party. It’s on my list to get to Ibiza at some time as I have a lot of catching up to do with old friends that I’ve missed a lot since last time.”
You travelled to Ibiza a few years ago but admitted you kept your head down at the villa with your laptop! How hard was that not venturing out into the madness?
“I haven’t been there for about 6 years now I think. It was quite easy not to go too crazy that summer as I had a lot of projects to focus on. It was a Mac G5 actually that I worked on most the time, not really the sort of thing you can carry around in your bag. I managed to get a lot of tracks started on the computer mainly working with Pigbwoy and Patrick Levy. I finished off the tunes in both their studios they have on the island, the tracks were finished just in time to be included on that years Bora Bora compilation ‘Bora Bora Black White Beach’. I also made a new version of the Bora Bora web site while there and even managed to play a couple of villa parties and hang out with old friends. There were 4 girls, all dancers, and myself living in the house that summer so it wasn’t quite the relaxing stay I thought it would be. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to say goodbye to the Island for a while.”
Looking from afar, what are your thoughts on Ibiza in 2012? 80 euros a ticket, Madonna being offered half a million quid to perform at Ushuaia…the place seems to be on fire again.
That’s crazy, I must take that as a rhetorical question because with the likes of Pop queen Madonna, and Guetta at prices of 80 euros etc I’d call that a joke of course and very sad, it’s a pop circus and nothing to do with the scene that we all loved there before.
It’s the second year since you officially opened the new home of Bora Bora in Santa Catarina Brazil: has it gone to plan…
“As you can imagine an immense amount of hard word and dedication has gone into getting the new home of Bora Bora up and running. Now after the end of our 2nd year we can really get some perspective on how things are. We are very happy to see such great improvements and progression that have surpassed our expectations. Last year was really all about getting people to know we are here. We were quick to see where any problem areas were and make corrections and changes as fast as possible. The venue is so unique and beautiful that the word soon spread through the close season and the scene was set up perfectly for our 2nd year. What was most impressive was to see so many people returning many times, this was a great indication that we were doing things right and that people liked the experience. Actually daytime clubbing here in Brasil is a relatively new concept but they are catching on fast. There are some other great beach clubs here as well so we are very happy about also.”
What have been some of the highlights?
“We have had some fantastic guest DJs, including Nick Warren, Leyo & Bushwacka who came back for more a 2nd time, Ricky Ryan, Christian Smith, Ernesto Ferreyra as well as some great Brasilian artists such as Anderson Noise, Fabricio Pechanha, Emmy, Aninha etc. I was also very impressed by the two Brasilian resident DJ’s of Club Vibe known as Rolldabeetz. They played a great set and look so happy that they challenged me for who has the biggest smile. There are some amazing Brasilian DJ’s, Emmy and Aninha are well worth hearing if you get a chance. I took up surfing this year also, I’d go out just in front of Bora Bora where we have some really good waves rolling in. It felt great to do that just before playing my sets, it gets you in a great mood.”
How conscious were you of being an outsider – tell us the story about bumping into people within five minutes on the beach…
“I am conscious of it only when asked about it Dan! After all it’s not the first time I have lived in a country outside of the UK. I like to think that the world is one, we are only separated by nationalities, invisible boarders and crazy traditions that are all man made in the first place, so what’s to be concerned about? I have a lot of friends here that I made in a short space of time. They are all very cool and I have learnt a lot from them all. They like English speaking people here for some reason and always try to speak it however little they know. In Brasil there’s the largest population of Asians outside of China. In this area most of the people are 1, 2, or 3 generations away from Italian and German decedents.
The woman that helped me with my papers here told me that in this area 300 or so people from the UK move here each year and with this being the number one destination for Argentinean holiday makers it has pretty much a cosmopolitan feel to the place anyway. I do speak the language now but still I understand even more than I speak. I have for the last year tended to become a bit of a recluse as I love the nature here as well as making music in my studio most of the time. So I’m now making an effort to get out a bit more. I also started to surf now and so that helps to meet more people to converse with. The first time I came to Brasil I remember being on the beach in front of Warung club; There were some small beach bars playing house music, one was even playing a CD mix of mine so I felt quite at home. Within half an hour 4 different people from 4 different directions that recognized had came up and asked what I was doing there? “Was I going to make Bora Bora there” etc. That kind of sealed the deal in that one afternoon.”
Why did you pick Brazil as opposed to somewhere closer to home?
“As the song goes, wherever I lay my hat that’s my home. I had considered places like Italy and Croatia at first, but I felt at that time that Bora Bora and I needed a real change. I don’t think anywhere else around Europe would have been enough for me at that time. I was fortunate enough to have a Bora Bora world tour set up that continued for a couple of years. It allowed me to spend some months in places I thought could possibly be right for Bora Bora. I also stayed longer in places where I got to do other things that were on my wish list, such as exploring and even acting, I was fortunate enough to get a taste for it in Hollywood. I spent almost a year in the USA altogether. I’m happy that Brasil was the last place on the list of realistic locations for Bora Bora that I’d visited because I had a lot of adventures in other parts of the world getting there, I saw and I learnt a lot but there was never any doubt though once I arrived in Brasil that that was the place for the new home of Bora Bora.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
Matthias Heilbronn & Joeski – Equal Rights & Justice
Slam – Azure (Carl Craig C2 Remix)
Nick Warren – Holding On
Dean Demanuelle – Secret
Pig & Dan / Mark Reeve – Expand
Gee Moore – Good Lines
Christian Smith – Pressure Point
Hernan Cattaneo & Amp – Soundexile -Japanese Snowbell (Manuel Sofia Rmx)
Subb-an & Adam Shelton – Electra
Gee & Alan Prosser – War Like People
How are the radio programmes going…
“Dave Gallier, Alan Prosser (SLR), Dan Ferritto (SLR) and myself are making shows for Manchester Global (MGR), dance digital and Pulse. We have a good set up and more recently have aired live mixes recorded from Bora Bora and on the tour. We have had some great guest mixes and interviews including ones from Leyo & Bushwacka and Nick Warren. This year we were deeply saddened that Dean Laidler who was part of the radio and tour team finally lost his fight against cancer. Although he had suffered a long time with the illness and in fact beaten it back 3 times over the years it was still an immense shock that he passed away, he was so strong in personality and confidence I always thought that he would beat it in the end. He is missed very much by all of us, he was a great man I am a better person for having known him.”
And finally – are you playing in the UK this summer?
“No not at the moment, we are waiting for conformation of some offers but nothing set as yet. I will be in Prague though on the 18 July and the tour will also go to Switzerland in August at Queens club Zurich.”
http://www.boraboraworld.com/boraboraworld/Bora_Bora_Sousse_Tunisia.html
www.boraborabrasil.com
www.boraboramusic.com
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