The guvnor! Ushuaia and Hard Rock resident supremo
Interview : Dan Prince
Paul welcome to DMCWORLD dude, it’s nearly Closing Party time…how are you feeling?
“Hiya Dan thanks for having me!! It’s a mixed bag of feelings really at this time year, I am looking forward to some rest and family time but also I know when it’s over I will miss it lots as it’s been such an amazing season for me.”
Okay let’s rewind, let’s find out how a lad from the Wirral can end up as a resident DJ at two of the world’s biggest venues and guesting at some of the finest club nights on the island. What prompted the move here in the first place?
“A turn of events in England led my wife and I to thinking life is too short, so we decided to put our house up for sale and follow our dreams!! So forward on a year, we had packed up the car and moved to Ibiza – crazy when we think back because we are not that adventurous to be honest. Anyway before I moved out here I had sorted a DJing job out with a guy I used to book for my nights back in the UK, this was in a club called The Basement in San Antonio where I remained for the first season. The following year I landed the job at the legendary San An venue Plastik where I played for four seasons, for these jobs I will always be grateful as it paid for us to live here for the first few years…but for me I was getting more and more frustrated with not being able to express myself musically as you are pretty confined to playing all the big hits in these venues which works amazing for them and the crowd they attract, but soon becomes quite tedious having to play pretty much the same tracks every night!! So into my third year at Plastik and during the winter I was round at my friends Jamie Gittins’ house recording a radio show playing some funk, jazz disco etc. and we spent a great day playing loads of our favourite music for hours after the show was finished. When I got home that evening I got back on my decks and recorded a mix with some of the tracks we had been playing that day, I then sent it over to him and he passed it onto Mr Doris who loved it!! Forward on a couple of months and I got an email from Doris saying he would like to book me to play at his night ‘After Dark’ for We Love at Space!!! This for me was the most amazing email I have ever had!! I couldn’t stop crying (big baby I know), but it meant that much to me as all I ever wanted was to play Space. My dream had come true. So after that I was contacted by Charlie from Space asking me whether I would like to become resident for Kehakuma playing alternative music on the Sunset Terrace, this was such an amazing booking for me and a massive outlet to be able to vent myself musically!! So move into June that year and I was still playing at Plastik but also had the Kehakuma parties under my belt, I received a phone call from Lesslee the booking agent from Ushuaia asking me to warm up for the SHM party there. Dan, I couldn’t believe it. Yet again another dream coming true…playing at Ushuaia!! So after the gig Yann and Leslee asked me to be the weekly resident for the parties and a couple of weeks later Mark Herman from Pooldisco asked the same…that party was SO MUCH FUN…so ahead of it’s time for Ibiza. Next came an end of season booking for Space for the Closing Party which turned out to be a great night in the El Salon room where I have now been playing at every Opening and Closing for the past couple of years!! It’s like the best house party you will ever go to in there, I absolutely love it!! So after an amazing summer that year I didn’t think things could get any better until I received a phone call asking me to come down to Ushuaia for a meeting with Yann and Leslee where I was asked to become resident for the new Ushuaia Tower!! Again, I was so excited and lost for words after the meeting. And yes I did tell Yann’s PA that I loved her, I was that excited. Since then things have gone from strength to strength with Ushuaia and Space and now this year taking on the Hard Rock residency I am very privileged indeed!! Also finally working for such a lovely bunch of people now who are so dedicated to bringing the best parties to the island and believe in me 100% musically, it’s a great place to be in!! I will never forget what Charlie, Leslee, Yann and Doris have done for me!!! Dreams can definitely come true people!!”
There will be a lot of wanna be Ibiza DJs reading this who will want to know whether it was difficult in the early days…did you ever feel like throwing in the towel?
“Yes it was difficult in the early days, but I always remember some advice Sam Divine gave to me when I first moved here. She said ‘always believe in the music that you play and the crowd will believe in you’. And this is so true…stick to what you believe in and don’t let anyone knock your confidence. Remain professional, be yourself, put the hours in and don’t expect to be an overnight success. And eventually, if you’re doing something right, someone will hear what you’re doing and give you a break!!”
An interesting interview with you in one of the Ushuaia magazines this summer where you – reading between the lines- said that the problem a lot of up and coming DJs wanting to make it in have, is that everyone wants to play the same thing and don’t have a good knowledge of the history of dance music and the tracks. Can you elaborate…
“I speak to a lot of new DJs who come to the island as I always try and help them out or point them in the right direction. But a good majority of the time they are just only focused on playing the one type of music which always seems to be Deep House or Tech House or the sound that’s in at the minute!! and yes while its good to have a passion for one genre but I find that being more flexible with what you play will stand you in good stead for getting a job over here!! It will also make you a much better DJ having a big passion for lots of different music old and new which you can draw on through your sets!! If you look at all the top residents over here like Sean Hughes, Mr Doris, Clara Da Costa, Andy Baxter, Jason Bye, Graham Sahara etc. they can all play the most beautiful music at sunset or get there groove on in a club warming up or going on after a wide variety of DJs. Each one with a passion for all things music not just the big sounds which are in trend right now!!”
2014 – the world is now officially Ibiza crazy. The island made the news for all of the wrong reasons in July when Steve Angello, Paul Oakenfold and Afrojack were interviewed on Radio 1 claiming that Ibiza had become too expensive, too VIP and had lost it’s mystique. Most of us who live on the island have different opinions on this, what’s yours…?
“My opinion on this is that Ibiza has something for everyone from secret little beach parties to cool little clubs like the Underground and great nights like Wax Da Jam – it’s all here for us if we want it!! That is the magic of Ibiza if you want to go out VIP style it’s there, if you want to buy some beers and go and sit on Benniras beach and listen to the drummers it’s also there. Variety is the spice of life, people get too hung up on pulling the Island down, we have to evolve and move forward or we will get left behind by other countries!! We can’t survive on love and water!! Although it’s a nice thought!!”
What have been the biggest 5 tunes of Ibiza 2014…
“For me my biggest tracks have been and in no particular order…
1.Toto Georgie Porgie – Klark Kent Edit
2.Joan Of Police Women – Holy City – Derek Kaye and Great Wilson Remix
3.Kolsch – Cassiopeia
4.Louis Benedetti – Hammonized
5.Justin Vandervolgen – Talking Jungle
Ushuaia and Hard Rock 2014, fuck me where to start? You have had the pleasure of playing warm up sets for some of the biggest stars in the world. Give us a sentence on the highlight / experience playing with…
Chic and Masters At Work
A dream gig working with absolute legends, Nile was a true professional and gent!! And I always enjoy working with Louie!! One of the Highlights of the summer)
UB40
Red Red Wine!!! Loved it!!
Jason Derulo
He was a real entertainer who partied it for his fans
Neneh Cherry
Great artist
Tinie Tempah
He smashed it
Robin Thicke
Short and Sweet
Ellie Goulding
An amazing performance
Snoop Dogg
This was a massive night for us, one we will never forget!! The Snoop definitely did his thing!!
Pitbull
Partied it up for his fans
Placebo
One of my highlights of the season for me DJ wise as it was a real test warming up for a rock crowd. Loved every minute of it though and Placebo where amazing!!
Who was the coolest and un-coolest of the lot?
“The coolest was definitely Nile Rogers. He is a very cool dude!! And I wouldn’t like to say anyone was uncool really as to each artists fans they are the coolest things in the world!! We have had a great time with them all.”
One date I know you are looking forward to is the Closing Of Space with the likes of Carl Cox and Disclosure. Why is this such a special date on the Ibiza calendar?
“Space opening and closing parties have always signaled the official start and end of the Ibiza party season and the club always pulls out all the stops to create the best party!! There is always a special magic in the air i cant quite explain it but if you have ever been yourself you will know what I mean!!”
Paris Hilton earning $200,000 a pop at Amnesia. Thoughts…
“Lucky her I say!! I don’t really have any thoughts about the whole Paris Hilton debate!! If you don’t like it or not like the money she gets paid, then don’t go to the club on that night…go and have a great night somewhere else!!”
Ibiza’s most unsung hero…
“My wife Fay for sure as she had stood by me and been my number one fan since day one!! She has the patience of a saint!!”
How has it been up in the Tower this summer?
“The Tower has been a bit different this year as there is no regular parties anymore, it’s become a great little almost private party kind of vibe!! I love playing there as I can play anything I want, some days playing a funk set other days disco other days house and there’s alway an interesting crowd with a wide variety of people.”
Clockwork Orange came back with a bang in July, ripping it up at Es Paradis and Sands starring Healy, Peasy, Blocko and co. There is much debate whether a Clockwork weekly would work on the island again or whether they should come back with a one off again. What do you think?
“Yes I heard it was a great night!! And really nice to see a legendary night returning to the island and working so well!! As for a weekly thing happening, I couldn’t really say – but if they think the demand is there why not give it a go!!”
It seems every celebrity and their mother has been partying here this year; Madonna, Bieber, Rihanna and Kanye West have all been spotted out and about on the white isle in recent weeks. Is all this celebrity action good for the island or is it inevitable with all the attraction of Ibiza?
“It’s inevitable!! Ibiza is such an amazing place – of course the celebrities are going to want to be part of it!! And yes, it is good for us…it means the island is a must go place to go worldwide and that we are doing something right!! Everyone want a piece of the Ibiza magic!!”
Aside from sunset strip and Ocean Beach, San Antonio has had an absolute nightmare this year. Bars closing every week, the whole Gatecrasher disaster, the West End looking like a ghost town. The writing was on the wall a long time ago for the town, especially with how Bossa has exploded. Is there any way back for one of our favourite clubbing towns?
“I think San An has been in need of a revamp for a long time if you look at the places like Ocean Beach, Plastik, Bar M and the bars on the sunset strip etc. They have all kept up with the times spending money on there places, this is why they are still busy whereas a lot of the bars in town just rested on their past success and have now fell by the wayside!! Bossa is having a lot of money spent on it and I think San An needs to follow suit to give the tourists what they want…or things sadly could get worse for the town.”
In your opinion, out of all of the weekly Ushuaia events, what artist has grabbed the trophy this summer?
“For me, it’s not one of the massive artist parties that we’ve had on this year, it’s a night that stands to grab the trophy for the summer for all the right reasons. This is the Ants party! It has grown from strength to strength, always delivering amazing music and a really good organic party vibe!! Brilliant.”
The song that will always remind you of Ibiza?
“Grace Jones ‘La Vie En Rose’ is a magic tune, just like the island.”
The best DJ set of the summer you witnessed…
“I always love watching Nic Fanciulli. He always delivers on the dancefloor!! Also Mr Doirs causes a storm every time he plays, he is one of my favorite DJs who can mix anything and still retain a groove!!”
Rumour mill time. We hear you have been creating some new music, what are your next release plans…?
“Yes I am working on some bits in the Ushuaia studio at the minute with their amazing engineer Javier. We have finished one track and have another couple on the go which should be completed in the next few weeks!! So watch this space for an EP coming soon!!”
Tell us about winter in Ibiza…
“Ibiza winter time is very beautiful. It takes on a whole new life almost, it’s a time for relaxing, having long walks on the beaches and even longer lunches with friends that turn into evenings and sometimes mornings again. It’s an amazing place with everyone that lives here who all of the same mindset…enjoying life to the max, working hard, partying hard if they wish and not conforming to every day living!! We are a bunch of very nice misfits I would say!!”
And finally, what has been your highlight of summer in Ibiza 2014…?
I will have to have a 3 for this one. The first was playing the closing set on the Sunset Terrace at Space’s 25th Anniversary – it was a very special night and something I could only of dreamt of when I was younger! The second was playing after Sasha at the Hard Rock party and the 3rd warming up for Placebo at the Hard Rock party and doing a rock set, something very different for me but a gig that I will always remember!! And to be honest, every time I go to work at Ushuaia or Space is a highlight for me, it’s like I have won the lottery every day.”
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