How to conquer Ibiza in 4 days…

Before i got to the island I was cautious, excited and somewhat nervous. The second time will always be very different to the first time, last time i went with Roger, Lea, Tinky & a group of people, this time i’m leaving alone, meeting The fishes and exiting alone – what will it be like?

Oh well, I was about to find out…

Heading on a train journey to Gatwick Airport to meet Ray to take the next flight to Ibiza was a great journey – its so happened that the day I left, the worldwide edition of DJ MAG hit the shelves – I have religiously followed DJ mag my whole life, and this one was VERY special, it had my remix of Goldfish – Soundtracks & Comebacks on the mix, I didn’t believe it until I had it in my hands! OH MY FUCK! What a feeling! This was DEFINITELY the start of one good trip!

Getting on the plane, Ray and I headed off into the Sunset, we met an Indian/ Australian vegetarian lady who was also flying to Ibiza and was an old Hippy and tried to keep feeding us Carrots, Humus & chick pea falafel Balls…

anyway..

Touchdown (you have landed in Ibiza) The plane goes wild! Everyone literally stood up and started clapping – what a feeling! I forgot to mention i Chris Lake (who i brought out to tour South Africa before) and Sander Klienenberg were on the same flight! So we chatted and I gave them some new productions… AWESOME!

Right, border control (luckily i have an EU passport so everything was cool) Get in the car, go to the flat, Get showered, dressed and ready for Pacha With The Swedish House Mafia With Axwell, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Special Guest… Chris Lake & Sarah Main… I got schooled quickly in terms of club promotions… The theme this year for the SHM is The Dark Forest so the whole club is dressed up like a dark forest with Transvestites, midgets, decor and madness all around you! There is also a WOLF Mirror ball that was especially created that rotates on the dance floor! Too amazing, Plus loads of merchandise – T-Shirts, vests, caps & more! We were there until 2am and then it was off to THE greatest nights & club nights in the WORLD… Cocoon @ Amnesia, the night has been running for 10 seasons now and this night was especially special as it featured the one & only (drum roll please) RICHIE HAWTIN! Plus JOSH WINK< FRANK LOBER and the almighty Cocoon legend himself SVEN VATH! HOLY FUCK! WHAT A NIGHT! the club was filled to capacity (8 000 people) with a 10 000 people que outside.. ON A MONDAY NIGHT! Yup! Entering the club you are hit with the most amazing feeling of energy, good music & international style, rhythm it is impossible to beat! We quickly make our way to the VIP terrace where i buy a round of drinks… 50 Euros for 2 Vodka Dry Lemon (YUP, that’s R700 for 2 drinks) but so worth it, you dont really need to drink that much as the music and vibe is so hot it keeps you SO occupied from start to finish! We moved around the main room to the terrace and listened to all the DJs… Although, there can only be one of the night… RICHIE HAWTIN>>> YOU ARE THE FUCKING KING OF KINGS! The most incredible set of techno music on the terrace i have ever heard! Last year i saw Ricardo Villalobos killing it but this year Hawtin absolutely SMASHED it! Wink was also amazing and played a great new rendition of higher state of consciousness (Wink was the first DJ i saw at a rave @ Sperminator in JHB 15 years ago) 7 AM… Time to go home! I hit the sack like a tom of bricks and wake up around noon.

We had a couple of meetings lined up that day, 1 @ Pacha and the second at a remote & private beach where we did a recee for Goldfish’s next gig, the beach is incredible & the last party that was there featured Groove Armada, we were met by a very cool Australian women and her 3 year old kid named Mila who have been living on the island for 4 years and runs a concierge type website offering Europeans options to do things on the island. So that was what the party was for…

A good meeting all round… then time to get some groceries for the house, head back & meet Dom & Dave @ The Flat, Dom got his beautiful new stand up bass… Very Nice!

That night we took things pretty easy… Dom & i went to hit IBIZA ROCKS to go and see the Enemy perform Live – what a great English band! They rocking the Europe Circuit & about to about to blow up world wide… LOOK OUT! Ibiza Rocks is a hotel in the middle of Ibiza that hosts live shows every night of the wee with the world biggest bands! The crowd is very young but fun (it was like being at a matric Rage) Loads of beer & madness,.. good fun! Dom and i had a good long chat and then headed off to Roger Sanches’s pre party @ Cafe Mambo – my favorite beach bar… It’s also Pacha’s pre-party chosen destination venue for all the DJs, so each night of the week they will have the DJs playing gat the clubs, doing a warm up @ Mambo… Cafe Del Mar, is really a well marketed CD release, the bar is nothing special really, Mambo Kicks it’s ass! What a cool evening! Then we headed off to see Fedde Le Grand’s Night New Life @ Pacha… Not impressed, Fedde is a good DJ but the night is lame, technically he is very good but tune selection is outdated and the response not great, im quiet intrigued how he got the night actually and will be interested to see if he gets it next year again… Personally i think there should be a Goldfish Submerged Tuesday’s night instead…

Early night and off to bed…

Wake up around noon again (body clock is set that way by now) and off to the fish shack… THE best place on Talamanca to get lunch! We shared 3 meals between Dom, Ray & Myself, Tuna, SeaBass & SeaBream. All Amazing! we swam in the ocean directly outside the restaurant, had an amazing lunch and ended it off with a HierBoss each (a local Ibizan shot … very nice) then we had to to get back to the flat to get ready for the Blue Marlin Gig! The Blue Marlin is voted the number 1 beach bar in the world and i understand why now, the most beautiful people i have ever seen , the most beautiful settin g, the music & sunset just right (wished the lady was with me) anyway a couple of mojitos & Hierbos and we good to go! Goldfish KILLED the show! We even had some Durbanites front row with Saffa flags flying high and screaming with cheers & love! After that was the night Jezzebel, which is Jade Jagger’s night (Mick Jaggers night) because it was a full moon, she throws these exclusive parties… WOW WHAT A FUCKING NIGHT!

Then, back to the flat… Get Showered & get ready for my last night on the island @ Pacha with… ERICK MORILLO, FRANKIE KNUCKLES, GOLDFISH & SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM… Watch out, its gonna be a large one!

We arrive around 2 am, Goldfish is on @ 2:30 in the Global room, then Sneaky Sound System, Frankie Knuckles is playing in the main room and then Erick Morillo on @ 3:30 in the main room. The Global room was quiet before Goldfish came on but within 2 songs the place was full and everyone was going bananas, like the they were playing in Kirstenbocsh or Sun Coast casino. Frankie Knuckles was playing an awesome Defected/ Subliminal style big room House set, we went onto the terrace with Mark Netto & Andy BAxter, Met Daisy (James Blunt sister) & had a couple of pots, the weather warm and the music was great!

It was now about 3:45, Morillo had just started so we went to visit him, the place was going off, he is an incredible party DJ and knows exactly how to play to the masses, the tunes were big and a obvious but smack on the money and the way Morillo delivers each mix reminds me of Stevie Wonder on the piano, a truly awesome showman!

A Lot of the time I was hanging out with Pacha resident DJ & touring DJ Andy Baxter, Mark Netto, The Fishes & a couple of Saffa mates

We danced around for a while, hooked up with some more Saffa’s, had a couple of pots and by that point it was about 6:45… club closing @ 7. 1 last tune and Morillo cleans up proper! I have a good chat to him after the show and we chatted about the CT gigs we did, nice to have a common ground, I spoke to him about our productions and he’s keen to listen which is always a step in the right direction! Mental Not ‘ Email Erick ASAP’

Right,

Time to head on home.. What a great night! Where is Goldfish & Ray? Oh Shit, they left 20 minutes ago because they couldn’t find me, luckily we live a 10 minute walk from the club, now the tricky part is… Left or right?! Shit, left lets go! It took me a 20 minute walk in the wrong direction to eventually realize I was very wrong, changed direction and headed in the right direction 30 minutes later It was like a lazer beam had struck! Dum Dum Dum… our flat! I remember Ray mentioning he had left the keys somewhere, but where?! Anyway let me knock and knock and ring the bell bell 1,2, 3 ,4 !! OPEN THE DOOR! Shit… the wrong person opened her door, our neighbor, this grumpy old Spanish women opened up from next door and started screaming at me in Spanish, I have no idea what she was saying, but she was pissed! Really pissed! Eventually Ray opened the door, thank the lord! I thought that mad Spanish women was going to beat me with a broom stick!

Time to sleep!

Last day in Ibiza, woke up around 3am, checking some mails, doing some blogging, twitter and all the other social shit and getting ready to hit The Old Town for a spot of Lunch & shopping before i have to hit the airport @ 8PM to catch my 11PM flight.

Old Town was great, caught the classic ferry from outside Café Sidney, which is around the corner from the flat. The Ferry ride is a beautiful little trip on the ocean from Talamanca to the old town, whilst on the boat you get to see all these multi million euro boats & lifestyle, it truly is something and then in the distance you see the old town, the first time you see it, it is like something out of Raiders of the lost ark from the distance but once you get to this sleepy, yet very sexy little town you are welcomed to the town loads of choices, from mad club stores selling tickets, CDs, clothing, other paraphernalia and more. Or you an enjoy a lunch (after the siesta of course, which is around 2 – 5PM).. That means between those hours no one is around, all the shops close, everybody takes a nap and gets ready for the next shift which starts at 5 or 6 and ends @ 5 or 6 am. The island life truly is amazing and just after 3 days you already get to feel it is perfectly normal to live like this.

I bought loads of good touristy stuff: A hat, dress, shorts, fans & clothes for the wife, a gift for my sister & music, DVD’s and a shirt for myself… all of course club related goodies.

The Ibiza trip for me is now the second year, I feel it’s important to come here and see what is happening in the world of international dance music in the heart of it all. The clubs, DJs, lifestyle, culture & everything attached to it is something that I feel I have been studying for my whole life but nothing in the world can prepare you for Ibiza the first time you hit that island, luckily, it was the second time, so the carnage was definitely reined in a bit and It gave me the chance to meet some incredible DJs, promoters, club owners & now new friends. I understand the business side of the island a whole lot more now and WOW there is PROPER money if you get it right. I have no plans on retiring to Ibiza anytime soon, although a good break for inspiration, good music, sun, sea, amazing food and world class clubbing I think I can handle once a year

Big up to the fishes & Ray for hosting me! Muchos Gracius Amigos! As I said and you can quote me from here on out… 1 year from now Goldfish WILL be headlining major UK festivals, as long as the boys keep their ear to the ground, their warmth, humbleness, hard work and stick to their guns, I don’t see anything stand in their way. Good luck Fishies! You deserve it all! Look out for a sneaky new remix by the way out soon…

Just got back to London, got a cab ride with a very cool Jewish guy named Mike, told me his one kid is a genius studying in Cambridge & the other just got nicked for selling ecstasy in a club… We spoke about travels and bits and bobs, turned out to be a good guy and decent cab ride home, right… lets see where my road will go next!