Last week I finally got to check out Ibiza! Funny enough not as a DJ but rather for my day-time job as a TV producer. Dodge have a new car titled "Caliber" and looks like a mini-hummer but small and well priced. Got to Ibiza via Paris and Madrid on a rainy day (I guess it is still April after-all). Snapped some pictures of the billboards on the streets.
The Daimler-Chrysler company had hosted us at Pacha's "El Hotel" a very kinky, sexy, kama-sutra style place. They did a product presentation at no other than the Pacha Club itself! Test-drove the car, shot the stuff to camera with one of the guys I work with at GearOne, then had time to spend with my good friend Nicole. She showed me around town, especially the OLD TOWN where all the action happens in the summer. The season doesn't start until June, but you can FEEL the positive energy across the Island- like the Spanish people that live there- they don't speak english but smile at you when you talk to them anyway. How friendly!
The Amazing Hotel:
El Divino:
Pacha During the Day:
Pacha w/. Sara Main (Ammanians should recognize her)
Later on with Andy Baxter:
I got a great feel for the place and will know how/where/when to go/come/pass out when we go back in the summer. Did you know Ibiza airport is known for having the highest number of passengers missing their flights? Well, kinda makes sense since it's so hard to leave!
Ibiza Town:
Got back to Dubai Thursday morning after doing the return Madrid-Paris-Dubai route.
Thursday night was hyped to be the biggest club night we've ever had at Peppermint in it's current location at the Fairmont, and that was just speculation!
Came down to check the set-up around 6 and helped set-up the DJ booth (2 CDJ-1000, DJM-800 & 3 of PvD's Laptops running Serato + Backup, and Ableton Live) and after-party in one of the penthouse suites. ($5000 a night to rent!)
Even as early as 8pm people were queued up in the hundreds to get tickets.
The doors were going to open at 10pm and I was still at the hotel at 8:45!
Ran home to get my stuff and got stuck in traffic on the way back- typical in Dubai these days. 10:15 still stuck in traffic, getting calls from the organizers that "we have to open the doors, where are you? Yella hurry!"
At that moment I was actually right behind the hotel but still stuck!
10:20 ran parked and ran towards the club entrance which was PACKED like it normally is at midnight!
Continued upstairs, immidiatly switched the players on and played my first track so the doors can open.
The place filled up by the end of that first track!
Had a fun 2 hour set, def my fav 2 hours yet in Dubai, including 16 Bit Lolita's Sedna, Till West, Raul Rincon, Spirit Catcher and Baeka:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otXu8Evyj0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHLfUk3bIB4
(just a note, the DJM-800 is the best alternative to the Xone92, and had so much fun working with it- much better than the DJM-1000 thanx to the filters on each channel!)
PvD got on promptly at 12:30 after being swiftly covered by a shirt so the crowd don't hassle him on the way in. The place was pumping:
Snapped a pic with him before he got LR'd:
and he did his thing:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObuKrad2Rl8
There was a power failure cause some VIP freak tripped on a cable in the back that triggered a short-circuit. The sound system was still on, but PvD's Serato box went off. He refused to play a CD- that casued a 5-minute break of silence and sweaty people (even Beirut doesn't experience power-failures like that).
As expected there were more people than the security were able to handle- no fights broke out that I noticed or heard of, just that idiot that fell off his table crushing a LED light and causeing the power failure.
I'm sure you all can ID tracks better than me, but of what I heard:
(right after the power cut) The Drill- (some re-edit he has)
For An Angel
Who is watching
Advanced
Other Side
The Egg- Walk Alone (tocadisco mix that I actually played before the end of my set a few hours earlier)
For and Angel
Was a huge night with over 3,500 people, and 1,200 turned away due to capacity.
Friday night Stamina was in town to play after me @ Peppermint.
The night started a little bit later since most people were at the Robbie Williams concert- nevertheless by 12 the place was moving in the right direction. I really get annoyed when people say "earlier you played boring stuff, then you got better" well if the place is empty your not going to play peak-hour anthemic stuff... it's all about building up and breaking down.
Anyway, Stam came in at 12:30 to drop off his CDs & stuff. Vodka chugging! Stamina finished about 1/2 the bottle by the time he got on at 1:30. If I drink and play I'd be lost in a deep lake in some tropical island playing a gypsy guitar... RESPECT the tolerance!
Anyway, Stam came in at 12:30 to drop off his CDs & stuff. Vodka chugging! Stamina finished about 1/2 the bottle by the time he got on at 1:30. If I drink and play I'd be lost in a deep lake in some tropical island playing a gypsy guitar... RESPECT the tolerance!
12:45
Stamina played tech-prog-bleep house that was okay, but (don't be offended) the crowd weren't responding to it. The Lebanese Ravers that showed up were pumping in the front, but no idea what was happening in the middle or back- the club started to empty out at 2am. Normally the club is relativly packed until 2:45.
A few trainwrecks and distorted EQ'd, high-resonance filtered tracks later it was over. Those few that stayed loved it, others walked out pissed off.
2:20:
Had a convo with a Lebanese friend that said "stamina's music is too sophisticated for The Dubai crowd"... I have nothing to comment on that except I've seen lots of DJs (Sanchez, Lawler, Seaman, Klienenberg...) play all kinds of stuff from Drum & Bass to Ambient and progressive-tech to the crowd here and the crowd were VERY responsive... people in Dubai are not THAT oblivious. (again not to be offended- I was listening to feedback from the proggy heads of the city that I encouraged to come listen to Stamina, they were very bored)
Anyway nice having a Lebanese DJ Stamina try something different- lots of support from the LR crew at Peppermint and I'm sure there was a great after-party.
So over-all highlight of the week was def PvD@Peppermint. Very freindly guy, very modest in the head and excellent job of delivering no less than exactly what was "mind-blowing" to the Dubai crowd, that continue to improve their spirit and unity (even thoguh were talking about 40 nationalities partying together here)
Now it's a BREAK before Carl Cox on May 5th@ Peppermint Dubai and May 6th@ BIEL in Beirut.
Enjoy the spring season.. leading up to the summer!
