Magazine

ISSUE #31 Q4 2024 FREE. PACO OSUNA

02 A NEWHOTEL CONCEPT FOR A NEW PEOPLE CONCEPT. T H E R - P U B L I C O F A L L R Y A N S . E S

04 TEAM DIRECCIÓN TEO MOLINA - CEO FIESTA & BULLSHIT MARC RAHOLA - CEO OD GROUP DISEÑO Y MAQUETACIÓN JOSEFA CALERO REDACCIÓN JONATAN GUTIÉRREZ AMPARO MENDIETA PUBLICIDAD INFO@FIESTA&BULLSHIT.COM #06 wAFF #10 Paco Osuna #20 Mariadie Art #24 Héctor Castells #30 Lee Burridge #34 Yotu Meneo #36 Luxi Villar #44 Cinco amigos, una pasión. #52 DJ Oliver #56 Omakase #58 Ibiza Hippie Heaven #60 Kim Nolan #62 Sama Yax #64 David Morales #66 La Feria Club #72 Keinemusik

THANK YOU FOR THIS INTERVIEW, WAFF. LET’S START FROM THE BEGINNING, HOW DID ELECTRONIC MUSIC COME INTO YOUR LIFE? Electronic music came into my life quite early to be honest. I was about 15-16 years old. I was at Performing arts and dance college and my dance teacher took me and our dance class out for a night out to listen to house music. This was my first ever experience clubbing to house music and it completely blew me away. I loved it so much that I started going out to this same event every week listening to as much house music as I could. Eventually that led me to start DJing out at small events in the city and yeah that was the beginning of my whole journey with electronic music. 06 Jamie really supported me and still does to this day which I’m very grateful for. HOW WAS THE PROCESS OF MOVING FROM PLAYING IN SMALL CLUBS IN LEEDS AND HULL TO LARGE INTERNATIONAL STAGES? So, this felt like it happened overnight. I mean I was playing small clubs in Hull for a few years but I didn’t have a name for myself at that point. But when I moved to Leeds when I was 20-21. I got my first EP signed to Hot Creations and all of a sudden, I was playing some of the biggest clubs and festivals in the world overnight! It was amazing to experience that but at the The first person to ever give me a chance at playing in a club or at any event would be my good friend Terry Spammer who runs the main club scene in Hull the city where I grew up. He has an event called Deja-vu which was the party I would go to every week when I was younger to listen to house music. But as I started to release music and get noticed, Jamie Jones is the one person who really helped me. One of my very first shows outside of Hull was at DC10 for Paradise back in 2012, which as you could imagine, was a huge opportunity to play DC10 before Jamie Jones, it was dream come true. same time difficult to suddenly live a whole new life I wasn’t used to. HOW DID YOU HANDLE THIS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE? WAS IT DIFFICULT OR WAS IT A NATURAL PROCESS? It was really difficult to get organised and used to the touring lifestyle! I loved it but it wasn’t easy no. I still struggle with the life, the life is absolutely insane at times. It’s the most exhausting career it feels like most the time. As I’ve got older it’s definitely becoming harder to have the energy but at the same time, I still love it so it keeps me going. THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER, MANY PEOPLE HAVE SURELY BEEN IMPORTANT TO YOUR JOURNEY. WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO STEP INTO A DJ BOOTH AND SHOWCASE YOUR TALENT?

WHEN AND HOW WAS YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE IN IBIZA? I lived in Ibiza for the season for 5 years when I was younger. My first experience in Ibiza was when I was 20 years old, so 15 years ago now ha. It was amazing. I lived with all my best friends for the season, we would just party every night, barely ever sleep. Living in Ibiza for a young DJ / Producer Is beneficial as you get to meet so many DJ’s you can pass your music onto that could open up so many new doors and opportunities for you. It really is a great place to go and experience and live for some time. YOUR LABEL, NATURE, IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING AT THE MOMENT. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CREATE IT? WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN THE ARTISTS WHO PARTICIPATE IN IT? ‘LEAVING YOU’ IS YOUR NEXT RELEASE, THE TWELFTH ONE. WHERE DID YOU FIND THE INSPIRATION TO CREATE IT? BESIDES THE MAIN TRACK, THE OTHER TWO TRACKS, ‘UNDERBITE’ AND ‘FAT COUCH,’ ARE PURE DYNAMITE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THEM? As for ‘Underbite’ and ‘Fat Couch’, they are both brand new tracks I made for the EP and both just felt like really good tracks. Underbite has also been getting the same amount of support and love so I couldn’t be happier! Leaving you just released this month, and I couldn’t be happier with the response. Everyone has been really excited around the whole EP and I’ve been getting huge support from so many DJ’s its been really nice to see. I made leaving you 2 years ago and forgot all about it. I spent a whole day n to long ago going through all my old music and finding tracks I felt were good enough to go back to and finish off. As I’m playing around with sounds / samples and something works, I usually get a good feeling about tracks and ‘Leaving You’ was definitely one of them. Nature was something I wanted to create for a while but I had no mental space to even try begin work on it as I was just so busy touring and playing all over the world, it was hard to start working on such a huge project. But during covid when I had all that time off, it gave me the space mentally to start creating it which did take me a ling time. It took nearly 2 years to create it but it was such an amazing creative experience that was definitely difficult and hard work but really rewarding! I just wanted to have a platform to put out my own music and also help other new fresh artist showcase their music, also to get my favourite DJ’s on board too. Which I feel like it’s been going really well so far. In terms of music and artists, well first of all it comes down to the music. If I really love it and can see potential in the artist and their music, then I will be open to releasing with them. 07 My style has changed quite a lot now compared to what I used to play. I still play my known big room rolling tech house sound but I do pick and choose the right times for the music I play now. My music has gone more Housey at the moment I would say. My productions have gone that direction, and many of my recent sets have been more house music driven. But then sometimes I will play big room tech house… sometimes I will play more minimal. It all depends on the vibe of the party, the energy of the crowd and how they react. The UK and a lot of Europe are heavily into the new minimal/deep tech sound, and I love it so I tend to focus on that sound more now in the UK and some places in Europe! But if I play South America, I tend to play rolling, tribal tech house. It really is different every time I play! So I feel I’m in a good place with my music as I can play any genre and style so its good. It changes it up for me so its not always the same every show. THIS SUMMER YOU WILL BE PERFORMING ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT YOU WON’T MISS YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH IBIZA. YOU WILL BE IN THE DJ BOOTH OF DIFFERENT CLUBS, BUT IT WILL BE IN PARADISE WHERE WE CAN ENJOY YOUR MUSIC MORE OFTEN. WHAT WOULD YOU HIGHLIGHT ABOUT THIS PARTY? WHAT IS THE KEY TO ITS SUCCESS? Yeah Paradise is my main spot in Ibiza this year. I am playing many other nights, like Solid Grooves, Kaluki, Abode and more. But for Paradise its a family for me. I’m so close with all the DJ’s and staff so its always a special time to play there. And of course, to play Amnesia is just amazing experience every time. The crowd are always great energy ands vibes. I’m grateful to still be a big part of Paradise after all these years still. HOT CREATIONS HAS BEEN A KEY POINT IN YOUR CAREER. HOW DID YOU COME TO COLLABORATE WITH JAMIE JONES’S LABEL? I just sent my first music I was happy with to Richy Ahmed back in 20112012 as Richy was the only DJ I knew back then who I thought could help me out. He passed my music onto Jamie Jones and Jamie just signed me up right away. Jamie took my first EP which was called Rainbows and signed it to Hot Creations then I followed up with another EP Ibiza which Jamie took for HC again, plus I got to do some remix’s for the label, then from there I became a resident for Paradise so it happened really quickly but naturally. YOU ARE A VERSATILE ARTIST, ABLE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH DIFFERENT SPECTRUMS OF ELECTRONIC SOUND, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR STYLE?

09 Photo: Es Vedrá, Ibiza.

010 IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO CHAT WITH PACO OSUNA, AS HE IS AN ARTIST WHO OPENS HIS HEART IN EVERY ANSWER, WHO HOLDS NOTHING BACK, WHO DOESN’T GO WITH A PREESTABLISHED AND EMPTY NARRATIVE. IN THIS INTERVIEW WE TALKED ABOUT EVERYTHING, THE SUCCESS OF NOW HERE, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH IBIZA, HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY AND HIS 30 YEARS OF CAREER, AND OF COURSE WE WANTED TO KNOW HIS GENERAL VISION OF THE CURRENT ELECTRONIC SCENE. NEVER HAS SO MUCH BEEN SAID IN SO LITTLE TIME, SO TAKE NOTE OF PACO’S WISDOM AND SOAK UP HIS PHILOSOPHY: LIVE THE PRESENT LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW. PACO OSUNA

011 WE ARE BACK IN IBIZA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON SO IT’S MANDATORY TO TALK ABOUT THE ISLAND AGAIN. BUT IN ORDER NOT TO FALL INTO THE CLICHÉS OF WETHER IT IS OR IT’S NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE, WHETHER IT’S COMMERCIAL –OR HOWEVER YOU WANT TO SAY IT… IN TERMS OF MUSIC: DOES AN ARTIST HAVE TO ADAPT TO THE MUSICAL CANONS OF THE ISLAND OR CAN SOMEONE MAKE THE SAME MUSICAL DISCOURSED THAT IS MADE IN PARIS, TULUM, ROME OR LONDON? I ’ve always said that Ibiza conquers you. You can’t conquer a place that has had its own culture and essence for many generations. You can’t do it. There are many DJs who have tried to change the essence of the island and have fai led. You have to adapt to Ibiza. My great advantage is that I ’ve been working on the island since 1999, I ’ve been here for 25 years, and nobody has to tel l me what to do. When I started working at Amnesia, it was a very hard but very enriching process. As an artist, it made me understand how to make a dance f loor work. Ibiza has a personal ity, an identity, and that can’t be changed. In these 25 years, I ’ve experienced everything. As a resident of Amnesia, there were nights when I had to open the booth, open for the main DJ and then just be there as the person in charge of the booth. This opened my mind a lot and made me learn how to handle a dance f loor in any situation. In Ibiza I feel l ike a f ish in water because it’s what I grew up with as an artist, the island shaped me as a performer. HI PACO! IT’S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU BACK WITH US AT FIESTA&BULLSHIT. JUST A YEAR AGO WE WERE TALKING TO YOU HERE ABOUT HOW YOUR 2023 SEASON WAS GOING.... ONE YEAR LATER WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS 2024? WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU HAD DURING THESE 365 DAYS? The feedback is more than positive, every event gets better and better. The connection with the audience keeps growing and it makes me proud every time I finish a session to hear the audience shouting my name and to see many people with the NOW HERE tattoo. NOW HERE is not just a party I throw in Ibiza, it’s a movement that we try to export as a philosophy: live in the moment, here and now, because tomorrow you don’t know what’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen the way you have planned it. For me it’s very, very, very important to feel connected with the audience and to feel that what I’m doing is evolving, that it’s not static. NOBODY LISTENS TO AN IDENTICAL SESSION OF YOURS EVERY TUESDAY. WHAT IF THEY WERE TO GO TO OTHER PLACES WHERE YOU PLAY? No, they can listen to the tracks I play but never the same session. This is pure and simple mathematics: I play an average of 17 tracks per hour, every Tuesday I play about three and a half hours. Of those three and a half hours, out of 55 tracks I may repeat 10 from the previous week, maximum 15, but no more. It has to be like that, if I did the same selection of music and the same mixes every week or in every set outside the residency, it would be a replay, even if I did it really amazing or perfect mixes in the end it would be tiring to listen to the same thing over and over again. That’s why it’s very important to constantly renew the set. WE WERE TALKING, BEFORE THIS INTERVIEW, ABOUT THE LACK OF TIME AND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO COORDINATE GOING TO SOME CLUBS OR FESTIVALS. NOWADAYS SO MANY DJS PLAY THE SAME SESSION ALL SUMMER LONG SO SOMETIMES IT CAN GET BORING. With all due respect to other DJs: they are not Paco Osuna. It’s what you grow up with as a person, with the values you grow up with. I hate monotony. I can’t do the same thing two or three times, because repeating it no longer satisfies me. As an artist, and that’s something that represents me, I have to feel that what I do excites me because if it doesn’t excite me… How am I going to transmit that emotion to people? I have a formula: one day a week I listen to music (every week I get 1,300 to 1,600 tracks and from those I choose about 30 songs, if it’s a really good week, about 50 or 60), another day I prepare the set and that’s how I work. I’ve been doing it since I started DJing digitally, 15 or 16 years ago, and that’s my routine. On Fridays I download music, on Mondays I listen to it and on Tuesdays I get it ready for the set.

012 AND HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE REST OF THE GIGS YOU DO OUTSIDE IBIZA, DOES IBIZA INFLUENCE PACO’S SESSIONS OUTSIDE THE ISLAND? In musical terms it doesn’t affect me much because since I started the NOW HERE residency I decided to focus a 100% on the musical style that NOW HERE represents. If I am the biggest artist of the brand, its flagship, I can’t do one thing in Ibiza and something else outside the island because that would get the audience confused. Since I started NOW HERE I decided to focus on one sound. It’s my brand, my identity and it’s the musical concept that I like the most and I don’t want to create confusion, that’s why for the last three years I’ve only dedicated myself to that kind of sound. IS PACO AT HIS BEST RIGHT NOW? That’s a difficult question because everyone says “yes” and I honestly don’t think that this is the best moment of my career in terms of music production. I’ve had moments when I was producing when I was much more creative and had much more time to be in the studio. Before I could spend a whole week in my studio and I had more time to experiment and try new things. It is true that people may say I’m at my best. I am not really sure, but I do know that I am mentally at the most relaxed moment and that helps a lot. Life experience - I just turned 50 and I have been in the business for 30 years - helps me not to have so many insecurities. For example, before, when I had to play at a festival, I would prepare at least a month or two in advance. Next week I’ll be in Monegros and I haven’t prepared anything yet, but that’s because I’m sure of what I have to do. MONEGROS IS THE HARDEST FESTIVAL IN OUR COUNTRY, NOT ONLY FOR BEING THERE BUT ALSO FOR THE STYLES OF MUSIC YOU LISTEN TO. YOU HAVE LIVED DIFFERENT TIMES/PARTIES/LABELS IN IBIZA, MUSIC ON, ENTER, NOW HERE… OUTSIDE IBIZA THERE WERE ALSO TIMES WHEN YOUR SETS WERE HIGHER IN TERMS OF BPMS AND OTHERS LESS. NOW THAT IN THE INDUSTRY IT HAS BECOME FASHIONABLE TO CARRY OUT MORE HARDCORE SOUNDS, HIGHER BPMS, ETC. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS NEW SCENE (IF WE MAY CALL IT NEW) “COMMERCIAL HARD TECHNO”? You said it: “if we can call it new”, because it is a recycling of something that already existed in the 90s, which is rave, la máquina, hardcore. In fact, the main reason why I have stopped playing techno for a while is because the techno that people like today is not the techno that I like. I like techno that’s a bit lower BPM, a bit more intelligent, where it’s not just speed and a kick drum. A techno where it tells you a bit more of a story, where you can see a melody and you can ask for a groove or some vocals. Although something that I have always been very clear about is that I don’t come here to give lessons to anyone. I am always the first one who wants to learn and if you look at NOW HERE I have a lot of new people, with new energy from whom I can learn things that perhaps people of my generation no longer transmit to me. Simply, if there is an audience that likes that music, those BPMs, let them enjoy it. I cannot, nor do I want to, judge something that I do not feel represented by and am not a part of. Since Marco left Amnesia in 2017, I’ve always had offers to replace him. But no. First, because I didn’t feel it, and that’s something you have to feel. I didn’t feel it was the right time to do a residency. And second, obviously, in the particular case of Marco, he’s my best friend, he’s one of my idols and mentors, I could never in my life do anything against him. No matter how much money they offer me. I’ll tell you something, NOW HERE was initially going to be held at Amnesia but Covid came and then Amnesia changed the rules of how we wanted to do things and I got the opportunity to do it at Hï Ibiza. It was the best thing that ever happened to me after my son and my wife. They are an incredible group of people, extremely professional, they look after everything down to the smallest detail and they make me feel that they love me. In fact, I’ll tell you an anecdote, before Marco started Music On, he and I had a meeting with Space to do our party and their real intention was to use us to bring in certain DJs. At Hï Ibiza that never happened, they told me “we want you, we don’t care who you bring in” and for me that was a driving force and a great motivation. FROM THE OUTSIDE YOU CAN SEE THAT LOVE AND PROFESSIONALISM. Right now I’ve just come from having a paella at my house with the whole Hï Ibiza team. For me they are not my bosses, they are my family, they are the people I want to be with. They don’t worry about how I’m going to play, they worry about how I am, how my family is and how my son is. Maybe other workers don’t have the same relationship, but with me they always show a familiarity that I really feel like that, like my family, like my people, and I will always fight and kill for my people. Always. IF YOU ARE READING THIS INTERVIEW TO A 19 YEAR OLD WHO WANTS TO BE A DJ AND WHO THINKS AND DREAMS OF HAVING HIS OWN PARTY IN IBIZA AND YOU CAN ONLY GIVE HIM ONE PIECE OF ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? My advise would be to have patience and just do your job. Strive about making people dance, worry about the weekend and when it’s over, start thinking about the next one. That way, thinking like that and working hard, opportunities will come. YOU ARE A CONNOISSEUR OF THE ISLAND AND ITS PARTY SCENE. WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN SINCE YOU STARTED UNTIL NOW FOR A DJ WHO HAS HIS OWN PARTY? HAVE YOU HAD MANY PROPOSALS TO HAVE YOUR OWN PARTY?

013 ON THE 5TH AND 19TH OF SEPTEMBER YOU WILL TAKE FULL CONTROL OF HÏ IBIZA WITH NOW HERE. WHAT ARE YOU PREPARING? There wi l l be two nights of tr ibute to my 30-year career. One of the nights I ’m going to do i t wi th my young people –the new generat ion– and the other night I ’m going to do i t wi th the people and legends who have been part of my career, my l i fe and history here in Ibiza for these 25 years.

014 DURING THESE SEASONS WITH NEW PEOPLE. HAS THERE EVER BEEN SOMEONE THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE AND YOU JUST THOUGHT “DON’T COME BACK”? A few of them. It’s important to note that every artist that comes to NOW HERE to play I’ve seen before in person, I know what they do. But yes. It is easy to tell, those who were in the line-up and haven’t come back is because I didn’t like something. A DJ has to go to the club to entertain the audience because a person pays a ticket to have fun and enjoy himself, not to understand or to be given a masterclass on music or the history of music. I tell each and every one of those who play with me: “don’t come thinking that you have to warm up for me. You have to come here to make people dance and have a good time. Don’t worry about me, I’ll know how to adapt to what you do”. For me it’s a philosophy that I’m never going to change.

015 PEOPLE ARE HAPPY, WEDNESDAY MORNINGS IS WHEN YOU SEE THE MOST INSTAGRAM STORIES OF PEOPLE LEAVING NOW HERE AND THAT’S THE BIGGEST SIGN THAT RIGHT NOW YOU’VE CONNECTED WITH THE AUDIENCE AND THE PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND. You just said it: the people of the island. If I go to 10 restaurants in 8 they tel l me “Al l the chef wants to take a photo with you”. I feel that they are part of me and that I’m part of them, I feel identified and connected with them. I don’t know if you know but in my room I don’t have VIP, I don’t want it. I just want people to be dancing and enjoying themselves. There is also this hype of not wanting phones in the session. I can assure you that if you play good music, there wi l l be some people with their mobi le phones, obviously, but the crowd wi l l be connected to you. Things are much simpler, you play good music and people dance. You make good food, people eat. THIS SUMMER WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE YOU AT OTHER VENUES IN IBIZA, LIKE PLAYA SOLEIL CELEBRATING THE EURO CUP OR USHUAÏA CELEBRATING YOUR BIRTHDAY. WHAT’S IT LIKE PLAYING AT THIS ICONIC VENUE? DID YOU NOTICE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN THE VIBE OF THE CROWD FROM A NIGHT AT HÏ IBIZA? We have to differentiate the three nights. When I played at Ushuaïa Ibiza, I played two sets, I’ll tell you an anecdote. We were putting together the line up for Ushuaïa and they told me “we need one more headliner to open”. I said no, but they told me that people would probably be waiting to come in by the time I came to play. I told them that if that was a problem I would open. I was there at 15:30h opening Ushuaïa. For me it was amazing because I love doing openings, it allows me to play music that I don’t always play and build the vibe that I want to create for the DJs that come after - 80 or 90% of the sessions I have to play the Main Time, with a two-hour set where I have to crush it. In Ushuaïa I did the closing, where, for my 50th birthday, I played some of the music that I really liked, the records that I’ve liked most of my life not as a DJ, but as a person. I wanted to do a set that was a little bit current but always with touches of the songs that have influenced me the most in my career. Hï Ibiza is 100% Paco Osuna. When I play at NOW HERE it’s 100% what I like. I made it a bit minimal techno, tech house, a bit dark. For Playa Soleil I did a completely different set, a bit more musical, with more acoustic tracks where you don’t hear everything so digital. They were three completely different sets that I enjoyed like crazy, but for me there’s nothing like Hï Ibiza, it’s home. Home is home. GOING BACK TO THAT ONE DAY AT USHUAÏA. THAT SAME DAY WAS ALSO THE BIRTHDAY OF ANOTHER FRIEND OF THE BRAND AND A GOOD FRIEND OF YOURS, DJ OLIVER. WHAT IS THE FIRST MEMORY YOU HAVE OF OLIVER? It was one day later (laughs), I was born on the 8th and he on the 9th. The first memory is that I wanted to break his head (laughs), that’s the truth. He was the resident DJ at the Terrace and I was the resident DJ in the Main Room and at first he was really annoying me. The few times I went to play at the Terraza he gave me a bit of a hard time, I don’t want to go into details because I don’t want to make him look bad in this interview (laughs). He’s from Barcelona, we have common interests, he’s a Barça fan, just like me, and I love him very much. We have lived through many experiences over the past 25 years, good and bad, and today Oliver is one of those people that I consider part of my family. His daughter calls me “Uncle Paco”, he calls my son “my nephew Paquito”. He’s my family. But the first few times I had to be with him I wanted to kill him because he really pissed me off. WITH A 25 YEARS LONG FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT, IS IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN SUCH A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP FOR SO MANY YEARS? It’s difficult when you have a friendship that isn’t a true friendship. When you have friends who say they are your friends but then don’t rejoice in your successes, constantly competing with you… They are not your friends. You have friends when they enjoy your achievements and who are there for you in your difficult moments. I always say that I have many acquaintances and few friends. Ol iver is one of my friends, he is there in my difficult moments. Marco Carola is my best friend because he has been in my most difficult moments. There was a time when we were not on good terms and, in a difficult moment of mine, at that time, he forgot everything and wanted to be by my side. I met Marco when I was 24 years old. I know his parents, sisters, nephews and nieces... I talk to his sisters every other week. I talk more with his fami ly than with him (laughs). They’re real friends, not just a DJing buddies. They are fami ly. When you have a relationship based on honesty, time doesn’t matter.

016 IN AN INTERVIEW YOU HAVE SAID THAT YOU ALWAYS LOOK AT TWO FACTORS WHEN SIGNING SOMEONE TO YOUR LABEL. THE FIRST IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE PERSON. FOR INSTANCE, I COULD BE IN LOVE WITH THE SOUND OF AN ARTIST BUT IF WHEN I MEET THEM IN PERSON THEY DON’T GIVE ME A GOOD FEELING I’D RATHER NOT INCLUDE THEM. DO YOU ALSO DO THIS FOR THE ARTISTS THAT SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR PARTY? WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU LOOK AT? First, obviously, I look at the musical quality, but if the musical quality doesn’t match the personality, that is, if the person has certain egos or ways of approaching life that can create a problem for me with the rest of the group, I have to get rid of them. For me it’s very important to have a healthy group and I’m the first to set an example. I teach them that the first thing is the love of music, not the ego. I always tell my wife, Melanie Ribbe, who is the person I spend the most time with: “We are like donkeys, we look ahead, neither left nor right, we go ahead, we go our own way and whatever happens around us is not our business”. This is something I try to pass on to the guys, not to look at others but at what they are doing themselves. You know you are doing well, don’t look at what others are doing. It’s not important. Believe in yourselves because that’s the only way you will succeed one day. My father always told me: “Life is a long-distance race, not a sprint, like a marathon. It is better to take steps at a time than 3/4 steps at a time because if you fall the blow is bigger.” YOU SAY THAT SUCCESS HAS COME TO YOU WITH 25/30 YEARS OF CAREER, NOW THAT YOU ARE 50 YEARS OLD, DO YOU SOMETIMES NOTICE THAT AGE MAKES YOU TIRED? WE SAW A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT IN THE SAME WEEKEND YOU WERE IN MADRID, THEN IBIZA AND AFTERWARDS, MADRID AGAIN. Oh yes, I remember perfectly. On Friday, I can’t remember where it was, but on Saturday I was at elrow Town in Madrid, on Saturday night at the opening of Hï Ibiza and on Sunday afternoon I was playing at elrow again on the NOW HERE stage, and Sunday night at the elrow after party. That doesn’t kill me at all, long trips or weekend overseas are the ones that tire me out the most. Obviously age is a handicap, I no longer have the same energy I had when I was 19 or 20, that’s for a fact. I do have the same passion. That hasn’t changed. I start playing and I forget everything, it doesn’t matter if I’m sick, at home, if I have one person or thousands of people in front of me. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHARE YOUR LOVE AND PASSION FOR MUSIC WITH YOUR PARTNER, MELANIE? It’s the most beautiful thing. Melanie is 60/65% of the moment I’m living right now, because she makes me feel good, she makes me feel calm. We both talk about the same thing, we are in the studio making music. The only thing I don’t do with her is share our promos (laughs). Her music is her music and my music is my music. But we do have the same experiences, the same concerns, we like the same things, she’s my best friend, my partner, my wife because I’m married, and that peace of mind that she transmits to me and what she makes me feel day after day is what makes me who I am today. She has experienced all the success of NOW HERE with me and all the success that I am experiencing right now - although I don’t call it success, rather the peace of mind - that allows me to develop the sets that I do today, is thanks to her because she is not only my wife, she is my best friend. She really is, I share everything with her, absolutely everything. LAST YEAR, YOU ENDED OUR INTERVIEW WITH A SENTENCE THAT SAID: “ENJOY THE MOMENT TO THE FULLEST AND ALWAYS BE YOU WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR PERSONALITY, WHATEVER YOUR STATUS AND POSITION IN LIFE”. ONE YEAR LATER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? That sentence represents everything. I would tell you to enjoy the moment because nobody can guarantee the future, that’s why NOW HERE is my motto. Perhaps my phrase would be: don’t think long term because plans for the distant future may not come true. And also something very important, always try to be a person with your own identity.

017 ¡ESCANEA PARA LEER LA ENTREVISTA!

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019 An hour dedicated to music lovers. A musical journey through the rhythms, decades, and most influential electronic genres of the last 40 years. The perfect radio-show for those looking to discover which synth reminds you of that track that was sampled by a later one, but produced by someone who became famous with a different HIT. “Ritmo Denso” started last April on Ibiza Sonica and already has very good reviews from listeners and Artists. The program airs every Wednesday from 9PM to 10PM and features the historic voice of the station, Mr. Karlos Sense, accompanied by Giuseppe Pepe, the creative mind behind the project with a insane passion for (good) electronic music... A selection of his favorite tracks will be exclusively available each month on these pages through Spotify: with his playlist “BEST TEMAZOS OF THE MONTH,” where Pepe selects the TOP tracks that we’ll soon be able to enjoy on the dance-floor and that will be essential for the summer season #IBIZA2024. Ready to take note? * IBIZASONICA.COM * 95.2 FM – IBIZA / FORMENTERA * DOWNLOAD FREE APP ↓ EVERY WEDNESDAY ↓ 21 - 22 PM IBIZASONICA INFO → IG: @IBIZASONICA * @PEPEDSGN * @KARLOS.SENSE Scan here the QR CODE for be connected with the Playlist:

020 MARIADIE Mar íaDie es una ar t ista urbana andaluza que ha logrado destacar en el mundo del ar te mural por su est i lo real ista y su vibrante uso del color. Su capacidad para t ransformar espacios a t ravés de murales que combinan técnica, mensaje y emoción la ha consol idado como una f igura clave en la escena del st reet ar t contemporáneo.

021 TU OBRA DESTACA POR SU USO DEL COLOR Y EL REALISMO, ¿PUEDES CONTARNOS MÁS SOBRE LAS TÉCNICAS Y MATERIALES QUE PREFIERES UTILIZAR? En mis murales trabajo únicamente con sprays. Es una técnica que he ido trabajando durante años de forma muy constante, casi a diario, y de la cual sigo aprendiendo y continúo desarrollando. El spray tiene unas cualidades que son las que me hacen elegirlo, entre ellas están su cobertura rápida, el poder trabajar con capas, los difuminados que se pueden realizar e incluso veladuras. Adoro como se puede ejecutar una obra limpia, o como generar en la misma manchas, gotas y un lenguaje diferente, con una sola lata. Además considero que es una pintura prácticamente todoterreno. HAS TRABAJADO EN MUCHOS LUGARES DEL MUNDO, DESDE NUEVA YORK HASTA SUIZA. ¿CÓMO HAN INFLUIDO ESTOS DIFERENTES ENTORNOS EN TU ARTE? “Uff”, muchísimo. Desde los/as artistas, a los espacios y situaciones. Aunque el graffiti y el arte mural tengan los mismos códigos, independientemente de donde sea, siempre hay unos cambios dependiendo del lugar. ¡Conocerlos, compartirlos y respetarlos es maravilloso! El vivir la experiencia de que las cosas son diferentes a lo que conoces, el tener que adaptarte a las circunstancias y situaciones, ayuda a crecer artísticamente y personalmente. También a improvisar con lo que te encuentras, desde agentes meteorológicos intensos, pasando por situaciones peligrosas, falta de recursos o muchos recursos pero a un precio muy alto. Todas mis vivencias e influencias, queriendo o no, se reflejan en mis obras. Podría confirmar que a pesar de haber iniciado un estudio del color intenso desde 2019, mi gama actual es consecuencia de haber tenido que experimentar sí o sí con lo que había hasta llegar a mi trabajo de hoy. ¿CUÁNDO NACIÓ EN TI EL GUSANILLO DEL ARTE? Desde que tengo uso de razón he sido una persona altamente creativa, la creatividad en todos sus ámbitos ha sido mi refugio. Quizás hiciera arte sin ni siquiera saber que lo era, como me pasó con el graffiti. El arte estaba tan arraigado a mi persona y a mi identidad que creo que nací con ese gusanillo. ¿CÓMO FUE TU PRIMER CONTACTO CON EL ARTE URBANO Y QUÉ TE INSPIRÓ A DEDICARTE A EL PROFESIONALMENTE? Mi primer contacto fue en la calle, en el skatepark pasábamos los días y allí nos juntábamos varios elementos de la cultura hip hop. Fue más adelante cuando tuve un vínculo más directo con el arte mural y desde entonces, no he parado hasta el punto que se ha convertido en mi forma de vida e incluso en mi profesión. ADEMÁS DE MURALISTA, ERES TATUADORA. ¿CÓMO SE COMPLEMENTAN ESTAS DOS FACETAS DE TU CARRERA ARTÍSTICA? He de reconocer que a veces se compl ica desde la perspectiva de que l levo una vida prácticamente nómada. Por este motivo y otros, trato de combinar ambas categorías al lá donde voy, aunque las dos facetas están muy vinculadas con el arte urbano en si, son lenguajes y técnicas muy diferentes. Me encantaría continuar proyectando para unificarlas un poco más.

022 Creo que no tendr ía espacio para responder como me gustar ía, amo viajar y representar mis raíces al lá donde voy, pero también me caut iva compart i r mi ciudad y que dejen una huel la en el la. Sois bienvenidos/as a descubr i r el arte urbano de Granada, Sevi l la, Linares y Andalucía entera, porque es ES-PEC-TA-CU-LAR. NACISTE EN SEVILLA, ESTÁS AFINCADA EN GRANADA Y EN SEPTIEMBRE IRÁS A FINLANDIA A UNA RESIDENCIA ARTÍSTICA. ¿CÓMO PLANTEAS ESTA EXPERIENCIA? Actualmente tengo una exposición en la galer ía de Helsinki Urban Art con el proyecto Narrat ivas Nómadas junto a la art ista f inlandesa Viv Magia y el art ista colombiano Pac Dunga. Será un reencuentro con la galer ía porque mi paso fue breve y tenemos entre manos di ferentes proyectos de arte mural . Mi exper iencia siempre suele ser graff i t i y mural ismo. ¿PUEDES ADELANTARNOS ALGUNOS DE LOS PROYECTOS QUE TIENES PLANEADOS PARA ESTE 2025? Para octubre de 2025 tengo un proyecto apalabrado al que le tengo muchas ganas, pero no puedo exponer mucho sobre el . . . El próximo año espero poder enfocarme más y mejor en mi obra, en mi propio est i lo e ident idad, y por supuesto viajar donde mis pinturas y yo somos bien recibidas. Mi escenario comienza a ampl iarse mucho y es genial. Con Narrativas Nómadas esperamos pasar por la ciudad de Medel l ín, y ojalá continuemos este increíble proyecto colectivo. ¿HAY ALGÚN SUEÑO O META A LA QUE TE GUSTARÍA LLEGAR? Claro que sí , cont inuar compart iendo mi pasión sin l ími tes, que sea valorada y segui r aprendiendo y creciendo como he hecho o incluso mejor. Siendo sincera, he cumpl ido muchos sueños y metas, gracias a todas las personas que me han y me acompañan a consegui r lo y compart i r los. Pero que no quede ahí y cont inúe. TUS MURALES NARRAN TEMAS DE ACTUALIDAD DESDE UNA VISIÓN FEMINISTA. ¿CUÁL ES EL MENSAJE QUE QUIERES TRANSMITIR A TRAVÉS DE ELLO? Todo siempre parece estar en una misma atmósfera, mi vida, mi visión y perspectiva de la misma no me la puedo arrancar, obvio. Es un placer poder compartirla, compartir mis inquietudes y que a alguien le interese o le importe, es un honor para mí. Luego está mi otra perspect iva y es que también me gusta escuchar y transmi t i r lo que oigo, lo que se necesi ta que se oiga y se vea, soy consciente de que tengo un poder muy grande y es el de la comunicación con la pintura, y eso es realmente potente. Es una fuerte herramienta con la que gr i to lo más al to que puedo. Y sí , claro t iene un mensaje feminista y siempre me siento cómoda ref lejando a mujeres empoderadas, incluso l lorando. ¿HAY ALGÚN EVENTO EN EL QUE HAS PARTICIPADO, QUE HAYA MARCADO UN ANTES Y UN DESPUÉS EN TU CARRERA? El evento de Artaerorap en La Bañeza, donde tengo el placer de volver a pintar este 2024 fue uno de ellos. Allí inicié mi constelación de artistas urbanos y personas maravillosas. Descubrí que el spray sería mi buen aliado hasta el momento. También los eventos de Meeting of Styles me abrieron la posibilidad de desarrollar mis pinturas a nivel internacional, hasta el punto de hacer Meeting of Styles España con Mos Andalucía. El aniversario de Futura en Morelia (México) me hizo sentir en muy poco tiempo, que formo parte de una gran familia en este país, y cuando viajé a Chile pude reencontrarme con viejos amigos y conocer a brutales escritores del graffiti.

023 “OPEN EYES” POR MARIADIE ART. Lugar: C/ Nueva, nº36, Sevilla. Edición: 2023 / Make Art, Not War!

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY HÉCTOR CASTELLS NOWHERE, NOW HERE. PART II 024 I. Nowhere. You Are Alive and They are all Dead. Marrakech, April 2019. I wake up under a vaulted skylight. I can’t move but I can make the shape of a minaret at an angle, its golden spire pierced by an imperative sunshine. The room is dark, filled with marbled columns and glittering tiles. I blink slowly and the pain feels as otherworldly as the roof and its patterns. I see a vibrant fresco above me: it looks like a massacre of flowers and centurions, all of them symmetrically beheaded by a constellation of semi circular arches. Feels like architecture as a fine, murderous art, a proper annihilator of time and memory, until the loudspeaker starts calling out the prayer and my system revives in some excruciating fashion. The muezzin channels the deadly echoes of my immediate past. They are shouting out loud: YOU ARE ALIVE AND WE ARE DEAD! I’m tied to a stretcher. Blinking is painful enough to not consider moving, thus I breathe slowly. Feels like swallowing cracked glass. My upper body is bandaged, my legs bruised and my head pounding like drum’n’bass infused with Stormzy’s grime beats. There’s a bloody handkerchief stuffed in my left hand. I can’t open its palm: it feels like there is a hole right in its centre. My heart and mind are galloping while the flashbacks line up like Detroit techno stuck on the blades of a Blackhawk. BOOOOM! Flashbacks, here we go! Oh my days! All of a sudden, I remember it: a balaclava militia shot down the Blackhawk and the four escorts that helped me fleeing Ireland, right before landing on North African soil. It was pitch dark until the sky started glowing so hard that you could read a book under the burst of the artillery. It is the last thing I remember. My ears are ringing like Jeff Mills’ eviscerating dark matter. Was I shot? Someone must have rescued me and nursed my wounds, but who? Darkness adjusts to me and I adjust to nothing but to a big, massive IF. If I, If I, If I… It takes a fake passport and four vanished escorts to remember my murdered pupil. My dear, sweet Nora! If I, If I, If I… I’M NOT DEAD AND THEY ALL ARE … Nora and Selby’s men would be still breathing and Murder would have never come to life if it were not for Alex, the damned witch doctor at Nowhere. I try to clench my fists. I cry instead: the pain is unbearable. I scan every angle of the room that my battered neck can cover until realising that there is someone hanging on the ceiling. He looks like the overweight, bald version of the singer of the first band that I ever interviewed. I scrutinise the silhouette, see his gold teeth smile and hear the words: “You are lucky to be alive.” “I wish I wasn’t and they were. Where are they?” “Breath in. Death never comes at the wrong time, somehow it spared you.” “I bet you know how.” “I know many things.” “No doubt. Are you FLOATING? “Yes.” “Who are you?” “I could be THE END of your struggling.”

025 II. Now Here. Asian Dub Foundation, Bcn, 1995. It is a hangover Saturday morning and I sneak into the subway as effortlessly as usual. It only takes a little shrink of my flat belly to slide between the metal barrier and its anorexic-friendly gap: more than this, nothing fits; more than this, there is nothing. Actually, more than this there is a slightly unprofessional sense of timing. It is 4pm and the interview is set in fifteen minutes. I’m sleepless and late: I’m twelve underground stops from my destination when I realise I don’t have batteries in my borrowed tape recorder, the fundamental reason for the tachycardia that is about to hit me. I saw the band playing live last night in a venue named after a sandwich, which was poetically fitting, since one of the members is named after a Turkish roll, Shuarma. It was a roaring, thunderous gig. The crowd let rip: they danced with their fists and knees raised, as if celebrating the fusion between ska and ragamuffin; slavery and freedom. At one point, Shuarma grabbed the microphone and said something that no one understood. Then he put his hands on his head and began to sob. The fragility of the prophet conveyed the public’s empathy, rather capable of translating his body language than his words. Shuarma had a lot of sad things to say about their adoptive country, a gloomy place called England. He used the words of a greater prophet: “The Revolution will not be televised”; then added: “the island will be gutted.” It was a very fine gig, but it lasted until 1am, and I missed my bus home. I had to wait six hours for the next one and it was too cold to sleep rough, so I had the brilliant idea of going to the closest squat house to get some rest. I met a bunch of Saint Petersburg anarchist drinkers of endless nostrils, and passed out around noon for ten minutes, before realising that they were bleaching my hair and tattooing my arm with a rather predictable, encircled A. “Don’t get so carried away, it will help you with the interview”, they said when I started shouting. Today I could have them jailed as tattoo rapists and hair offenders for that. But back then; you could even get away with paedophilia if you were wearing a Catholic robe. Before passing out, I told the Petersburgers that most of Asian Dub Foundation members were of South East Asian background, and that they were well known as outspoken and efficient political activists. Last year one of their lyrics went viral and its protagonist, a freedom fighter from Bangladesh, was released from prison due to the global impact of the song. I reflect on what I did last year and I feel even more weightless. I count an abortion, one arrest and no love. Nobody wrote a song to get me out of jail, but then again I didn’t have to go to jail, it was just a house arrest —for stealing three Spanish Constitutions, a few criminal codes and a few books on Roman Law, all of them seized from the fanciest legal bookstore in town, in order to subsequently selling them at half price to my Law Degree classmates. Petersburger.

026 III. Nowhere, Marrakech, April 2019. The floating body could be twelve or sixty years old. He is just wearing a black tunic embroidered with golden pebbles. I can make out his shiny testicles and plump thighs while he descends upon me as if propelled by an engine on his ass. I see his double chin and chubby fingers. His mouth is thin and his voice sounds like Greta Garbo’s filtered by a broken synthesiser when he says: “Selby is gone.” My insides turn and phonetics fail to engage with the end of onomatopoeia. I could refill all the oceans in the world with just one teardrop and this SCREAM. Nothing feels real except the absence of my life, as I knew it 48 hours ago. I’m mumbling and crying rivers thicker than all the poisoned water on the planet. He extends his left hand, makes the universal shush sign and rubs my temples with his awkward fingers. My pupil’s roll and my mouth opens. I get freeze for a moment and then my cracked voice says: “S-e-l-b-y.” and “Nooooooooooo.” “Murder and his men got him while you were travelling. I did my best to save you all, but they are many and very organised. Overall, they are not who you think they are. The bigger picture is as nasty as it gets. I’m so sorry for your losses,” says the floating being. “I’m afraid I can’t see any picture bigger than Selby’s and Nora’s passing. What about the escorts that helped me escape?” He shakes his bizarre head. “I will explain at the right time, don’t worry, but for the time being I can keep you away from Murder and his beasts and help you track down Alex. We all want revenge, but only some of us must fight for it.” “Selby said that I should only deal with Khaled once in Marrakesh.” “I’m Khaled. And yes, you are right, we have a deal: I can keep you away from your hunters. But if you want to get out there, you might need a new face.” “I’m sick of all this. What do you freakin’ mean?” “I can arrange your face surgery and let you go once our deal is done. But as you know, nothing comes for free.” “Selby already paid you a crazy amount of money, that I remember.” “Since he is gone and you are here, the deal shall be rearranged. I hear you are a very accomplished writer.” “What? I could barely get printed in the worse Spanish newspapers when tabloids were alive. I’m not a writer; I just worked as a journalist for a shameful while.” “That I remember, yes. It was embarrassing. But then again, you are lying.” My face before surgery becomes a puzzled emoji. I can’t help but wonder. “Did I ever interview you?” He smirks. “Fuck me. Are you the former singer of ADF?” “Fuck you indeed.” Hell Hound, Bcn 1995. I get off the subway at 4:15pm. There are two Spanish hairy dwarfs in dark blue uniforms outside the metal barriers. They are both taller than me. I take out my fake pass, and before the smart one realises I jump the fence behind them. The least smart releases their hellhound and I run for my virgin-journalist life. I avoid the fangs of Satan by sneaking into the lift before its doors shut. I get out five stories above the hellhound and keep on running towards the hotel where the band is waiting. I scan the blinders of all the closed shops that could sell batteries, a perfect 100 per cent of them. That is something I knew before I started magical thinking about opened shops in Barcelona on siesta fucking o’clock on a fucking Saturday of 19 fucking 95. I often swear, but rarely sweat. Brand new ghost.

027 By the time I reach the Hotel hall, I’m drenched in BLEACHED drops! They are highly corrosive and my skin reacts accordingly: I have rashes all over. The press manager sees me and knows instantly that I’m not a hotel customer but the early late journalist. “Oh my goodness!”. She can’t help but look at me in horror. I catch my reflection in the gigantic mirror, by the huge piano: I look like a resurrected Chernobyl casualty. “Shuarma is not impressed with your sense of timing, let me tell you. Nora has taken your spot. You are next. Are you okay?” “Fucking thriving, thanks.” The room is filled with half of the music journalists of the city, around twenty guys, most of them sporting glasses, no hair and wooden faces. None of them would ever smile except for Nora. She is slim and young, and writes for a fashion magazine whose existence seems to deny the fundamental identity of the band as blatantly as the PLATFORM I’m writing for. At least she might get paid to do it. Nora says hello, offers me her seat and makes a grimace. “Be careful, he is dead serious,” she says. I take her seat while she slips a business card in my pocket, winks and says: “This is Victor.” “Hello,” says Shuarma. “I have been waiting and I don’t like to wait.” “It is the first interview of my life, my dearest apologies. I was so anxious that I took the wrong subway.” “What the hell happened to you?” I feel like Dennis Hopper’s nostrils after a Colombian bender. I confess that I was in Saint Petersburg after the gig and mention the bleach incident. As it turns out, the whole room, staff included, seems incapable of NOT staring at me. It might be difficult to understand that a man in the shape of a tiny lobster can breathe or move —let alone conduct the first interview of his life. I take my seat and place the recorder in the middle of the table. My bleached skin and bleeding tattoo kind of disguise the fact that the tape is not rolling. Shuarma could be Rambo if he hadn’t eaten in his entire life. The laser of his eyes could melt all the Himalayan snow in just one blink. He says it is the first time he has seen an interviewer drinking at work. I say I’m glad it’s his first time. I have no idea how the beer has landed on my hand —let alone my throat. “Cheers anyway,” I say, smirking. “Welcome to Barcelona, the most intoxicated city on the planet.” Shuarma looks at the press manager, points at me and says: “Is this for real? I have my heart in my mouth. It is a polyglot heart that can talk non-stop. I say that in Spain, the transition from dictatorship to democracy was a narco-operation to decimate the rebellious populations of the North. I say that the story is akin to that of England and India. I wanted to say between Ireland and England, but it is my racing heart speaking. Shuarma stretches his back, cracks his fingers, and grimaces in utter disgust. He asks me if I’m going to ask any question. I only have a sense of humour left. “I’m the one asking the questions here.” Not that funny, so it seems. I ask about the band and their activism: “What came first?” He wonders if I have done my research. I ask if he likes the climate of Barcelona. “Are you a meteorologist?” I ask what element their music would be. Fire? Earth? Air? Water? “Do you write about horoscopes or what?” I confess that I have been asked to write horoscopes for a women’s magazine, and I don’t mention that I have no fucking idea about astrology. “Technically you are deflowering me,” I say. He would never look more unimpressed. “Are you going to ask me any damned question?” It is 1995, 15 years before THE WOKE UP, and I have already asked three unanswered questions. Then my heart says: “Okay, if your music were a colour, what colour would that be?” Shuarma inhales deeply, looks around, clicks his tongue, rolls his sleeve and before he forms a fist, I say: “It wasn’t a rhetorical question, just a little poetic licence.” My speech stops the punch, if only for a moment. Shuarma considers his Mister Proper right arm, looks at the table, and only then the postcolonial horror unveils. He grabs the recorder, realises that it isn’t rolling and checks the batteries. “Are you fucking joking me? Get the fuck out of my sight. NOW!” ¡Voilà! It is the first answer of my journalist life, at least the first that is not a question. It’s a fucking order indeed. I obey; I’m great at it.

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