- Every year, the arrival of Ibiza's International Music Summit is bittersweet. For those whose life and work centres around the White Isle, day one of the new season gives rise to a heady mix of emotions, from apprehension and niggling dread to childish levels of excitement. Once you're through the doors of the Hard Rock Hotel, you're plunged straight back into it, touching base with friends and acquaintances, scheduling your next social media post and getting to grips with this year's programme. I won't lie: the first 30 minutes is stressful. But then, before you know it, Ibiza is all anyone can think or talk about and you're back where you left off the previous October.
The most peaceful place at IMS is the conference room, where a mixture of talks, panels and keynote interviews take place across three days. These range greatly in topic, though most of them could be loosely split into two categories: business and music. The latter was still at the heart of most discussions, but it felt like economics played a heavier role in 2015 than previous editions. Until Carl Craig sat down with Beatport's Clark Warner just after 4 PM, day one's schedule was fairly wearying, with panels like "The A-Z of Billing Politics," "Can You Buy Success In Electronic Music?" and "Finance Your Future." Though Craig showed up without Mike Banks, who I feel most people were more keen to hear from, his interview was nevertheless engaging, with some nice bits about Detroit, the influence of George Clinton and how the scene is crying out for "a techno Kanye West." That last one got a big laugh.
Some of the more interesting debates occurred when music and business intersected, and day two threw up a particularly good example. Black Coffee sat on a panel with representatives from Ultra, Sony and Universal in South Africa to discuss the current and future state of the nation's dance scenes. The mass-market presence was a little overbearing, and it would've been nice to hear more from Bridges For Music's Valentino Barrioseta, but it offered valuable insight into the way South Africans, and Africans at large, consume dance music. Back on a music tip, Def Mix pair David Morales and Judy Weinstein regaled the audience with tales of Pacha, Frankie Knuckles and the Paradise Garage. They spoke with a passion and warmth that reminded us why we're all here in the first place.
One of the week's richest moments, though, had nothing to do with music or business, but drugs. BBC Radio 1 DJ B-Traits has recently become an advocate for substance safety, and the discussion she led on the topic felt human and necessary. Mark Lawrence, CEO of the Association for Electronic Music, nailed it in one sentence—"we're not pro-drugs, we're anti-death"—and the crowd applauded in support. IMS talks a lot about expansion and markets, but if it's to stay relevant, politics and the scene's tougher issues need to be brought further into the debate.
After all that, it was time to let off some steam. The jewels in IMS's crown are the Dalt Vila showcases, which run on the second and third nights of the conference atop a World Heritage Site in Ibiza Town. The venue, completely open-air with views across the port and out to sea, is spectacular. The soundsystem is top-notch, loud enough at the back but crisp and painless at the front. Night one was house and techno, and it was the Ibiza debut of Damian Lazarus' new Ancient Moons live show. Quite what was happening onstage was unclear, but Lazarus was having a wicked time, prancing about in a black and gold tunic and peaked hat. The music was decent in parts and a bit much in others, but the crowd seemed to like it (though not as much as Lazarus).
Solomun followed and, like Luciano earlier on, was big, banging and mediocre at best. The following night I'd make my way back up to Dalt Vila for the second, poppier night, where I'd witness MK and Rudimental tearing it out to the industry-light and UK-heavy throng. I'm not a particular fan of either, but the charisma and personality of their music I find inherently more appealing than the majority of Ibiza's 4/4 superstars. One of the few whose skills still stand true, though, is Sven Väth, who closed Thursday's party in sparky fashion. There were ravey piano moments, lean techno tracks and one really infectious banger with a cutesy vocal sample, all in the space of an hour.
After an uncharacteristically cold and windy couple of days, the sun shone brightly on Friday. The previous night's entertainment meant the atmosphere was a lot less chipper all day, but a large crowd assembled for the conference's big finale. SoundCloud CEO Alexander Ljung gave a compelling interview on the current transition the company is undergoing, speaking candidly and impressively on issues of copyright, monetisation and the future of music consumption. His interviewer, journalist Craig McLean, played his role just as well, grilling Ljung to the point of discomfort. When, at the end of the session, the floor was opened and an audience member finally changed the subject from money to musical curation, Ljung jolted forward, letting out an audible sigh of relief.
Photo credits: Tasya Menaker