SEP SS25 #035
03 THE TEAM — CEO FIESTA & BULLSHIT— TEO MOLINA ART DIRECTION & DESIGN— JOSEFA CALERO STAFF WRITERS— AMPARO MENDIETA AITANA CASTAÑO JONATAN GUTIÉRREZ © 2025 Fiesta&Bullshit The views expressed herein are those of individuals, and are not necessari ly shared by the magazine’s publ ishers. IS35 CONTENTS —
04 2025, EL AÑO EN EL QUE LAS REGLAS DEL JUEGO VOLVIERON A CAMBIAR. Cada cierto tiempo es habitual que se produzcan movimientos sísmicos en la tierra: algunos se sienten y otros no. En IBIZA ocurre lo mismo con su ESCENA CLUBBING. Hay determinados movimientos que terminan afectando a toda la isla. Este año, ese movimiento ha sido la apertura del nuevo [UNVRS]. Un club… o mejor dicho, un mega club, que irrumpió en la isla después de unos cuantos años de estabilidad tras la pandemia. [UNVRS] ha significado muchas cosas para Ibiza. La primera, y quizás la más importante, ha sido refrescar la imagen de la isla. Todos sabemos que aquí están LOS MEJORES CLUBS DEL MUNDO, pero contar con un espacio nuevo, con la última tecnología y una propuesta diferente, es positivo para todos, ya que vuelve a poner el foco internacional en el mundo clubbing. Noticias, artistas, managers, clubbers… gran parte de la temporada no se habló de otra cosa, lo que demuestra que Ibiza sigue más viva que nunca. La segunda, menos agradable para algunos, es LA COMPETENCIA. Y es lógico: a los dueños de otros clubs no siempre les gusta, pero a la larga termina siendo bueno para todos. La estabilidad acomoda y adormece el ingenio; en cambio, un movimiento como el de este año obliga a directores de sala, equipos de marketing, programadores y bookers a esforzarse por ofrecer las mejores propuestas posibles en sus espacios. La tercera es la que recibe el propio clubber, el cliente final. Llenar [UNVRS] cada noche no es tarea fácil: un club con alma de festival, que requiere miles de asistentes diarios para completar sus diferentes espacios, supone un reto logístico. La temporada en la isla dura seis meses, pero todos sabemos que la “temporada real” apenas se concentra en unas seis semanas —ENTRE OPENINGS Y CLOSINGS—, cuando realmente hay suficiente público para mantener a flote a la mayoría de negocios. En ese sentido, tanto trabajadores como promotores han vivido este primer año como un laboratorio de prueba y error en algunas noches.
05 ¿QUÉ SIGINIFICÓ PARA MÍ PODER TENER NUESTRA NOCHE EN [UNVRS] CON WILD COMET? ¿CÓMO HA SIDO LA TEMPORADA 2025 EN LA ISLA? Después de varios años llevando nuestro evento al WILD CORNER DE HÏ IBIZA, poder arrancar 2025 en [UNVRS] ha sido uno de los mayores retos a los que me he enfrentado. Estar en el centro del foco de la escena siempre es positivo para cualquier promotor o artista. Durante todo este tiempo en Wild Corner intentamos ser un soporte para artistas que buscaban visibilidad en la isla. Algunos ya contaban con una LARGA TRAYECTORIA, otros apenas comenzaban, pero todos tenían un camino prometedor por delante. Desde nuestra plataforma siempre hemos intentado APOYAR A ESOS ARTISTAS a los que tanto admiramos. En nuestra primera noche en [UNVRS] tuvimos la suerte de contar con GRANDES TALENTOS, nombres que ya llevan tiempo sonando en lamúsica y que estamos seguros seguirán creciendo conmás fuerza. Para cerrar, me gustaría hacer una pequeña valoración de lo que está siendo la temporada 2025, que aun SIN HABER TERMINADO, YA HA SUPUESTO UN RETO —como lo es cada año en Ibiza—. Aquí, lo que hiciste antes casi nunca cuenta: cada temporada es un nuevo comienzo, o estás preparado.. o estás fuera. 2025 ha vuelto a ser un año de cambios. Hemos tenido que estar al 100%, DÍA Y NOCHE, TRABAJANDO POR Y PARA LA MÚSICA. Pero como es nuestra pasión, no lo sentimos como un peso. Cuando trabajas en lo que amas, todo se vuelve más fácil. Quiero terminar agradeciendo a todos los artistas y marcas que volvieron a confiar en FIESTA&BULLSHIT y, como siempre, a todos los que hacéis posible que sigamos aquí cada día. Aún queda temporada en Ibiza, pero como suele suceder en esta isla tan especial… ya estamos PENSANDO EN 2026.
06 MELANIE RIBBE DO YOU PREFER TO MAKE MUSIC ALONE OR WITH OTHER ARTISTS AS A COLLABORATION AND WHEN YOU DO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ARTISTS, WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR STRONGEST SKILL SET AND AREA OF THE TRACK THAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE? I love both. Creating alone gives me that meditative space where I can go really deep into my own world, which I enjoy a lot, but collaborations—when they’re with the right energy—can be magical too. I think my strongest contribution in collabs is groove and arrangement. I can take a basic idea and turn it into a full experience on the dancefloor. If I had one option though, I probably would choose to produce alone. YOU MENTOR AND SHOWCASE EMERGING TALENT THROUGH AGÁPE MUZIK. LOOKING BACK TO WHEN YOU WERE LEARNING PRODUCTION, WHAT SINGLE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF AND WHAT WOULD YOU WARN HER ABOUT? I’d tell my younger self: Don’t rush the process. Mastery takes time, and comparison will kill your creativity. What I’d warn her about is chasing trends or trying to please too many people. When you make music that’s truly you, the right audience will find you. Also, take care of your mental health—it’s easy to burn out when you’re trying to “make it.” IF YOU WERE COMMISSIONED TO CREATE A TIME CAPSULE REPRESENTING TODAY’S TECHHOUSE SCENE, WHICH OBJECT, SOUND SAMPLE, OR ARTIFACT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? If I were commissioned to create a time capsule representing today’s tech-house scene…I’d include a field recorder with hours of ambient sound from inside the world’s most iconic clubs and festivals—think sunrise timeless grooves on the beach in Sunwaves Mamaia, Romania, to hot Ibiza peak time, the low-end rumble from Fabric, or the reverb-soaked claps echoing through a warehouse in Berlin. Not just the music, but the crowd noise, the tension before a drop, the release when it hits—that raw energy is what defines tech-house culture right now. I’d also drop in a worn-out pair of USBs and a handwritten tracklist from a sunrise minimal set. Because as much as we talk about gear and plugins, it’s still about the human behind the decks, shaping moments in real time. A Sennheiser HD-25 headphone and a Polaroid with my crew. And maybe a sweaty backstage wristband—because if you know, you know. DESCRIBE YOUR MOST BIZARRE “MISPLACED” MOMENT ON TOUR, LIKE SHOWING UP IN THE WRONG CITY OR GIG, AND WHAT THAT TAUGHT YOU. Well, luckily nothing too significant has happened. I remember DJing in a country where “badwords or foul language” are considered illegal, and I didn’t knowmost of the songs’ break lyrics were going to shout illegal words. My face turned tomato red and I said sorry to the crowd, then turned around to the promoter saying sorry, with a very embarrassed look. Only to quickly change to the next track…with some similar raunchy lyrics by accident, haha. Also, there were many times I’ve been stuck in cities through connections, sleep-deprived, and put on standby for the second leg of the trip—up to 3 different flights sometimes. Only then to arrive exhausted, taking a taxi to a hotel that won’t let you check in for another 4 hours… but that’s the time you needed to sleep before your next show. I never rely solely on certainty. Touring is beautiful chaos—you have to stay sharp and be prepared for any and everything. TEQUILA OR A GLASS OF WINE? Usually Tequila before the set. Wine for dinner on weekends. Balance is everything. Though currently, I’m enjoying an alcohol-free rider—only Ginger Shots & Ginger Beer (nonalcoholic beverage of my Jamaican childhood). YOUR ALBUM PHOENIX IS A NARRATIVE ARC OF REBIRTH. IF A TRACK ON THAT ALBUM WERE YOUR GUIDE TO A PARALLEL DIMENSION, WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE, AND WHERE WOULD IT TAKE THE LISTENER? It would be “Mamaia”. That track feels like you’re stepping into a parallel world where everything is familiar—but shifted. A lot of light, and it hits differently. Time feels slower, and there’s this sense of freedom and clarity through minimalism. That’s what rebirth is to me—not becoming someone new, but remembering who you truly are. FINALLY, YOU ARE MARRIED TO ONE OF THE BEST TECHNO/ TECH HOUSE ARTISTS IN THE INDUSTRY—WHO GETS PRIORITY OVER THE STUDIO AT THE HOUSE “HAHA”! Haha, it depends who has a deadline! But honestly, we work around each other with a lot of respect. It’s less about priority and more about flow—if someone’s in the zone, the other steps back. It’s a rhythmwe’ve learned to dance together. Some of the best ideas happen when we share the space. However, I do use the studio much more than him since we moved in. It’s definitely my happy corner—apart from the sofa. YOU GREW UP BETWEEN GERMANY AND JAMAICA. HOW DOES THAT HERITAGE INFLUENCE THE ACTUAL SOUND DESIGN OR GROOVE IN YOUR PRODUCTIONS? Growing up between Germany and Jamaica gave me this beautiful duality in my musical soul. From Germany, I absorbed precision, structure, and the hypnotic minimalism & roots of European Techno. From Jamaica, it was all about rhythm, basslines that move your entire body with a deep sense of groove and soul. So even in my tech-house tracks, you’ll often hear a kind of swing or organic pulse that’s very much rooted in my Jamaican side—while the synth work and arrangement lean into that sharp, German discipline. YOU STARTED MIXING ON CASSETTE TAPES AT AGE 8. WHAT LESSONS FROM THOSE EARLY BEDROOM MIXES STILL SHOW UP IN YOUR STUDIO PRODUCTION AND DJ SETS TODAY? ALSO I NEVER HAD CASSETTES HAHA, SO TELL ME ABOUT HOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKS WHEN MIXING CASSETTES? That is when the early obsession was born with sound and arrangement. I didn’t actually “mix” cassettes like a DJ would, but I would record from the radio, over them, rewind, layer things in crude ways, and that gave me a sense of how music could flow and transition perfectly. The discipline to wait by the radio all day after school with a blank tape, counting the beats “1, 2, 3, 4” and pressing “REC“ at the perfect starting point, and ending the “recording“ when it felt right—on the right ending beat—to be able to record the next matching song ‘on beat,’ creating a flowing, harmonic mixtape. The main lesson that’s stayed with me is: trust your ear, not the waveform. Today, I still rely on how something feels before I let it go—whether it’s in a live set or a final master. YOU ONCE SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE VALUE OF AUTHENTIC TALENT OVER SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS. WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO SOCIAL MEDIA, HOW DO YOU FEEL IT IMPACTS OR BENEFITS YOUR MUSIC CAREER AND DO YOU THINK FOLLOWERS LINK TO MORE BOOKINGS? Social media is a tool—nothing more, nothing less. It can help you build a connection with your audience, and yes, sometimes very few promoters use it as a metric, but for me, it’s always been about the music and the energy I bring to a club. Personally, I’d rather have 100 true fans who actually come to the gigs and buy the records than 100,000 who just doubletap. Authenticity always has a longer shelf life than algorithms. That’s something I stand by.
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08 AT WHAT AGE DID YOU DISCOVER THE ART OF DJING, AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE YOUR FIRST STEPS INTO IT? Funnily enough, I was fairly late to the game! But, if I take it way back, I remember when my sister got her first iPod classic (at that point I was sitting by the wall, with my mini-disk plugged in ripping Sum 41 records onto it) - she used to let me borrow it and listen to her collection, which was extremely broad. I was lucky enough to have a sibling that was into music too, but who also shared artists that I hadn’t heard of before. A lot of this was either Punk or 80s Disco. If I jump forward to around the age of 16, going to house parties I was kinda considered ‘that guy in charge of the Aux cable’! I didn’t really know much about DJing at all - all that I knew was that I loved music and being in control of making people dance and be happy. I was around 17 years old when I purchased a little Mixtrack Pro. It was just a midi controller that I hooked up with Traktor and used to play at house parties for friends. When I was mixing one track into another I knew DJing was for me. I didn’t know people got paid for it though! I was so naive to all of that - I just knew it was a lot of fun.
09 MANY NEW ARTISTS TAKE TIME TO DEFINE THEIR GENRE OR MUSICAL DIRECTION. DID YOU EXPERIMENT WITH OTHER STYLES? FOR HOW LONG, AND WHAT MADE YOU EVENTUALLY SETTLE ON YOUR CURRENT SOUND? I think a lot of people know about my passion for punk! Unfortunately I can only play the drums, and not well enough to be in a band, so that went out the window early on lol. I love heavy snares in punk rock music, and the style of heavy compression that is applied to drums, so that has helped define my style and sound. My fans know me for my drums, patterns and groove - that love for punk rock has helped evolve my music over the years and made my sound what it is today. When people say they have been making music for 10 years they often mean for only a few of hours a week. I have been making music for over 10 years…from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to sleep! I have definitely taken the time to define my sound. I was experimentingwith playing techno and dubstep at the start. The dubstep influence can be heard in the weird noises and synth stabs I add intomy records, and the techno side can be heard in the heavy kicks that I have inmy tracks. To answer the last part of your question, I am not sure how I settled on the current sound I have now. I just like it! I make music for myself, if it resonates with others then that is a bonus. WHAT’S THE LONGEST SOLO SET YOU’VE EVER PLAYED? Oh god I dunno! For a club set it’s around 6-7 hours. But I used to love house parties at university, and I would be the DJ playing from the moment we started and would finish when the police came knocking! WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL PAID GIG, AND HOW MUCH DID YOU EARN? (YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON’T WANT BUT TRANSPARENCY IS BEAUTIFUL TOO). My first official paid gig was for a promoter in Bournemouth who used to run a couple of festivals, and an event called Treatment - to this day, it’s still the best name for a party! I got it through blagging that I knew how to use the latest CDJs (I didn’t) and managed to play an entire set for them. I’m pretty sure it went down well, as I continued to play for them throughout university. I think I was paid with a pack of cigs - I was happy with anything back then! DO YOU PREFER DJING OR PRODUCING? I IMAGINE YOU’LL SAY BOTH, BUT IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONLY ONE—AND BOTH PAID THE SAME—WHAT WOULD IT BE? If you would have asked me this a few years ago I would have said producing. The reason for this was that I genuinely find traditional DJing quite boring. Most people can mix one record into another now, and so I felt like DJing was becoming over saturated. I was playing with 3 CDJs and Soundbite Pro and I still wasn’t enjoying it. The thing is, I have ADHD and other ‘isms’ lol, so if my brain isn’t working at 1000 miles an hour I get bored. I now play on a fully hybrid-live set up, which is so much fun. There are so many different things I can do and create in moments of madness that just keeps things interesting when I am DJing. I have finally found a way to bridge the gap between producing and DJing. So for sure, I much prefer touring and DJing now! WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MUSIC AND DJ INDUSTRY, IN ALL ASPECTS, COMPARING IT TO THE PAST & THE PRESENT? The industry is always changing and I am all for it. There are certainly things that I don’t enjoy about it, such as phones out in raves and social media in general, but that is because I grew up not doing that. I would never take my phone out for a photo or take a video of a DJ (though I kinda wish I did now for the memories!) - I would prefer to live in the moment. I think the industry is moving in a positive direction, but one thing that I think a lot of new artists lack is experience and time. They expect things to happen overnight, and then often resort to AI tools, social media and purchasing fame to speed the process up. I can’t compare it to 20 years ago, as I was 11 years old then lol, but in the time that I have been in this industry I have enjoyed it’s changes and progression, as it has forced me to learn new things and push myself as an artist. IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO CHANGE THREE THINGS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, LIKE A FICTIONAL SUPERHERO WITH A POWER, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? This is a hard one! Not that there’s loads I would change, but because no one’s ever asked me a question like this before. Firstly, I’d shine a light on every talented DJ and producer, regardless of gender, race, location, or how many followers. Too much of the scene still favours who you know, or where you’re from. My Equal Exposure Beam would level the playing field, letting raw skill and unique sound take the spotlight. Secondly, I’d ensure fair pay across the board - from DJs playing packed rooms at 4am, to the underground producers fuelling the scene with unreleased music. No more ‘play for exposure’ or getting paid a £100. Passion alone doesn’t pay rent. Lastly, I’d have some kind of no-ego forcefield, lol. I’d cast a forcefield that basically deflects DJs shitty egos. The underground scene was built on community, not clout. My power would bring the focus back to connection, collaboration, and pure love for the music. IGLESIAS HOW DID YOU LEARN TO DJ AND PRODUCE, AND IN WHICH ORDER? DID YOU HAVE ANY HELP WITH THE BASICS AT THE BEGINNING? AND LATER ON, DID ANY ESTABLISHED DJS OR PROMOTERS FROM THE SCENE SUPPORT YOU? I taught myself to DJ on various controllers. I actually still get ‘memories’ on Facebook pop up of me using the old controllers such as the Mixtrack Pro or a Pioneer T1 - so this is going back around 14 years. I was mixing either dubstep or dubby techno back then though! It wasn’t until I went to Ministry of Sound for the first time, when I was 18, that I met a guy called Harry Allen -a music producer who had a studio in London - we got along, and he invited me back to his studio and showed me a couple of things in Logic. From that day on I was messing around making loops and creating records. When I was 22 I went to Point Blank in London, where I spent a year learning the fundamentals of music production and sound design. I had incredible tutors there and their passion was passed down to me - I really do owe a lot to the team there. I even remember an assignment they gave us where we had to write an entire track only using massive and sculpting sounds fromwhite noise - no presets back then! To keep things brief about establish DJs supporting me; I used to run some parties at university, where I booked artists such as wAFF, Steve Lawler, Solardo, Latmun and so on. Me and Joe (Latmun) hit it off and became really close friends - he really started to push me, invited me to his shows and introducing me to key people in the scene. He already knows how much he helped me in the early days… but if you are reading this Joe - I appreciate you bro! WHICH DJS INFLUENCED YOU AND HELPED SHAPE YOUR SOUND? A big part of my early career was influenced by the sound of Music On in 2014/15. I was obsessed with that straight groove tech house, and that has continued throughout my career. I’ve spoken about this before in another interview, but I remember myself and Latmun going to Music On one weekend and hearing Marco drop a version of Kerri Chandler’s ‘Heal My Heart’ and thinking – “I recon I could do one better”. I went home and made something two days later. Me and Latmun flew out to Ibiza the following weekend and stood in Amnesia when Marco dropped it. It was the most incredible feeling - I have goosebumps right now thinking about it! Later on in my career I sent some music to Paco Osuna, we got chatting and have now become really close friends. He has been a great mentor for me over the last five years or so - I cannot thank him enough for his advice and guidance in this crazy industry.
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011 YOUR 10,000‑RECORD ARCHIVE IS LEGENDARY. HOW DO YOU DIG FOR GEMS? To be honest, I am not digging on purpose. The way I buy music is I just go to the record store, and I go through the vinyls and I take the music that I like. Very simple. So, yeah. YOU ALSO HOLD RESIDENCIES AT TRESOR AND CLUB DER VISIONÄRE — HOW DOES IBIZA COMPARE TO BERLIN NIGHTS? DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME IN IBIZA? WHAT STICKS IN YOUR MIND? The first thing I remember about my first time in Ibiza was arriving in 2006 without a car. I think I spent the whole season like that, which turned out to be pretty interesting because I ended up meeting a lot of people. That’s what really sticks in my mind when I think back to that time. YOU’VE JUST LAUNCHED YOUR TRIPLEVISIONS RESIDENCY AT SIGMA — HOW HAS IT STARTED? I actual ly started my Triplevisions night last year here in Ibiza, so this is my second season. I chose Sigma because it’s a smal l , intimate club, and I thought it would be the perfect place to host my parties this year. Why vinyl? What makes spinning records sti l l so special for you? It’s definitely a different way of playing compared to digital—not better or worse, just different. That was around 23 years ago. And it’s definitely another way of playing. It’s more smooth, elegant, and it’s also a chal lenge sometimes because you need to be very concentrated. They’re definitely two different worlds. Berlin is more about the underground scene, while Ibiza has a different vibe. I think it’s quite an interesting thing. We all love to be in Ibiza, but we also love being in Berlin, and that’s a fact. YOUR MUSIC BLENDS HOUSE AND TECHNO IN A HYPNOTIC WAY — HOW DO YOU SHAPE THAT SOUND? I don’t really plan anything in advance. I just play what I have with me and go with the flow. Somehow, it naturally comes together—house, techno—and I create my own vibe with it. AS A SELECTOR, WHAT DO YOU AIM TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL ON THE DANCEFLOOR? The most important thing is to create good energy. It’s simple: if I feel good, the people feel good. And if they feel good, I feel good. It’s an energetic exchange between the DJ and the crowd. And finally, what’s one vinyl track you could never play without? Definitely A Black Man – I Beat That Bitch With a Bat. Check it out.
012 TWENTY SIX, PASAS GRAN PARTE DEL AÑO VIAJANDO Y TOCANDO ALREDEDOR DEL MUNDO. ¿CÓMO ES REALMENTE LA VIDA EN TOUR CUANDO LAS LUCES SE APAGAN Y TE QUEDAS SOLO? Cuando las luces se apagan y el set termina, para mí llega un momento muy diferente. Me gusta estar tranquilo, a veces salgo a dar un paseo por la ciudad en la que estoy, otras simplemente me relajo viendo una película en el hotel. Con los años he aprendido a estar bien solo, y hoy valoro esos momentos de silencio y de espacio personal. Son ocasiones en las que puedo pensar, planear el futuro o simplemente cuidar de mí mismo. ¿TIENES ALGUNA RUTINA O RITUAL QUE TE AYUDE A MANTENERTE CENTRADO MIENTRAS SALTAS DE CIUDAD EN CIUDAD? En realidad no tengo una rutina como tal cuando estoy de gira. Más que nada intento no dejarme llevar por el cansancio y ocupar mi tiempo de manera inteligente. En el aeropuerto, por ejemplo, me detengo en la lounge, como algo, quizás trabajo en música o respondo llamadas y mensajes. Otras veces me basta con ponerme los auriculares y escuchar música, soy un loco del reggae y podría escucharlo durante horas, me hace pasar el tiempo de una manera completamente distinta. No tengo un ritual fijo que repita siempre, prefiero vivir el viaje con tranquilidad y adaptarme, intentando mantenerme centrado sin dejarme atrapar por emociones negativas. PASAR TANTO TIEMPO SOLO PUEDE SER UN RETO… ¿CÓMO MANEJAS ESOS MOMENTOS FUERA DEL ESCENARIO? La verdad es que no lo vivo como un problema, al contrario, me gusta mucho. Creo que estos momentos lejos del escenario son importantes porque me permiten recargar energías, poner en orden la mente y volver al trabajo con más claridad y creatividad. En definitiva, he aprendido a disfrutar de la soledad como un pequeño espacio de libertad y de placer, y al final lo considero una parte valiosa del viaje. SI TUVIERAS QUE HACER UNA LISTA DE TUS CLUBES FAVORITOS DONDE HAS TOCADO, ¿CUÁLES SERÍAN Y POR QUÉ? Últimamente me he divertido muchísimo en todo el mundo jajaja. Me encanta viajar, conocer personas lejanas y llevar mi música más allá de las fronteras. Entre mis clubes favoritos está sin duda el Lost Beach Club de Montañita, en Ecuador. Me encanta porque se encuentra en un lugar natural increíble, las fiestas duran muchísimo y el after party se realiza en una sala realmente hermosa que ellos llaman “La Cueva”. Además, adoro la energía y la pasión de la gente de Ecuador. Otro lugar que me impresionó mucho es After Caposile, cerca de Venecia porque es un club muy underground, con una cultura musical muy elevada, y siempre es especial tocar para personas tan apasionadas. Por supuesto, también me he divertido en muchos otros clubes, pero estos dos me han dejado recuerdos particularmente intensos. La semana pasada fue increíble tocar en Lima y ahora no veo la hora de empezar la gira por Estados Unidos. ¿RECUERDAS ALGUNA NOCHE EN UN CLUB QUE HAYA SIDO TAN ESPECIAL QUE TODAVÍA TE DÉ ESCALOFRÍOS AL RECORDARLA? Una noche que me divertí muchísimo fue en París, donde toqué en una line up junto a Seth Troxler. La fiesta estaba organizada por los chicos de Atarashi, que son mis amigos, y tener cerca a alguien con quien hay un verdadero sentido de familia cambia por completo la energía que se respira en cabina toda la noche. El club era increíble, la atmósfera espectacular, y se notaba que todos estaban viviendo la música intensamente. Sin duda, fue una noche para recordar y no veo la hora de volver. ENTRE AEROPUERTOS, HOTELES Y CABINAS… ¿QUÉ ES LO QUE MÁS EXTRAÑAS DE CASA CUANDO ESTÁS DE GIRA? Lo que más extraño cuando estoy de gira es sin duda comer bien. Me doy cuenta de que a veces soy un poco difícil con la comida, y viajando por el mundo no siempre encuentro lo que me gusta… También en latino america solo como pizza, sushi y pasta jajaja. Así que de vez en cuando me gustaría volver con mi madre y probar su cocina. Además de la comida, en algunos momentos también extraño tener cerca el apoyo físico de mis amigos de siempre, de las personas que me son queridas. Pero al mismo tiempo sé que esto es solo el comienzo de mi carrera: conoceré a muchísima gente y siempre debo seguir adelante, esforzarme al máximo. Pero al final, son las cosas sencillas las que más extraño como pasar tiempo con mis padres o con mis amigos de siempre, reír juntos y compartir momentos normales.
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016 La emblemática residencia de los sábados, ANTS, entra en su duodécima temporada en 2025. Lo que comenzó como una pequeña fiesta para workers en Ibiza se ha transformado en una de las marcas más reconocidas de la música electrónica a nivel mundial, con una comunidad internacional fiel conocida como The Colony. Desde sus inicios humildes, ANTS ha traspasado las fronteras de la isla para recorrer el planeta con showcases en los mejores clubes, festivales y eventos de música electrónica. En este artículo exploramos cómo, pese a haberse convertido en una potencia global, ANTS ha mantenido intacto su espíritu comunitario, situando a The Colony, el talento emergente y la conexión como el motor de todo lo que representa. Hoy, ANTS es un movimiento global, pero sus raíces están en la comunidad de workers de Ibiza. En 2013, ANTS nació como una fiesta de día en la parte trasera de Ushuaïa Ibiza, pensada exclusivamente para quienes hacen que la isla funcione: camareros, técnicos de sonido e iluminación, personal de producción, trabajadores de la hostelería y muchos otros profesionales esenciales. En 2025, rindieron homenaje a ese legado ofreciendo entrada gratuita a todos los titulares del Ibiza Workers Pass, durante todo el día, cada sábado. (Excepto en eventos especiales como el Opening o el Closing.) Cada sábado, ANTS presenta a los artistas más emocionantes del panorama internacional, pero el impulso al talento emergente está en el ADN de la marca. Muchos de los nombres más queridos de la isla han desarrollado su carrera durante temporadas con The Colony. En 2023, se lanzó ANTS: NEXT GEN, un programa oficial de mentoría artística que brinda a los artistas las herramientas y el escenario para mostrar su talento al mundo. Los ganadores de este año, DARKHORSE y Grouse, se suman a nombres anteriores como FIRZA y Us Two, recibiendo apoyo directo de ANTS y sus colaboradores. Ambos actuarán en ANTS METALWORKS en Ushuaïa Ibiza el sábado 6 de septiembre, junto a Andrea Oliva, HoneyLuv B2B TSHA, Melé, KILIMANJARO y Dunmore Brothers. The Colony, la legión de seguidores de ANTS, es una comunidad global de amantes de la música electrónica. Esta temporada, ANTS ha creado un espacio para que se reúnan más allá de la pista de baile: el ANTS Social HUB. Este nuevo punto de encuentro, ubicado en los estudios de Ibiza Sonica en Playa d’en Bossa, abre sus puertas a The Colony durante la grabación del ANTS Radio Show, con retransmisión en directo, encuentros con DJs y sesiones para bailar juntos. Invitados recientes han incluido a Chelina Manuhutu y Francisco Allendes, y habrá muchos más. Todos los sábados, del 3 de mayo al 4 de octubre de 2025, ANTS METALWORKS ofrece una muestra del sonido que ha hecho de Ibiza el epicentro global de la música electrónica. Desde house, techno y tech house hasta afro house y latin house, esta es la banda sonora del verano 2025 en la isla. En una colaboración innovadora con los pioneros del arte digital W1 Curates, el universo industrial de ANTS METALWORKS cobra vida a través de una serie de piezas visuales espectaculares creadas por la artista visionaria Kelly Boesch. Estas animaciones oníricas difuminan la línea entre la tecnología y el alma, generando un espacio donde la inteligencia artificial se funde con la imaginación y cada fotograma cuenta una historia. La serie transportará a The Colony al corazón de un mundo de robótica, máquinas conscientes y misteriosas hormigas cromáticas. ANTS X AOD ANTS METALWORKS CADA SÁBADO EN USHUAÏA IBIZA, DEL 3 DE MAYO AL 4 DE OCTUBRE DE 2025
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019 CHAPTER 4 – THE NEPALESE DIARIES HÉCTOR CASTELLS NOW HERE, EVEREST NORTH RIDGE, JUNE 1924. On the last day of Life with George Mallory and Sandy Irvine in it, the wrath of the Gods ruling the highest peak on Earth unravelled as predicted by the Dalai Lama: the delusional white men would be greeted mercilessly. It was the 6th of June of 1924, and Mallory was as possessed as he had been the year before, when his hasty, final attempt to climb Mt. Everest ended up claiming the lives of seven of his strongest Nepalese Sherpa. On both occasions, the expedition was coming to an end, and Mallory kept refusing to take losing, his pride higher than his immediate graveyard. In 1924 the climbing party had been severely decimated by the ungodly weather and a number of injuries. On his last day on Earth, Mallory knew his effort was reckless and against all odds. Somehow, the army leader of the venture, Edward Norton, could also smell the looming fatality: “There is no doubt, Mallory knows he is leading a forlorn hope,” he said to Noel Odell, the last man to see the vanishing heroes. By then, Mallory and Irvine had agreed to face the ultimate challenge any rock climber must deal with. 1924 marked Mallory’s third expedition as leader mountaineer, and his second as poster-boy. His star had been pumped up by a prearranged marketing campaign commanded by the English tabloid tycoons of the time, a bunch of illiterate bastards with a knack for making money, their favourite word asides from death. The goal of the crusade was clear as ever: to stab the Union Jack on the umpteenth foreign kingdom, hence to preserve the spirit of colonialism. Mallory had not chosen to be the leader, he just happened to be a natural. Inevitably, upon the cruellest hour, the obnoxious rock climber inside Mallory forbade him to taste humiliation for a third, consecutive time. He would not allow himself to be back empty handed once again. NOW HERE: GANDAKI, NEPAL, AUGUST 2025. The man who has lost his sleep, wife, country, farm, friends, appetite and lust trying to hunt you down for the last five years, has never looked quieter or more content since the start of the manhunt. He has been devouring Into the Silence, Wade’s Davis seminal account of the first expedition to Mt. Everest with such fruition that he has started to believe that he might be Mallory’s reincarnation. It is a too forgiving way to look at yourself when you are a murderer. Before attaining this unexpected, delusional Nirvana, he was seen outside a lovely hotel near Kathmandu’s airport crushing the head of a shaved, plump man with a baseball bat. NOWHERE YOU You had pictured yourself doing the exact same thing for so long that upon finding the news your sense of revengefulness feels cheated How unfair it is that someone else has finished Khaled? Yes, Khaled, the first singer that you had ever interviewed in the Little Barcelonan Hell, a former prodigy hip-hoper who dumped his Grammy’s dreams to become an AI tycoon and cyborg, and whom you provided with your unsolicited, forced labour: he kept you locked in an underground facility in Marrakech for almost a thousand nights, barely feeding you with dates and shisha’s, until you had completed his nauseating hagiography, a book that made him plumper and richer. AI MOUNTAIN HIGHER — NEVEREST
020 USHUAIA, ARGENTINA, MARCH, 2003. You are a young idiot, like most youngsters. You checked in the homestay last night and you were distraught. Your host name is Alejandra. She is double your age and she had a son born on the same day as you. To sleep under the same roof as Alejandra makes you feel like the description of Ireland’s Beds and breakfast’ uttered by your former Gaelic associate, “The Clown”: “It is like having a sleepover in the house of your best mate’s parents— except for the fact that your best friend is dead.” MIJITO You wake up sweating after having the recurrent dream where your mother is a stripper asking you to fill her cleavage with a dollar note. After trying to dissuade her for an agonizing while, you relent and give her a one-cent coin. She looks at you with maddening eyes, flips it and says: “There’s a lump in my head.” Before you can react she turns the coin into an AK-47, points it at her nose and fires it, hence you would only realise in hindsight that your dead mother could see the future: there’s a bloody lump where her head was. As you are fleeing Alejandra’s house you get your dead twin room door mixed up with the front door, and walk into his dimly lit chamber. There are dozens of devices and a big screen shining in the dark. You get close to it. There’s an image with a label underneath: HARPER-GOD PROAI-XS. You rub your eyes many times to no avail: it is your damned face and it has the same name as the protagonist of your first novel: Harper God! What the heck? NOWHERE: ALL THE BLOODY BATTLEGROUNDS OF EUROPE, 1916. Before the vertiginous glaciers and the heavenly summits, the horror of mankind had reached NOW HERE: GANDAKI, NEPAL, AUGUST 2025. Your only relief is that the executioner, who turned Khaled’s head into a strawberry daiquiri, is the same cop who has been failing to pin you down for the last lustrum, the notorious bloke with a scar like a crooked question mark running from his cheekbone to his earlobe. As many therapists will tell you, his surname is greatly to blame—for real! Your surname means “large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls.” Therefore, right now, you just want to honour your only purpose: to live and die by your sword, and lure the Murder(er) into hitting your Medieval wall — therefore terminating your vengeance against those responsible for the obliteration of your loved ones. Then you may check out. unparalleled heights. In 1916, some of the future Everest climbers were losing limbs, watches, touch, rings, vision, boots and everything else (including their mental health and further sanity) while fighting the greatest massacre of young souls ever recorded: The Great War. The only thing the survivors would never lose was the first they would have traded for a kidney or an eye: their memory. Instead of forgetting, they kept gathering the dismembered slides of the gruesome extermination of the brightest minds of their generation. THE NORTH COL, JUNE 6TH, 1924. Fast forward eight years and two of the survivors of the carnage, Howard Somervell and George Mallory, the man who had turned all heads with his effortless gait — including the Queen’s head, the Alpine Society heads, the heads of all Tibetan Sherpa, shamans, porters and even the Dalai Lama’s and Virginia Woolf’s head— are leading the last attempt to crown Everest. The monsoon is a tickling bomb above their heads, and the blizzards are insane. Sandy Irvine, the youngest member and oxygen master of the party, has woken up to a pounding migraine and has remained on the lowest base camp. Mallory misses him while ascending along Somervell and Norton. The winds are bitter, the ice ledge is trembling, and the vertical, frozen walls are reflecting the broken sunshine in murderous fractals. Upon reaching the highest point, 900 metres away from the summit, Norton foolishly removes his goggles, and the piercing fractals burn both his corneas. Somervell has to escort his blind companion back to base camp, and during the treacherous, slippery descent, a gush of wind and ice enters his mouth and slices his throat. He spits the lining of his larynges before collapsing. Mallory has no choice but to cancel the ascent. He is corroded but not defeated.
021 NEVEREST That same night, back at base camp, while everyone is ready to pack, he spends the night putting together the plan for one last go. Almost everyone around him is either blue, seeing double, frostbitten or throwing up. Himself and Irvine are the only fit climbers left. It is already too late to consider a new attempt, but George finds the perfect excuse: since Sandy has the oxygen and they are the strongest left, they can go up at thrice the speed of the rest. They will leave early and come back by sunset after crowning “the mountain of their desires.” They are about to become the first humans to ever be entitled to call Mt. Everest, Neverest. NOW HERE, CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, NEPAL, AUGUST 2025. Wade’s Davis emotional and exhilarating account of George’s Mallory and Sandy’s Irvine last days has turned Carl Murder into an insatiable reader. He has not even smoked since the termination of Khaled. In fact, he has never slept better. He is in such a mood that he has also taken in morning breathwork and yoga, before devoting his sleepless life to reading Into the Silence. Murder is oblivious to his whereabouts. He was taken to this freezing underground facility thanks to Alex’s magic. She is the same witch doctor that you met at Now Here, the shelter for young addicts outside Dublin. Yes, she killed Nora, your dearest student, and fled the crime scene framing you as the primal suspect. You have been on the run ever since, but it is only now when you put two and two together: what happened in Argentina 23 years ago has to be related to your current hunt. USHUAIA, ARGENTINA, 2003 It is 7AM and Alejandra sees you walking out her dead son’s room. You are pale and dishevelled, and she winks at you and asks, “Breakfast Mijito?” You can’t even say no, you just storm out of the house. You haven’t slept much since your editor in chief in El País wrote you the infamous email: “You are just A CONTRIBUTOR: never ask for a press pass IN OUR NAME AGAIN!” You were in Buenos Aires waiting for his green light to attend Mar del Plata’s cinema festival, where you were to interview Lisandro Alonso and Lucrecia Martel. Instead of the press pass you got the furious email, so you walked back to your hotel and booked a flight to Ushuaia instead, where you plan to write your first dystopian novel —Harper God, working title— and forget about journalism. CORRESPONDENT CONTRIBUTOR Instead of writing the novel, you become its protagonist: it has taken you less than half an hour in Patagonia to get adopted by a new mother, and to begin impersonating your dead twin. It is a furious start, and you act accordingly: after storming out of the house, you start walking towards Ushuaia, the last town of the end of the world. The hills are purple, the soil red, and the foam of the waves dazzling white. You feel inspired and unreal: you want to have a coffee and write notes for the first chapter using the recent disturbing findings in your dead twin bedroom. You find a cafeteria named Shackleton, order a double espresso and write the first chapter of your dystopian novel in one sitting. Before leaving the place you order a glass of water, and the waitress tells you that the bar is named after the Irish man who capsized in this shore while leading the first British expedition to the North Pole. “Old and fucking unlucky grandpa…” You ask her to elaborate. “Shackleton went MIA, and everybody assumed he was dead. But he and his men subsisted on seal meat, penguins, and their dogs, and they remerged alive five months later. I’m her illegitimate granddaughter, but my brother was the one who found out…and he was killed for it.” You tell her that you are a journalist: you’d love to know more. Her face lights up: “Come for tea at mine later: I’ll show you everything. I’m Mariana” CITY OF DOGS Before leaving, you see a newsstand and grab a copy of La Nación. You read a familiar headline: “Air Jordan’s and Nike Favelas.” It runs a story about the director of City of God, the first ad ever turned into an ad movie. His name is Fernando Meirelles. You interviewed him in San Sebastian and the story became the cover of El País’s Friday magazine. He is an unremarkable man who made an unremarkable movie. Today is Friday and La Nación’s magazine opens with the same photo that illustrated your story. You wonder if your dead twin might have written it, and you start reading it. FFS! It is your piece! What the HECK! You are signing it as “Héctor Castells, Correspondent of El País in Sao Paulo.” As it turns out, your piece is the biggest story promoting the opening ceremony of the festival that you were denied access to…for being a contributor! You flounce out of the house. You are shaking with rage. You find an Internet café and you write an email to your editor in chief. You will never work again for such a scumbag. And yet, you will for many others, not that you know.
022 NOW HERE, NORTH COL, JUNE THE 8TH, 1923. Sandy Irvine was the latest man to join the Everest expedition, and the youngest member of all three ventures. He was recruited for his exceptional skills at fixing things, from oxygen canisters to ice axes, and, well, for having the body of a Greek God; the ultimate reason for Mallory to choose him for the deadly glory. Overall, Irvine could light up a frozen cave with his smile: life with himwas better than without. Murder feels for Sandy like a father. His copy of Into the Silence is crumpled and soggy. As he advances towards the end, he increasingly feels like he is leading Irvine to his death. Maybe if he cancels the reading there’s a chance to rewrite its end? To save them both? It is possible: it is exactly how the half AI that he has been hunting for the last five years operates, the damned Harper God, isn’t it? BELONGING He knows that he is into something; he sets aside the book, and starts sweeping the Internet. He scrolls and cries: he has never felt anything like this. Is this empathy? Is this what you call it? Belonging? Yes, this is belonging. He smiles like a radiator rising Orion’s dawn. He has found the meaning of life. He is George and Sandy. After sweeping all the online content, he finds a mysterious, extensive article written by an Argentinian journalist who claims that George Mallory was the first fictional character invented by the tabloid tycoons of the time. “Mallory was crafted as the redeemer of a nation to rebuild the morale of England after the calamitous failure of Shackleton’s expedition to the North Pole and the decline of the Empire.” DISSOLUTION Murder momentum crumbles as fast as it has risen. He stands up and there is no trace of his ass in his seat cushion. He runs for the toilet. He is not reflected. He is badly panicstricken. It is painful to watch: “am I cartoon? Mallory’s ghost?” Horror emoji. His computer beeps. He has a newmessage. The sender is an Argentinian journalist. His profile picture is a photo of YOUR FACE. He only realises now that he is not a cartoon but a sad, lonely character helplessly trying to redeem his imaginary self —if only to become the sobbed hero of a sad, mourning nation. No matter how sentimental and vile were all the stories about Mallory and Irvine that turned the tabloid tycoons into ever greater monsters, the epic account of Wade Davis’ is the only reason that has brought you to Nepal 23 years later, turned a travel AI writer, who cries like a good robot upon reading the last page. EPILOGUE The library will endure; it is the universe. As for us, everything has not been written; we are not turning into phantoms. We walk the corridors, searching the shelves and rearranging them, looking for lines of meaning amid leagues of cacophony and incoherence, reading the history of the past and our future, collecting our thoughts and collecting the thoughts of others, and every so often glimpsing mirrors, in which we may recognize creatures of the information. — Jorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel. NOW HERE, USHUAIA, ARGENTINA, 2003. The napkin where Mariana has written her address is all wet, the ink melted. And yet, you read “calle JL org… 23..” You knock at the door. The number is 2323 on Borges’ street. It is your homestay. Alejandra opens the door. “Buenas mamaita,” you awkwardly say. Alejandra doesn’t look like the inconsolable mother of a dead son anymore. Her face has hardened, her lips are thinner and her glance is sly. Overall, what destroys your breathing and revamps your haemorrhoids are the two heads standing by her side. You try to run. You can’t move. Your smile is frozen latex, same as your eyes and elbows. Knees are a bit like jelly. Mariana stands at her left mischievously smiling. And then there is you flanking Alejandra’s right side. She is actually Alex, the same viper that framed you. “Get in there, Harper, my apologies for the mess. What you are about to witness now is not going to make any sense to you. — But to your future readers. And that is an essential part of the script. What you need to know is what you keep forgetting. You were a bad journalist. You died. We rewrote you with a mediocre code and basic features, and well, there’s some sort of fucked up chip in your motherboard that has turned you in the most wanted AI ever wanted. We are going to switch you off. We are taking it! GOOD RIDDANCE”
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024 que los chicos se drogaran, que los organizadores lo hacían para vender drogas, y que los DJs poníamos música con mensajes diabólicos. Parece un chiste ahora, pero lo decían en serio en televisión. Fueron años muy duros. En 2015 volví a vivir a Argentina, porque vivía en Barcelona. Me di cuenta de la mala imagen que teníamos todos y hablé con mi amigo Cruz, que es promotor y dueño de la productora con la que hago shows. Le dije: “Tenemos que hacer algo, porque si no lo hacemos nosotros, ¿quién?”. Además, yo era el DJ argentino más conocido en ese momento. Pensamos: ¿qué podíamos hacer para mostrar otra cara? Se nos ocurrió hacer un concierto sinfónico de música electrónica en el Teatro Colón, un lugar muy respetado. Por suerte salió muy bien. Hicimos varios shows y estuvieron todos agotados. Ahí, típico de la prensa, pasaron de decir: “la música electrónica es el diablo”, a titulares como “triunfa la música electrónica de la mano de Hernán Cattáneo en el teatro más importante de Sudamérica”. Lentamente, pero siempre a paso firme, cambió la imagen de las fiestas, los DJs y la música. Y ahora estamos en un momento superlativo: en mayo, por ejemplo, hice dos shows en Buenos Aires, 20.000 personas cada día con un solo DJ. Y no hablo de mí, sino del consumo de música electrónica en general. Se hacen festivales enormes y van multitudes. La escena está fuerte y bien armada, en Buenos Aires y en todo el país: Córdoba, Rosario, Bahía Blanca, Tucumán… En Mendoza, en diciembre, pusimos las entradas a la venta y en una hora se agotaron los tres días. TE VIMOS EL ÚLTIMO DOMINGO DE BRUNCH. FUERON TRES HORAS Y MEDIA EN LAS QUE DISFRUTAMOS MUCHO. ¿CÓMO TE SENTISTE EN ESTE NUEVO ESCENARIO? Me encantó. Era la primera vez que tocaba en 528. Había tocado muchas veces con Brunch, pero nunca en 528. Había muy buena energía y buenas sensaciones. Me habían contado que el show de Sasha y John había estado muy bien. Sé la cantidad de argentinos que hay en Ibiza, pero cuando nunca fuiste a un lugar y, sobre todo, a una fiesta más grande de lo habitual, no das nada por hecho: hay que ir, ganarse al público y ver qué tal. Los chicos que abrieron hicieron un muy buen set. Llegué cuando estaba tocando Kevin Di Serna y la gente estaba muy arriba. Entonces, solo era cuestión de continuar algo que ya venía muy bien. Creo que la primera hora fui un poco más suave. Me gusta hacerlo así no solo porque me guste ese tipo de música, sino porque después se nota la diferencia. Cuando arrancás un show de día y después se convierte en noche, sabés que va a haber un cambio de colores y querés reflejarlo en la música: al principio más tranquilo, lento, con algunas vocales, y después más profundo. Funcionó muy bien, la gente estaba contenta y terminamos con el lugar llenísimo. Muy contento con ese show. Algo queme gustómucho del 528: vos, desde la cabina, tenés toda la pista, pero después hay unas gradas, y eso hace que la gente que está detrás de la pista esté en alto, pero bien encima tuyo. Se genera una energíamuy fuerte, como en las canchas de fútbol que tienen las gradas muy cerca. No es como las que tienen pista atlética y la gente está lejos; acá la gente está encima y eso está súper bien. EN ESPAÑA HAY UN DICHO, QUE NO SÉ SI EN ARGENTINA EXISTE TAMBIÉN, QUÉ DICE: “NADIE ES PROFETA EN SU TIERRA”. ¿HA SIDO SIEMPRE ASÍ CONTIGO? En los primeros años no era profeta en mi tierra ni en ningún lado. A principios de los 2000 la cosa empezó a mejorar. Pero en 2014, con la tragedia de Time Warp, fue malísimo. Ahí no solo yo, sino ningún DJ era bien visto. La prensa amarilla, que es casi toda la prensa, nos atacaba durísimo: decían que los eventos se organizaban para
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