Skream on the Strangeness of Bringing Dubstep to Ibiza and Seth Troxler’s Infamous Birthday Parties

The Summer season in Ibiza is one of the most important nodes in the world of international dance music. As DJs and clubbers from all around the world descend on the White Isle, the year’s musical identity is defined through all-day beach parties, all-night sessions at clubbing meccas, and secret jungle parties tucked into leafy enclaves.

To get an inside look on what’s it like right now in Ibiza, we’ve invited some of our favorite DJs to bring us along on a week in their life on the island, in a series we call White Isle Journals. This week, we welcome dubstep pioneer turned house and techno aficionado, Skream, who explains the strangeness of first playing bass on the island. He also spills a cheesy little secret of his longtime mate Jackmaster, who has an interesting weekday side-job on the island. “My first time in Ibiza was quite a weird one, because it was when I was still playing dubstep, so it must’ve been about six years ago. It was really strange going to an island that’s renowned for its house and techno and trance in order to play dubstep and it was received quite weirdly at the time. I felt a bit like an alien to be honest. I think the party was at Amnesia; it was really daunting. It was what it was though, and we ended up doing quite a few dubstep shows after that so it got better. Whilst there aren’t too many dubstep nights in Ibiza any more, I think the island is in a good state at the moment. There’s quite a diverse music selection to offer, and it’s certainly generating plenty of money.

I have so many contenders for my favorite party memories in Ibiza, but it would definitely have to be one of Seth Troxler’s birthdays. There was his birthday last year, which was a toga party I think, and I ended up dressed in a bed sheet. The year before was a pajama-themed party: I turned up dressed in a girl’s nightdress, Jackmaster was in a pair of pants, and Seth was in full bondage attire. Seth’s parties always stand out, although when Jackmaster got an apartment a year ago every weekend was insane. Many people might not know that Jackmaster actually works at a pizza shop in Ibiza Town during the week. My ideal Ibiza party crew would consist of him, his Glaswegian friends JonJo and Jay, my tour manager Dav, and my girlfriend Chloe. At least, that’s who I’m going out with tonight!

The only tip I can give on getting through parties in Ibiza is just to stay awake. Don’t think you can take a nap, because naps never work. You miss out on everything if you try to have a “nap.” So you have to power on through, and eventually you’ll get your second wind, your third wind, your fourth wind.

I really hope Ibiza continues to retain its status, but it’s hard to say. I can’t see that it’s going to lose its magic, but obviously with some of the changes that are happening, who knows. The fact that Space is closing is quite a shock, but as long as clubs like Amnesia and DC10 are still going, as well as the actual brands that are throwing the parties, they’ll keep the magic going.

LAST WEEK

I’ve just come off the back of a mini US tour. Thursday I was in Orlando, playing at Tier Nightclub; Friday, I was in Montreal; and on Saturday, I played an amazing club called Flash Factory in New York. It was unbelievable, it’s definitely one of my favorite clubs in New York. I hung out with the management and crew from there, and then I flew back this morning and now I’m off back to Ibiza.

I wish I could spend more time in Ibiza. Often I have to move on or go home, but I’m always there for at least 2-4 days [at a time]. I’ll spend that time trying to avoid a nap, haha! But it’s a good place to catch up with people. This year has been a bit difficult, at least for the last 8 weeks because I broke my leg. Paradise was my first DC10 gig of the year, but normally I’d want to be there every other week. I only cancelled two shows when I first broke my leg [eight weeks ago] actually, but otherwise I’ve been able to keep playing sitting down. Now everyone wants to play sitting down, it’s rubbing off!

TRACK OF THE WEEK

My track of the week is the Eats Everything remix of “Flash” by Green Velvet. It’s very, very good, I played it for the first time in New York at Flash Factory, and I’ll definitely be playing it again in Ibiza.

Skream returns to Paradise at DC-10 on September 28.