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Miss W's blog

DJs doing good

In the early days of Ibiza’s history, you’d read about DJs behaving badly. In more recent times, you’re more likely read more about the obscene amounts of money they...

In the early days of Ibiza’s history, you’d read about DJs behaving badly. In more recent times, you’re more likely read more about the obscene amounts of money certain DJs make, what pop starlet they’re dating or their ridiculous backstage riders.

But it’s rare that people shine a light on the good that many DJs, do beyond bringing happiness to the dance floor of course. So today, while thinking about the sadness that is currently shadowing much of the world, we should also take some time to appreciate those who use their place in the spotlight to do good.

Contributing to a cause that is very close to our own hearts here at White Ibiza, the teams behind Hï Ibiza and Glitterbox recently teamed up to create the ultimate record collection – a series of hugely influential tracks made by this year’s headliners and classics of days gone by. The collection is now up for auction and will be sold to the highest bidder at the end of the 2017 summer season. All funds raised go directly to The Ibiza Preservation fund to help save our land, sea and cultural and environmental heritage. For more info, or to place your bid, visit the Hï Ibiza website here. On a global scale, Hï Ibiza continue their good work with a new initiative called Dance for One Metre (D41M) this summer, inviting clubbers to dance for another good cause. When guests purchase tickets online, they also have the opportunity to reserve and save one square metre of rainforest in the Culpo Foundations Rainforest Preserve in Brazil – you can even zoom in using Google Earth and check out your own coordinates once you’ve taken part. The idea was conceived at Burning Man a few years ago, inspired by the way the Burner community came together without leaving any environmental impact. If only that could happen on a global scale. Well, one step, or at least one metre, at a time…

Ibiza is also the home of Last Night a DJ Saved My Life – a foundation that helps raise money and provide aid to children in crisis around the world. While many a DJ has leant a helping hand to LNADJ over the years since its inception, this year’s shining star is George Evelyn of Nightmares on Wax. He’s dubbed this year’s exclusive series of Wax Da Jam parties at Ibiza’s legendary hippy market, Las Dalias, the ‘Season of Giving’, with ten percent of the profits from the four parties being donated to the charity, going towards building a well in Africa or India. Further afield, Bridges for Music is another non-profit organisation, bringing together key players in the music industry to raise global awareness and support for responsible development in developing countries, disadvantaged communities. The team behind the initiative understand that artists have the power to bridge the gap between the rich and poor, and are more and more becoming considered tastemakers and opinion leaders and thus encourage them to use their prominent platform to their advantage. Loco Dice, Black Coffee, Richie Hawtin, Skrillex, Dixon and Luciano have all participated in programs in South Africa, workshops or schools created by Bridges for Music, using not only their platform to raise awareness, but also their skills and talents to inspire creativity in places where music may not have been considered a viable career option in years gone by.

Ahhh my dear Luciano. You knew I couldn’t let another blog go by without an honourable mention! But this time, it is truly honourable indeed – in addition to his aforementioned work with Bridges for Music, he also quietly goes about his life making a difference to others in many different charitable ways. He believes he has been given a unique opportunity, through his travels, to connect with people and create unity, promote social consciousness and believes giving back is an ongoing responsibility while also working to preserve Mother Earth. As I mentioned last week, Luciano donated his performance fee from his recent WooMoon gig to local children’s cancer charities, and in years past he has taken part in projects such as Cycle2ADE – riding a bike from London to the annual Amsterdam music conference to raise money to build a school in South Africa. He’s also donated his time to a party to raise money for Claire’s House Children’s Hospital in the UK, has performed for free for the inmates of Ibiza’s prison, and founded his own charity called One Coin For Life, which takes donations from the music industry, or profits raised from selling merchandise, and puts them towards communities in need around the globe, including his homeland of Chile, Colombia and Kenya. Is there anything this man can’t do?

When it comes to helping little ones in need, Ibiza’s most recognisable celebrity resident Paris Hilton – who holds a summer residency in Amnesia on Sunday nights with her Foam & Diamonds party – is one of the first ones to get involved. Hilton doesn’t only donate money to good causes – she throws parties for them, with an annual foam party held for kids and teens in Amnesia, with profits being raised going to local children’s charity APNEEF. She’s also been spotted getting hands-on and participating in art workshops with children with special needs at NY art collector Lia Malca’s space, La Nave in Salinas, proving she is much more than just a pretty face. She’s a caring one too. Another name often associated with lasers and partying moreso than charity is Hardwell, the Dutch DJ who keeps a humble profile when it comes to the art of giving. His own global United We Are Foundation joined forces with Mumbai’s NGO Magic Bus, to give aid and provide education to over 18,000 children in urban and rural areas in India. In the EDM world, many of the multi-million dollar artists are generous with their time and money – despite what preconceptions about their industry may be – with Avicii previously launching a charity dedicated to abolishing world hunger, starting in his own backyard of the USA before moving across to Africa. To date, more than one million dollars have been raised and more than two million meals distributed.

Meanwhile, the man behind Pacha’s roadblock success party F*** Me I’m Famous, David Guetta, is also heavily involved with a variety charities including the Red Cross, City of Hope and STOMP Out Bullying among others.  The DJ and producer works closely with the United Nations and famously made a track and video for World Humanitarian day – every time it was tweeted, or retweeted, one dollar was donated to aiding those in the Phillipines, Syria and other areas affected by natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Love it or hate it, he also remixed Wham’s classic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ to raise money and awareness for Ebola victims in West Africa. F** Me – that’s using his fame wisely! And that’s just a handful of DJs who are using their powers for good over evil! There are so many more – Seth Troxler’s soup kitchen in Amsterdam also springs to mind, Ida Engberg’s Techno for Humanity, Café Mambo and their Mambo in the Mix parties raising money for Ibiza’s Red Cross, Carl Cox using his ‘Oh Yes’ tagline to create a phone-based donation system for Warchild – but the most wonderful thing is, they are not doing it for recognition. They’re certainly not doing it because they have to. They’re just doing it from the heart.