Part 2 – Farewell Space Ibiza

And you know what that means – the last ever party at Space Ibiza, as we know it. And more tears being shed as I write today’s blog. We’ve said goodbye to Glitterbox at Space. We’ve bid farewell to Sundays at Space (though we already technically said goodbye a few years ago when We Love Sundays called it a day). We’ve said adios to La Troya at Space. Afterlife is over, short and sweet (or dark) as it was. ONYX too (what WAS that all about?). Elrow knocked their closing out of the park last weekend and if you didn’t cry like a big bald baby as the final bars of The Doors’ ‘This is the end’ reverberated over the Discoteca at the hands of the king of Space, Carl Cox, well you just can’t be human. But this is something else. This IS the end.

The concept this year was Club 27, as Space Ibiza’s end has come as it turns 27, just as many of the world’s famed musical heroes passed away before their time at the same age – think Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones and Amy Winehouse. And speaking of musical heroes, there are well over 100 DJs listed on the line-up and surely as I type, each and every one of them is currently plotting and planning their own last Space Ibiza set, trying to find the perfect final track to sum it all up. Mine would be Layo & Bushwacka’s Love Story – you don’t get much more of a Space anthem than that. Perhaps I should send a group email to the below list and see if there are any takers?

Wow. And they say there are more to be announced! At this rate, it seems like they’ll all get to play a 15-minute set.* But seriously – who will be dropping the final track? Carl Cox, of course… the pressure! What time will it actually carry on until? And will the general public just sit down and refuse to leave? #occupyspace could become a thing. Let’s MAKE it a thing. Readers of my previous lament may remember I wrote about my first ever Space Opening experience with my very good friend Miss G. She’s currently packing her suitcase and getting ready to jet into Ibiza especially for the occasion. As are thousands and thousands of other people from all corners of the globe, who just can’t bear the thought of this party taking place without them. I can’t imagine when Pepe Rossello transformed a humble convention centre into a nightclub in 1989 he would have envisioned having such a profound effect on so many people’s lives. Millions, surely. Me, definitely *wipes another tear away*. Perhaps it should be Pepe himself who chooses the last track to float across those hallowed airwaves. Frank Sinatra’s My Way perhaps?

So here we are. Three sleeps to go. The enormous Flight Club stage is currently under construction in the car park. History is in the making. As we prepare to enter an era in Ibiza without the greatest nightclub in the world, I find myself lost for words (for once) to sum up how I feel, so I leave you with the words of the great W. Axl Rose** – where do we go now? RIP SPACE IBIZA 1989 – 2016 *This is 100% not true. With six arenas and probably over 24 hours of operation, everyone will get their fair share of time on the decks! ** If you’re too young to understand the reference, you probably weren’t at Space in its heyday. Ask Google.

Paris Hilton – 24 hours in Ibiza

“I first heard about Ibiza when I was 15 years old,” Paris Hilton reminisces. “I told my dad I wanted to go in the summer and he said it was OK, but then he went to the concierge – we were living in the Waldorf Astoria at the time – and asked him to help with booking tickets. The concierge said, ‘Mr Hilton, you do NOT want her to go there – it’s a party island and she’s a teenager!’ So I wasn’t allowed to go until I turned 18.” Of course, nothing makes a teenage girl more determined than her father saying no, so a young Paris became obsessed with the idea of the white isle, jumping on that first flight once she reached the magical age of 18 with her girlfriends. They stayed at Jade Jagger’s bohemian chic villa – complete with disco balls over the pool and teepees in the garden – in the island’s north and fell in love with the island lifestyle. But it was her first visit to a foam party that really made the holiday complete. “I had never been to any party like it – I was just blown away. It was awesome!” she says. Today, 20 years after the island first appeared on her radar, Ibiza is Hilton’s summer home. Over the past four years she’s gotten to know it like a true local – though at times, due to her notoriety, this calls for her to wear a brown wig, a baseball cap and glasses so she can truly enjoy the experience. When asked if this is liberating, Paris thinks carefully. “I like going undercover when I want to shop, have fun, and have some time to myself to really experience something,” she explains. “But it’s not always like that – in Ibiza, people respect other people and there’s a good energy here. It’s not like Hollywood with TMZ. I don’t mind if people ask me for a picture. Why not make people happy?”

Come Saturday nights at Amnesia, happy people in their thousands flock to see the star DJ perform in the main room of the award-winning club. Paris is now in her fourth season as resident DJ at the club, hosting her own Foam & Diamonds party every week throughout the summer season. 2016 sees the club decked out in amazing hanging floral décor – which Paris herself also helps to design, along with her own costumes and the many looks of the dancers, the artwork, visuals and more. She’s not just the face of the party – she’s also the brains behind its success. Music is undeniably Paris’s number one passion, and having just finished writing a new single – which she says will be recorded here in Ibiza this summer – she also sings during her performances, which culminate with the immensity of the foam party experience that takes place after she steps off the decks in the early hours of the morning. After a quick costume change – a girl can’t fire a foam cannon in any old sequined dress after all – Paris and her ‘girls’ head up to the VIP deck where a customised pink glittery cannon awaits. As she excitedly counts down the ten seconds prior to firing the foam, you can catch a glint of the 18-year old Paris in her eyes, no doubt thinking back to that very first foam party that inspired it all. And while you may think a celebrity fashionista like Paris Hilton would not let her six-inch Louboutins get wet as she aims the foam at the crowd down below, you’d be wrong. Paris is the first to get in and amongst it, covered in the lemon-scented foam from head to toe within minutes – though she does admit to having a pair of waterproof ballerina flats close to hand for a quick non-slip switch when it’s needed!

How do you feel as you step off the plane onto the tarmac? Just free and happy. There’s nothing like it. When you land in Ibiza, even if you’re tired, you immediately feel energised as you breathe in the air. What’s always in your suitcase when you come to Ibiza? Everything – I have about 20 suitcases! A lot of swimsuits and clothes, I love to showcase my fashion designs as well as my music, so I have a lot of outfits I’ve designed and had custom made and crystallised for DJing – it’s very me. I love dressing up and I think my fans love all of the outfits too. Does Ibiza feel like work or holiday to you? Both. It’s not like I just work one night a week at Amnesia – I have 17 different product lines that I design and promote. Plus I am touring around the world to DJ and I make sure every set I play is different. I really do put a lot of time and effort into picking out my perfect songs because I want everyone to have the best time ever. Who do you mostly spend time with on the island? My friends and family from everywhere fly in all the time, my brother is here a lot, and usually my sister and I come together – though she’s just had a baby so she might not be coming for a while! What is your favourite part of the island? Can I say Amnesia? No, really… I love Formentera. What is your best Ibiza memory? I have so many memories, but looking back at the 2016 opening party of Foam & Diamonds at Amnesia… it was incredible. Playing on that stage, there’s nothing like it. How do you feel when you’ve got to start packing to leave? Tired! But sad too, I just miss it and look forward to it all year long. I was actually here a lot last winter too, in October, November and I spent my first New Year’s Eve here and we went to DC10. It was the first year I turned down offers for other gigs, I just wanted to take it off and have some fun – and it was awesome.

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You have 24 hours on the island – tell us your favourite places to…

HAVE BREAKFAST I love Croissant Show, they do a really good breakfast at any time of the day.

GO FOR LUNCH La Escollera is phenomenal – at any time actually. I really love paella and it’s so good there.

EAT DINNER There are so many places, but I guess I would have to say Cova Santa or Cipriani. I recently discovered El Rincon del Puerto too and I love it there too.

DRINK Usually I’ll just have a drink at home before I head out, or in whichever restaurant I’m having dinner in first.

DANCE Amnesia, no doubt. I love going to Marco Carola’s night.

DJ Foam & Diamonds! There’s nothing compared to playing in that room. I play all around the world, I do shows everywhere, but the energy and the people at Amnesia, I love it more than anything. Everyone comes up to me and says they’ve never seen a DJ have so much fun while they’re playing – I think I burn like 20,000 calories every show! I am always jumping and dancing and really feeling it. I like to party with people and have the best time. I live for this. When I look into the crowd and see so many happy people, I literally get tears of happiness in my eyes.

PARTY Honestly – Foam & Diamonds. It’s the funniest party in the world. People really come here to have fun, it’s not about trying to be cool, or putting sparklers in bottles. No one cares about that here. It’s not like Vegas. People just love the music, they love to dance and have a good time, and I love being around people like that.

SHOP I like going into the old town and just walking around and shopping. There are so many nice little boutiques where you can find vintage pieces and wonderful dresses. And I love the hippy market, where there are all these handmade things you can’t find anywhere else in the world, it’s so cool.

BEACH I love all of the beaches I’ve been to in Ibiza, but I especially love Formentera.

ESCAPE Always Formentera.

RELAX At home – otherwise it’s impossible! I like to hang out at home so I can recharge.

Paella at La Escollera

Paris and her ‘girls’ arrive at Amnesia

Marco Carola’s Music On at Amnesia

Ibiza’s sister island Formentera

Paris in DJ mode

Paris Hilton – Making people happy

Ever since she launched her Foam & Diamonds residency in Ibiza in 2013, everyone in Ibiza has had an opinion about Paris Hilton. Love her or not, there’s no denying her love for the island is authentic, her enthusiasm for music is genuine and her desire to have a good time is infectious. It’s practically impossible not to feel happy when you arrive at Amnesia on a Saturday night, surrounded by fluorescent glow-sticks, blown-up portraits of her dog Peter Pan on the walls, pink carpets, chandeliers, and bubbles blasting out of a giant foam cannon onto the dancefloor! Sure, the serious techno-fest that is Carola’s Music On it is not, but this is a girl who has created a persona and knows exactly what her fans want. Making people happy makes Paris happy. You can see it in her eyes, and in the way she reacts to the crowd from her DJ booth (from where we can officially report, yes she does mix for herself) and when you meet her, she exudes a warmth that many other overly media trained celebrities lack.

What may surprise people however, is that this is also a girl who knows her music, technically, and figuratively. When asked her favourite artists she is quick to reel off Carola, Nicole Moudaber, Hawtin and Adriatique and when speaking about her own music and DJ sets, software and equipment like Native Instruments, Traktor and Ableton roll off her tongue like designer labels would have in the past. Having been trolled by ‘haters’ since day one of her DJ career, it’s never been easy for Paris to be taken seriously in the music world – a fact she blames herself for. “You know, it is hard,” she says. “But in the beginning, that was my fault. About five years ago, I was asked to perform my new single at a festival in Brazil to 30,000 people. J.Lo was performing, I was supposed to be closing the show and then the producer I was working with didn’t get me the finished song on time. Literally two days before the show, the promoters wouldn’t let me cancel and they said I had to do something else, like DJ. So I had two days of training, flew to Brazil and did the show…” She shrugs sheepishly – it was clearly an experience she learned from.

She may not have been the most technically perfect artist at the festival – hence the trolling – however Paris was exhilarated by the overall experience. This was a girl who was used to being on television, on red carpets, at photo shoots or at parties, but being up in front of such a huge crowd was a new inspiration for her. “Being up there in front of all those people was such an incredible feeling,” she says. “When I got home, I hired two of the best teachers in the business, and I trained and studied, for eight hours every single day. I can understand why people didn’t ‘get it’, but it all happened by chance. It was supposed to be one performance, I ended up loving it, and so I learned it. I think I’ve proven myself now and I’ve come really far. I’m producing my own music, making my own remixes, I’m loving Traktor, I’m working on Ableton, and now I’m learning to use Stems on Native Instruments. I love it, it’s a lot of fun.” In her third year as a resident DJ at Amnesia (“It’s always been my favourite club in Ibiza.”), Paris says she never plays the same set twice. “I tailor everything to the crowd, and my sets are really energetic. I find a lot of amazing hits, like old songs you wouldn’t expect to hear and I’ll do remixes of those and add them in when I see what the crowd is like.” While you may expect the booth to be packed with Hollywood A-listers, in fact, it’s quite the opposite – Dubfire, Richie Hawtin, Adriatique and Skrillex have all popped in to the party. Does that make her nervous? “I love to surprise people and prove people wrong,” she says with a mischievous glint in her eye. “So many people have misconceptions about me, that when they come behind the booth they can be like, ‘Oh my God, you’re playing live!’ Yeah, I am!”

Music is clearly a huge passion in her life – one that started with playing violin and piano as a little girl – and no matter where she is in the world, Paris likes to immerse herself in it. “I’m always researching, at every festival or club I go to, I’m shazaming or talking to my friends who are DJs, or at home I’m always on Beatport Pro finding certain remixes or new artists.” It’s not all electronic – she admits her guilty pleasures are old Michael Jackson and Madonna tunes at home. Home, in summer 2015, is Ibiza, where she resides full-time with her new boyfriend (or her “love” as she prefers to call him), Swiss businessman Thomas Gross. “I first came here about 15 years ago,” the loved-up heiress says of her Ibiza history. “I just totally fell in love with the island, I thought it was the most incredible place in the world. I’d always loved going to St Tropez, but Ibiza just blew everything else away. I came back every year, and now I live here with my boyfriend.”

In previous years, it was all about jetting in and out on private jets, playing in different countries every night but this year sees Paris experience a more authentic Ibiza lifestyle. “I was always doing a lot of travelling, but now I am with my boyfriend, and he has a house here, we mostly stay in, or go out on the boat. He knows a lot of the locals and we go to places they tell us about – I am experiencing a whole new Ibiza, it’s so different to what I am used to, but I love it.” She also spends a lot of her time on the island working – yes, really. “With technology, I can do my job from anywhere in the world, it’s amazing. During the day I’m handling my business – I have 17 product lines, so I might be promoting one of my stores or a new product. Then at night, it’s like my alter ego comes out – I practice my DJing and work on my music for hours. My boyfriend has a club set up in the house, with lasers and smoke machines, and the sickest system ever.” She’s also been spotted – looking super low-key in black jeans, tank top, trainers and a baseball cap – doing her musical homework at places like Music On and DC10.

As opposed to her hometown of New York, or Hollywood where she has previously spent a lot of time, Paris finds the laid-back ‘live and let live’ attitude of Ibiza locals refreshing. “There’s so much good energy here. People know I go out, and I like to have a good time but I never get bothered. It’s not like Hollywood where TMZ are everywhere you go. In Ibiza, people respect people. Everyone just wants everyone else to have a good time too, and experience this magical party island. Sure, people ask for pictures with me, but why not? It’s nice to make someone smile and give them a memory, if that’s what they want. I could never be mean to anyone.” Foam & Diamonds with Paris Hilton continues at Amnesia until September 12, 2015.