The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 14

THE IBIZA SPECIALS PART 3 - REQUESTS OF THE VILLA GUESTS

Back to reality with a thud, Ibiza 2011 has been and gone. 7 days in the clubbing capital of the world burning the candle at every available end; 3 in the idyllic Mallorcan town of Sóller dining like a king.

This Friday just gone was my first day back in work and, to be honest, I was running out of superlatives. In fact, I think my colleagues found my tanned skin, slightly dazed demeanour and almost frivolous use of the word ‘very’ quite amusing. Needless to say, my mind was still not on work.

This week’s blog, ladies and gentlemen, is my look back on the best holiday I’ve had to date. As always, there’s a fresh mix from my CDJs for the public to enjoy - the third and final part of my Ibiza Specials series. If my slightly self-indulgent Ibiza ramblings are not your thing and you’re just here for some tunes, fast forward straight to the last 4 paragraphs and/or the usual SoundCloud link at the bottom of the page. You know the drill by now.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Although I’d already been to Ibiza twice before, there was certainly some unfinished business for me as far as this island was concerned. In 2005 I was 18 – young and naive, with very little experience of any clubbing, let alone ‘proper clubbing’. In 2009 I was already getting ill on arrival and barely survived 3 days before my body went into shut down. Don’t get me wrong. I fell in love with Ibiza 6 years ago. I’ve enjoyed every second I’ve been well enough to savour out there. Anyone that knows me knows that dance music is at my absolute core, it’s an energy that vibrates from me like no other. The same can be said of Ibiza and that’s why we get along so well.

But the older I get the more I realise that it’s not where you go or what you do that counts in life, it’s who you share it with. Some of the people I’ve been to Ibiza with previously are amongst my oldest and dearest friends, people I will share a pint with (maybe even in Ibiza) many times to come in the future. But the group I managed to pull together for this trip was bigger, more mature, more cosmopolitan, more diverse and more ‘trance driven’ than any group I’ve taken with me to the island. There were a few very notable faces missing, but, more so than ever before, these were my ‘clubbing people’ in Ibiza.

Despite having visited Ibiza twice before, I had never stepped foot in the capital, Eivissa, had been to none of the clubs on that side of the island and, other than the Sunset Strip, had seen very little of the island’s obvious, mystical beauty. I sit here now having wandered the towering walls of Eivissa Town, seen Armin Van Buuren smash up the iconic club, Space, swam off the picturesque coast of Formentera and, as if that wasn’t enough, chatted trance music with Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness.

This was also my first time in a villa as well and what a villa we had unearthed! The pictures on the website didn’t do it justice. The pictures we brought home with us didn’t either. It was a pretty much perfectly arranged and furnished living space. And nothing beats the feeling of getting up in the scorching morning sunshine and landing head first in your own pool - without having to fight your way past reception and all the fat, tattooed dickheads playing their playing their daft, cheesey dance music. We were at arm’s length from San Antonio’s beer boys.

CLUBBING EXPLOITS

We opened with Cosmic Gate and Claudia Cazacu at Eden on the Sunday. It was our first night; we hit San Antonio hard – very hard. I vaguely remember Between The Rays, Koko and Cosmic Gate’s new remix of The Theme. I also remember scaling someone’s shoulders to video the club in full swing and to exchange pleasantries with Cosmic Gate’s Nic Chagall. The vast majority of the pictorial evidence is a whole new world of shocking.

With Swedish House Mafia at Pacha sold out and charging 75 Euroes on the door, we graced Privilege for Tiësto and Nero on the Monday. I lagged a little towards the end, maybe with half an eye on bigger nights to come, but still had time to enjoy Zero 76 and, later on that night, White Noise / Red Meat - both tunes I handpicked for Episode 12 of this podcast so I was chuffed to hear them rattling around the world’s biggest club. Privilege is a cathedral of dance music – is never a wasted journey.

Tuesday was a chilled one. I shared a civilised sangria with a couple of friends at Cafe Savannah, before the others joined us to watch that magical sunset down on the rocks. As always, my favourite part of Ibiza. Despite the crowds, it’s a perfect enclave of urbane sophistication and soulful relaxation.

We were right to save ourselves for Wednesday. Be at Space was the night of the holiday for me. You could tell from the line up – Markus Schulz, Armin Van Buuren and Gareth Emery – that it was going to be big. I’ve been quite critical of Gareth Emery over the last 12 months or so. I’ve listened to his podcast less and less over the last 6 months. But he stole the show at Space. Chris Schweizer’s remix of Zombie Nation, that bootleg of KNAS, Insomnia and Coming Home, Sanctuary and Thing Called Love were all memorable tunes. When Rotunda was dropped for the second time that night, I was in my element.

Thursday, as always, is Cream Amnesia – a night I managed to miss in 2009 when my body finally caved in to suspected swine flu. This year I made it through the doors for Cream and got a taste of what is still my favourite club. Jaytech played Milano, Above & Beyond played Sun & Moon, You Got To Go and Around The World, Ferry smashed Arty’s mix of Punk.

THE GROUP THERAPY BOAT PARTY

But the holiday had always been building up to the Above & Beyond Group Therapy Boat Party. We knew when the 80 tickets on sale were sold out in 8 minutes that this was going to be a bit special. I know there were a lot of Anjuna fans around the world who would have paid double, maybe triple, the price that we paid for that experience. And I wouldn’t have blamed them.

Although, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. We did have a morning of panic as we tried desperately to find out where the boat was sailing from. Once onboard, the style and shape of the boat meant a lot of people were quite seasick (myself only for about an hour after an ill-advised San Miguel). For the first two hours, the boat was a strange sight – people hanging over the edge, some completely spark out in the afternoon sun. And after fully overcoming my own seasickness and getting in the deep blue Formentera waters for a swim, I did manage to slip and fall on my wet arse getting back into the boat. I was less concerned about my bruises and more concerned that as fewer people as possible had seen me go arse over tit. Probably about as painful as it was amusing.

But there was no stopping me though. Once the sun sank a bit more in the sky, a few vodka & oranges had been consumed and Jono and Tony of Above & Beyond got behind the decks, things were looking a lot more like it. It was pretty much the perfect setting. And even before the incessant swaying and rocking of the boat calmed, paying for a drink literally a few yards from where the DJs were playing and then grabbing frantically onto the bar to stay upright was both surreal and hilarious. Never before had I danced whilst carefully reaching out for nearby rails and ropes. You don’t forget shit like that.

But the whole experience was made by getting to meet and chat to Tony McGuinness. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. You know what? On this evidence, I disagree. There were so many things I wanted to chat to him about but when he came around to speak to us it was Tony that led the conversation, bursting with all the knowledge and enthusiasm you’d expect from someone living the dream. I loved that! I also loved that he was happy to take the piss a little bit over something I said. You could tell this wasn’t an exercise in buttering up the fans and saving face.

He spotted straight away that I was from near Liverpool. He jumped straight into telling me about Liverpool duo, Richard Simmonds & Stephen Jones who are known through about 10 aliases in trance music, including Ascension and Chakra. And it was really weird that he did because either Armin or Markus Schulz had definitely played a version of Chakra – Home at Space only a few nights before. I’m not sure exactly what version was played at Space, but the vocal blew me away that night. Being so old, it’s not a tune you hear out clubbing on a regular basis. And since Above & Beyond’s remix of Home is a real old favourite of mine, it was at that point that the whole holiday seemed to add up. Looks like we already have a candidate for the ‘oldie’ at the end of Episode 15.

I’VE COME TO TAKE YOU HOME

But then, after 3 exceptionally chilled, food-filled days in Sóller, it was all over. It’s really strange. Normally after a holiday or a festival I find myself not really listening to trance for a while. You can have too much of absolutely anything and I normally find myself taking a natural break after long stints clubbing.

This time though, it has been different. Listening to my iPod alone on the train back from London to Liverpool, certain tracks emotionally cut me in two. A couple of Super8 & Tab tracks – Mercy and Black Is The New Yellow – came up on random and shook me like I’ve never been shaken by music before.

“We can love and live forever
We can taste these feelings come alive
And my interest is in love
And I cannot take this pressure
And I wonder who of us survives
There’s no conflict from above”

Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton – Mercy

The fact that I was moved like that was as good an indicator as any that the days that had just passed had been special ones. It was a sense of sadness – reality fading to memory, friends left behind to be missed until next time. But also elation – that something I had organised had clearly been as meaningful and memorable for others as it had been for me. Those emotions coupled with the music itself was a potent cocktail.

And even now, in terms of music - my mixing, my podcast, keeping up-to-date with what’s going on in trance - I feel primed and energised. Surprisingly, Ibiza hasn’t done that to me before this year.

The talk amongst the group is already about how we are going to do it all again next year. Without another DJ meet-and- greet boat party, 2011 will be difficult to top. But with more people to add to our already fantastic group and the fact that there is still even more to uncover, it’s hard not to look forward with excitement.


THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST 014 – REQUESTS OF THE VILLA GUESTS

And after all that indulgent reminiscing, you thought I’d forgotten about why you are really here. The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 14 – appearing like an afterthought or an addendum. Believe me, this is anything but. Simply put, this is a 3 hour tracklist – 18 of the tracks were chosen by 6 friends; 12 of them were chosen by me to bridge the gaps and tie the set together.

Sadly, one of the people doing the selecting, Nish, never made it out to Ibiza due to issues with his visa. We were all absolutely gutted about that and he was missed. As was Jack who was quite seriously ill just before we went away. There was something distinctly bittersweet about listening to this mix before we went out to Cream Amnesia. All of Nish’s picks are in the first half of the mix and, as we sat there eating our evening meal, we raised a glass to him. The irony of the song choice ‘Better Days’ is absolutely colossal. But, if you’re reading this Nish, don’t worry – there will be better days.

But on a more positive note, the tracklist for this mix is probably the best I’ve ever attempted to mix. That in itself is testament to the tastes of the people I went away with. It goes from smooth prog at one end, right through to the pumping hard trance that me and Casso grew up on in the early 2000s. Old tunes, new tunes; ever-present tunes, forgotten tunes. It’s all there. There are tunes that remind me of clubbing in Liverpool, tunes that remind me of Uni days at Syndicate in Bristol, tunes that remind me of exchanging compilations in the school yard.

However, the purpose of this mix was to serve as some kind of monument to the time we spent in Ibiza this year. Hopefully some new memories have been forged through the tracks in this mix. I think most trance fans will find something to savour here, whatever the journey, whatever the experiences. And with the voice of philosopher and revolutionary thinker, Terence McKenna, appearing in the intro and with the selection of Lost Tribe’s Gamemaster, there has been a conscious attempt here to link my growing podcast with my last.fm journal of old. Without sounding too sentimental about it all, I hope that link provides some closure to my old articles whilst still keeping those ideas alive. Because those ideas still mean a lot to me.

1. Seventh Son & Ethan North - Adagio For Strings (Phil's 'Ode To McKenna' Intro Mix) [CDR] [PHIL]
2. Andain - Promises (Soundprank Remix) [Black Hole Recordings] [NISH]
3. Orjan Nilsen - La Guitarra [Armind] [PHIL]
4. Andy Moor & Ashley Wallbridge feat. Meighan Nealon – Faces [AVA Recordings] [WILL]
5. Armin Van Buuren feat. Ana Criado - Down To Love (Kyau & Albert Remix) [Armada] [NISH]
6. Stoneface & Terminal – Moment [Euphonic] [PHIL]
7. MEM – Forza [Reset Records] [G.]
8. Andy Moor & DJ Orkidea – YearZero [AVA Recordings] [PHIL] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>
9. Gareth Emery feat. Lucy Saunders – Sanctuary [Garuda] [MARC]
10. Reflekt & Delline Bass - Need To Feel Loved (12 Inch Club Mix) [Positiva] [WILL]
11. Orjan Nilsen feat. Neev Kennedy – Anywhere But Here [Armind] [PHIL]
12. Estiva feat. Josie - Better Days [Enhanced Recordings] [NISH]
13. Paul Van Dyk, Starkillers & Austin Leeds feat. Ashley Tomberlin - New York City [Vandit] [WILL]
15. Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Matt Darey 2003 Club Mix) [Liquid Asset] [PHIL]
16. Super8 & Tab – Helektra [Anjunabeats] [PHIL]
17. OceanLab - Sirens Of The Sea (Above & Beyond Club Mix) [Anjunabeats] [MARC]
18. Flutlicht – The Fall [Drizzly] [CASSO]
19. Rank 1 - Breathing (Airwave) [ID&T] [MARC]
20. Laura Jansen - Use Somebody (Armin Van Buuren Rework) [CDR] [JANA]
21. Delerium feat. Sarah McLachlan - Silence (Airscape Remix) [Nettwerk] [JANA]
22. Dave 202 – Departure [Phoenix Recordings] [G.]
23. Above & Beyond & Gareth Emery presents OceanLab – On A Good Day (Metropolis) [Anjunabeats] [JANA]
24. Armin Van Buuren feat. BT – These Silent Hearts (Ralphie B Remix) [Armada] [PHIL]
25. Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself (Be:Gold Remix) [High Contrast Recordings] [PHIL]
26. Josh Gabriel presents Winter Kills - Deep Down (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix) [Different Pieces] [PHIL]
27. Gary Maguire – Sunyata [Discover] [G.]
28. Azure – Sunset [Tidy Trax] [CASSO]
29. Hyperlogic - U Got The Love (Lee Haslam Remix) [Tidy Digital] [PHIL]
30. The Freak – The Bells (Lee Pasch Remix) [TidyTwo] [CASSO]

Well, I think that might be it for now. Back to the normal 2 hour episodes in 2 weeks time. There is a lot to catch up on!! Until then.

The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 13

THE IBIZA SPECIALS PART 2 - POOLSIDE PROGRESSIVE

Welcome back!

This week we press on with the second part of my three part Ibiza specials, a mix that I’m calling ‘Poolside Progressive’. This week’s installment is definitely one for the iPods of any trance lovers who plan on being lazy in a hot country this summer. Apologies if your summer holiday has been and gone – mine’s still on the horizon.

Essentially, this does exactly what it says on the tin. When compiling this tracklist I was simply thinking of the kinds of records I’d want to hear whilst sat in or around a pool in mid-August. Nothing too extreme, plenty of warm melodic synth work and far more vocals than I would normally go for in one mix.

Ok, imagine the scene – you stagger out of your villa/apartment in Ibiza at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Your head is caving in from yet another night out, the sun is high in the cloudless sky and you collapse in a heap on a sun lounger next to the pool. At this point, the thought of going out again makes you feel ill. Well, even more ill than you already feel. But, let’s say, for the sake of argument, that tonight is the island’s biggest and best trance night – Cream Amnesia. You have to go. Time to reach for some ‘musical Alka-Seltzer’.

The opening 4 tracks are quite deep and melancholic, reduced in pace and smooth to ease that hangover – that includes Vertical from Vibrasphere’s stunning 2007 album Exploring The Tributaries and an instrumental of Deadmau5’s I Remember, which I think emerged onto daytime Radio One just as I was packing my bags for Ibiza 2009.

By the time we get to the half an hour mark the pace picks up a tad and there are few tracks that, if this mix has done its job, should have you tempted to have a little mid-afternoon rave around the pool. Dennis Sheperd’s remix of The Blizzard’s Metanoia and Estiva’s reworking of Cardboard Box are sun-drenched, but with a bit more kick and bass.

But, quite deliberately, the mix slides back into more laidback, ‘sipping a beer in the pool’ territory, encouraging you to conserve that energy in the blistering heat. And with just under an hour to go out come the vocals, and plenty of them. The voices of Jan Burton, Carol Lee, Jenry Rodriguez and Ashley Tomberlin finish the job of giving you that spot of peaceful uplift.

Well, if you don’t actually listen to this mix at a poolside, or at the very least outside in the sunshine somewhere, I’m sure you’ll spend every second listening to this mix wishing that’s exactly where you were. Get those drinks on ice!

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST 013 - POOLSIDE PROGRESSIVE

1. Ridgewalkers feat. El - Find (Markus Schulz Intro Mix / Andy Moor Remix) [Armind]
2. Zodiacal Light - Guided By The Stars (Dax Wadley Remix) [Olympik Records]
3. Deadmau5 - I Remember (Instrumental) [Mau5trap Recordings]
4. Vibrasphere - Vertical [Tribal Vision]
5. Andrew Bennett - Age Of Love [Soundpiercing] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>
6. The Blizzard & Omnia - Metanoia (Dennis Sheperd Remix) [Soundpiercing]
7. Skytech - Cardboard Box (Estiva Remix) [Coldharbour Recordings]
8. Estiva & Temple One - November Lovely (Estiva Remix) [Enhanced Recordings]
9. Andy Moor - Halcyon [Armind]
10. Boom Jinx & Jaytech - Milano [Anjunadeep]
11. Super8 & Tab feat. Jan Burton - Empire (Samuel Jason Remix) [Anjunabeats]
12. John O'Callaghan feat. Lo-Fi Sugar - Never Fade Away (Andy Duguid Remix) [Armind]
13. The Doppler Effect - Beauty Hides In The Deep (The Blizzard Remix) [A State Of Trance]
14. Bent - As You Fall (Kyau & Albert Remix) [G&E Analogue]
15. Sunlounger - In & Out (DJ Shah Rework) [A State Of Trance]
16. Andrew Bennett & Rico Soarez feat. Jenry - Light Of Hope [Electronic Elements]
17. Luminary - My World (Andy Moor Remix) [Lost Language]
18. Energy 52 - Café Del Mar (Michael Woods Ambient Remix) [Lost Language]

TPHP takes a welcome 3 week break for now. I’m jetting off to the White Isle for a week, armed with my suncream, shorts and iPod. On my return I’ll have the third and final part of my Ibiza Specials uploaded for you – a mix compiled by my fellow Balearic villa dwellers. It’s already been mixed and we will be warming our BBQ to it before it hits the wider world’s ears. Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer!