Cream is very good, Air Berlin is extremely bad - Paul van Dyk nails it again.
This summer has been an exceptionally strong one for Cream in Ibiza. The UK-brand's highest profile signing Paul van Dyk believes there's no reason the momentum will slow for the finale - this Thursday's closing party.
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PVD's POV
We wanted to get a dj's take on the action so far, and who better to speak to than the world's number one, exclusive seven-year resident and the man with the best view in the house, Paul van Dyk (right).
Renowned as a hard working and technically astute dj, Paul is at the very top of his game. Despite being a very busy individual, we found Paul to be very enthusiastic and responsive to our questions when we caught him during an Cream sound check.
Spotlight: Have you had a good season so far?
PVD: Yeah absolutely, it feels like it was even busier, even more energetic than last year, or even the year before.
Spotlight: So do you feel it will carry on this way until the end of the season then?
PVD: Well, all season through it has been absolutely rammed and very exciting, so there is no reason to believe that it's going to slow down.
Spotlight: Do you have anything special planned for the closing party?
PVD: It's always something special. I tend not to plan too much, I have a pretty clear idea about my sound and the music I like to play but it's always down to the interaction with the crowd. Amnesia is the club that is the most about the music on this island. All the others have their angles but at most of the clubs it doesn't matter who is playing, or what is going on, and this is the only venue where the music actually matters. People go to Pacha, for example, and they don't really care if it's Deep Dish or Steve Lawler who they see. Privilege is the much the same as are all the other venues. This is the place where it is most about the music.
Spotlight: How does playing at Amnesia compare with other clubs you've played at?
PVD: Well, for me it is always a special thing. I'm always travelling around the globe and I see people here and I see people there. At Amnesia they all come together and meet somehow, it's crazy. I recently had my Lebanese promoters partying with my Israeli promoters here, and it doesn't really matter where people come from, it doesn't really matter what god they believe in – all that matters is that you tolerate and respect for a person. And this is, for me, one the most essential things about electronic music and of course, here it all comes together somehow because people from all over the world come for a good time and that's a little extra special here, compared to other places.
Eddie Halliwell @ Cream 2006
(Photo: David the Amnesia photographer)
Spotlight: You've been exclusive resident here at Cream Amnesia for seven years now – do you still have the same passion playing here now as you did when you first started?
PVD: Well, it's always very exciting – although I still have the same negative feel towards the airlines that fly here! I can only say that Air Berlin, even though it has this beautiful name, is the most fucked up airline in the world – it really, really sucks. So whenever I come here, I have to fly Air Berlin because I have no other way of getting here and I'm totally frustrated when I get here. I hate it! Besides of this, it is exciting and absolutely amazing and I'm still as buzzing as always really.
Spotlight: Can you remember the first set you played here?
PVD: The first one wasn't really that exciting, I don't even remember who played that night but I was sandwiched [playing the second set]. Obviously that didn't really work out with what and how I play, so I basically said 'Hey, I think it makes more sense if I play at four am all the way through to the end'. And every since, from my second set on, it's been absolutely amazing.
Spotlight: You recently played a sunset session at Kanya Beach,. How did you feel that went for you?
PVD: I actually approached it on a more housey, sunset sort of tip, and then at some point I realised that people actually wanted to have it slightly more banging, so I raised the bar a little later towards the end, in terms of the energy and the power of the tracks. I think it was actually only the second pre-party event I have ever done. I enjoyed it. It was great so let's see what is happening next year.
Spotlight: If you could choose a new, up and coming DJ to play alongside you here at Cream, who would you choose?
PVD: Well, the main room is hosted by VONYC Sessions so we obviously had a say in who was playing along with us. We see young talents like Eddie Halliwell and Adam Sheridan, just two for example that play here. And I have to say that the programming in the Terrace this year is absolutely fantastic, with people like Sebastien Ingrosso and others.
Spotlight: What are your top three tracks of this summer?
PViD: 'The Ones We Love' by Kuffdam & Plant. The Dogzilla remix is huge! Guiseppe Ottoviani’s track, 'Through Your Eyes', is absolutely massive too. And Filo & Perry, 'Ordinary Moment'.
Spotlight: And if you could choose one track which would sum the Cream Ibiza experience, what would that be?
PVD: Ruffdrivers 'Dreaming'. I think because it's really banging and it comes with this Balearic guitar and this huge build up. It's definitely a summer Ibiza thing!
Spotlight: Are you still enjoying djing and producing as much now as when you first started?
PVD: No, it's more exciting. Four or five years ago equipment from the studio and production side filtered into the whole dj equipment. Since I'm producing my stuff myself and I know all the producing gear in the studio, of course it opened up so much more possibilities. With the equipment I play with, it's much more about playing the right elements of the right tracks at the right time, rather than playing one record into another and hope it's going off. It's much more intense, it's more of a live feeling really,
Spotlight: How long do you see yourself as being Cream resident here?
PVD: Well, first of all another week and then we see!
Spotlight: How has being voted number at the DJ Mag Awards changed things?
PVD: The thing is, it hasn't really changed anything with that number one. I was very hectically busy before and I still am. And for me as well, this is not about competition at all. I mean, Eddie Halliwell is the best at what he does and I do a pretty good job at what I do. And it's the same with some of the other talents that are in those lists. We can be really lucky asses that we can play our favourite music. As I say it hasn't really changed much, in fact I just had a funny little thing the other week when a former inhabitant of that position came up and said 'Have you raised your fee yet?' So you obviously know that some people abuse that position. We didn't – we still do the small things as much as big festivals and it's not so much about being that or this. It's about the people and the music, and then it becomes my position in terms of putting it all together – that's it.
Spotlight: Is For An Angel your proudest moment?
PVD: No. It's obviously a record that a lot of people recognise me for but I'm pretty sure that I've done much better than that.
Spotlight: What do you feel is your greatest achievement?
PVD: My marriage. When I started I was djing but wasn't nearly what I am now, so we kind of grew into the whole thing together. Of course, she is my biggest inspiration – she is the first one to hear everything I produce in the studio and tells me that is complete crap! I could just be working on something, which is just an idea, and she will say "that doesn't sound good at all". She's lovely, she's great but she always gives me the truth.
Spotlight: Can you tell us what projects you are working on at the moment?
PVD: I'm currently working on my next album and I've just finished a remix for, in my view, the biggest band in the world. By contract, I'm not allowed to say who it is but it's coming out soon.
- the Cream closing party is at Amnesia this Thursday (September 21). It will featuring Paul van Dyk, Eddie Halliwell, Annie Mac (Radio 1), Switch, Touché and more
