He's been scoring film and television for more than a decade, but the point at which Mindaugas Lapinskis (a.k.a Gardens of God) steered himself directly into our headlights was at the release of his first EP on Maceo Plex's Ellum Audio outlet in 2014. The Lithuanian producer has since put out two more 12-inches on the imprint and has travelled with Plex to Miami, Belgium, Barcelona and most recently, Ibiza, with Plex's Mosaic residency at Pacha.
Later this month, he's diving into the depths of the underground with the launch of his own imprint, Sodai, to make way for his own experimentation in art and music. The label's first release from the main man himself lands on 23 September in the form of two-tracker, River / Ghost. And less than a fortnight later we've got him back on Balearic soil for Mosaic's closing, alongside DJ Koze, Pachanga Boys, Oswald, Agents of Time and Maars.
There's no doubt that he's eager to get back, especially after giving us a personal look into his trip here in August with his Ibiza photo diary. He captured it all - from the airplane window view to the chill-out sessions, pre-party warmup to the after party, and he also made sure he had time to explore Ibiza's Old Town in between. Dig into his collection for a peak at what we predict will be one of many Ibiza adventures.
The window seat is always necessary to get some sleep between the parties. Alternatively, seeing crazy clouds or islands in the sea is nice distraction.
Cliché picture when I arrived in Ibiza. It's like Ibiza's Berghain tourist snapshot.
DJs lives are not as easy as it could look from the outside, even if this picture denies it.
Lots of things to do when you have only one day in Ibiza. One hour in Ibiza Global Radio playing b2b with Maceo Plex. Being live on air is great. Oh, and I had an accidental meeting with Carl Cox, which is always nice.
Warming up for Carl Craig at Maceo Plex's Mosaic residency, Pacha.
For me, after parties in Ibiza are more exciting than the club parties. People there are 100% into what and how you play.
It's impossible to have a good chat in a club, and even restaurants are sometimes too noisy. The kitchen is the place for the deep talk.
Quick walk to Ibiza Old Town and back before the driver picked me up and whisked me to the airport.
WORDS | Aimee Lawrence & Mindaugas Lapinskis PHOTOGRAPHY | Mindaugas Lapinskis