Jonty Skrufff's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Ibiza’

With his ‘Azuli presents Miami’ mix compilation celebrating its tenth edition this month, it might seem like business as usual for UK house pioneer Dave Piccioni, though ask him whether Azuli and any other independent dance labels will still exist in 2015 and he’s characteristically blunt.

“The only ones that will be left in five years time will be essentially ‘bedroom businesses’ run from home by one or two people,” he predicts, singling out podcasts as just one of the reasons established labels are so under threat.

“Funny you should mention free podcasts, I think they have done more damage to the dance CD compilation market than any other new formats. Considering that normally hardly any royalties are paid to artists I think they are criminal,” Dave continues, “Getting music free may sound like ‘giving it back to the people’ etc, but if no money goes to artists, then creative, inspired people go elsewhere. I think that has definitely happened in dance music.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Compelling footage of HMS Sheffield being hit by an Exocet missile (Youtube) click on the picture

Danny Whittle from Pacha Ibiza chatted to Skrufff.com this week about his formative experiences serving in the Task Force that defeated Argentina in the Falklands War of the 80s and spoke out passionately against the prospect of future conflict.

“I would be totally against sending another task force. Believe it or not, I feel much closer to Argentinean people after the war than I did before. We went through the same horrors and we had the same life experiences,” said Danny.

“It was a very defining moment in my life. At the time I was 19 years old and nothing really bad had happened to me before,” he continued, “This situation showed me how bad life can be, how badly humans can treat each other and how totally removed politicians are from the reality of where they are sending their young servicemen to risk their lives for what is basically a political situation.”

Danny was chatting about the issue as Argentinean politicians increased their rhetoric against British possession of the islands as a row escalated over oil rights in the South Atlantic area. A British oil rig began drilling this week offshore and, while Argentina officially ruled our military action (BBC) newspapers such as the Scotsman suggested there are ‘chilling echoes of 1982’.

“At stake are an estimated 3.5 billion barrels and nine trillion cubic metres of gas. The current oil price is $76 a barrel. That means there could be more than a quarter of a trillion dollars worth of hydrocarbons off the Falklands,” said the paper, “And that, analysts are pretty sure, would be worth fighting for.” (

Serving in the Royal Navy as a weapons technician on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, Danny (nowadays brand director of the Pacha worldwide clubbing empire) insisted negotiation should remain the only option.

“The whole situation should have been worked out around a table,” said Danny, “More British servicemen were killed in the Falklands than both Iraq conflicts and the war only lasted three months. And even more Argentineans were killed which also is very sad. It’s crazy that people really can’t sit together and prevent these kinds of things from happening even when they can see that if they don’t sort it out many people will lose their lives.”

“When I think today about all those mums, dads and families that will never see their men again it makes me cry, even now 27 years later. One of my good friends was killed when a land based Exocet missile hit his ship about two hours before the surrender. Two hours more and he would have been OK. Very sad,” he said.
Read the rest of this entry »

Sarah Main (click on the picture for more)

Australian expat Sarah Main lives in Ibiza where she’s a Pacha resident DJ all year round. Spinning in the club’s main room two or three times a week in summer, she spends the off season months touring the world also jamming in a weekly radio show on Radio FG (Sarah Main presents Pacha) every Thursday night between 9 and 10pm CET.

http://www.myspace.com/sarahmain

Skrufff: What musical styles and club trends do you expect to struggle this year? (And to die out altogether as the decade progresses?)

Sarah Main: “This industry is undeniably cyclical. New genres will come and go and the same with trends. It is like a big Ferris wheel. One style jumps off; another one jumps on. Things just get re-invented.  Obviously minimal will go back to where it belongs; to the underground. I feel that style was in a way ‘raped’ by people who did not understand it who played it solely for its ‘cool factor’. It is obvious from where I’m sitting that the current musical trend is heading towards house. Yes, yes, yes!”

Skrufff: Which countries do you expect dance music to prosper in (why?)

Sarah Main: “It will prosper in countries where dance music remains relatively new. America is the biggest. China as well. I think in America people like David Guetta in particular are bridging the gap between hip hop and dance music thus making it accessible and understood by people who normally would snub such music.”
Read the rest of this entry »

In two weeks time (Sunday July 12) I’m spinning again at Judge Jules’ Judgement Sunday, this time playing alongside Howard Donald from Take That.

Expect the room to be packed with screaming 30-something Brits (and me): come and day Ola if you’re there;-)