A Man & An Island: 1: "The Summit" [International Music Summit 2012]

thejudge2k

Active Member
One bright summers day in May a young man boarded an Easyjet plane from London Gatwick. His destination - a magical, mystical island called Ibiza.He would spend the next 3 days living in the Hotel Argos in Talamanca, spending his days at the Ibiza Gran and nights parting at Dalt Vila. This is his story...


Actually it's not quite - I just thought that intro might be more fun than listing out where, when and how for my reviews of 2012 in Ibiza. This is the review of my first trip of the year - hope you enjoy!




The IMS is an event not many people get to go to as punters, other than the evening events at Dalt Vila, Pacha, etc. To give you a flavour, it's held in the cavernous conference room at the Ibiza Gran Hotel in Marina Botafoch and feels very conference-y to start with. Panels run from late morning until early evening each day, with a whole range of parties and events in the evenings. It's run by some of the usual suspects on the island - Tong, Turner, Whittle, and is an intriguing proposition.


The panelists are a mix of dance music's old guard (Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Tenaglia), some of the new breed (Porter Robinson) and representatives from 'real businesses' (Twitter, Coca Cola). The audience is more diverse still - a combination of industry stalwarts (Simon Dunmore from Defected), aspiring young DJs & producers, and people from the corporate world who have been told / decided to come and enjoy everything on offer courtesy of their expense account.

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Having spoken at the last 3 events, I had a chance to take a step back and think more about the event as a whole. So:


Should you come to the IMS?


Well, as with most 'conferences', it's about picking the brilliant sessions from the boring. If you do that, and have a genuine interest / goal, then you can experience a mix of people and exposure to quality discussion you wouldn't get anywhere else in the world. My highlights this year were:


- Danny Tengalia on Skype from his NYC apartment - a genuinely emotional interaction with a legend of the scene who has so recently experienced the most severe of mental downsides

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- Luciano talking about cultivating talent - surely the nicest guy in dance, and a clever guy too - priceless advice for any bedroom DJ / producer
- Spotify & Twitter - some genuine business advice & insight for an industry usually focused on lasers and tunes
- Professor Green - an urban artist who comes across as a bit of a tw@t sometimes - actually one of the nicest, well-spoken and switched on guys in the music industry (OK, he's not that dance, but interesting nonetheless)
- Carl Cox legends dinner - Carl Cox, his closest friends & Lio - brilliant (see below for more)
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In a second I'll get on to the events, but there is also a somewhat strange dynamic at play during the daytime IMS - not being with your usual Ibiza crew. It may be a weird thing to highlight, but unlike the middle of the summer when you arrive on the island with your best mates for a 2 week bender, a lot of people come to IMS not knowing many other people. The result - a bunch of people wandering around the Ibiza Gran Hotel who love dance music, but know very few people.


Unlike rush hour on a London tube, this means people actually talk to strangers and make loads of new contacts, and often a couple of friends. I can honestly say I've met a couple of great new friends since I've been going, and now know loads more people in the 'industry'. I'm sure you're sitting there thinking - I meet loads of new people wherever I go on holiday - but trust me - at IMS they could be your next raving buddy, musical collaborator or even business partner!


Even if you decide not to head to the actual IMS conference itself, it's definitely worth turning up a bit early for opening weekend to get involved with events linked to the Summit. This year these included:


- Dalt Vila festival - the most beautiful and best place you will ever party in Europe - open air, an UNESCO world heritage site, during the day and into the sunset and beyond, with the worlds best DJs. And all for half the price of a ticket to one of the big clubs. Thursday has become the FMIF takeover with Guetta himself, Nervo and Oakenfold. Friday is a different level - Carl Cox, Loco Dice, Pete Tong,...

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- Pacha opening party - IMS night at the legendary venue for a much reduced price - Chase & Status and Porter Robinson amongst the highlights in 2012
- Other satellite venues - intimate parties with quality DJs, at places such as Bubbles - first time I'd been at loved it - proper small club, but great sound system and setup - really good fun - try it if you haven't been
- Carl Cox celebration dinner at Lio - my first experience of Lio, but thought it worked really well that night. Amazing to hear a personal live interview with the big man and see the respect and admiration for him from the assembled crowd. Food was good, booze was really expensive, but view is immense - Dalt Vila across the water is something else


Overall, I had another awesome time - met some great new friends and contacts, enjoyed some really unique parties and took part in some discussions you can't find almost anywhere else in the world. Give the IMS a try if you fancy kicking off the Ibiza season early in 2013 - even if only for the parties!
 
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