thejudge2k
Active Member
Here’s my review of the International Music Summit (IMS) and Opening Weekend 2014:
IMS at Hard Rock Hotel
- this was my 5th IMS and the first at this venue
- the facilities were great - and the wifi actually worked – which was a big improvement on the Gran!
- also HRH has a much more central location - plenty of bars & restaurants are nearby, as well as the beach on your doorstep and Space & Ushuaia just a few yards down the road
- this was a bigger venue with more places to hang out & network, although did make it difficult to find people sometimes, and with the good weather meant lots of delegates opted to stay outside by the pool rather than attend the panels
- overall, however, it really felt like the whole summit matured & stepped up a notch in 2014
- the one slight downside of being in a new hotel was some reasonably rubbish service (incl long waits to check in) but with great facilities and excellent food & drink, sure that will soon be fixed
- Stand out panels for me included a keynote from the CEO of Ministry of Sound (Lohan), the Young Guns Network, MK talking us through his approach to remixes, an interview with the founders of Native Instruments, and a session with Team Avicii – including some targeted questions from Mr Seth Troxler
Corona Sunsets launch at HRH Pool with Cajmere & Claude von Stroke
- this sounded like a bit of a random concept, but was an interesting announcement
- 'beach house' vibe really worked with Cajmere & CvS
- free corona & cocktails also helped - look out for the travelling festival this summer in Mexico, Toronto & Weston Super Mare!!
Sankeys Opening Part 1 (Tribal Sessions) with Danny Tenaglia
- this was my 1st time at sankeys and rather enjoyed it
- walking between rooms wasn't great (too crowded / narrow corridors), but the rooms themselves are great - state of the art, amazing sound systems with real underground character, especially the terrace upstairs which is really cool
- Tenaglia was banging out the tunes and there was plenty of space to dance
IMS Grand Finale Part 1 at Dalt Vila with a Frankie Knuckles tribute (Pete Tong, David Morales, Hector Romero), Pretty Lights, Pete Tong, Annie Mac (Steve Angello no show)
- walking up to dalt Vila hearing David morales - needin you as the sun began to set definitely set the tone
- that was slightly ruined by a bass-heavy Pretty Lights set, but quickly put back on track by an ever-professional Pete Tong MBE standing in for the no-show Steve Angello (due to plane 'mechanical
issues')
- Pete's set included some remixes of recent classics such as Benediction & Coma Cat before dropping the tune of the season so far - Oliver $ & Jimi Jules - Pushing On
- Annie Mac played the final set of the evening with lasers on full blast, bringing to an end the first excellent night at the UNESCO World Heritage Site
Dinner at La Brasa in Ibiza Town
- having skipped food in favour of the party, we decided to head to one of our favourite restaurants in Ibiza Town for al fresco Paella before calling it a night at 3am
W Hotels DJ Lab EP launch party at Lips
- As part of its ongoing commitment to developing new talent, W Hotels hosted a delegates-only party to launch their new EP and effectively finish off a very successful IMS 2014
- set against the back-drop of Playa den Bossa beach with the sun fading into the sea, we supped multiple passion fruit martinis & ate tasty canapés whilst the DJ lab attendees took to the decks
IMS Grand Finale Part 2 at Dalt Vila with Jamie Jones & Seth Troxler
- as day began turning to night, we once again headed up to dalt Vila and enjoyed one the most refreshing & fun sets of the opening week - Jamie Jones & Seth Troxler back to back playing tunes from all sorts of genres - despite most of us not being major fans of theirs, we loved it
Insane at Pacha Opening
- post dalt Vila fun we trekked around the harbour to pacha for the opening party of insane
- I could only stay for a beer on the terrace but those who stayed all night said it was a really quality session with MK, John Digweed & Tensnake all on top form
Ushuaia Opening with Sasha, Andrea Oliva, Deetron
- after a rainy (!!) day we decided to head to Ushuaia for the opening and got there about 8pm
- even for Ushuaia, it was ridiculously rammed which meant getting a drink and trying to dance were both challenging
- they've added even more VIP space with an upper deck at the back, but this didn't really both us, they just need to sort out the bars for ordinary punters!
- Sasha played an awesome set between dusk and darkness with the usual accompaniment of scantily clad dancers and an epic laser show
- we ducked out after seeing Andrea Oliva & Deetron (both residents at the Ants night) continue the party
- once again, the other tune of the week Sharam - Tripi got a number of plays
- Nic Fanciulli & Paul Kalkbrenner followed, ending things around 5:30am I believe
Space Opening with David Moreno, Agoria & Deep Dish
- despite numerous visits to Space, this was my 1st time at the opening and I was super excited
- there was random production as always, from a midget dressed as a lifeguard to a woman dressed as a lobster to a guy on a steam powered bike – this is Space, after all!
- we stayed at the Flight Arena and had an awesome time dancing in the sun and then into the darkness with the festival-sized stage coming alive
Lunch at Passion Cafe
- finally, after being a firm favourite already, lunch here became a welcome healthy habit during IMS – great for the day after the night before!
Tunes of the Week
And finally, these were the biggest tunes of the week:
Oliver $ & Jimi Jules - Pushing On: https://soundcloud.com/defectedrecords/oliver-and-jimi-jules-pushing
Sharam - Tripi: https://soundcloud.com/sharam/tripi-feat-manfred-manns-earth
Agoria - Scala: https://soundcloud.com/agoria/iv46-agoria-scala-ep-scala
IMS Business Report 2014
- A bit of self promotion - you can download a copy of my IMS Business Report 2014: An Annual Study of the Electronic Music Industry here for free: http://www.internationalmusicsummit...iginal/ims-business-report-2014-vfinal-12.pdf
IMS at Hard Rock Hotel
- this was my 5th IMS and the first at this venue
- the facilities were great - and the wifi actually worked – which was a big improvement on the Gran!
- also HRH has a much more central location - plenty of bars & restaurants are nearby, as well as the beach on your doorstep and Space & Ushuaia just a few yards down the road
- this was a bigger venue with more places to hang out & network, although did make it difficult to find people sometimes, and with the good weather meant lots of delegates opted to stay outside by the pool rather than attend the panels
- overall, however, it really felt like the whole summit matured & stepped up a notch in 2014
- the one slight downside of being in a new hotel was some reasonably rubbish service (incl long waits to check in) but with great facilities and excellent food & drink, sure that will soon be fixed
- Stand out panels for me included a keynote from the CEO of Ministry of Sound (Lohan), the Young Guns Network, MK talking us through his approach to remixes, an interview with the founders of Native Instruments, and a session with Team Avicii – including some targeted questions from Mr Seth Troxler
Corona Sunsets launch at HRH Pool with Cajmere & Claude von Stroke
- this sounded like a bit of a random concept, but was an interesting announcement
- 'beach house' vibe really worked with Cajmere & CvS
- free corona & cocktails also helped - look out for the travelling festival this summer in Mexico, Toronto & Weston Super Mare!!
Sankeys Opening Part 1 (Tribal Sessions) with Danny Tenaglia
- this was my 1st time at sankeys and rather enjoyed it
- walking between rooms wasn't great (too crowded / narrow corridors), but the rooms themselves are great - state of the art, amazing sound systems with real underground character, especially the terrace upstairs which is really cool
- Tenaglia was banging out the tunes and there was plenty of space to dance
IMS Grand Finale Part 1 at Dalt Vila with a Frankie Knuckles tribute (Pete Tong, David Morales, Hector Romero), Pretty Lights, Pete Tong, Annie Mac (Steve Angello no show)
- walking up to dalt Vila hearing David morales - needin you as the sun began to set definitely set the tone
- that was slightly ruined by a bass-heavy Pretty Lights set, but quickly put back on track by an ever-professional Pete Tong MBE standing in for the no-show Steve Angello (due to plane 'mechanical
issues')
- Pete's set included some remixes of recent classics such as Benediction & Coma Cat before dropping the tune of the season so far - Oliver $ & Jimi Jules - Pushing On
- Annie Mac played the final set of the evening with lasers on full blast, bringing to an end the first excellent night at the UNESCO World Heritage Site
Dinner at La Brasa in Ibiza Town
- having skipped food in favour of the party, we decided to head to one of our favourite restaurants in Ibiza Town for al fresco Paella before calling it a night at 3am
W Hotels DJ Lab EP launch party at Lips
- As part of its ongoing commitment to developing new talent, W Hotels hosted a delegates-only party to launch their new EP and effectively finish off a very successful IMS 2014
- set against the back-drop of Playa den Bossa beach with the sun fading into the sea, we supped multiple passion fruit martinis & ate tasty canapés whilst the DJ lab attendees took to the decks
IMS Grand Finale Part 2 at Dalt Vila with Jamie Jones & Seth Troxler
- as day began turning to night, we once again headed up to dalt Vila and enjoyed one the most refreshing & fun sets of the opening week - Jamie Jones & Seth Troxler back to back playing tunes from all sorts of genres - despite most of us not being major fans of theirs, we loved it
Insane at Pacha Opening
- post dalt Vila fun we trekked around the harbour to pacha for the opening party of insane
- I could only stay for a beer on the terrace but those who stayed all night said it was a really quality session with MK, John Digweed & Tensnake all on top form
Ushuaia Opening with Sasha, Andrea Oliva, Deetron
- after a rainy (!!) day we decided to head to Ushuaia for the opening and got there about 8pm
- even for Ushuaia, it was ridiculously rammed which meant getting a drink and trying to dance were both challenging
- they've added even more VIP space with an upper deck at the back, but this didn't really both us, they just need to sort out the bars for ordinary punters!
- Sasha played an awesome set between dusk and darkness with the usual accompaniment of scantily clad dancers and an epic laser show
- we ducked out after seeing Andrea Oliva & Deetron (both residents at the Ants night) continue the party
- once again, the other tune of the week Sharam - Tripi got a number of plays
- Nic Fanciulli & Paul Kalkbrenner followed, ending things around 5:30am I believe
Space Opening with David Moreno, Agoria & Deep Dish
- despite numerous visits to Space, this was my 1st time at the opening and I was super excited
- there was random production as always, from a midget dressed as a lifeguard to a woman dressed as a lobster to a guy on a steam powered bike – this is Space, after all!
- we stayed at the Flight Arena and had an awesome time dancing in the sun and then into the darkness with the festival-sized stage coming alive
Lunch at Passion Cafe
- finally, after being a firm favourite already, lunch here became a welcome healthy habit during IMS – great for the day after the night before!
Tunes of the Week
And finally, these were the biggest tunes of the week:
Oliver $ & Jimi Jules - Pushing On: https://soundcloud.com/defectedrecords/oliver-and-jimi-jules-pushing
Sharam - Tripi: https://soundcloud.com/sharam/tripi-feat-manfred-manns-earth
Agoria - Scala: https://soundcloud.com/agoria/iv46-agoria-scala-ep-scala
IMS Business Report 2014
- A bit of self promotion - you can download a copy of my IMS Business Report 2014: An Annual Study of the Electronic Music Industry here for free: http://www.internationalmusicsummit...iginal/ims-business-report-2014-vfinal-12.pdf
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