We recently caught up with ANTS favourite, Uner, and discussed his recent performance for ANTS at Ushuaïa Ibiza, Nic Fanciulli and his booking with We Are The Night at Pacha Ibiza and his recent collaborative mixing contribution to the Blue Marlin 2016 Summer Compilation with Dosem.
Sonar Festival recently took over Barcelona for five days. What did you get up to at Sonar Festival and what was your favourite set from any artist during the week?
Like every year, Sonar has again become an example of organisation and quality in all aspects. With each passing year, it gets better!
For me, this year has been the year of participating in the opening concert, with Fat Boy Slim.
I thought it was not an easy session because I played the closing time, after him, but it really was a big surprise how people expected the session! It was incredible, with more than 10,000 people on the main stage. I was very happy with the final result of the night.
With respect to other artists, there have been brilliant acts like David August, for example, but on a personal level, I stay with the concert of Jean Michel Jarre, since he was one of the artists who has influenced me since childhood, in the world of electronic music. For me, he was also one of the most anticipated performances.
Of course, it was held in the incredible city of Barcelona. How would you compare nightlife inBarcelona to nightlife in Ibiza?
I think every city, every small point, has its magic and of course Barcelona has had it for a year, but really comparing Barcelona to Ibiza, is very strange.
Barcelona is a city that has an active night life 12 months a year and Ibiza, most concentrated in only four, so the intensity with which everything comes to life is much higher.
If we talk about tourism, it’s the same, because in Ibiza almost everything is focused in those four months.
Regarding line ups, of course it is impossible to find in Barcelona or in any capital of the world anything similar to the daily line ups that are found in Ibiza, but that’s what makes the musical life in Ibiza special.
But as I said: it is very difficult to compare a capital of any country with Ibiza, since the intensity and speed that everything on the island runs with makes it almost impossible to compare.
Speaking of Ibiza, you recently graced the Ushuaïa Ibiza stage for ANTS last month. What was your biggest highlight from this particular performance and why?
Like each year since the brand started, I have one of my residences there. For me, it’s special because I started with ANTS from the first moment, and consider it something of mine. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but ANTS will always be something special.
Playing there, for me, is magical. I love playing in the DJ booth where it all began, by day, with the public nearby in the site where they have made some of the best afters on the island. It’s a place with lots of charm and a lot of magic, as I say, if we talk about sessions by day where you can feel the excitement of the public without needing pyrotechnics and large flares.
What is your favourite aspect of the ANTS brand in general? What do you think makes this night so unique compared to any other in Ibiza?
What made ANTS so special is that the idea began with artists who love music, who love us playing and thinking about playing music so people dance. It’s not a brand that was created with huge superstars and astronomical fees.
Of course, like everything in Ibiza, the brand has evolved and now you can see guests of all kinds, but people engaged with the community for naturalness, for music, to be a family. Not to go see a famous DJ who doesn’t even know his music. And therein lays the point where ANTS made a difference.
Let’s rewind the tape back to May now, you opened the month of May at the Blue Marlin Ibiza opening party with Nic Fanciulli. How did you prepare for such a set?
Blue Marlin right now is one of the best clubs by day where better schedule was done last year. A session in Blue Marlin is incredible too: a small club, facing the sea and with a great schedule by day. What more could you ask for?
With regard to how I prepare my session, I did not prepare anywhere. Blue Marlin is not a place where you have to go thinking: careful not to play this music. I’ve never had any problems with my music when playing there, on the contrary: I have always had absolute freedom and thanks to this, I’m returning five times this summer. I consider it my home and the comfort of playing at home is always special.
With regards to Nic Fanciulli, he is an incredible artist when behind the decks and we for one can’t wait to check out his residency at Pacha Ibiza this summer. What do you think of Nic behind the decks and what did you like most about his set at the Blue Marlin opening party this year?
The best part of Nic is the that he is a fantastic person. It is a super caring guy, and from the first moment we met years ago (he was the first promoter that invited me to play in London in 2009), we had a very good connection!! And so here we are!
As a DJ, what can we say about someone who has spent so long in a DJ booth? Because above all, you can read what you want from the audience before him. His session at the opening of Blue Marlin was what was expected: live, fresh and with a lot of groove. This was Nic 100%! And the best thing, more than the sessions, as I said, is to have returned to spend a fun evening with him!
Switching gears now, you along with Dosem officially mixed the brand new Blue Marlin Ibiza (Day & Night / Vol. 10) summer compilation for 2016. Can you tell us a little more about how this opportunity came about and what production you put into this project?
We were told that we would mix the compilation again, as we did last year. And after the good experience that it was, how could we say no? In addition, as I mentioned before, Blue Marlin is already part of me, and the connection I have with the venue, both professionally and personally, are excellent.
Besides, I’ve never had any limitations with them musically and not with compilations either. I made a shortlist of 20 tracks, of which licenses were requested, of which 80% achieved, and from there I went to work in the mix. I made three different mixes, live, and I stayed with the one that most inspired me. I made the necessary touch ups with Ableton and the result can be heard in the compilation.
How would you compare your mixes on the opening CD to Dosem’s mixes on the second CD?
I do not like comparisons. I think they are simply just different musical motives. If I can talk to you about my CD, which I have tried to summarise in one hour (which is very difficult), a tour of what I thought would be played this summer on the island, especially at parties by day and doing a tour of the cooler to harder sounds. It’s just a personal view, from the DJ booth of Blue Marlin and watching as the sun sets. It is simply music with feeling.
What is your favourite track from the entire summer compilation and why?
One of my favourites: Copy Paste Soul – “After All”. It is a track that I released on my label, Solar Distance, by one of my favourite producers. So it has every ingredient to be one of my favourites!
<bThis isn’t all you have been up to in the studio recently. Your remix for Monkey Safari’s “Bernstein” EP was premiered last month. How does your remix differ to the original?
Actually, it was a pleasure to work on a remix for Monkey Safari, since I am a long time follower of his music and they do a good job! I heard the original and loved the main synth with what went with it. It was the only main part I used from the original track and from there I developed my own version, more instrumented with three very different parts and a more melodic bass line with harmonic hints which I like to play with. I am really very pleased with how it went and I think the boys are too!!