pacha ibiza Archives

There’s No Masking the Love Claptone Shares with His Worldwide Audience

April 29, 2022/in Music /by Skylar Schossberger

Claptone is an enigmatic presence. His Venetian guise, black attire, golden-beaked mask, and white gloved hands complete the mystique that continues to draw sophisticated crowds from all over the world. The artist celebrated his sold out ‘The Masquerade’ events at AFAS LIVE at ADE, Zamna, Tulum and SLS Hotel during Miami Music Week, along with what Miami New Times called a massive set at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

Q&A with Matthias Meyer: His New Remix, Pacha Ibiza, and Watergate

September 4, 2017/in 6AM Interviews, DO NOT USE_Features, News & Features, Soundcloud /by Lydia Castillo

Born in the quiet small German town of Lueneberg, near Hamburg, Matthias Meyer’s love and dedication for the hi-tech sounds of Detroit and Chicago ultimately drove him to become a prominent seven year resident of the prestigious club and brand Watergate.

This October, Watergate deservedly celebrates its 15th year anniversary with an exclusive compilation where Matthias joins forces with an old friend and producer to contribute a special track.

Best known for his remix of Ryan Davis’ Brun, which was religiously supported by All Day I Dream label master Lee Burridge, Matthias continues to make his mark on the underground by becoming a new resident for Hot Since 82’s Labyrinth series at Pacha Ibiza.

Now, as a world renowned DJ and producer, Matthias talks to us about his forthcoming release, new Pacha residency, and a nomination for the Best Deep House Artist by the DJ Awards.

Your remix of Butch’s ‘Shahrzad’ has been one of the highlights in your sets over the last year. What about the track do you think resonates with crowds?

The flute part in the track is the main hook and that really gets people into the mood. The string parts in my remix are carefully picked from the original and put in new context to create even more euphoria. I added more of a straight beat and amped up the hypnotic groove and the result turned out to work really well. I’m always happy to see all the smiling faces on the dance floor each time I play it.

Listen to the long anticipated track here:

BUY IT

What did you love about the original and what did you want to bring to your rework?

I loved the break of the original so much, I wanted to create a new track out! For me the strings and flute melody are the magic of the whole track and I wanted to extend this magic throughout the whole track. That’s how the whole idea of the remix came about. I’m happy to now have my own house approach to Butch’s original track.

What elements of remixing someone else’s productions do you enjoy and what do you find challenging?

It’s always a challenge to remix music from another musical genre. Working off other people’s ideas and sounds and putting them in a totally new context. That is what remixing is about, for me. There’s so much good music out there but not all of it is made for the dance floor. I like transforming sounds and melodies that I like into a dance track. Take the Ryan Davis Remix I did for AnjunaDeep, for example – all I had was an orchestra part and a bit of baseline and it became a tune you can really dance to. That was one of the strongest remixes I ever did.

What elements of creating your own productions do you enjoy and what do you find challenging?

I just love creating grooves. I can spend days in the studio trying to get the right groove. When it comes to the melodies, I find it hard sometimes. I am not that much of a composer in terms of finding the right notes for a melody. I often find other ways to get the result I’m looking for. I.e scale, audio to midi, or sampling.

You’ve been a resident at Watergate for many years now, what is it about Watergate that you feel differentiates itself from the rest of the clubs in Berlin?

I have been connected to the club for a while now as a resident and as part of the agency. The lineups are always quality, the team is very professional, the club provides good sound in one of the best locations in town. The whole vibe of the place is just amazing!

You’ve been touring a lot this summer with Watergate in celebration of the club’s 15 year anniversary. How have those gigs been going? What has been the best part of being able to tour with Watergate and how has the experience differed from playing at the club?

That’s true, I actually just returned from a 2-week adventure through Brazil for the Watergate tour and that was super special. We went on an adventure through the best clubs in Brazil with other DJs including D’Edge, Warung and Beehive just to name a few. All shows were sold out, we had some great crowds and the shows received some amazing feedback. It is a very compressed and intense experience to play 6 shows in 2 weeks with a gang of 3 Watergate Residents – that’s what makes the tour a different experience to the normal club where you play every other week. It has been a special experience and some of the best shows I’ve played in my career.

You’re also featuring on the club’s 15-year anniversary compilation, what can we expect to hear on this?

I have done a track with Ryan Davis called ‘Hope’ that will be on this compilation. We’re both big fans of movie soundtracks and ‘Hope’ is very much inspired by the soundtrack of the movie ‘Lion’. I am playing it out a lot right now and it’s been receiving good feedback! Look out for the compilation release in October.

You’ve joined HS82’s Labyrinth party this year and are in the midst of playing six dates at Pacha. Any highlights from these parties so far?

The residency at Labyrinth has introduced me to a wider audience and I am thankful for that. I’ve known Daley (HS82) for a while now, the moment he invited me to warm up his new night at Pacha was pure bliss. I have had amazing nights with Pete Tong and Carl Craig and just last Friday was magic again, warming things up b2b with Anja Schneider at Cafe Mambo and finishing off the party b2b with Hot Since 82. The Labyrinth concept and vibe is great and I’m just really happy to be a part of it.

What does it mean to you to be nominated for Best Deep House Artist in the Ibiza DJ Awards? How will you celebrate if you win?

I didn’t expect to be nominated at all. When I found out I was, I was stoked. It’s amazing to be nominated for an award like this amongst so many other quality artists. It’s already an honour just to just be nominated for the award, even if I don’t win. BUT if I do win, I will book a jet from wherever I am on this planet just to come and accept the award!! ;-)

We hope you win, too! See below for upcoming tour dates:

06.09.2017 – BABY BOA, GENEVA (CH)
07.09.2017 – THURSDATE AT WATERGATE, BERLIN (DE)
15.09.2017 – WATERGATE, BERLIN (DE)
16.09.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT CORSICA STUDIOS, LONDON (UK)
17.09.2017 – OASIS FESTIVAL, MARRAKECH (MA)
22.09.2017 – RODNYA, MOSCOW (RU)
29.09.2017 – DO NOT SIT, MIAMI (US)
30.09.2017 – CITYFOX, NEW YORK (US)
06.10.2017 – LABYRINTH AT PACHA, IBIZA (ES)
20.10.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT WESTERUNIE, AMSTERDAM (NL)
04.11.2017 – 15 YEARS WATERGATE AT SILODOM, SAARBRUCKEN (DE)
05.11.2017 – KATER BLAU, BERLIN (DE)

All tour dates here

Connect with Matthias Meyer: Facebook | SoundCloud | Instagram

Opinion: The Hypocrisy of Pacha Ibiza and the Island’s VIP Lifestyle

October 17, 2016/in DO NOT USE_News, Uncategorized /by Marco Sgalbazzini

Ricardo Urgell, founder of Pacha Group

Unless you’re living under a rock, or have absolutely no interest in the rapidly changing world of dance music, you have probably heard that Pacha Group went on sale in September for a requested €500 million.

The sale of the Pacha brand includes hotels and venues directly owned by the company, such as Pacha Ibiza, Destino and Lío, as well as the franchise fees paid by the dozen or so clubs around the world who use the brand’s name. When the news was filtered to the media, the reason for the sale was boiled down to a distaste of the Matutes family, who own Ushuaïa Group, and the VIP lifestyle that Pacha alleges the Matutes brought to the island.

Ushuaïa and Pacha Ibiza Raided by Spanish Police, Millions of Euros in Cash Found

September 19, 2016/in DO NOT USE_News /by Marco Sgalbazzini

In the early hours of September 15th, 6:30am local time, Ibiza’s Ushuaïa Beach Hotel and Pacha were raided by local police as part of the ongoing operation that is looking into suspected tax fraud.

Operation Chopin launched with the raid of Amnesia earlier this summer, including the arrest of the club’s owner, his son and three other workers at the venue. The nationwide investigation continued with similar raids at Privilege and Space, all part of a total of 87 venues that are being looked into for possible tax evasion.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo stated that the Pacha and Ushuaïa were visited by police this morning, September 15th, at 6:30am and 8am respectively. Ibiza news outlet Diario De Ibiza reported that police also made a visit to the offices of Grupo Empresas Matutes (GEM), the parent company of Palladium Hotel Group that oversees Ushuaïa.

Authorities found millions in Euros in cash at both venues. It will now be up to authorities to verify if the cash was being recorded or not. A tax agent involved with the operation said: “Now we just have to verify if the amounts correspond to those declared in the companies’ accounting records.”

With Pacha now on sale for $500 million, Space Ibiza closing down, 6:30am morning curfews enforced by police and Operation Chopin in full force, many are left to wonder what is happening to Ibiza and how much the island will be changing in the coming years.

With The Addition of +Live, Diynamic’s Solomun Will Play Three Ibiza Residencies This Summer

June 7, 2016/in DO NOT USE_News, Line Up Announcement /by Marco Sgalbazzini

If you’re going to Ibiza this summer, and you should be, it will be harder to miss Solomun in action than it will be to catch him!

The Diynamic label head will of course continue with his +1 residency at Pacha, bringing along with him some of the biggest names in today’s electronic music circuit.

The news, however, comes in the form of two brand-new + Live residencies at Destino and Ushuaïa. The format will be simple, each party featuring Igor Marijuan from Ibiza Sonica Radio at 4pm, a Diynamic label star playing warm up between 6 and 8pm, a special live guest set performance from 8pm until 9pm, and the grand finale with Solomun playing a set of his own.

Things start off later this month on June 23rd at Ushuaïa, with guest sets by Pig & Dan and Dynamic family member H.O.S.H.. The party will then move to Destino on July 28th with Innervisions’ own Henrik Schwarz and Diynamic’s Karmon. On August 11th, Solomun will be joined by Wagon Repair chief Mathew Johnson and label mate Musumeci. It will then be the turn of Rodriguez Jr. and Undercatt to take be featured on the 25th, Kollektiv Turmstrasse and Adriatique at Ushuaïa on the 14th of September and finally Stephan Bodzin and a return set from H.O.S.H. to close out the summer on September 21st.

Full dates and lineups:

23.06. – Ushuaia

PIG & DAN

H.O.S.H.