Much has been written about the important role the dance clubs and parties held in Ibiza during the early – mid ‘80s played in the foundation of what became known as the rave scene, so just a quick summary: the DJs at clubs like Pacha and Amnesia (both of which are still open to this very day) took to spinning an exceptionally diverse range of musical genres in their sets, virtually anything with a beat---I’m not kidding, as you will hear, it wasn’t uncommon to go through afrobeat, old school funk, italo, new wave, indie rock, jazz-funk, electro, post-disco and post-punk all in the span of an hour’s time! They also spun and began producing their own style of beats on Roland 909s, a concoction of slow, tribal-feeling electronica that we’ve never really seen again. Meanwhile, outside the hustle and bustle of the island’s cities, there were parties happening alongside the cliffs, hillsides & beaches which would go all night, people taking MDMA and mushrooms & then dancing for hours on end. Famed British DJs Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling, then just getting their careers going, spent a couple of summers there and brought the ideas back to England, becoming an important part of the groundwork which was “rave”. DJ Moz-Art (that’s him on the far left in the picture, mouth agape, seated next to the illustrious Ms. Grace Jones) was one of the more popular Balearic DJs, and though there is some definite beatmatching issues here, perfection was never the point---it’s all about the groove. This sort of chill & soulful vibe has long been relegated to side-rooms or afterhours parties, but back in the day it reigned supreme all night long; quite frankly, I bet is was much easier to handle dancing on ecstasy to this slower-paced stuff than the house and jungle we flailed about to!
