An Ibiza Tale: DJ Pippi

First of all, I must thank a longtime friend of mine! He used to go to Ibiza at the time, and he is the one who told me: "Pippi, you have a special feeling with music. You must go to Ibiza and see what's going on over there," and I did! I started to go to the island as a tourist and I was amazed by the beauty of the White Island and its spirit. I started to hang with the circle of islanders and pass my mixtapes to Pacha's owners. From that moment, my one wish was to play my style of music in a club like Pacha.

I am Italian, but I was living in Germany at the time running some fashion and music shops. One day in March 1984, I was in my shop and the owner of Pacha entered. I said "Hola!" and he got straight to the point. "Hola! We need you at Pacha now!" Can you imagine? I had been living in Germany for more then 10 years and I had so many things going on there, but my wish to play in Ibiza was stronger than everything. I said "Yes, I’m ready!" I took my great record collection with me, and three days later I started to play at Pacha every night of the week.

The entire jet set was visiting the island. It was artists and musicians from all over the world! Going out in Ibiza during the '80s had a very special vibe. It was like being outdoors, on a stage, and surrounded by beautiful people everywhere! Writers, actors, dancers and drug dealers all together! People like Grace Jones, Duran Duran, George Michael, Spandau Ballet, Talk Talk, Freddy Mercury, Roman Polanski, Donald Sutherland, Jamiroquai, Simple Red, Bob Geldof, Chris Rea, Mike Oldfield...they all used to hang out every night. No VIPs and nothing private. Everyone was together!

That summer was special because it started a new era for the club and music industry on the Island! DJs began to play only house and Ibiza became the Mecca for the best dance music ever! In the 1990s, Ibiza became the focus of all international DJs and entrepreneurs of the best clubs in the world. Ibiza was musically always a year ahead of the rest of world. Today, the new trend is going to beach clubs where you can dance from 6pm until midnight under the stars. Ibiza is still the island of love and freedom!

The more you do, the more you learn! In my case, I have more than three decades in the business and I follow the music as much as I can without forgetting my roots. I feel very lucky to have been able to represent the true Ibiza worldwide for so many decades and grow as a DJ, producer, and human being. 

My first unbelievable sunset was in Formentera in 1978. I will never forget it, because the next day was the historical concert of Bob Marley at the Corrida Ibiza Town. Can you image the scent that was added to the bullfight? That was historic!