Sony Ericsson Brings You Ibiza Rocks

Pendulum post gig banter!

2008-09-13T11:48:00+00:00

Pendulum had just come off stage from headlining Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson’s closing show and it was huge. I grabbed ten minutes with drummer Kodish and guitarist Perry ap Gwynedd over a cold beer before they headed off to Bar M to continue the party…

Phew, that was a brilliant show – how does it feel to have closed Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson 2008?
Perry: I feel very privileged actually as so many great bands were playing over the summer.
Kodish: We’re not a classic Ibiza sounding band, so to pull something like that off is something else really.
Perry: We didn’t know what the hell to expect. We just turned up and were like ‘yeah alright’!

What kind of warm up exercises did you do before going on stage?
Kodish: We hit each other around the head a few times.
Perry: Ha, nah the guys warm up vocally.

Your sound is pretty unusual, how do you tend to describe it?
Perry: The sound is rock n bass really. We were in rock bands and then Gareth and Rob were into their drum and bass. They brought it over here from Australia, mixed it and produced our latest album. We can’t complain. I think our album went in at number two. We’ve got two albums in the Top 40 you can’t ask for better than that.
Kodish: Yeah, the main guys are from Perth and came over to the UK about five years ago. I’ve been involved in the drum and bass scene for a while and when they came over to London their record label was looking for a drummer and introduced them to me.

So why are called Pendulum?
Perry: Do you actually know the story Kodish because I don’t!?
Kodish: Just something that Rob thought of, looked it up on the internet and believe it or not nobody had used that name. It’s actually an art finding a name for a band these days.

You put on a really big show tonight and everyone really went for it. Did the Ibiza crowd meet up to your expectations?
Perry: Yeah definitely. And there were a lot of Spanish kids out there who don’t usually get much of a chance to mosh and they seemed to be loving it too.

I hear Kate Moss was in the crowd tonight…
Kodish: I can’t stand her.

Oh really! What did she ever do to you?
Kodish: She’s just not my cup of tea.

Do you have any other celebrity fans?
Perry: Mackenzie Crook from The Office, he’s been to a few gigs and Matt Willis! And Ewan McGregor came to see us in Sydney.

What did you think Ibiza would be like before you arrived?
Perry: I thought it was going to be full of people off their faces but it’s actually a quiet island. Where we are staying, just outside of Ibiza Town, is really quiet. I thought it would be much louder.

What have you been up to since you got here? I heard you were in KM5 last night?
Perry: Oh yeah what a great restaurant!
Kodish: I met the God of Football Zinedine Zidane. He’s like the French God of football, I shook his hand, it made my day.
Perry: Yeah I had the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Half of the band are from down-under - are you fans of Australia?
Kodish: I love Australia. It’s the only place that has any sun anymore I think.

Do you ever have any Australia vs Britain rows within the band?
Kodish: Nah not really! We think we like Australia more than them! They love London because they can get hold of equipment and stuff much more easily because from Perth it’s apparently a nightmare. We’re going for New Year’s Eve – come along!

So none of the typical ‘Vegemite is better than Marmite’ arguments then?
Perry: No we’re actually very well behaved.

Really? What’s it like being on your tour bus?
Perry: We’re just quite quiet really.
Kodish: Yeah. No girls on the bus. You can’t fit a girl in the bunk – you’d bash your head!

Oh c’mon there must be some fun to be had on the bus – do you play card games like sh** head?
Perry: Haha, sh**head! I haven’t heard that for a while.
Kodish: Been years…

So where are you swinging off to now?
Kodish: I think we’re going to go to the afterparty and just have a couple of drinks.
I don’t do hangovers on the plane.
Perry: I’m here until Friday so I’m alright. I’m not into clubs though. Ten years ago I would have been well into it but not now…

Pendulum Slam Ibiza Rocks!!!

2008-09-11T11:31:00+00:00

The atmosphere at the Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson grand finale could not have been bigger, as Pendulum quite literally swung the crowd on Tuesday night.
There had been a distinct lack of I.R.F.O's (Ibiza Rocks Flying Objects) aside from the odd balloon during the first two brilliant performances from Igly & Hartley and The Whip, but that all changed as soon as the larger than life sextet hit the stage. Suddenly from nowhere it seemed, inflatable orange guitars were in abundance and being tossed around along with the obligatory Cerveza.
Pendulum indulged us with a huge booming build-up which stoked everyone up, so much that one eager fan even shouted: "C'mon, get on with it!"
It was clearly going to be a kicking set from the moment they strutted on stage and a deafening roar blanketed San Rafael's Hippodrome.
"Ibiza Rocks 2008. Get ready for something crazy. Are you ready? Ibiza we are Pendulum. Make some noiseeeeeeeeee!" belted MC Ben Mount.
At this point new drum 'n' bass had well and truly entered the room and the up-for-a-right-old-stomp crowd including Kate Moss, went absolutely ballistic.
Their gigantic sound and mega lighting set-up created a show, which sets them apart from any other dance/rock act right now.
The powerful vortex Pendulum created meant that no one could help being pulled in and tossed around. And once you've accepted that, it's time to do the running man.
Fully aware of their retro powers, they embraced some old skool techniques like the Oggy Oggy Oggy. And still, the revving-up didn't end there. The guys were fully intent on the audience having a drum 'n' bass work out and were not taking any prisoners.
At one point it almost felt like Mike Skinner was back on stage as Ben said: "Ladies and Gentlemen. Get ready. Why are you still standing? I see you, I can feel you…!" He followed this up with an impressive gravity-defying Fame style high jump.
Crowd participation came in the form of a sweeping "Woah…." from one side of the Hippodrome to the other. "Start screaming here. How you feeling now? Welcome to the fast lane. They said it might storm, we don't care. We have that thunder."
They then got stuck into 'Blood Sugar'. If any tune was going to blast away any potential rain clouds back off to the UK, it was this.
'Fasten Your Seatbelts', 'Propane Nightmares' and 'Slam' were also among the highlights
Afterwards the band headed off to Bar M for the closing party before swinging off to the villa for more hijinks.
It was the perfect end to an incredible Ibiza Rocks summer. Coming next... find what the lads had to say after the gig.

Pendulum and Iglu & Hartly LIVE

2008-09-09T17:00:00+00:00

The Ibiza Rocks closing party with Sony Ericsson - Pendulum, Iglu & Hartly & The Whip

You know that feeling where you think 'this can't possibly get any better?' and then it does? And then it does again? And again, and again, and again?

Well the Ibiza Rocks crowd got that in spades as three of the best party bands from all around the globe competed to give the 2008 season the kind of send-off that registers on the Richter Scale.

After The Whip's sheer ferocity and Iglu & Hartly's day-glo hedonism Pendulum were always going to have their work cut out, but if stepping out from behind the decks fazed them for one second it didn't show.

The guitars that are so much in evidence on their second album 'In Silico', released in May, are slung about and manhandled with casual confidence tonight and by the time Rob Zwire dives headlong into the crowd - ramped up to rabid levels of hero worship by Pendulum's heady concoction of rock and electronica - the night has been well and truly won.

See you next year for more earthquakes.

THE ZUTONS ROCKED!!!

2008-09-05T11:41:00+00:00

Ibiza Rocks has never seen so much hair - on or off stage.
The Zutons have some of the most impressive barnets in the industry and there was a lot of it swinging around at Tuesday night’s Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig. Meanwhile in the crowd, locksome star Rhys Ifans and some other moshers in wigs provided the follicle factor on the ground.
Rhys cracked out his own special style of Welshman jive to the Liverpudlian’s cool bluesy sound as Zuton Fever hit San Rafael’s Hippodrome.
The band opened with the aptly titled ‘Zuton Fever’ and went on to plough through ‘Hello Conscience’, ‘Pressure Point’, ‘Valerie’ and ‘You Will You Won’t’.
Singer Dave McCabe said: “Hello Ibiza! Are you having a good time tonight? I don’t care because I am. This is our first time in Ibiza and we’re well happy to be here.”
He then pointed to the dancers and dad-joked: “Do you think they’re made to stand there like that?”
As well as their most well-known numbers, the cosmic Scousers also played a couple of tracks from their new album ‘You Can Do Anything’ including ‘What’s Your Problem’ and ‘Give me a Reason’.
“Ibiza you’ve been beautiful” regaled Dave before the band demanded a round of applause for each member, with saxophonist Abi Harding getting the biggest cheer.
Florida band Black Kids were a great warm up with stomping tracks like ‘I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You’ and ‘Hurricane Jane’. Before them, Ibiza’s home grown band Peter Colours got stuck into the stage as revellers piled into the venue.
Later on some of The Zutons ended up having a few post gig drinks in Ibiza Town’s Base Bar before heading off to Es Vive’s Smirnoff Room for some more groovin’ with up and coming band Marner Brown.

The Zutons chat

2008-09-03T16:48:00+00:00

Last night The Zutons took on the almighty Hippodrome in San Rafael for this week’s Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig. I caught up with Abi Harding and Sean Payne while they tucked into some paella after their sound check yesterday afternoon.

When did you arrive on the White Isle?
Abi: The day before yesterday, we’ve been to the beach so far, not sure which one it was…
Sean: It was nice though. We’ve just been hanging out in the villa. They left us some nice food and drink, it’s been sound.

I hear there are some interesting CDs kicking around that villa…George Michael etc, have you been dancing around to Careless Whisper?
Abi: Haha no but I did see there were some weird dancey CDs left there.
Sean: We couldn’t have a practice because our guitars weren’t there.

Have you been to Ibiza before and what are your expectations for tonight?
Sean: It’s our first time. I’m looking forward to tonight I reckon it’s going to be a real good holiday vibe.

You made your recent album ‘You Can Do Anything’ in LA – why did you decide to record it there?
Sean: Just for a change of scenery, the producer is there and it was great to have the chance to go to LA.

Did you get stuck into the LA scene?
Sean: Ha, Dave did a bit.
Abi: Yeah he went out loads to all the parties and all that.

Was he bringing home loads of Hollywood stars?
Sean: Nah he wasn’t that bad!

Abi, you have more of a vocal presence on this album, how did that come about?
Abi: I have always loved singing and it just sounded better for a girl to sing that track and it fitted my voice. Once a song has been written we all just sit around singing and whoever’s voice sounds best will sing it.

Noel Gallagher’s just been having a pop at Mark Ronson saying he ought to write his own tunes. Would you be more cautious about letting someone take a track off you like Valerie again?
Abi: If it ends up as popular as that then, no. It was great. I think they caught Noel on a bad day didn’t they?!

Have you considered collaborating with any other artists?
Sean: We’re open to it but at the moment we’re busy touring and writing for the next album.

So that’ll be the fourth album – did you ever think you’d get to the fourth one?
Sean: We haven’t yet! We just want to keep going we’re still really enjoying ourselves.

Are you going to hit the town after the gig?
No probably not, we’ve got such a nice villa we don’t need to! We’re not really into the clubbing scene.

I know of some fun little rock clubs…
Abi: Well yeah that’s probably more of our scene. But we’ve got a boss villa!

Has anyone tried jumping off the roof to the pool yet?
No, not yet but who knows later, someone might feel stupid enough to do it!

The Zutons LIVE with Sony Ericsson

2008-09-02T16:02:00+00:00

The Zutons & Black Kids live at Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson

If it's hard to believe that The Zutons - only three albums into an astonishing career - haven't been doing this forever it's practically impossible to watch Black Kids rule the Ibiza Rocks stage and not suspect that Indie Rock's best new band aren't really as green as they claim.

So The Zutons have their work cut out, but when they're producing material so classic it would be equally at home in the hands of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin as it is here on the Ibiza sand, they've no difficulty holding their own.

Throw in a riotous 'Why Won't You Give Me Your Love', new single 'What's Your Problem' and Abi Harding's undeniable sax appeal and tonight Ibiza is treated to one of the most accomplished, downright fun rock shows we've seen in a long time. Give them your love.

SOULWAX & 2 MANY DJS LIVE

2008-08-26T10:28:00+00:00

First up, honourable mention must go to surprise special guests The Holloways, who held the floor for our legendary headliners with grace and aplomb.

Like Satan and the poll tax, the musical endeavours of Dewaele brothers Stephen and David, plus their various, varying cohorts, have many different names.

Tonight's incarnation - Soulwax Nite Versions/2MANYDJS - is the purest strain yet, delivering a mind-boggling, genre-bending, party-starting high packaged in none-more-dapper white tuxedoes and a healthy disrespect for musical boundaries.

Drawing on every shred of their considerable talents as producers, DJs, remixers, musicians and - hell, we're gonna say it - Rock Stars, the brothers Dewaele bring the Ibiza Rocks crowd to the brink again and again.

This shouldn't be legal.

Photos by Noam Ofir

SOULWAX & 2 MANY DJS

2008-08-26T09:54:00+00:00

After a brilliant summer of rock, Tuesday night’s Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig took a turn towards the dark side with Soulwax and 2 Many DJ’s.
The Dewaele brothers greeted the ready to rave crowd with a pleasant: “Hello Ibiza Rocks” before declaring: “Tonight, Ibiza Rocks, raves”.
The set was fierce from the outset as the white-tuxedo clad electro rockers drowned the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in sound.
Glow sticks showered onto the stomping crowd, which made a nice change from the usual toilet roll mayhem. However there was no escape from the omnipresent beach ball, which once again knocked the drink out of my hand. Ah.
The quirky Belgium four-piece lifted the dancing crew for at least an hour with tracks including ‘E Talking’ and ‘Any Minute Now’.
Front man David indicated they were up for a big night on the White Isle as it was: “Steve’s birthday today.”
After a 15 minute break Soulwax morphed into 2 Many DJ’s and then things got really pumping.
Most popular remixes included The Gossip’s ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ and Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor.’
The eclectic barrage of reworked tunes came thick and fast with even old numbers like the Bucket Head’s ‘The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)’ and Human League’s ‘Don’t you Want Me Baby?’ thrown in for good old school measure.
The dynamic duo continued tirelessly and delivered a relentless plethora of earth shaking beats until the very end.
Earlier in the night, London lads The Holloways warmed up the stage with a lively set which included, ‘Cool Down’ and ‘Generator’.
Trilbys + glow sticks = rock n rave.

Ibiza Rocks leaves Lincoln.......ROCKIN!!!

2008-08-22T10:00:00+00:00

Glowsticks, crowd surfing, smoke machine and great music, Lincoln delivered on all fronts when Sony Ericsson bought Ibiza Rocks into town. Tonights venue was an intimate marquee in which guests were entertained with the delightful rifts of We Are Tiny Cities. The crowd surfing and rawcus dancing that ensued was a minor detail as guests lost themselves in the moment, partying untill they could party no more!

The Streets LIVE

2008-08-19T12:06:00+00:00

Mike Skinner is as much a part of Ibiza as sun, sand and surf - the Streets' poet may be a master of arch social commentary and cautionary tales, but that doesn't mean he's not here to party.

In fact any rumours that The Streets' mature and introspective new direction might dampen their inner agents of chaos were well and truly tossed to the wall the minute Mr Skinner surfed the length and breadth of the crowd.

Once The Street's inimitable flow and swaggering rhymes owned the crowd it was child's play for Mike Skinner to persuade the adoring fans to start lobbing toilet rolls everywhere, and when he started shouting for everyone to jump in the pool!' Well, who were we to argue?

A wild, wet and wonderful time was had by all. Just don't tell the health and safety people.

The Streets live at Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson

The Streets

2008-08-19T11:07:00+00:00

Never mind drying your eyes mate, many Ibiza rockers spent the evening just actually drying off after Mike Skinner ordered everyone into the pool following his epic set.
If there was a roof at Tuesday night’s Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig, The Streets would have blown it to Mars.
The animated star opened with ‘Turn the Page’ and went on to sing favourites ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’ and ‘Blinded by The Lights’.
Mike, wearing a t-shirt aptly emblazoned with a mic, repeatedly asked the packed Ibiza Rocks Hotel, which included Leslie Ash and Ms Dynamite: “Are you up for it? Can you see me? Can you hear me?!”
The adoring sun-scorched mass responded by dancing their flip-flops off and throwing toilet rolls at the Brummie star. Mike was big on audience participation while the mesmerised crowd followed orders obediently and even crouched down to the floor twice after he demanded they “get down”.
His gig was full of surprises and at one stage the topless wordsmith, told the mosh pit to split in two so he could crowd surf. “You’re going to pick me up and I want to see the toilet paper flying,” he directed.
Mike finished with ‘Dry Your Eyes’ but an encore was demanded with roars and he came back on stage to perform ‘Heaven For the Weather’ and ‘Fit But Don’t You Know It’ and said: “Really appreciate all your support man.”
Earlier on in the night Cage The Elephant were clearly feeling the heat and lead singer Matt Shultz performed their set in just his pants.
This week’s Ibiza Rocks Hotel residents A. Human kicked off the massive night by treating everyone to a special Ibiza Rocks song and Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’, as well as singing tracks from their album Third Hand Prophecy.

A HUMAN HAVE LANDED

2008-08-18T19:43:00+00:00

A Human are supporting The Streets at tomorrow night’s Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig and it hasn’t taken long for these electro-goth rockers to throw themselves into the party zone.
Here they are (below) groovin’ at the opening of the new Rocks Nights in Somni club, Figueretas.
The lads ripped up the dancefloor in a spectacular style as Daisy Heartbreaker brought some glam rock to the new venue on Saturday night.
She spun the crowd into a frenzy with a sound she’s dubbed ‘Rocktronica’.
Keep your eyes peeled to hear about when the next one is going to happen – it could be any time. The swanky new refurbished club is underneath Hotel Playa, which is also home to brilliant world music night Los Fabulosos every Thursday.

Ibiza Rocks into Tunbridge Wells!

2008-08-17T13:49:00+00:00

After the successes of the first two Sony Ericsson Ibiza Rocks parties, Tunbridge Wells had some big boots to fill and boy did it fit those boots well! The Scarlet Harlots kicked off the evening delivering their unique junkstep sound with aplomb, in turn leaving the lively crowd craving more. Following this the superbly named Ou Est Le Swimming Pool sent the crowd wild with their energetic and vibrant sounds.......nice!!!! The evening is sure to live long in the memory of those lucky enough to have been there

THE REVEREND REVEALS MORE

2008-08-16T08:34:00+00:00

Reverend and the Makers' singer Jon McClure is known for being outspoken and here's a bit more of what he had to say before his Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig on Tuesday...

Can you tell me more about your side project band, Mongrel?
It’s quite a political thing, we’re saying things that I don’t think are being tackled or discussed. We’re going to go and play in Lebanon next week and show our support. I think it's really important there is no one that takes a stand on anything in this day and age and that’s bonkers because we need people to more than ever in my mind.

How would you describe the music?
We’re fusing hip-hop because that kind of stuff is ignored by the British music industry. You never really hear about these people so I want to unite it all a bit with Mongrel. We’ve got some good people involved with it. It’s nice fusing styles and to work with people like Skinnyman. It’s mind blowing. So I’m going to do that, do another Reverend and the Makers album then I’m going to retire.

Really? What will you do then?
I’m going to become a pedal taxi driver and go away somewhere. Maybe in Ibiza.

Have you see much of the island?
Yeah I’ve been all over. I like Es Vedra and Benirras and all that. I had a week last week here as I played at Manumission. We’ve had this idea with the owners to take Manumission on some world tour.

REVEREND AND THE MAKERS ROCK

2008-08-14T15:46:00+00:00

“I want you to listen,” The Rev, Jon McClure, shouted at the jiving mass before him, who were high off his stage energy and now needed to be cooled down. And when The Rev tells you to listen, you listen.

Everyone at the Ibiza Rocks with Sony Ericsson gig on Tuesday night, then quietened down (a bit) as preacher Jon sang out the lyrics to ‘Open Your Window’ slower than usual to allow the song’s message to be clearly heard.

Earlier in the day we strolled through the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, sans bodyguard or entourage for a coffee and it wasn’t long before he went into full flow about his political beliefs. He said: “No one is saying anything. People think it’s not cool to care about the world you live in anymore whereas I’m attracted to notions of Marley and Lennon but I’m saying it in a different time. I just want people to have a good time tonight and send a bit of a message away.
“We’re going to play some bangers from the album and some new stuff. It’s going to be good, it’s pretty up our stuff. I think we’ll ‘av it. Our stuff translates well over here. I’m going to ‘av it tonight.”

The band worked up the crowd from the outset as they kicked off with ‘State of Things’, ‘Bandits’, ‘What the Milkman Saw’ and ‘Open Your Window’ while Jon mingled in the odd rap, choreographed fans, booted a yellow football and generally had it large in Ibiza.

As well as playing a electric set, he definitely gave revellers something more than their beer cups to chew on.

They ended with ‘He Said he Loved Me’ which kept everyone dancing until Arctic Monkeys' drummer aka DJ Matt Helders got back to DJing with ex Arctic Monkeys’ bandmate Andy Nicholson.