INDEX
Invited to DJ at Ibiza’s Top Clubs
– From there, you went all the way to “Star Baby.”
Sugiura: Yes, after the first Ibiza album, another album “Life Ground Music” was released with a cover drawn by Hirohiko Araki, and then we moved to Crown.
– We started working together at Ibiza in 2003, and you have been going every year since then, haven’t you?
Sugiura: Yes, I have been going every year.
– Did you feel any gap between the enthusiasm of the party dresses you saw in Ibiza and the parties in Japan?
Sugiura: I felt that Japan was experiencing a different kind of excitement than before, looking back, it was much hotter than it is now. Also, everyone was still using turntables and records, right? There was no Shazam, so when you wondered, “What song is this!?” it spread directly across the entire floor. The other day at Chiba’s “GROOVETUBE FES,” Kenji Takimi played mostly songs that aren’t on Shazam, and I thought, “You can still do this.” It was such a thrilling feeling after a long time [laughs].
– In 2007, “WHAT TIME IS SUMMER OF LOVE?” was released, and you started your own resident parties, gaining recognition in the scene, and mix CDs started coming out every year.
Sugiura: Before I started my own party “HOUSE BEAT,” I started playing regularly at “VIVARA” at clubasia, which was so successful that there was a huge line outside.
– Do you remember what the floor anthem was at that time?
Sugiura: I don’t remember anything at all. I’m the type of person who never looks back [laughs]. But there were hits that transcended genres up until around that time.
– Yes, there were! Dj Rolando’s “Knight of the Jaguar” was sometimes played at techno, house, and even trance parties.
Sugiura: That kind of thing disappeared after a certain point, when CDJs became the mainstream for DJs. I think it was around 2007 when I first started DJing at Pacha. When I told the owner that I was going to use turntables, he was surprised and brought out some dusty turntables from the warehouse [laughs]. When I started playing, club owners and managers would come to the booth and get excited because they thought records sounded great.
– DJing at one of Ibiza’s top clubs is an amazing feat. How did that come about?
Sugiura: Axwell’s remix of “Star Baby” was No. 1 on the Spanish dance charts, and that was the start. Since then, I’ve done it for three years in a row, and the Pacha staff took me to many places, including one in Egypt.
– I don’t remember the most exciting song during that period.
Sugiura: I don’t remember at all [laughs].
– You don’t remember at all [laughs].
Sugiura: We didn’t play many of our own songs or old songs, but mainly new songs.
– But there are about 10 songs that are played at every party every year.
Sugiura: I remember the strong ones like “AC/DC” by X-PRESS 2 or “Flashdance” by DEEP DISH, but the rest I don’t remember at all. I can understand it if I listen to them.
– The type with the dry ice smoke coming out at the break [laughs].
Sugiura: Also, the games between the DJs and the floor were really interesting, weren’t they? AC/DC” without a break [laughs]. It was great to see the floor go crazy with that. In a club like Pacha, that kind of game-playing was possible. The audience knew the songs before they were released. The booth was in the middle of the stairs, like the cockpit of a luxury cruiser. The DJ booth was out of sight from the most exciting part of the floor, and the audience was the star of the show.
