Conciergerie Music
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by Eric Ceccarini
Before the likes of Danny Rampling and Paul Oakenfold discovered the island and helped turn it into a mecca of repetitive electronic beats, questionable chemical powders, sunburnt teenagers from Basildon and Tiesto, Ibiza had a rich history of live music.
Before the clubbers arrived, Ibiza was hippy territory and jam sessions were a regular occurrence, with everyone from Bob Marley and UB40 to Ronnie Wood and Bob Geldof passing through the Balearic isle. After GYAT Booking agency discovered Ibiza’s pre-electronic past & teamed up with Fabrice Rans, it inspired them to create a series of intimate concerts in the unspoilt areas of the island and Conciergerie Music was born.
Chrysta Bell (pictured) and Juana Molina got the ball rolling earlier this year, and after the high season comes to an end, Conciergerie Music will return in September.
Why did you start Conciergerie Music?
We realise that Conciergerie Music is a term that is over used in Ibiza and is quite a mouthful. But it makes sense as it defines quite clearly that we are curating acts and places to offer a unique experience to small audiences.
How did you find out about Ibiza’s pre-electronic music history?
One thing led to another, from discovering the island and its secrets we came across the founder of Las Dalias, Joan Mari. One Sunday morning, discovering his story and the story of his venue led us to hear about the story of Estudios Mediterráneos and the amazing a list of artists who recorded there. We connected with its sound engineer Dennis Herman, who we now have the chance to work with on all Conciergerie Music events.
Las Dalias became a legend in Ibiza when carpenter and farmer Joan Mari opened his bar and ballroom in 1954. In 1980 Joan passed on the management to his son Juanito and from 1984 onwards after connecting with the recently opened recording studio ‘Estudios Mediterráneos,’ bands would come and jam at Las Dalias, including UB40, Stan Webb and Nina Hagen, as well as Spanish artists such as Banzai, Barón Rojo, Gato Pérez and La Frontera. International artists would also join the events such as Brian May, Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Page, Mike Oldfield, Bob Geldof, and the list goes on.
We all come from a live music background and fell in love with the story of live music in Ibiza. We could never bring those days back but we feel that we can participate in perpetuating its unique live music heritage.
How do you hope it will have an impact?
We hope that through the events we can help locals experience places in a new way and revive live music in some of Ibiza’s most special spots. We hope that Conciergerie Music will help raise awareness about what Ibiza used to be before the clubbing era and help to build its international reputation. We hope that the impact will be felt both locally and internationally.
We hope that Conciergerie Music will enhance Ibiza’s cultural life outside of the summer season and encourage people to settle all year long, especially young people who regularly leave, mainly to Barcelona, because they feel the cultural offering is lacking in Ibiza. We hope to place Ibiza on the map again because international artists usually only stop in Barcelona and Madrid when they tour in Spain.
How can people get involved/show support?
Come experience it and spread the word! Suggest artists to bring to the island and help crowd-fund the events. We feel that everyone can and should get involved. People who have unique spots in Ibiza can get in touch to host a show or a series of shows.
What have been the challenges in bringing Conciergerie Music to life?
It’s still coming to life… We are looking for partners in all fields, get in touch!
What’s the future for Conciergerie Music?
The future is to keep curating live shows in wonderful places around Santa Eularia and the island of Ibiza. We would like to create special shows where artists can meet and create live. Eventually we hope to record and release the sessions for everyone to hear. We’ll keep spreading the word about Ibiza. The island is only 25km by 45km but hosts an amazing mix of creative people who are actively involved internationally. It’s probably the most cosmopolitan small island in the world.
The next Conciergerie Music shows are in September and run through the low season until May 2015.
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