The end is nigh! There’s still time to book flights from wherever you may be for this party of epic proportion. The line-up speaks for itself, including an Ibiza debut from Aphex Twin in the Discoteca and a return to the venerated Terraza with Basement Jaxx. Big up to David Tazzyman. See you there! x
We Leviathan Space
Our resident percussionist who performs weekly with Alfredo on the Sunset Terrace has been in high demand through the winter playing in clubs, at events and in studios throughout the world. Alfredo sums him up as an artist pretty well, “I never practice with Ian, never. I listened to him play in El Salon. He is the first percussionst to not get over the track and disturb the record. When he has to be silent he is silent. The way he keeps the beat is like a machine and melody with percussion is something I have not heard before. He is a humble guy to work with, I am pleased to know him and work with him.” Mark Broadbent belies his promotors hat like so, “I generally dislike drummers more than DJs but Ian is great.” Here are some tales and photos from his travels…
Ian C'enic
Six months since I played with Alfredo on the Sunset Terraza at Space and it’s hard to believe that Ibiza beckons already. I can remember that last gig like it was yesterday but I’ve crammed so much in since then – what a lucky sod!
Ian Frozen C
50 odd gigs since then (and some were odd) have led me around some parts of the world that I’ve never been to before… Denmark was amazing, mid-January, the sea was frozen (as was I) and I performed and partied in an old cinema with 800 or so people. In Sweden, amid their worst snow storm in 30 years we bounced around in an old church with only good music and strong alcohol for sustenance (by the if you are ever there and get offered a shot of liquid brown tar whose name escapes me, say no and run for the hills). In Austria, at a friends birthday party, I performed in a nightclub that is a coffee and pastry shop by day. Nice and randomly, as my life sometimes tends to be, I ended up staying with We Love’s Mr. Doris and his girlfriend Roxanne in Bahrain after finding out I had been booked to play at his winter residency (neither of us knew the other was there until it was all booked) – small world indeed.
Ian C of people
I’ve also been lucky enough to break some personal career records this winter and perform to 5,000 at Amsterdam Indoor Arena and a monster of a gig to 7,000 at the Dubai World Trade Center. This was rounded off rather bizarrely at an after party, with me drinking drinks I couldn’t possibly afford in the presidential penthouse suite of a well know Dubai hotel with some very nice folk indeed – in other circumstances I would have been mistaken for ‘the help’ and told to get my hair cut!
Ian C'eiling
The over-riding factor at all of the gigs (and many many previous events) in all the countries I have been lucky enough to visit over the years, is how universally, whatever our backgrounds, politics or colour, we all just want to have a bloody good time! So to the 30,000 + people that were at the gigs I’ve played at this winter, I salute you!
Ian C for yourself
The summer is nearly here, I can’t wait to get back on that outdoor terrace every week with Alfie again, Ibiza ticket (one way) is booked and a lot of my friends and all the We Love family are poised cat like for action, well, poised anyway… how about you?
Check out a mix created by Ian C and Jem Haynes, here. It’s a dex / percussion / fx mix recorded live and off the cuff by the duo. The busy pair have also just completed a bootleg of a classic Gorillaz record, check it out below…
Incredible contrasts of both old and new - in this instance a view of the modern horizon while being sat inside the ancient walled harbour of Dilmun
The Bahrain World Trade Centre (complete with hydro-power wind sails)
For those that don’t know, the Kingdom of Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf just off Qatar & Saudi Arabia (of which there are 2 enormous record-breaking bridges of 45km & 25km respectively linking the island to the mainland) and although I had been here before (for a gig at another venue), as with most work related visits I never managed to do much outside of either club or hotel. Yet on this first brief visit I had a very warm welcome in general and for the music I played – so much so I agreed to up and leave my winter life in London to head off, girlfriend and records in hand to the desert.
What I found when I arrived (and have now had the time to explore) was a country and people steeped in a varied history, industry, beliefs and customs. The rich history of the region ranges from the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Portuguese, and finally the Arabs, under whom the island became Muslim. Religious influences come from the expected Islamic (one of few places in the world where Sunnis and Shi’as live in relative harmony) to the less expected but large communities of Hindu and Catholic. The industry of the island ranges from one of the richest sources of pearls in the world (of which Roxane my girlfriend seemed pretty intrigued with) to the expected petroleum based industries of extraction, refining and export. While the most recent, largest and successful being the international banking centre.
These industries and the fact that Bahrain is an old British colony have made the country a haven for ex-pats which leads me onto the next and perhaps in my line of work the most important – the music, nightlife and entertainment side of the country. One thing that I have realised in the few weeks of being here is that the country as a whole seems a lot more relaxed towards music (and in general – women can drive and vote!) than any of the other countries I’ve worked in the area – this may have something to do with the fact that the king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his crown prince are both liberal (in Arabic terms) and avid music lovers (Michael Jackson lived and recorded his last album here under their funding and as their guest before his untimely death).
One of the many historic forts that can be found in Bahrain
An example of some of the older architecture - in this case an archway dating back to the Tylos (Greek) occupation and a sunset in the Persian Gulf
Glad I got that off my chest.
The giant 25km causeway that connects Bahrain with Saudi Arabia
Check out his mix especially for Muju lounge here …
Somewhere in the middle (East)
