Mambo Brothers Interview

Growing up in Ibiza, Christian and Alan Anadon are perfect representation of the party isle as the Mambo Brothers. Fun, driven and passionate about music, the brothers bring us the best DJs at one of the island’s most iconic venues – Cafe Mambo. Legendary on the circuit and with the Ibiza summer season hotting up, we caught up with the duo to find out more about DJ selection, the food menu, secret spots and taking Mambos on tour.

Hi Christian, Alan, how are you both?
We’re great, sunbathing and having a Piña Colada chilling out after a mad two weeks of crazy opening parties on the island…

Sounds like bliss. Being based in arguably the best location in Ibiza for sunsets and DJ sets are there any moments that you just won’t forget?
First time Sasha came to play back in ’95, Roger Sanchez in ’98, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello as Swedish House Mafia in 2008, Carl Cox playing the keyboard with the Brand New Heavies – there are many of them! Also, the first time we tasted our first Bottle of Mambo Hierbas with Eric Prydz.

Who selects the DJs that will be playing each season?
The way we do it is when our DJ friends are on the island, we call them and if they able they come down to play some records… It’s never been too formal.

Apart from the music and the sunset, what do you do at Cafe Mambo to keep it as the number one destination for Ibiza virgins and veterans?
Do what we love the best that we can, together with our great team.

Is there anyone that you have still not yet secured to play?
To be honest, we’ve been very lucky to have from the beginning of the days DJs like Sasha, John Digweed, Pete Tong, Carl Cox, Jeff Miles, Roger Sanchez and nowadays thanks to all this history of DJs, the new scene of superstars DJs like David Guetta to Tiesto, Guy Gerber, Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris, Solomun… still supporting what we do.

The food is also pretty amazing, has the menu changed much over the years?
There are some dishes that have been in Mambo for 20 years and still Mambo’s favourites!

What’s your favourite dish?
Beef tacos with a delicious cold daikiri.

Who do you think will be the highlight of this summer?
There are going to be many highlights this summer, to name some, Aoki with Friends on Mondays, Bob Sinclair on Saturdays is always very special as you can even expect some 8’0s disco mixed up with deep house, which creates a super great vibe! Fatboy Slim in August, Eric Prydz in July…

Are there any particular DJs you’re looking forward to catching?
Every DJ that comes to Mambo has the chance to do something different from what they usually do in nightclubs, that’s why we look forward to listening to all of them. And what is their perception on music for Café Mambo, sometimes it can be so diverse and we love that!

So you’re now taking Mambo on tour; how is it, and are you planning another one? What was a highlight? Well, we started with Mambo on Tour at the beginning of 2013, and last year it took place in more than 40 cities around the world, it was really, really successful – we didn’t expect this. The tour still goes on, and now we’ve been invited to host our own arena which is amazing!

Having grown up in Ibiza, are there any secret spots you like to get away to from the partying?
Cala Gracioneta, a small beach close to Punta Galera – it has a restaurant with fantastic paellas… And of course Formentera.

Being Scots on a Spanish island, have you always felt like part of the furniture?
We are Ibicencos! This is our home, we’ve grown here and it’s nice to keep the Scottish accent!

Where’s your favourite local/traditional place to eat on the island?
Can Cosmi, in Santa Ines.

Being the number one world party destination, what’s your favourite part of the season?
October, as is it still amazing weather and we have time for scuba diving, fishing and relaxing!

Where can we find you playing at this summer?
We have some dates confirmed at Privilege, Pacha, Space, Ushuaia, and Tomorrowland on 26th July which will be amazing!