Steve Bug Interview

With the European summer just around the corner, Steve Bug has been announced for Kehakuma alongside Josh Wink in Ibiza. We talk to the DJ, producer and record label owner about his affiliation with the party island.

We’re very excited to hear that you’ll be joining Josh Wink at Kehakuma for four Saturdays at Space Ibiza; what can partygoers expect from these events?
From my point of view, Kehakuma has been doing a great thing on inviting great artists that are mostly not exactly in the Ibiza spotlight, but who stand out for great music and that have a sound of their own and a personality. I have been playing for Kehakuma for a few years now and I’m happy to be back for this season with a special b2b session with Josh. It’s always fun playing b2b with Josh; it is challenging too, since we have a different style of DJing, but that makes it so interesting I guess.

How do your styles differ exactly?
Especially in the style of mixing, I’d say. Josh uses way more effects and creates moments by mixing two tracks together; I am rather good at building peaks with several tracks sensually mixed into each other creating a flow. Most people probably won’t notice, and it is not 100 per cent necessary that they do. As I said, the most important thing is Josh and I always have fun playing together and we manage to build something special even though we have different styles.

Despite competition from the likes of Croatia and Greece, why do you think Ibiza has remained at the top of the clubbing holiday scene?
I think Ibiza has been known as a party island for many years, and even though it has lost a lot of its original spirit already, it is still a special place. It will take many years until other places can really keep up with it – especially when it comes to the amount of parties, clubs and DJs passing by during the season. But there are great parties elsewhere as well, maybe not as many, but do you really need five parties every night? Also, who can still afford partying in Ibiza? The prices for drinks and entrances are incredibly high. A lot of people are already going elsewhere and the vibe is at least as good if not even better at some of the other places you mentioned. I’ve been to Montanita in Ecuador to play at Lost Beach Club and the parties there are crazy. People are really passionate about the music and they dance and party like crazy. It is a bit far away for Europeans, but in general Latin America is worth going to if you want to experience some really good parties – at beaches, in clubs or at festivals.

Has anywhere particularly surprised you?
Most of the time I know what to expect – more or less – but there are of course parties here and there that surprise me. In the beginning, you don’t expect much and then it turns out to be one of the best parties in a while.

As your dates are spread out between June and September, what other plans do you have for the summer?
I will play a few festivals of course and a bunch of club gigs as well. Hopefully there is some time for vacation as well, but usually the summers are very busy.

What is your ideal holiday?
Depends on what my needs are at the time. Sometimes it can be fine to just hang around at the pool of a villa and go out for dinner in the evening or cook something. Or visit a beach for a few hours, nothing special. Other times I like to visit places and discover something new. It could be a boat tour as well. Or in the winter I like to go skiing for example. Sport should be a part of it somehow. I don’t like to do nothing for too long. I get bored easily.

Where was it you actually started DJing?
My actual first gig was in Ibiza in a small bar near space, it was a daytime party

Oh wow, how does it feel to play in Ibiza now then compared to your very first time?
Well, the first time I was living in Ibiza for the whole summer, living off the money that I made with working extra hours at bars besides my normal job. But I was continuing to buy records on the island, so at the end of the season I knew a lot of people and I had a small collection of records as well. One of the dancers of Pacha was opening this bar near Space, so knowing that I was buying records all summer and having listened to my mix tapes, he asked me if I wanted to play at the opening. I actually played in the kitchen with no window to the dance floor, so they could have just played a pre-recorded mix. Pretty much everything is different about playing in Ibiza nowadays.

By Charlotte Mellor
@cmellor_03