What a wild month on this island. From extreme heat to extreme dancefloor vibrations, and an hour where the millions of cicadas suddenly stopped their chorus during the solar eclipse, one man stands out from the crowd: the venerable Solomun, reigning kind of nightlife institution Pacha Ibiza. In our cover story from last summer for Issue 200, he notes that the core of his career has always been about the environment curated by music: “I was curious about it because it was pure joy and happiness," he says, "and the people around me were so into it and so connected and so friendly. It was a completely different world, compared to where I came from, and to parties I had attended before." 

A long-running residency known for its artist collaboration and intimate sound behind the DJ booth, Solomun +1 welcomed DJ Gigola to his Pacha Ibiza residency on August 16. DJ Gigola, known in Berlin for her distinct style spinning hybrid tracks of pop and techno, where the curiosity of her musical nature is palpable through her exploration of sound in her sets. Shifting rhythms and defying genre with her rave-infected techno sound, she stood alone in her solo set before merging with Solomun in their B2B set, where they traded records and found spaces where their styles met uniquely.

A DJ and producer, Solomun has extensive experience in the electronic music scene. His sets move between house, techno, tech-house, and genres and eras in between. He remixes with a focus on variety, including new, old, and unreleased tracks. The music label, Diynamic, founded in 2006, has roots in his apartment, where friends would be invited via email to come and listen to music he was making; the label has always been a way for him to constantly keep the underground music values alive, while also supporting artistic freedom. “And the thing is, I started later with my career,” he says, “I started from zero when I was 27, so really, it’s always been my instinct to follow my passion and desire with no plan, no concept. I was just trying to make music.” 

For Solomun, his “music first” mantra guides him through not only every set he plays, but also his life. In an atmosphere that is bred from the darkness and hypnotic ambiance of the Ibiza club scene, the never-ending afterparties of bacchanalian nature eventually catch up to a person.
  “I love music so much, I never wanted it to end. I was just always trying to keep the moment forever and ever and ever and of course, that’s not healthy. My body can’t handle it. So I changed a lot—I only do a few select afterparties a year, and I take time to rest.

The +1 residency, in its 14-year run, is a well-known curative format in the Ibiza electronic music scene, meant to clear out the repetition of recognition, celebrity-driven sets, and replace it with a focus on the musical genius of the artist. The +1 format drives collaboration in a high-energy environment, giving the two DJ’s a solo set each before jumping into a B2B, allowing for a blurring of styles, forcing an innovative and visionary mix of sound. The +1 format is continuing for September before ending on Oct. 4, when Solomun will play solo at the residency’s all-night closing party.