With the 2011 season drawing to a close, it is time for the fourteenth instalment of the Ibiza DJ Awards, held once again in Pacha. 22 Kryptonite awards are up for grabs – 11 of them voted for by the public with another 11 special awards being presented – and many of the world’s top DJs and producers are on the island to celebrate another record-breaking summer. These awards have become an integral part of the season and as such Essentialibiza will be rolling out a five part series of features starting with the day itself.
Picking up our press passes in El Hotel in the afternoon, we get a real sense of how important these awards have become, the number of journalists and tv crews far outweighs the amount of artists that will turn up for the awards. Numerous countries and territories are represented as the clubbing world casts its eye on the main protagonists from the summer season.
Emma B (Smooth Radio) and Des Paul (MTV/ Capital Radio) are the presenters with rumours that Paris Hilton would be making an appearance at some stage rife between the tables. Barbara Tucker and Shawnee Taylor will provide the live entertainment in what is promising to be one of the highlights of the season. The official after party is the Pacha Seduction closing party with Sebastian Gamboa and David Morales so; all in all, it could be a messy one!
First stop is the press cocktail party in Ocean Drive, fitting it should be in this stunning hotel as many of the DJs up for awards will have stayed here many times throughout the season, it is one of the most popular places for the world’s finest spinners to set up base for their gigs. The huge wall and red carpet are the focal point as the stars arrive to meet the press, catch up with old friends and enjoy some friendly banter with fellow nominees. Morales and Luciano catch up at the bar; Armin van Buuren has a queue a mile long of camera crews hoping to get a sound bite, 2ManyDJs take the whole thing in their stride and Shawnee Taylor charms journalists from around the world. It’s the perfect warm up to the main event and is handled expertly by the DJ Awards team who have been working around the clock in the run up to tonight’s event to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Job well done!
Back in Pacha and Emma and Des take to the stage and without further ado get the awards under way. The winners are warned before they set foot on the stage to keep their acceptance speeches brief, allowing the awards to flow, adding to the excitement. Notable winners include Luciano who picked up best tech house, Kerry Chandler and Jamie Jones shared the deep house award, Carl Cox who won best techno DJ and also best Ibiza night for The Revolution, Maya Jayne Coles rounded off a great year with best newcomer award, Armin van Buuren picked up best trance and international DJ, Axwell emerges from the Swedish House Mafia to pick up best house, 2ManyDJs picked up best eclectic, Madness at Ibiza Rocks earned them best live performance and Nightmares On Wax deservedly picked up best downtempo.
There was an outstanding achievement award for Pete Tong, who couldn’t make the ceremony as he was in Vegas, Essentialibiza tracked him down to get his reaction…
What is your reaction to winning your award?
I’m honoured to receive this award at a very special time, celebrating 20 years on BBC Radio 1. I count myself very fortunate to have been in such a privileged position for so long, sharing so much amazing music and helping artists get the recognition they deserve along the way. My passion for discovering new music still runs deep so this is a special award to be given
Does this cap an outstanding year for you?
Yes – it really has been an incredible year. I took Radio 1 over for 12 hours to celebrate the 20 years in the spring which was a lot of fun. And since then I launched Pure Pacha’s All Gone Pete Tong in Ibiza, started a new residency in Vegas which as been an exciting challenge, headlined the dance tent at Glastonbury, hosted a tent at Bestival, released two compilations, and launched the All Gone App.
How important is the DJ Awards in recognizing and celebrating the dance community?
I think the DJ Awards is a great way for people to be recognized for the hard work and passion they apply to what they do. All the winners were well deserved but to pick out just a few – Maya Jane Coles was a well-deserved winner for best newcomer. She’s’ had a great 12 months and has made some great music. Luciano’s had another excellent year. I’ve seen him about as often as any other DJ this year. His events have been incredible and it was no surprise to see him taking the tech house award, and Jamie Jones has been consistently excellent too. I’d go on but there are so many categories!
David Morales was a deserving winner of a special award and Paris Hilton made a special appearance to present Afrojack with the best remixer award. The two have been working on her album, which will be released later this year. The Hollywood celebrity flew in especially for the event, which gives you an idea of the reach the Ibiza DJ Awards has these days. For a full list of all the winners and comments from them, keep your eyes peeled to Essentialibiza as we roll out the rest of our five part series on the DJ Awards over the coming days.
THE 2011 WINNERS LIST
Tech House: Luciano
International Festival: Electric Daisy Carnival
Ibiza Night: Carl Cox 10 Years of Revolutions @ Space
Deep House DJ: Kerry Chandler And Jamie Jones
Newcomer: Maya Jayne Coles
Cutting Edge: Traktor 2
Trance: Armin Van Buuren
Dance Nation Of The Year: USA (Accepted by David Morales)
Outstanding Achievement: Pete Tong.
Eclectic: 2manydjs
Producer: David Guetta
Ibiza DJ: Mar-T
Live Performance: Madness At Ibiza Rocks
Techno: Carl Cox
House: Axwell
Track Of The Season: Azari & III ‘Hungry For The Power’ (Jamie Jones Remix) & Jamie Woon ‘Lady Luck’ (Luciano. Mix)
Media Award: Tilllate
Electro House: Deadmau5
Chill: Nightmares On Wax
Remixer: Presented By Paris Hilton: Afrojack
Urban: Cut Killer
International DJ: Armin van Buuren