DJ Harvey: "I'm contributing to what is possible in Ibiza"

Harvey returns to Pikes this summer after his 2015 Mercury Rising parties left the hedonistic crowds at this rock ’n’ roll-themed retreat utterly spellbound

You’ve been coming to Ibiza for decades, right?

“I first visited Ibiza in the late 80s. I played at various clubs throughout the ‘90s. At the turn of the century I moved to Los Angeles. However, I overstayed my visa and was [stuck] in America for the next ten years. Then I managed to get a green card. Since then I’ve been re-establishing myself. I’d always wanted to come back and have a presence in Ibiza again.”

How did your Pikes residency come about?

“So I’ve been coming back to Ibiza now for three years. I always say to people that you can’t just impose yourself on Ibiza. You can’t just roll up and say I’m going to have a super amazing residency at the best venue on the island. You have to put it out there and tread gently, be diplomatic and honest. Basically show aloha. That’s my step back to Hawaii. I owned a nightclub in Hawaii – it ran for about seven years. And you can’t just roll into Hawaii and say you’re going to do this, that and everything else. You have to vibrate at the same frequency as Hawaii, attune yourself to the pace and live aloha. There’s a certain amount of aloha in Ibiza, too. You come here and you hope the way you are is in tune with what’s happening – or at least a certain amount of what’s happening – and that you can fit in and vibrate alongside the Ibicenco universe and things will happen for you. And it’s happened for me and I’m honoured that I’ve been allowed to contribute to what’s happening there.”

Tell us about the Mercury Rising concept...

“Mercury Rising isn’t a retro vibe. I’m not trying to recreate anything. What I’m trying to do is contribute to the lineage of what is possible in Ibiza and then what’s possible in Pikes. It’s a continuum. Musically, between a quarter and a third of the music I played last summer was made in 2015. Again, the music isn’t retro. Nothing about it is retro, although I feel that some people may try and brand it as that.”

How do you prepare for your Pikes gigs?

“The event is an intense workout for me. I play records for eight hours, dance solidly for eight hours and concentrate solidly for eight hours. I am having a good time, but it’s also a period of really intense, deep concentration and consideration. It’s physically and mentally exhausting. So beforehand I need to make sure I’ve had enough rest and have eaten some good food. As the Americans say, ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,’ and I find that that is true. I have to know my records. You can’t plan out an eight-hour set; the people decide what I play. The way they react shows me what they will receive next.”

Is it true you prime the sound rig yourself?

“On the day of the event, I come in two hours before we open and tune the soundsystem. Last season, I brought a nice pre-amp and an Alpha Recordings mixer with me, my own styluses and cartridges. I take a lot of time and care over the fidelity of the soundsystem. I tune the soundsystem each week with the engineer, then realign the lighting. Lighting is very important. Not only am I DJing, I’m a lighting jockey at the same time. When it goes dark, I play the lights in time with the music. I am also playing percussion with the tambourine, whistling, all the silly dances, all sorts of stuff going on. So I realign the lighting, make sure the smoke machine works and that the strobe is at not quite an epilepsy-inducing flashing frequency!”

Sounds as though you’re doing a lot more than just pressing play…

“If you want to go to one of the corporate, industrial nightclubs, that’s your choice and you’ll have that experience, but if you choose to come to Mercury Rising you’ll have – I don’t know how to describe it – a beautiful, hedonistic experience. At Mercury Rising people actually dance rather than just raising their hands up when the bass drum comes back in.”

[Photo: Marc De Groot]