Mau P: "I want to be part of Pacha's history"

It's 10:AM on a Wednesday in the middle of the annual Ibiza season, and the electric buzz heard throughout the island's settlements has turned to a soft purr. Replacing the booming bass is the quiet chatter of taxi drivers as their cars line the ranks, and the hum of shutters rising in coffee shops down the street. Though, seemingly in minutes, the exterior of the island's longest-running superclub is suddenly alive with activity — not with eager clubbers, who have (mostly) returned home, but with production teams unloading ladders, pulling out clipboards, and gathering around the cherry sculpture that sits just outside Pacha Ibiza's gates.

They are setting up for tonight's residency, and while it's not unusual for clubs on the island to undergo a makeover night-to-night, Pacha's is something of a reinvention, installing new lighting, architectural fixtures, signs, and posters - even the cherry gets a new look. Tonight, the club is transforming for one of its newest weekly residencies, Mau P's Baddest Behaviour.

The Dutch DJ and producer kicked off his Wednesday residency in August, his first in Ibiza — though, even at just 28-years-old, it was a long time coming. Mau P, real name Maurits Jan Westveen, has gained a significant following since the release of his massive 2022 breakthrough single, 'Drugs From Amsterdam', which landed a Top 30 in the US dance singles chart and a Beatport main chart Number 1. The track spurned on an official remix from house authority Armand van Helden, millions of streams on Spotify and provided the stimuli for Mau P to become a household name in the US — only intensified by appearances at stateside festivals such as Ill Points, EDC Las Vegas, Miami Music Week and ARC Chicago. The natural step, of course, was to set up his own party across the pond: Baddest Behaviour, which had so far seen him take over New York's Knockdown Centre and draw in a 40,000-strong crowd over two days at the Los Angeles State Historic Park.

As the evening grows dark, and the twinkling lights weaved into the canopy over the Pacha Restaurant become brighter, we make our way into the venue with a few minutes to spare before the evening's revellers stream in. The most eye-catching part of the club's ever-changing design for tonight is an enormous LED chandelier that sits above the elevated booth in the centre of the dancefloor. Why, you ask? "Because why not," says Mau P. "It reflects Baddest Behaviour's edge: the music is experimental, but you also feel sophisticated. Like a rich skateboarder or something." 

Read this next: 10 of the best photos from Pacha Ibiza's 2025 season grand opening weekend

While his Baddest Behaviour shows in the US have typically been all-night-long affairs, Ibiza residencies are a different animal - Mau P and his team haven't rested on his success alone to draw in crowds on this ever-competitive circuit. Over the season, his Baddest Behaviour residency hosted wide-ranging guests from both the big room world and the (somewhat) underground, including HAAi, Quest, Sally C, Seth Troxler, Who Made Who, Mall Grab, LP Gobbi, Hot Since 82, and many more.

For its closing party last week (October 8), Mau P welcomed in Jimi Jules and Ben Sterling as guests, delivering - in his words - "exactly what we've been doing before, but on steroids. It's going to be the home run for Baddest Behaviour... the hat trick for European readers," he tells Mixmag. 

We sat down with Mau P ahead of Baddest Behaviour's closing party at Pacha Ibiza to discuss his friendship with Solomun, upholding dance music's legacy, and bringing his party to European audiences for the first time this summer. Read the full Q&A below. 

What have been the highlights of your first Baddest Behaviour residency at Pacha Ibiza?

For me, it was the night with Seth Troxler... I played back-to-back with him. We've played together before, he's a legend and just a really great guy. We really locked in together, we were like synchronised swimmers. I was overthinking before; I just get nervous about how many people are going to be there and whether it's going to look good. You know, it's my name on the billboard, and of course, it's Pacha. People love Pacha, but when Baddest Behaviour is up there, there's a lot more on the line for me. But while I was playing with Seth, I looked around — all the tables were full, and it was great.

He's also a significant name in Ibiza, right? So you're playing with someone who's done a lot to define the island's sound?

Yeah! It gave me a boost to see someone, like in your words, a massive influence on Ibiza, just shelling it here. Then I just thought, 'Wow, yeah, maybe I do put on a good party on the island'.

Can you tell us a little bit about where the process started in bringing Baddest Behaviour to Pacha?

A lot of it had to do with me and Solomun becoming friends, he put in a good word for me – then Pacha really liked the idea, so we made it happen.

Has Solomun become a bit of a mentor for you? How did you meet?

Yeah, I mean, he played a show in Los Angeles and I was playing at the same festival - when he was done, I went over to his stage to say hi. He was super nice. I think he saw something in me, maybe. He appreciates it when people are pretty relaxed. The next time I saw him, we clicked even more. We started talking on the phone, just talking about music. It was a real friendship forming, rather than. 'Oh, we need business from each other'. Which was true, we were always respectful of each other if we played before or after one and another – I respect him so much, he's one of my idols. So of course, I'm not going to fuck over Solomun [laughs].

The artists who have played Baddest Behaviour parties have been quite diverse, from HAAi to Who Made Who, etc. What was the thinking behind the underground-meets-big room guests for the shows? Did you want to go for a more unexpected choice?

No, not really, I think it's been very true to me. I made a list with my agent of people we really liked, or met on the road, or just generally are into. For example, Quest, I'd seen him play only one time, but I met him somewhere and we just had an amazing connection, so I said: “Dude, do you wanna play Pacha? That would be amazing.” He was like: “Yeah, why not?”. So some of it was organic connections, that list we made, etc. Also, we were pretty late starting in the season, so I guess it was also about who was still available, matching up schedules, and finding out how we could make it work.

Is there a sound/energy that you feel defines Baddest Behaviour?

I don't really do a vetting to be honest, like, 'is it Baddest Behaviour or not?' [laughs]. I like so many different styles of dance music, I always feel like if it has an edge and depth, it can be Baddest Behaviour. A lot of DJs and genres have those qualities, I feel, but to be honest, its really just an extension of me and my taste.

When was the first time you ever came to Ibiza?

I think three or four years ago - I played at Ushuaïa.

The first time you came to Ibiza was to play here?

Yes. I never came as a tourist or whatever. But definitely since then, I experience it in that way — I roam around, there's something new every single time I visit. I loved it from the first moment, it was like a feeling.

Did you ever expect you'd land a residency here?

I was hoping for it. But I never expected it to be something as huge as Pacha.

What do you think it is about Pacha that makes so much sense for you/Baddest Behaviour?

I think the history really aligns with what I want to achieve. You look at people like Solomun and Seth Troxler, they've found a real connection with me for some reason. Even Sven Väth, I met him and he's been asking me to come down to [Cocoon]. It's made me wonder, why do they connect with me so much? I'm not trying really hard. But I think the thing with them is that they are looking for a younger generation who is educated and interested in upholding their legacy and the community they built. I feel that responsibility too, so that's why I like hanging out with them and learning, absorbing. So for Pacha, it's been around for so long, I wanted to help it stay on top. I want to be part of this club's history.

Do you feel like this residency is allowing you to put your own stamp on Ibiza?

I mean, it's definitely really good for your profile as an artist or DJ. The fact that I have an Ibiza residency is the next-level thing you can do - it's the dance music mecca, obviously. But yeah, like you said, I think the line-ups have caught people's eyes, and I've had some really great feedback on that. Pacha as a club is so great on its own, that it's difficult to do any wrong, but we brought our own production that didn't add too much apart from a few elements that make a lot of sense to me. 

How has it been bringing Baddest Behaviour to Europe after it has been such a huge success in the US?

I guess Ibiza was the logical first step into that. It's not the most risky move compared to a lot of other cities throughout Europe... there's a lot of exchange between US dance music and Ibiza. But it's also the epicentre of dance music in Europe, so it’s definitely a good stepping stone.

How do you feel the Baddest Behaviour concept differs from that in the US?

I think its probably more on having a really big line-up. When I brought it to the US, the concept had originally been that it was just me, and we do open-to-close and our own production. You know, if I sell that amount of tickets, I want to play the whole time [laughs]. I want to entertain them - maybe it's a little selfish, I don't know. But here, to bring so many people, it's brought a different perspective, but it's amazing. Sometimes now in the US, we also have line-ups, but it'll be one day of multiple artists and then one day where it's just me.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter