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BBC Radio 1’s Ibiza weekend returns and Cream are pleased to announce an exclusive event held at Privilege to mark the occasion.
It will showcase one of Cream’s biggest Ibiza line ups to date for a special one off party headlined by the world’s biggest electronic live acts Underworld, joined by Above & Beyond, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Zane Lowe, Judge Jules, Kissy Sell Out, The Japanese Postars, Jaguar Skills, Alex Metric, Jaymo & Andy George, Kutski, Gareth Wyn and Union. Scorcher!
Dublin Disco Don Annie Mac is excited to be heading over to the White Isle and Cream HQ caught up with her to chat about Ibiza and chaining Pete Tong to a smurf.
Cream: It’s the Radio 1 weekend in Ibiza’s 15th anniversary. What do you love about it?
Annie: “The Radio 1 weekend seems to be the most exciting weekend of the Summer, its become a real bookmark in the season in Ibiza.
“About a month before its starts we begin getting emails and texts through from people asking when it is and who’s going to be playing, there’s a real anticipation for it.
“Its an amazing thing to be involved in and when I got my job at the BBC as a DJ my second ever radio show was live from Ibiza and it was terrifying, it was also my first time in Ibiza so I kind of got thrown in at the deep end but it was a great weekend.
“Its also great for Radio 1 to be able to hang out with all the other DJs because you don’t really get to see Pete and Jules etc because everyone usually just comes into the studio to do their shows and then they’re off.”
Cream: Any favourite memories?
Annie: “Probably a couple of years ago when we had a feature on Radio 1 called Truth or Dare which we all had to take part in. Pete Tong had opted for the dare and someone challenged Pete to have to walk around for the whole weekend chained to a Smurf which meant he had to DJ at Mambo’s, play at the Radio 1 parties whilst changed to a tiny blue dude.”
Cream: Who was dressed as the smurf?
Annie: “Just some random guy! That’s just the carnage of Radio 1. There are always great stories, I wasn’t there but there was another time when P Diddy rocked up to Mambos on his boat in his towelling dressing gown for Pete’s show, I love that about Ibiza.”
Cream: What is your favourite thing about Ibiza?
Annie: “A lot of people who don’t really know or haven’t been there before always presume it’s like Ibiza Uncovered all over but the great thing about the island is you can dip in and dip out of the clubbing side of it and you can have a week in a villa with beautiful restaurants and beautiful beaches around you and have just one night out clubbing with the rest of the week to just chill.”
Cream: Whose set are you most looking forward to seeing at the Radio 1 party?
Annie: “There’s lots of amazing people on my show and seeing the ‘Swedish House Mafia’ play ‘One’ on Pete’s show is going to be unbelievable as I haven’t seen it live yet. Also the big Cream party is going to be amazing. It was such a fantastic party last year so I’m really looking forward to this one.”
Annie What track makes you think of Ibiza most?
Annie: “That’s a difficult one! I think the track that most makes me think of Ibiza is the Caspa remix of Deadmau5 ‘I Remember’.
“I played it on the Mixmag terrace at Cream Ibiza last year and I was petrified because its quite dubsteppy so could have gone either way but the crowd really took to it so it felt like a bit of a breakthrough.”
Cream: Was that the same night everyone did a disco bomb to ‘La Roux – In for the Kill’?
Annie: “Sounds like one of my DJ sets!”
Cream: How would you describe the music you play?
Annie: “The music I play is all over the place, I play jungle and dubstep and because so much music is fusing and interchanging I even played grime the other day because that’s getting dubsteppy. I guess what I play you could call UK bass music which circles everything from electro stuff to the UK funky stuff to jungle and dubstep. Its bass heavy music and I also always throw a bit of disco in as well.
Cream: How did you become a Radio 1 DJ?
Annie: “Well I worked behind the scenes for the while as an Assistant Producer on Zane Lowe’s show, kind of just learning the ropes and I’d done a bit of presenting at college and on some local radio shows but a lot of it was luck.
“I’d always made it known to Radio 1 that if a broadcasting slot came around then I would be up for it, and I started working on a few shows but not as me it was more using my voice for different shows, but then a slot came up for a dance show and they were looking for a girl so I was like ‘Hi, I’m here!’ and they gave me a chance. Its just getting the chance is the hardest bit but once you get it you can prove your worth.”
Cream: What has been your best Radio 1 memory so far on the road with them and in the studio?
Annie: “There have been so many amazing moments, I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world with Radio 1 presenting my show from Miami, New York, Exit festival in Serbia and even from a tiny old man’s pub in Northern Ireland so I’ve had some amazing opportunities.
“In terms of memories the best moment would probably be the first show that I ever did for Radio 1 and the first link did. I played a High Contrast track and had to do a link straight after and I had such mixture of fear and excitement, it’s definitely my favourite moment.”
Cream: Who would be your dream DJ to go b2b with?
Annie: “The likes of DJ Mehdi, Justice and Busy P are great, their whole ethos is to kind of open the DJ booth up and get everyone to muck in and have one big party and that’s why they set up the Club 75 group because they were always playing together anyway and that’s probably one of my favourite times playing alongside someone.
“Also I played b2b with Toddla T in Newcastle recently which was great as we play a lot of the same stuff and Fake Blood. Any of the above are my ideal people to play with.”
Annie Mac performs for Cream @ Privilege on Saturday 7th August. Tickets on sale now: www.ticketline.co.uk / Tel: 0844 888 4401
For full line up go to www.cream.co.uk