Boarding my plane at London Gatwick felt like a long-time coming. Whisk me away to paradise already. At the same time, it still only feels like yesterday that I was taking those tentative steps to start my first summer.
Steve and our new colleague Jo, a former intern at Ibiza Spotlight, collected me from the airport. I was buzzin' to get to Casa del Spotlight, check-out our new crib and unpack. It was everything I dreamed of and more.
Allocated the top pent house suite, I've been blessed with my own roof terrace with 360 degree views and private en-suite. I took a moment sat on my bed, looking out of the double doors and feeling like a princess in a castle.
Minimally furnished but oozing that unmistakable Balearic charm, it's the perfect hideaway to come back to after those heavy club sessions and decompress.
Tuesday 25 April
Setting my alarm for 08:00, I woke feeling fresh and excited for the day ahead (let's see how long this morning enthusiasm lasts...) Tim collected me to go to the gestoria to sign some forms for my visa. Excited to fill out paperwork, what have I become? Did winter break me?
Afterwards, we headed to theHUB for our first official work meeting back as the now reunited Ibiza Spotlight clubbing team. It felt like the Avengers assembling. I, of course, had to order my standard Immune System juice and salmon and cream cheese bagel.
At least I can guarantee one day of healthy eating out here.
To end the day, we headed to Golden Buddha for some food and watch our first sunset. We ordered food and sank a couple of cocktails, grateful to be back on the best place on Earth.
Wednesday 26 April
Todays the day! The first day of International Music Summit 2023. We got to Destino Pacha Resort for 10:30 to get our press accreditation, grab a bite to eat and set ourselves set up for the day, securing the same seats as we had last year.
After the introduction from hosts Pete Tong and Jaguar and pouring over the finances in the annual business report, I was feeling restless, so went for a mooch. I found myself a tad star truck after bumping into Marshall Jefferson, but mustered the courage to ask for a photo.
He's super down to earth. A really sound guy.
That evening we ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant (more pizza, some pasta) in Marina Botafoc called Il Giardinetto and it was delicious.
Though we had intended to see Barry Can't Swim and Logic 1000 at Club Chinois, we made a last minute change of plan to head to Pikes after Jaguar invited us to her Utopia shindig. Somewhere a little closer to home for a nightcap. It just made sense.
The vibes in Pikes were great and it was the ideal way to ease into the season.
Jag played some absolute bangers as she switched things up, moving between Garage and old school dance anthems. We had a great time.
I was a little miffed going into Freddies, as a large double bed has materialised at the rear of the room. A nice addition to the space, it made me think back to the time when Freddies was actually Mr Mercury's Marrakesh bedroom.
Wearing our sensible hat, we headed back to the villa at a conservative time. Tomorrow is a big day of filming for me and Pete at Destino.
Thursday 27 April
After an extra hour in bed, we returned to Destino for midday and headed straight to the pizza van. In my defence, I tried to counteract it with a green smoothie. Ibiza, like life, is all about balance.
I'm no authority on Jungle, but I'm glad we sat in on Fabio & Grooverider's keynote interview. Although I'm a self-confessed novice when it comes to Drum & Bass, learning about their storied career and how they shaped the D&B movement captured my imagination.
They are your classic Cockney geezers with lots of banter and their anecdotes about their clubbing days, losing dubplates in airports and the progression of the genre was very insightful.
As the afternoon rolled on, I had my first interview of the season with the Queen of Defected, Miss Sam Divine. Despite confessing to being a little hungover, she absolutely killed it. She's a pro and we're lucky to have a female boss in House music paving the way for others. Go Queen!
Later, we joined Defected's next superstar in the making, Rio Tashan (seriously, keep your eye on this kid) for some dinner in San An.
He was craving a traditional paella so we paid a visit to Es Ventall, which is an authentic and cute eatery with attentive service. The outdoor space is a great location dine in - a recommended date option for you romantics. On top of dinner, plenty of wine and cocktails were consumed.
Pikes now being our local, it felt obligatory to head back for the second consecutive night. Due to the entire music industry being in town, we knew it was going to be busy. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a queue and it was clearly already rammed inside. Lot of industry chit-chat incoming.
I bumped into some familiar faces from last summer, including catching up with Nick Sheehy, the manager. After some sweet talking, he kindly agreed to open up the infamous ball pit so I could take some cool pics! I love him. He's a good guy to keep on-side. Thanks Nick.
We could have stayed all night, but finished up around 04:00, conscious of the big night ahead tomorrow: IMS Grand Finale followed by Defected's opening party at Eden. Vamos!
Friday 28 April
Today was the old man's 69th year around the sun! I gave Bruce a quick call to wish him a happy birthday, got ready then headed out the door again for the last day of the conference.
Armed with yet another pizza and smoothie in hand, we headed to the front row for CAMELPHAT's keynote speech with Pete Tong.
I've been a fan since they released Cola in 2017. Although I'm an underground House and Minimal kind of gal, I still appreciate their sound and their incredible journey to becoming coveted producers and a worldwide touring phenomenon.
They spoke of their support from fellow electronic music trailblazers Tale Of Us, their new album and how it all started for them.
Their new Pacha residency could be one of the parties of the summer.
After a whirlwind of a day recording segments for our video feature, we beseiged Dalt Vila to grab some dinner at La Bodega with our pals from Defected, Lucy and Lois. After gorging on the best food, it was time to hit the fort, interviewing some party attendees on our way in.
I found myself genuinely enjoying speaking to random people in the end. It was quite amusing.
We got there just in time for Pete Tong b2b Kolsch and it was a vibe. Shazam came in very useful, as there were some absolute bangers being thrown about. ANNA was next and she played a heavy Techno set which took the crowd up a few paces.
As is often the case, time flew by and soon we were Defected-bound. Rio kicked things off for the warm-up and the masses soon started to pile in. It was a full house! We got our own table with a cheeky bottle of vodka and the rest was history (quite literally the case for casualty Stevey boiiii).
It was great to catch up with the Defected gang and see Ferreck Dawn and Sam Divine do their thing in the booth. Eden has upped its production game this summer, with new visuals, a merch store and a revamped green room. All get the Lissy Lü seal of approval.
As we'd been out for 16 hours straight, myself and Jo decided to head back to the villa around 04:30. Steve was nowhere to be seen. In his inebriated state, he decided to grab a kebab and walk home in the pitch black! At least he switched his diet up from pizza, I guess?
Saturday 29 April
This morning started by mentally preparing myself for The Night League's whooping joint Opening Party. Hayley collected us up around 18:00 and we headed first to Moma in Playa d'en Bossa for, guess what, yes, a pizza! At this point, we may as well buy a pizza oven for the villa.
10/10 pizza though. Always hits the spot and has become somewhat of a Spotlight tradition.
I downed some full fat coke and much needed agua con gas and was ready to get back to it. After arriving at the gates of Ushuaïa, we were greeted by TNL's superwoman, Ana, who sorted us some drinks tokens and into the cauldron we went.
Top tip: don't wear a new white dress when you're in close proximity to thousands of people drinking multi-coloured drinks. Rookie error.
Paul Kalkbrenner presented us with an effortless classic, cool and collected live set, followed by the big don, Eric Prydz. Before leaving, we ventured to the rooftop of Ushuaïa Tower for a birds eye view. It was crazy to see so many people in one place. Ibiza's back baby!
Sunday 30 April
Despite my best intentions, I did not make it to the morning session at Hï Ibiza for my faves, The Martinez Brothers. Steve and Jo took one for the team and got down there for an early morning workout. I did wake up with major FOMO, however the last five days has been intense.
When they got back, we went into San An to a favourite spot of mine, Bondi for a spot of lunch (and a quick waltz around the market stalls by the fountains).
The perfect end to a busy first week was spent dining at Es Gerret.
The food there is just amazing. The presentation, the taste - everything is spot on. I went for the dish of the day which was a steer low loin of beef. It came with this gorgeous potato gratin that looked too good to eat. We ordered some mussels for the table and they also hit the spot.
I was even drinking the lemony, garlic juice with a spoon by the end of it. Shameless.
This time last year, I flew to the island having not met any of the team and not knowing anyone on the island. This time, I flew out with friends for life on the other side. We'll work, we'll play, we'll have the summer of a lifetime - again!
Summer 2022 taught me a lot about myself, island life, the music industry and the goals I'd like to achieve in life, personally, as well as career-wise. I now go into my second season even more confident than the last, but just as excited to see how it all unfolds.
I can't wait to meet new people, tick-off some new experiences and enjoy myself as much as possible. Let's see what next week brings, eh!
