Cream – James Barton Interview – Cream Amnesia

    From the pre-Cream parties in Club 051, which evolved into Cream at
    Nation, the emergence of a global brand, a thirteen-year love affair
    with Ibiza and subsequent Creamfields festivals around the world; James
    Barton remains an integral part of the dance music scene. Essential
    Ibiza caught up with the enigmatic driving force behind the brand to get
    the lowdown on what it takes to make it in Ibiza.

    “I think the secret to our success is two fold,” he explains. “Firstly,
    we treat it as a business. I think in the past a lot of promoters,
    especially those who had businesses back in England, treated it as a
    summer vacation, an opportunity to party and to hopefully make a little
    money along the way.

    “For the past ten years, we’ve approached it as a business and we’ve
    tried to do that for a number of reasons; the industry has changed
    dramatically from 1988 and I do think that everyone, from the customers
    right through to the artists, requires a certain standard. Also, because
    the island is so hedonistic and has a subversive nature, if you come at
    it in any other way the island tends to suck you up and you can get lost
    for days on end.

    “Secondly, I think it’s about keeping up with the trends and continually
    reinventing yourself, understanding your audience and continually
    bringing the best talent possible to the shows and to that audience.
    (Paul van Dyk, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Laidback Luke and Eddie Halliwell
    are only some of the talent confirmed for summer 2011 – ed)

    “There are a lot of challenges with Ibiza and I think that if you don’t
    approach them in a sensible, sober, professional way you can quite
    easily get into to trouble there.”