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.”