Vivian Yeung

Based in Sicily, Ortigia Sound System is a smaller festival with a local feel, framed by the wonderful gastronomy in the area. Its afterparties take place in an unnamed countryside location, truly off the beaten path.

Chosen for: Preserving Culture and Innovation.

 is an annual celebration of electronic music and art, hosting a roster of international and local acts in the old town of Syracuse, on Ortygia island in eastern Sicily. Though there’s an international presence on the line-up, the festival’s team is made up of Sicilian natives or those from neighbouring areas. As a result, Ortigia manages to retain a low-key atmosphere, bringing cutting-edge acts to a local audience.

The location is breathtaking too, with the festival utilising the natural wonders of its surroundings to compelling effect. There are three main highlights: in the hot, sweltering afternoons, festival-goers venture to the Lido at Riviera Dionisio II Grande for a few sun-drenched hours. Here, they sprawl on the sunbeds, dance to Italian selectors – such as Lamusa II – have a knees up to unpredictable, thrilling sets from artists such as Kelman Duran; or opt to take a swim in the silky, warm waters of the Mediterranean sea.

Sicily is renowned for its food, and in the evenings a mixture of festival-goers and artists can be seen dining and enjoying fresh seafood delights; there’s sea urchin linguine, tuna tartare and bowls of mussels dotted around the tables near the festival’s main site. Up on a hill in the Old Town, the festival stages a line-up of forward-thinking electronic artists, such as Lyra Pramuk and Loraine James. Then, there’s the afters. A minibus ride away, festival-goers are transported to a remote area in the countryside. The space is so unknown that it doesn’t have a name. Much like its surroundings, Ortigia feels like a dose of zen. The highlights of Sicilian culture are a key feature here, with a castle located by its stage in the evening. At Ortigia, the hedonism of rave culture is paired with wonderful gastronomy and languid summer afternoons.

Ortigia Sound System takes place at Siracusa, Italy, on 26-30 July 2023.

Ortigia Sound System

Since the pandemic, there’s been a greater move towards the outdoors. Workers left the city for greener areas; gorpcore saw everyone don fleeces, cargo pants and athleisure wear for outdoor walks – or, perhaps, simply for the woodland aesthetic. For people from marginalised backgrounds, this cultural shift represents an overcoming of invisible barriers. Inner-city communities have often faced social hurdles in accessing nature, and people from marginalised backgrounds are less likely to engage with the outdoors due to historic discrimination.

This shift has also been marked by a number of collectives that’ve sprung up since the pandemic. 

, a birdwatching group for people of colour, was launched in 2020. After losing his son to knife crime, Birmingham-based Marlon Patrice sought healing from the outdoors. Later, he launched 

, a non-profit project to help the Black community access the countryside. 

 began in Paris to help people connect with nature.

These collectives not only work on uplifting communities, but have spread an awareness of the social, physical and financial barriers people may face. Furthermore, travel and nature are both linked to mental health and have been used as a source of inspiration for creatives. 

, a professional volleyball player from Utah who’s currently based in Berlin, the outdoors is much more than a trend. The multi-hyphenate is also a ceramics artist, and uses nature to inform both his art and personal style. To Patch, nature is for everyone. Berlin-based stylist 

, similarly, uses nature for inspiration, drawing from its details – such as the colour of moss, the vibrancy – to inform her work. For Ghebreweldi, outdoor wear has always been a part of German fashion and her own style. 

 has recently swapped bustling city life for the calming qualities of nature, a journey that’s seen her live in the mountainous areas of 

 and trek across Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Trippin’s co-founder Kesang Ball joined the Zalando team on a trip to the Slovenian outdoors to reconnect with how nature inspires her creativity and personal style.

We speak to Patch, Ghebreweldi and Huntington-Whiteley about taking up space in the outdoors and how nature has inspired their work.

As a ceramics artist, what are the creative benefits of spending more time out in nature?

I’m sure people can imagine the correlation between nature and pottery – the medium of molding dirt. However, past the obvious, nature inspires emotions; the wind through the trees, the river over rocks, or simply the open sky. The shapes I create are an honest representation of a mood or story I’m currently in. Nature is running alongside that as a guide for the beginning of a new object and the finishing comes from my emotions.

Venturing into nature provides moments of inspiration, curiosity and self-discovery. How does the outdoors inspire your personal style?

I really love style. I love people with their own sense of style. Also, a style that is recognisable but not always obvious. Fashion is not always stylish (rarely). Similar to creating ceramic shapes, there is a language of an artist that you can usually identify and in style. Even if it’s a broad range there is an identifier. Nature plays to its own rules, and that is my inspiration. I can be just as dynamic as roots under our feet.

What are your travel style essentials for going off-grid?

[Laughs] Besides sweatpants… I’m pretty obsessed with cargo pants. I don’t care if it’s 40 degrees outside, I have with me some version of cargo pants.

Has travelling into natural spaces made you more aware of the need to take up space?

That’s an interesting point. Where I come from it’s full of native and indigenous cultures, and they are the exemplars of outdoor recreation. The altruistic relationship between nature and us as creatures. Nature is for everyone but doesn’t belong to us at all. The goal in my mind is a cohesive synergy between us, not one of ownership. Not one of colour because in the outdoors our colours are represented. White is maybe the colour you see the least. I have travelled a lot in my life, lived all over this beautiful world, grew up on a tiny Pacific island and I really think nature, the rocks, the trees really love us. They hope better for us. They try and reach us – sometimes in dramatic ways to catch our attention. It’s up to us to listen and learn.

Can you share one tip to encourage folk from marginalised backgrounds who are thinking of exploring nature but might have hesitations?

Go be part of the world you come from. We are not of tall buildings and malls. We are from the soil.

As a Berlin-based stylist, access to green spaces is on your doorstep. How does nature and the outdoors influence your personal style?

Berlin is surrounded by lakes. In summer I constantly incorporate bathing suits and bikinis in my outfits. You never know if you’ll spontaneously take a trip to the lake! There’s also a lot of greenery and parks not only around the city but within. So walking is a huge part of our activity all year long, I love a good and comfy sneaker. You can just let the city drift you around from one neighbourhood to the next through all the parks!

Are there any style essentials which you always take with you when travelling into the outdoors?

Gloves! When hiking I love to just tune out. If my feet and hands are secured there is nothing I cannot step on or touch. You can go and explore without thinking too much.

My parents are both Black and immigrated to Germany at a very young age, however my dad was always very interested in taking us camping, canoeing and hiking, which marginalised people seldom have access to. At some point you realise that you’re the only Black family. We definitely need to make these activities more appealing to BIPOC. It can be very intimidating, knowing that there isn’t a community. But I think, especially after Covid, there’s more and more initiatives and clubs popping up focusing on the outdoors for marginalised folks.

Can you share one tip for non-white folk who are thinking of exploring the outdoors but might be hesitant to do so?

Nature is here for all of us, as you mentioned before. We have to remember that. If you have the privilege of living in a bigger city there might be outdoor clubs focusing on, for example, BIPOCs! Also a great way to meet new people and try out something specific and getting guided.

And we have more access to information than ever. YouTubers can give you an impression on activities and places, there’s a bunch of sites offering guided activities for friends, groups, and we often forget the positive power of social media. Sometimes a little story call can bring great people, tips and suggestions into your DMs, if you do not have anyone to bring along!

Life in the city can be fast-paced and tiring. Similarly to you, many city-based folk are turning to nature and exploring outdoor spaces away from human development in a bid to feel less suffocated and burnt out by the oppressiveness of living in busier areas. How has this move away from the city, towards nature and the outdoors, impacted your mental health and work/life balance?

I would say I’m less trying to escape, more trying to return. Returning to nature has brought me right back to my childhood where I feel I can start again, and this time move forward with more of an understanding of who I am. Nature shows me growth and change takes time, so I give it to myself. Nature shows me the seasons and cycles, so I follow them. Nature shows me how change is always happening, so I accept that. It's the best teacher and can be kind and cruel.

Off the back of the trip in Slovenia you went on a solo trek into the mountains. What are your thoughts on the importance of solo travel into the wild, and what are you learning as you progress further into this journey?

2022 was my first year of solo travels and I loved it. What’s been most important to me is it is showing me what I really want to do and enjoy, and with that comes more self-acceptance of who I am and the lessons I learn. I tend to also be more open and curious too; it was so cute because I made three new friends at the summit of Goli vrh in Jezersko and ended up sitting and drinking their homemade Jäger together!

Solo travel can feel dangerous, especially for folk from marginalised backgrounds. Can you share one tip for those who are thinking of exploring nature?

Do your research – look at reviews! Ask locals questions but don’t be too intrusive (read the room), learn a couple phrases in the language, see if anyone you know knows someone where you’re going, go where you want, not where people say you should go. Leave room for spontaneity. If in doubt, leave it out!

Venturing into nature provides moments of mystery, inspiration, curiosity and self-discovery. How has the outdoors inspired your personal style?

The outdoors inspires my style because I dress ready for the outdoors, to be part of the outdoors (and I love nothing more than being practical). Nature is style to me. The materials, dyes, prints, colour palettes, textures, shapes, movement and tone – it all comes from nature.

For outdoor travel: Shell, thermal layers, balaclava, decent shoes and socks, penknife, insulated bottle, snacks. General travels: travel clock/watch, incense and CBD, Google maps list of recommendations I’ve collected and researched (mainly food or nature-based), one smart or formal outfit (you never know), Maharishi snow pants, tank tops, workout gear, journal, book (ideally about where I’m exploring or the nature there), cap and beanie, tracksuit, battery pack, film camera, insulated bottle, Earl Grey tea bags (outside the UK they suck), snacks.

Zalando Street have been publishing a digital magazine that explores how different streetwear communities are shaping culture and trends across Europe. You can shop the Zalando collection 

Zalando 

Three Creatives on Taking Up Space in Nature

, co-founder of the creative studio Morning, travelled to the Welsh Black Mountains to stay in a secluded nature cabin. Here, she tells us about the experience.

Working in the creative industries and itching for a reset? Travel is often linked to healing and reinvigoration for the mind, whilst design and accommodation can enhance the experience. That's what Lydia Pang found when she stayed in a secluded nature cabin, nestled in the Welsh Black Mountains. Formerly a Senior Director at Nike, Pang has worked at publications such as Refinery29 and overseen the visual content at M&C Saatchi. She currently runs Morning remotely from Wales.

Pang stayed in a charming, wooden cabin by 

, surrounded by nature – the perfect setting to switch off in, unwind and take in the verdant greenery. Located in the Black Mountains, away from her home office in Wales, she spent her time in the cabin reading and disconnecting. Read more about her experience below.

What did you do during your weekend in the Black Mountains?

We enjoyed the journey of driving there exploring some nearby forests! We went foraging which is something we like to do a lot, but it was a really rainy grey day so we wrapped up in waterproofs and went out. It was super dreamy and cosy being out in the rain, and even better when we got back to the cabin as with the fire lit it was so cosy. And silent! Not another soul in sight, which was lush. We slept in late, read our books all day, went for walks in the area. It’s really remote which is epic; you can wander for ages feral and free!

On the second night we drove to a local supper club at a permaculture farm called Three Pools! The last day we were super lazy, slept in late, made breakfast on the fire, watched these massive kite birds flying right above us. I read almost all of my book, The History of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel, because I was able to totally and fully switch off. Something I find hard to do!

What are your thoughts on the accommodation?

The location was epic, proper in the middle of nowhere which I loved. You feel like you’ve escaped time! It’s nestled between trees and looks out over a really lush view. The cabin itself is chic, minimal black little structure with thoughtful design details and a roaring log burner to keep you cosy all night. The bed was big and comfy with crisp, fresh white sheets. It’s the perfect amount of nature; you wake up to sunrise and the wrapped windows so you feel totally immersed. You use a compost toilet, you drag your bags across a field in a wheelbarrow, but then you have a chic kettle on a gas stove, a burner, soft furnishings and cute books all ready for you. It’s all the best bits of nature and all the cosy parts you wish you have when you’re camping! (And I like camping.)

Were there any features or activities you did that provided you with creative inspiration?

Loved foraging and hiking in the area – such beautiful, massive trees. And such a feeling of distance from anyone else, we didn’t see a single person! I loved getting that huge perspective dose after a busy week running my company. I always struggle to switch off and come down, but this experience was really grounding and I felt my body relaxing and my brain decompressing within hours of arriving. I also loved waking up with the sunrise and that epic view. I’m a morning person anyway, but [there’s] something so gentle and chill about waking up with the light and then having a cuppa watching the birds!

Were there any sustainability features that you’d like to talk about?

That sawdust compost toilet with a cute scent spray on hand. I didn’t know I’d be into it. Into it.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT UNYOKED 

What Staying in a Secluded Cabin in the Black Mountains Was Like

DGTL Amsterdam has been crowned as the most sustainable electronic music festival in the world, and is a leading example for event organisers to follow.

Chosen for: Innovation and Sustainability.

There’s a plethora of festivals in the Netherlands and DGTL Amsterdam is our key highlight from 

. First making its debut in spring 2013, DGTL has carved out a reputation for hosting sprawling programmes of in-demand electronic artists across the NDSM Docklands, hosting them across dark warehouse spaces or idyllic greenhouses.

Furthermore, DGTL Amsterdam isn’t one to follow conventional norms in running its event; rather, it’s a pioneer of sustainable methods within the events industry. A sustainability policy must be in place for events to be greenlighted by the Dutch government, but where DGTL shines is the ways in which it goes that extra mile – even to becoming the world’s most sustainable electronic music festival.

As event teams are beginning to wake up to the severity of the climate crisis, and some are on their way to implementing circular systems, DGTL is ahead of the curve. The festival embarked on its road to circularity back in 2014, a time when the crisis was called 'climate change' and the environmental revolution was yet to be spearheaded by Greta Thunberg. Back then, DGTL’s stage designers recycled old construction materials to build the event. By 2019, it was named the most sustainable festival in the world, and in 2022 DGTL achieved full circularity.

What’s impressive is the team’s attention to detail, with even the staff training implemented in such a way as to reduce waste on the grounds. On site, the use of freshwater is kept to a minimum, with the festival using a system to extract nutrients from wastewater which is cycled back to the earth. This certainly isn’t your average sustainability policy, and the team look for advancements in technology each year to reduce its carbon footprint even further. DGTL Amsterdam has succeeded in finding creative solutions to the wasteful impact of events, and is a leading example in its field.

DGTL Amsterdam takes place at NDSM Docklands on 7-9 April 2023.

Netherlands

Amsterdam

DGTL Amsterdam

The Labyrinth has marked itself out as a top-tier event in Japan. Founded in 2001 by Mindgames, it's become one of the most intriguing destinations for ravers in the country. Its success lies in its secretive approach: line-ups are not announced before the event.

“Mystery and surprise are key elements of artistic experiences,” the founders explained, “but expectations can sometimes get in the way. In the case of a festival, it’s easy to build up expectations via line-up announcements, online recordings and other promotional activities.” Similar to events like Freerotation and 

, The Labyrinth has been careful to design an intimate experience for festival-goers. Entry can only be accessed via pre-sale tickets, and none can be purchased onsite. Though it’s attained global recognition, The Labyrinth still manages to maintain a low-key presence, and in 2017, it went one step further in retaining its local atmosphere. That year, the festival’s founders made the decision to downsize and stop selling special international tickets. It was an indication of the festival’s priorities: that the experience of attendees matters above all else, even ticket sales and commercial interest.

“Fewer people should mean more space for camping and dancing and less time waiting in line for drinks, food, and the shuttle bus,” they said. “Fewer people also means less trash and less stress for everyone, and we hope it also makes for a more intimate experience.”

While secret line-ups could cause some hesitation among music fans, especially amidst a sea of fantastic summer programmes, The Labyrinth has proved to be a space for exciting, cutting-edge acts, featuring the likes of DJ Nobu and Donato Dozzy. Each well-thought-out programme is curated as a “three-day ritual story – three cycles of rising, dancing and falling”.

In 2019, The Labyrinth relocated from its former home in Naeba Greenland to Minakami in Gunma. Reviews and press coverage on the event are scarce, especially in comparison to large-scale events on the festival circuit. Other festivals may prioritise ticket sales, but Mindgames have decided to take a different route, focusing instead on creating an experience that’s shrouded in mystery, where festival-goers can "experience something rare in today's world".

The Labyrinth takes place at Minikami in Gunma, Japan. Dates are yet to be announced.

The Labyrinth

Zhao Dai On Leave is the best electronic music festival of its kind in the region. The underground scene in China is still relatively new, and it’s become fertile ground for sonic experimentation. This festival provides a pin-drop of China’s burgeoning scene.

In 2023, the music industry is still reckoning with changes catalysed by the pandemic. During the lockdowns, new ways of connection were forged online – a wash of Zoom calls, live streams and digital clubs. In China, Beijing club Zhao Dai formed a different idea: an annual IRL festival on the beaches of Qin Huang Dao, located northeast of Beijing.

Zhao Dai first opened as a club in Beijing in 2017. It was designed to bring something new to the capital, an “open space for open minds”. In comparison to the storied histories of club communities around the world, China’s underground scene is still relatively new but has, in recent years, grown significantly and gained much more recognition outside of the country. The Shanghai-based record label SVBKVLT was first founded in 2013, while Genome 6.66Mbp began in 2016. Both labels have helped to pin China onto the electronic map.

The pandemic has changed China’s club landscape in many ways, and a proliferation of venues has opened up since. Zhao Dai’s response to indoor restrictions in 2020 was to launch Zhao Dai Seaside, later renamed to Zhao Dai On Leave: a festival that united a community of ravers on the beach. Nature and the outdoors became a “nucleus of community building” for the club’s team. The inaugural event hosted 45 artists from China’s fast-growing scene, and a plethora of venues: from Shanghai's Elevator and All, to Shenzhen's Oil and Chengdu's Tag.

Details of the 2023 edition are yet to be announced, but Zhao Dai On Leave has marked itself out as the best event of its kind in the country, offering the rave scene a space for some of electronic music’s most fundamental values: community and connection.

Zhao Dai is set to return in May 2023. Dates are yet to be announced.

Zhao Dai On Leave

Albania’s first international music festival pinned the country to the electronic map. Working in close collaboration with the local community and Albanian government, the organisers have taken a carefully considered approach to bringing electronic music to the shores of Dhërmi.

Chosen for: Sustainability and Innovation.

Kala Festival is the brainchild of UK-based event organisers Mainstage Festivals. The first edition took place in 2018, and promotion leading up to the event kept the location a secret – at first. The organisers promised a new festival in an “undiscovered paradise beach” location. An aerial video was released, along with images of stretches of sand and sun-drenched cliffs. The location, it turns out, was Dhërmi on the Albanian Riviera and Gjipe Beach, which is a short boat ride away.

The festival’s inaugural edition marked the first time Albania had hosted an international music festival. In a press talk, government officials made it clear they were opening Albania up to tourism in a bid to boost the economy, and electronic music was welcome in the area. Albania contains stunning historical sites, but, the government said at the time, they weren’t sure what to do with them. In working directly with Mainstage, it was ensured that Kala Festival would not only boost the economy but benefit the local community by creating jobs onsite and driving travellers to its businesses.

Locals were hired to work at the event, and on the grounds, there was a celebratory feel. From the first edition, the event felt like a welcome cultural exchange and locals not only worked at the festival but enjoyed the music. Selections during Kala's debut mostly leaned into Balearic and disco, but there was space for breakbeat, funk and techno too. Kala’s debut was a success, helping to position Albania as a new festival destination that could rival the likes of Croatia. On the last day, festival-goers all received a text. It announced that Prime Minister Edi Rama had gifted each person a can of Albanian beer for their attendance.

Fast forward to 2022 and Kala Festival has brought to life the vision the government had for the country. Other festivals have followed since, such as ION – which made its debut in 2022 – Anjunadeep presents: Explorations, and Inner State.

Albania is still a relatively new festival destination, but Kala Festival has succeeded in pinning it to the electronic map. While destination festivals have caused concerns for its local impact – such as events in Ibiza and Croatia – Mainstage are adamant on working with the local municipality to create sustainable tourism in the area. The pair are taking measures, such as including accommodation in every ticket, to avoid overinflated rates for locals during the festival week.

Kala Festival takes place in Dhërmi, Albania, on 31 May to 7 June 2023.

Kala Festival

Semibreve is a festival that leans into collaboration and experimental sonics. Though it’s not marketed as a design event, the architecture of the city plays a large role, hosting site-specific works across unique locations.

Experimental music is often marketed as esoteric, catering to a tapped-in audience of music fans. At Semibreve, the ‘experimental’ umbrella encompasses a wide, unpredictable range of sounds, and a large audience fills the seats of the grand Theatro Circo in the search for something new. Here, experimental music doesn’t seem to cater to a small market, but rather, the music scene of Braga itself and attendees who’ve travelled from its neighbouring areas.

Most of the programme is made up of exclusive, site-specific works, and the results are often thrilling and intriguing at once. It’s here that you can experience a one-off collaboration between Laurel Halo and Oliver Coates, and the performance feels less esoteric than their precursors but nonetheless is a wonderful performance. At Semibreve, you can meditate to the sounds of Flora Yin-Wong in a modern church, sit in near-pitch-black darkness listening to Supersilent or exploratory theremin music in a Portuguese revivalist theatre.

Though the event doesn’t market itself as a design festival, part of what makes Semibreve feel like a one-of-a-kind experience is the marriage of the city’s architecture and sounds. The identity of Braga is rooted in its historical buildings and contemporary venues, such as the arts space gnration. Semibreve not only provides festival-goers with a wide-ranging musical programme year on year, but also a tour of Braga’s most intriguing spaces. It manages to maintain a largely local feel amongst the audience – despite bringing in international acts – and remains a hidden gem placed just off the summer festival circuit, usually hosting its editions in October.

Semibreve takes place across various venues in Braga, Portugal. Dates are yet to be announced.

Semibreve

After staging its past chapters in Marrakech, in 2021 Beat Hotel moved to Ibiza. This year, guests were invited to stay at the Beat Hotel Residence with Patrón Tequila – an impeccably curated site located in the north of the island. Decorated with an abundance of greenery, hammocks and sun loungers by a pool, the site was peaceful and tranquil. Here, Beat Hotel welcomed festival-goers to rave in an underground venue beneath a pool, or acted as a wellness resort for yoga enthusiasts. The Beat Hotel Residence showcased the identity of the north: sprawling landscapes washed in oranges and browns, speckled with cactuses and trees.

For its second Ibiza edition, Trippin travelled to the island to host a panel talk on the area’s ever-shifting identity. Ibiza has a rich cultural history, shaped by various civilisations and cultures – from Phoenicians to Romans, Arabs and the Spanish. In the past, many of its residents were fishermen and farmers. In more contemporary culture, Ibiza is renowned for being home to the Balearic beat, for its superclubs – like Pacha and Space – its spirituality and hedonism. Mass tourism has changed the island’s identity, which continues to shift and be informed by movement.

For the Trippin talk, we invited three figures making change within Ibiza’s creative scene. We had Quentin Chambers – Managing Director of OpenLab FM – on the panel, alongside chef Boris Buono from Ibiza Food Studio. We also asked Pascal Moscheni to join us – a producer who hosts the party Hands on Sand in Ibiza and creates soundtracks for fashion brands via his agency PAMPAM Studio. Moscheni draws inspiration from the island, having produced an Ibiza-themed campaign for Loewe.

Together, we delved into Ibiza’s multifaceted identity – from its club scene to gastronomy and the movements that are happening on the island today. For those of you who couldn’t make it to the talk, we’ve highlighted some key takeaways.

Many make the trip to Ibiza for its wild hedonism, its nightlife and expensive parties. Such is the club lore of Ibiza that it continues to attract tourists each summer to fill its venues. Similarly, Boris Buono was attracted to the island for its parties, but soon discovered another side to it. “This island holds a nature which is unspoiled,” he said. “Most of the land that you see around you here can be characterised as organic or untouched. And then when you grow something on an island like this, there's salt in the air all the time. It's like putting in an amplifier that nobody else has to the flavours.” The island, he said, has made him “very, very wealthy,” and Ibiza’s natural wonders make him feel as though he’s on vacation during his days off. Moscheni, who’s lived on the island for two years, came to Ibiza to escape partying. The real luxury of it, he said, is “not a private table and club,” but nature.

Though it’s known for the Balearic beat, Ibiza is, as Moscheni said, “the worst place to listen to Balearic.” He added, “You can listen to better Balearic music in Amsterdam or any radio in London. So that's faded away, and now it's become an industry.” In order to sustain itself, the industry charges exorbitant entry fees and venues such as Pacha prices cans of water at $15 each – a business move that has been protested against. This sense of elitism, which prices many out of making the journey to Ibiza, has caused creativity to stagnate within the club scene. “The clubbing scene has been professionalised a lot, and it took a big chunk of the charm,” Buono said. Something that the island lacks, Moscheni added, are small, intimate parties. But when a scene feels like it’s crumbling, sometimes that creates space for something new.

“I'm keen to reach out to the creative community on the island and build some kind of consensus and maybe even a manifesto,” Chambers said. “To bring people together and to actually cause change. It's quite hard on this island to get people together and organise in the face of fairly stiff competition. The bigger clubs serve their purpose, and some of them do it very well. Some people go left out of the island, out of the airport, some people go right. There were a lot more people going right, going to clubs over the last 20 years, but that's really changing now. You have almost more people coming in, going left and exploring the holistic side of the island.”

Ibiza is an expensive place to be, and as a result it’s difficult to get started within the island’s creative scene. “One of the main problems is that for young talent the threshold to get started here is so high,” Buono said, “because the property cost is through the roof. That means that already, before you can start thinking about these things, we need big money – accountants and all of these things that make things boring or sometimes kill creativity before it’s started. Because when you work with a business plan, it doesn't give you much wiggle room to be creative. One of the main problems for the island is the food chain that the next generation of creatives are getting caught in right now.”

But it’s not impossible. “If I can do it, you can do it,” Buono added. “I hope more people will just jump into it, because the island will support you. She will work magic and support you, but you need to be clean otherwise she’ll spit you out again. You need to be clean in the sense that you can go out and party, take drugs, drink and you can have your problems and so on. But you need to be in the process of doing something about it, then she will champion you. Otherwise she will wash you out.”

There’s a sense of isolation on the island

The creative scene can feel disconnected. “As we all live a bit isolated, maybe in farmhouses and whatsoever, it's hard to bond and connect with other creatives,” Moscheni explained. “When you're living in London, Amsterdam or whatever, you walk down the street, you go into a cafeteria, and [there are] ornate full neighbourhoods; you just meet people more easily. Ibiza, that doesn't happen that much. You tend to meet a lot of people, foreigners coming to the island, spending two weeks, but then they go away and you're happy at your home, isolated again. It would be really good for the island, for the people living here, [to] have a place to meet or a way to connect.”

“I love the idea of setting up a kind of creative community board, to have all of the creatives on the island,” Chambers said. “Have a regular meeting and form an agenda. Maybe a manifesto.”

There’s an organic food movement on the island

During the talk, Buono spoke about an organic food movement on the island – a shift away from private yards to organic produce. “Hats off for the local organic farming community, for not just pushing the prices up like everybody else,” Buono said in praise. “We live in a world where we are so disconnected to our foods. The distance to the local producers is actually quite short, so you still have this cosmopolitan feeling of being in a place where people come from all over the world, and you have five minutes in your car to some of the best vegetables in Europe. It's nothing short of amazing.”