IMS Ibiza: Day Two Round Up

Day two of the IMS saw interviews with Diplo and Paul Oakenfold, a remix session by Sister Bliss and the first of two parties at Dalt Villa - headlined by David Guetta.

Jayne Robinson

Date published: 28th May 2012

Day Two of the International Music Summit got off to a slightly later than anticipated time for the Skiddle.com team, thanks to The Japanese Popstars and Sonny Wharton keeping the previous night's Skiddle Social rocking until 6am.

But, ever the masters of the work/party balance, we attacked our Berocca supply and bravely soldiered up the road to the Gran Hotel in time for lunch, where a hundred or so similarly groggy delegates were shaking off the previous night's excess and gearing up for another day of panels, speeches and debates.

First on our agenda for the day was IMS Question time, which saw a panel of representatives from different aspects of the industry discuss topics such as the selling of Cream to Live Nation, how viable Electronic Dance Music is as a touring industry, and how to deal with a 24 hour onslaught of emails. The term 'EDM' - hated by some, embraced by many - did seem to form a key talking point in many of this year's discussions, with the term being coined to define the rapidly expanding North American dance scene. The Question Time Panel discussed the problems of touring EDM artists - most of which require full scale production akin to that of a world class nightclub at every stop of the tour. They also talked about the way in which many artists aim straight for arenas despite not yet testing their popularity in a given city - an example being Avicii's upcoming arena show in London, which is his first ever show in the UK capital.

Next up was a revealing chat between Paul Oakenfold and Ben Turner, in which the IMS creator, Graphite owner and artist manager quizzed the veteran DJ about his move to the US, the emerging EDM scene, and whether it's true that he once skipped through Pacha holding hands with a friend. 'Yes' is the answer - 'and we were cuddling too!'.

The conversation got off to a somewhat slow start as the DJ, his eyes concealed behind mirrored sunglasses for the entire talk, revelaled that last night had been a heavy one. However things soon perked up as the jovial Ben Turner probed Oakenfold about various topics including his recent move into film scores and strong desire to continue along that path, how he became bored with the electronic music scene, and how he's helped spearhead the EDM revolution in the US. When asked what DJ he really looks up to, he answered 'David Guetta'.

Other sessions on Day Two included the remixining of Japanese Popstars' IMS anthem by Sister Bliss and a keynote interview with Diplo. The hugely anticipated conversation between Pete Tong and Will.I.Am - and one which many delegates were looking forward to hugely, was cancelled due to illness.

The rapper, musician, DJ and producer was also due to DJ at Dalt Vila on Thursday night before David Guetta - leaving Goldfish to step into his (probably ridiculous) shoes instead.

The night ended with a lighthearted set by Mr Guetta in the stunning surroundings of Dalt Vila; the rooftop fort in Ibiza's old town that is transformed into a huge open air arena once a year for the IMS.

The following night at Dalt Vila saw Carl Cox, Azari & III, Loco Dice, Pete Tong and more take to the stage to close the IMS in mind-blowing style - read a full report of that show here.

Watch a video summary of Day Two at the IMS below: