Ibiza and Solomun have been closely linked for more than a decade. Since 2013, his Solomun +1 residency at Pacha has become one of the island’s regular fixtures, with Solomun joined by one guest each week and plenty of time given to the music. Rather than packing a night with DJs, the format gives the artists room to play long sets and let the night develop naturally.
For my trip to Ibiza, the main event was a little different. On Wednesday 23 September, Solomun played a special free show at The Port of Ibiza, bringing the music out of Pacha and into the middle of the city. Walking up the promenade towards the show, the atmosphere began to change. The dock was lined with yachts on one side, while the old town was busy on the other, with people sitting down for late dinners and enjoying the evening. Cruise ships were visible out in the distance, and more people were gathering as we got closer to the music.
The setting was incredible. Solomun was playing beside the port, with the old town behind him and the Mediterranean stretching out beyond the boats. The sun was setting as we arrived, with the yachts outlined against the sky before the moon came out and the red lights around the show took over. It was a completely different setting from Pacha, and seeing Solomun play outside, surrounded by the city, was pretty special.
Solomun +1 has always had a very simple idea behind it. Solomun shares the night with one guest, giving both DJs time to develop their sets without trying to fit a full line-up of artists into a few hours. The idea came from wanting to move away from the packed Ibiza line-ups of DJs and give the music more time to breathe. Over the years, the format has become one of the island’s most recognisable nights. Pacha describes it as a residency built around marathon sets, evolving music and a closer relationship between the DJ and the dancefloor.
Solomun started with darker, minimal techno and gradually built the set from there. There was no rush to get to the biggest track of the night. The music moved through different sounds and moods, becoming more energetic and floaty as the evening went on. Then he played a remix of ‘Somebody Told Me’, which brought a completely different reaction from the crowd. It was nostalgic, unexpected and one of my favourite moments of the set. That is what I love about watching Solomun play. You never quite know what is coming next, but the set always feels like it is going somewhere.
The crowd was a huge part of the night too. Families were dancing at the back, serious techno fans were at the front, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the same night. There were children dancing with their parents, groups of friends who had come specifically for Solomun and people who had clearly heard the music from the promenade and stopped to watch. As it got later, the younger children were taken home, but the community feeling remained.
At one point, the whole crowd was moving together like the ocean. Looking across the waterfront, it was difficult to see where one group ended and another began. Everyone was dancing and smiling, completely caught up in the music. The fact that the show was free made it feel even more connected to Ibiza. There was no ticket barrier or club entrance separating the event from the rest of the city. People could watch from the promenade, restaurants continued around the edges of the show and resident looked down from their balconies. The apartment balconies overlooking the crowd were full, adding to the feeling that the whole area had become part of the night.
After everything we had done over the previous two days, seeing Solomun take over the waterfront felt like what we had come to Ibiza for. There was also something great about seeing such a mixed crowd. Ibiza can sometimes feel divided between the people who live there and the people who have travelled to party, but at The Port that distinction disappeared. Families, locals, holidaymakers and dedicated electronic music fans were dancing together, listening to the same set.
That has always been an important part of Solomun’s relationship with Ibiza. His message of “Nobody Is Not Loved” has become closely associated with +1, and the idea of bringing different people together is reflected in the way he approaches his sets. Pacha says the residency has brought different generations together since it began, while Solomun has spoken about the importance of the connection between the music he plays and the emotions of the audience. You could see that connection at The Port. As the set went on, more and more people stopped to listen and dance. People who had been sitting down for dinner were standing up and dancing, balconies filled with people watching from above, and the crowd in front of Solomun kept growing as the night went on.
The backstage area was also refreshingly relaxed. It was spacious, with plenty of room to dance, and didn’t feel separated from what was happening around it. People were there to enjoy the music rather than just watch from the sidelines, which made it easy to get caught up in the atmosphere.
After so many years at Pacha, it felt special to see Solomun bring the show to Ibiza Port. The Port show brought that relationship beyond Pacha, giving the wider island a chance to experience Solomun on the waterfront. Ibiza changes constantly, with new parties and new DJs arriving every summer, but Solomun has managed to build something that people keep coming back to. The residency runs through 4 October this year, with a different guest joining him across the season before Solomun takes over the closing party alone.
One of my favourite things about his sets is that they feel like he takes you on a journey. Solomun gives himself time to move between sounds, to play something unexpected and to see how the crowd reacts. At The Port, the set went from minimal techno to more uplifting moments without ever feeling like it was trying too hard to get a reaction. The longer it went on, the more everyone seemed to settle into it. For me, that was the best part of the night. I wasn’t thinking about what track might come next or how long we had left. I was watching the crowd, listening to the music and taking in the fact that we were standing in Ibiza’s old town, with The Port behind us, while thousands of people danced to Solomun. It felt bigger than a club night, with the music becoming part of the waterfront and the wider city.
Solomun has played in some of the biggest clubs and festivals in the world, but there was something particularly good about seeing him in this setting. There were no walls around the dancefloor. The old town was still busy, boats were sitting in the harbour and people could look down from their homes and watch the whole thing. For a few hours, all of it revolved around the music, and that was what made the night so memorable. It wasn’t just a great Solomun set, although it was. It was seeing an artist who has become such a huge part of Ibiza’s music scene playing in the middle of the place itself, with the whole city seemingly invited along.
With only a handful of Solomun +1 dates left in the season, catching the tail end of the residency and seeing him bring the music to the waterfront felt like a pretty special way to say goodbye to summer.
And if summer had to end, this was a very good way to do it.
For more info on Solomun +1 go to:
Words by Ama Samra
