La musica del sol: DJ Valentin Huedo

He shared headlines with many other artists and is in charge of the Chillhouse series for the famous label. Cafe del Mar veteran DJ Valentin Huedo, who hosts his own radio show on Ibiza Sonica, tells us about his love for Café del Mar.

 What do you like most about Café del Mar?
Café del Mar is my life. I've been there for more than five years and it's a great responsibility! There are about 2,000 to 3,000 people who come to Café del Mar everyday to watch the sunset and listen to the "song of the sun-down", a three-minute track where the music finishes exactly as the sun dives into the sea. This is a great responsibility and I'm proud to work at one of the most famous bars in the world.

What attracts people to Café del Mar? Is it the atmosphere, sunset or the music?
Since its inception 15 years ago, Café del Mar has managed to reflect the true Balearic spirit of Ibiza, and with time, it's become more and more famous. At the beginning, it was just a small bar for Spanish artists, but now has expanded and become a commercial venue for millions of people. Madonna's positive review of Café del Mar is what made it become so famous. She described Café del Mar as one of her favourite CDs to listen to and said that its esoteric music influenced her style. So, going back to your question of what attracts people to Café del Mar, I believe it's mainly the music or more precisely la musica del sol (the music of the sun). And me of course…

You have received two main awards as Best Ibiza resident DJs by Pacha Awards 2008 and Best national resident DJ in a lounge bar by Deejaymags. How do you feel about this?
It was a dream come true for me to receive these awards. And the most important thing is that it motivated me to continue doing my work with full passion. Music is my life and I'd like people to respect me for my music, for who I am, more than for an award or for being famous.

How did you get hooked to this kind of music?
Café del Mar music is a philosophy. I'm a fan of the first original Café del Mar DJ Jose Padilla whose music inspired me to take this path. This music is a way of life, I feel it right inside me. I don't know how to explain this, but I just love it!

The Chill Out series have been a great hit. Why do you think people love it?
Well, in a society like ours where people are always in a hurry, Chill Out music helps people to relax and makes them happy. And the music reminds them of the beautiful sunset and of those wonderful, magical moments they spent in Ibiza.

You've been in charge of the Chill House series and it has sold a lot of copies. How would you describe it?
It's the house version of Café del Mar, a more up-tempo series that you can dance to. It's great.

Are you excited about your UAE residency? How do you like Dubai so far?
Yes, I'm very excited. Dubai is a beautiful city. It's classy, chic and the people are so friendly. I'll be playing at Caviar and Pearls Bar at Shangri-La, Abu Dhabi for a month and I'll be coming back for New Year's Eve at iKandy bar, Dubai to play with Lisa Shaw.

Would you consider a full-year residency in Dubai?
Even though Dubai is a great city to work in, I wouldn't stay here longer. Ibiza and Spain are my home and besides I have a lot of work there, lots of remixes and albums to produce. However, I will surely come back to Dubai some day!

What's your dream?
To continue loving my work and feeling important for the work I'm doing. I always set myself reasonable goals and targets and just wish to attain and excel in all of them!

Details
What  Valentin Huedo plays at Shangri-La's bar Pearls and Caviar in Abu Dhabi,
From Sunday to Thursday.
Valentin will also be playing at iKandy bar, Shangri-La in Dubai on November 20-27 and will come back on New Year's Eve to play with Lisa Shaw.
How  Free entry until November 28. From 9pm onwards