Ibiza

Album: The Day Is My Enemy (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jason Williamson of the Nottingham post-punk/hip-hop duo Sleaford Mods contributes vocals to this track, which lays into superstar DJ culture. The song was inspired by what keyboardist/producer Liam Howlett observed when The Prodigy did a gig in Ibiza. "I'm not a great fan of the place, but it isn't an attack on the island, it's an attack on these mindless f--king jokers that arrive in their Learjets, pull a USB stick out of their pockets, plug it in and wave their hands in the air to a pre-programmed mix," he explained to The Guardian.

    "I can't name names, but our lighting guy pulled out a CD, and said this is blah blah blah's set, and I'm like, 'What do you mean?' Turns out that our lighting guy plays it from the front of house while this DJ is onstage pretending to push buttons," Howlett continued. "Maybe I'm an angry person, but I was infuriated by this laziness. What's all that s--t about? You can't build a scene around that, it's never going to last or be credible."
  • The collaboration with Williamson came about in late 2014, when Howlett was roughly three-quarters of the way through making The Day Is My Enemy. "I just needed to do something else," he told NME. "Put my head out. I'd been checking the Sleaford Mods for ages, and I felt like we had an energy in common, that it could work out. So I sent him the beat – I knew he would like the beat – then we were off."
  • The song's music video is set inside a travel agent's office and stars The Prodigy's Keith Flint and Williamson. "It's a bit of an attack in the travel agents," Howlett told NME. "It revolves around this guy who is an OCD character behind the desk. It's basically him trying to sell us the dream of Ibiza. He keeps getting upset, because things keep getting moved on his desk. Things get smashed up."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."