|
‘If we could bottle the atmosphere at DC10 we would all be rich! It truly stands for what Ibiza is all about, total hedonistic behaviour under the sun throwing down some moves with a big smile on your face!”
Speaking on her DJ biog in 2002, Jo Mills spoke as passionately about her thriving partnership with ultra-successful Balearic hotspot Circo Loco as she did about her impending nuptials with acid house promoter legend Charlie Chester, though three years on, she’s still happily married, though less cheerfully, divorced from DC10 after its success turned bitter. Walking away amidst a flood of accusations half way through this summer’s season, Jo and Charlie have severed all ties, prompting changes at Circo Loco under an increasingly high profile media eye.
“Some have equated Circo Loco’s search for non "commercial" jocks with cheaper, more desperate ones,” said local site Ibiza-Spotlight on the club’s new roster of names.
“Ex-resident Jo Mills would probably fall into that category, as she (and manager Charlie Chester) fell out with Circo Loco management over remuneration.”
“We haven’t been treated very well there financially for some time, that’s what led to the arrangement splitting up,” Jo confirms, “But it’s just one of those things that happens, it’s a shame but it was going to happen sooner or later.”
Not that it’s affected her attitude towards Ibiza, she adds, ‘not in the slightest’.
“It’s made me happier and I’m delighted to no longer have to be shoved in to that over-packed dangerous club,” she chuckles, “Since then I’ve played Pacha, Space, the new terrace and the red room, Azuli’s night at El Divino, Cream at Amnesia, so I’ve done everything. We’ve got a plan for next year in Ibiza when we’ll be doing our own thing though I can’t say too much just yet. I’m always going to have a strong presence on the island, no-one’s going to get rid of me that easily.”
And casting her net wider, she’s recently teamed up with Singapore nightspot Attica, where she and Charlie are now basing themselves throughout the winter.
“I regularly DJ in Asia every winter, playing in Australia and Koh Samui (Thailand) and I’ve played in Singapore several times before, for Zouk and Centro when it was open,” she explains.
“I was booked for the gig at Attica, I flew from there and we got on really well with the promoters, two of them are English and they’re a really good bunch of people, it feels like our kind of place. The set went really well and they asked me if I could play more regularly. They were also interested in working with Charlie, getting him involved in the marketing, media, doing the DJ bookings and basically being the front for the club. It’s a very new club that’s only been open for a year and they felt they needed an extra element.”
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): What’s the club like physically?
Jo Mills: “It has a real New York feel, there’s lot of leather and velvet and glass counters everywhere and it’s so swish. It also has an open courtyard lined with palm trees and upstairs to the Soundroom, as it’s called, which is a dark room with a good sound system and that’s where I play. The club holds 1,200 split into three areas.”
Skrufff: So presumably you’ll be basing yourself there all winter?
Jo Mills: “Yes, it’s our base from which we’re travelling around the region to play. On Christmas Eve Danny Rampling comes to the club too for one of his final gigs, which should be exciting. After Christmas we’re going to Koh Samui for New Year’s Eve then I’ll be back in January in Singapore. I’ll be playing at Attica on the Fridays then on Saturdays playing in places like Bali and Jakarta, China, Hong Kong, Japan.”
Skrufff: Ministry Of Sound are also launching a club in Singapore shortly, what is making it such a clubbing hotspot at the moment?
Jo Mills: “I’ve always found it to be a really cool city, it’s really stylish with a lot of culture, amazing restaurants, it’s great for everything really- it’s a very lush island. It’s really vibrant and we just really like it. It’s also a hub for the rest of South-East Asia, it’s a stop off for all different places such as Australia.”
Skrufff: You’re regularly playing in London, Singapore, Ibiza and all over the world, are you generally playing the same sets everywhere?
Jo Mills: “It depends more on the room or the club I’m in rather than the country. I personally really like Poker Flat music, but I can’t always play some of their stuff, it depends on the set time and various other factors. For Singapore, I do house it up more on the Fridays and don’t go too demonic, or rather too electronic on them, but I also do a few Thursday sets in the bar, so I can stretch my legs and play what I really want to play, my deep house music.”
Skrufff: Singapore is infamous for applying the death penalty to drug users, I guess there are no drugs at Attica at all . . .
Jo Mills: “No there isn’t, thank God (chuckling). It’s not something you even think about when you’re there.”
Skrufff: How does that affect the vibe?
Jo Mills: “Sure, the culture’s not built around drugs (Charlie Chester interrupts in the background) . . . Not one DJ has mentioned it, musically or vibe-wise it doesn’t change anything. People there do like a drink, wow, they drink a lot, when you order a vodka and cranberry you get a big pitcher. The crowd at Attica are also older, I’m say from 25 upwards and they buy bottles of vodka, like that New York bottle service, so it’s that kind of environment there.”
Skrufff: Are the authorities generally welcoming to club culture?
Jo Mills: “Yes they are, as long as people stick to the rules, like anywhere. I feel like it’s a nice clean living place, it almost encourages you to start going to the gym and really looking after yourself to be nice and healthy for a change.”
Skrufff: With your new single as Fortune 500 I first heard it being played in clubs six months ago and only recently found out it was you.
Jo Mills: “I maybe shot myself in the foot using that name everyone’s always telling me they didn’t know it was me. We made the track at the beginning of this year and we’ve been working it through the summer.”
Skrufff: It’s quite electro disco in style, a long way from Poker Flat’s minimal style . . .
Jo Mills: “Yes it is, because it’s more of a main set, peak time record.”
Skrufff: And you’re planning on doing an album?
Jo Mills: “I do want to get back into the studio, yes, but my best bet is to get my lazy arse some lessons on (software) program Logic so I can start doing some pre-production myself. That’s the best way forward. Matti, who I did the Fortune 500 tracks with, is based in London and he’s always busy and I’m also constantly travelling. I have lots of ideas, I just need to get some pre-production going then coming back to work with Matti when I can. I love going in the studio. The next thing I like will definitely be a lot slower and will be a lot ‘trackier’ to fit more my personal taste.”
Fortune 500’s Strung Out (including a new Jon Carter mix) is out now
http://www.jomills.com
Article by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
Subscribe to skrufff music newsletter at www.skrufff.com
|
