Pikes Hotel - a paradise for filmographers
With its beautiful and vast Balearic landscape, it's not difficult to understand why Ibiza has been a draw for visual artists for decades. From the stunning natural beauty of the island's landscape to the high octane clubland, there's plenty of inspiring places to shoot.
Locations like Es Vedra, the walled citadel of Dalt Vila, countless paradisiacal beaches and more have provided backdrops to many film projects.
From new wave creations like the 1969 film More, to the rib-tickling comedy of cult classic Kevin & Perry Go Large, each movie captures the island in contrasting aesthetics.
It's only natural, then, that music video producers also flock to the island to shoot stunning footage for the hottest tunes.
The White Isle's connection to club culture, mean the genres generally lean more towards the electronic. Much like cinema, music videos approach the distinct environment with varying artistic visions.
We've delved into the YouTube vaults to find some of the best music videos that capture Ibizan scenery in all its glory. Check out our top selections below.
Reflekt Feat. Delline Bass | Need To Feel Loved | Positiva
It's All Gone Pete Tong is a Canadian indie film about a fictional international DJ who goes completely deaf. Iconic industry heads like Carl Cox, Paul Van Dyk and, naturally, Mr Tong make an appearance in this club culture "mockumentary".
It was filmed in Pacha, Amnesia, Privilege and DC-10 - you couldn't get a more Ibiza club centric movie if you tried.
The film commissioned Seb Fontaine and Julian Peake - AKA Reflekt - to create a track for its soundtrack. The music video takes snippets from the film and splices them together with shots of main character Frankie Wilde juxtaposed with soft-focused close-ups of vocalist, Delline Bass.
The track Need To Feel Loved also borrows from Hollywood in its sonic make-up, sampling heart-tugging strings from Ghosts by Thomas Newman - featured in Road To Perdition. All these factors combine, leaving little surprise that the song charted at number one in the dance charts in 2004.
Purple Disco Machine | Dished (Male Stripper) | Club Sweat
2018 was an incredible season for Purple Disco Machine. Not only was Dished amongst the most played house tracks of the summer, but the German house producer also remixed Weiss - Feel My Needs, Shakedown - At Night and even Fatboy Slim - Praise You.
We get the impression that filming the music video for this track was a real hoot. Depicting a dancer preparing for a night at Glitterbox from the first-person perspective, we certainly found the footage relatable, with various outfit changes and pre-club drinks.
Aside for featuring some high-octane dance floor scenes, the twist at the end is reminiscent of the infamous video to The Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up - which no doubt lent a lot of inspiration. How many of you saw it coming from the start?
Energy 52 | Café Del Mar | Eye Q Records
Café Del Mar is one of the most famous dance tracks of all time. As we're sure you know, the track is named after the Sunset Strip restaurant and bar of the same name. The distinctive melodies have echoed around dance floors on Ibiza and around the world since 1993.
First signed by Eye Q Records, which techno legend Sven Väth had a hand in setting up, the track has won many accolades and been featured in movies like Human Traffic.
It is by far one of the most remixed tracks of all time, with well over 60 versions in existence. Most recently, Italian duo Tale Of Us crafted one of their own for the infamous Renaissance Recordings - still played regularly at their Afterlife residency.
The original video is a bizarre affair, with a sunglasses-donned hero carrying an ominous metal briefcase around Ibiza. Abstract as that may be, it highlights iconic parts of Ibiza beautifully, from fishing huts to traditional boats, pirate towers to old farmhouses.
Swedish House Mafia feat. tINIE tEMPAH | Miami 2 Ibiza | EMI
Sweden's biggest electronic exports - Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello - dropped this progressive mega-anthem back in 2010. You'll know the trio better as the Swedish House Mafia.
The video features a powerful independent woman as she travels between the two party capitals of the title. You can just about make out Pacha - where the Swedes held a residency at the time - in full swing, amongst the sultry shots filmed on Ibiza.
Lyrical wizard, Tinie Tempah features, describing a typically extravagant VIP experience. The rapper proclaims: “Bitch, I'm up on the guest list with the Swedish House Mafia, you can find me on a table full of vodka and tequila”. Could that be a day in the life of an international recording artist? We think so.
Since then, Tempah has played multiple times on the White Isle at his Ushuaïa residency, Disturbing Ibiza. The Scandinavian knob-twiddlers, on the other hand, made their grand return to Ushuaïa earlier this year with a much-hyped comeback show.
Melanie C | I Turn To You | Virgin
A bit of a guilty pleasure for some, but a worthwhile mention nonetheless. Next on this list is the noughties dance classic from a former Spice Girl gone solo. Melanie C, formerly Sporty Spice teamed up with producer Hex Hector to remix this electro-pop track on her debut album.
The result was a progressive anthem which dominated 2000's summer season and reached the number one position in the UK music charts. Naturally, the only place to make a film for a vocal-soaked club track would be in one of Ibiza's most famous and oldest venues.
Es Paradis with its white pillars and distinctive spherical lights was the perfect location for this tune's video, with the former Spice Girl shown gyrating above the whitewashed dance floor.
Intercut, we see Mel C exploring the rocky coastal cliffs and swimming in Ibiza's waters; the montage brings together the landscape and clubland environments together for a dazzling effect.
Robyn | Between The Lines | Konichiwa Records
Swedish singing sensation Robyn made a short yet sweet comeback performance at BBC Radio One weekend at Café Mambo in 2018. This came as a surprise to many, since within the show she presented the track Missing U, her first solo single release for eight years.
Later in October she released Honey, her eighth studio album. The body of work presented a clubbier style to her earlier material.
Taking a page out of the '90s house sound, the track Between the Lines is a playful jam, remixed by the likes of Louie Vega and The Black Madonna. The video visuals match the sound, as the feisty female artist cavorts around various Ibiza locations including Cala d'Hort, Pikes and Playa d'en Bossa.
The DIY aesthetics of the video is a nod to home-movie-style holiday videos, adding old-school authenticity to this short - we love the bold costume choice of purple bikini and yellow pantsuit!
James HYPE feat. Craig David | No Drama | Warner Bros.
Craig David has been a revelation since Ibiza Rocks took a gamble and handed the reborn '90s star a residency back in 2016. Few others could have predicted the monumental success of TS5. Arguably the entertainer has surpassed his height of popularity the first time around, winning over a new generation of fans.
Packing-out the "home of Ibiza pool parties" no longer comes as a surprise - we've accepted that that's just what Craig David does. The video that accompanies his 2018 collaboration with James HYPE of More Than Friends-fame, encapsulates the energy found poolside.
The resulting hook-up of this pair showcases their ability to work energetic crowds: it makes us want to jump into a pool fully clothed just thinking about it.
Skepta | Amnesia | Boy Better Know
From Craig David to Skepta, we stay in the Ibiza Rock ballpark, digging into the archives to find the grime MC's video to Amnesia. The BBK star was a favourite at the venue's former party We Are Rockstars, where he could often be found performing on stage.
Part of the video was filmed at, erm, Amnesia during another bass-stronghold, Together.
Ibiza has really embraced urban music in recent years as the tourist market has diversified. Art reflects reality in this instance, with the video showing Skepta and friends nursing hangovers, hiring quad bikes and getting up to general lads on tour mischief.
Wham! | Club Tropicana | Columbia Records
The piece of pub quiz trivia that everybody knows! Yes, George Michael was a familiar face at Pikes Hotel in the '80s (amongst other notable celebrities). This can be considered the original Ibiza video that paved the way for many more to follow in later years.
Although the song was released all the way back in 1983, it is perhaps more poignant in 2019.
Hotelier Tony Pike - proprietor and perma-resident of the namesake video location - penned his salacious memoirs in 2018 before sadly losing his battle with illness at the start of this year.
The Ibiza playboy features briefly in the video, sporting a red neckerchief and sombrero whilst serving cocktails at the iconic swimming pool bar. It's fair to say that even the most ardent of underground electronic music fans still harbour soft spots for late pop icon, George, while Tony is Ibizan folklore royalty.
RIP George and Tony. Your hedonistic legacies live on in the hotel and this timeless music video.
Andhim | Boy Boy Boy | Black Butter Records
Not many DJing alliances are made by chance meetings at Bavarian sausage-eating contests, but this is a fact of life for German duo Andhim.
Since 2010, Simon Haehnel and Tobias Mueller have poured their soul and passion into their productions, which have been dubbed "super" house tracks. Boy Boy Boy is just one of the fine examples of their party-proven repertoire.
The video for this summery tune is about as silly as you can get, though we can't help but copy the fancy footwork of our protagonists as we watch. The production unit take a tour around the island, going from their private villa to the cave at Sa Figuera Borda and beyond.
Their music might now hold a deep, emotive tone, but it's still a pleasure to watch them having a laugh.
You can catch them playing twice before the end of summer. First for Shadows at Cova Santa on Friday 6 September and later at Hï Ibiza for Black Coffee on Saturday 14 September.
Honourable mentions
Es Vedra - an iconic backdrop for cinema
We could honestly go on forever about each and every video we found, as the internet is teaming with them. Here are some more that are definitely worth their weight in gold.
Old school classics like I Luv U Baby by The Original and Needin' U by David Morales capture the essence of the island's past - an era that is in some ways unidentifiable to the present.
Trance hits like Offshore by Chicane and Hold You by ATB use the clubs and landscape as an impressive backdrop, that accompanies the uplifting arpeggios of each track perfectly.
Finally, modern creations such as Don't Forget To Go Home by Emanuel Satie and Mountains of Es Cubells by Magdalena, are fitted with razor-sharp cinema type productions, yet use Ibizan iconography in experimental new ways.
No doubt there will be plenty more in the coming years - and we are totally fine with that.
WORDS | by Michael Tomlinson & Stephen Hunt
