Top raver, booth infiltrator and our very own AM to PM girl, Lissy Lübeck is back for summer 2023, sharing her thoughts, experiences and inner musings from Ibiza's clubland. A year older, but a year wiser? Probably not.
If you heard it from anybody else, you'd dismiss it as hyperbole, but Lissy Lü's real life is like that.
Partying as a profession is a hard life... but somebody's got to do it!
Monday 18 September
Having barely got any sleep, I started the day as a grumpy Lissy.
The pain in my ear had spread to my neck and eye, to the point where it broke my sleep. Foolishly, I had been ignoring it for several few weeks as it had been semi-bearable until now. Now at breaking point, I took myself off to Galeno clinic in San An to see a doctor.
Although I didn't want to have to make a trip here this summer, I think I've done quite well to last to September without any ailments. It turns out, I have a bacterial infection in both ears, so I have been prescribed some heavy duty antibiotics that should clear it up.
I'm a walking pharmacy by this point
I've been told, no swimming and no beaches (cue crying). I probably shouldn't be in very loud club environments either, but I'm choosing I didn't hear that particular piece of advice.
After the first dose of antibiotics, I could already start to feel a slight relief. Enough to throw caution to the wind, round up the troops and head into the night.
Tuesday 19 September
With just a few hours Zzz in the bag (and half a dozen alarm snoozes later), I had to get up so I could visit Vicky at Tur Y Serra gestoria. Unfortunately, I was found myself at the back of a queue of clients waiting to see her. Vicky is a professional in high demand.
Admitting defeat, I made an official appointment to return later in the week.
The next appointment was in Ibiza Town for earplug moulding. The infection diagnosis had prompted an overdue conversation about over exposure to harmful levels of sound and damage to hearing. Look after your ears, yo'.
We were assessed by some lovely staff who inspected and then took moulds of our ears using putty. I warned them about my ear infection and after an examination, I was told it was fine to proceed.
Wednesday 20 September
Today marks a year since Jamie Roy's passing. At the time, I just happened to be in the company of some of his closest friends when we were told the heartbreaking news. It still feels very raw, but I like to think he's still with us in spirit.
Every time I hear his track Organ Belter, my heart sinks a little.
To celebrate his life and the fun-loving guy he was, Nicole organised a get together at Cala Gracio beach. Though sad, it felt cathartic to light candles, play his favourite songs, speak of our fond memories and reminisce on some of the amazing times we shared with Jamie.
Afterwards, I headed down to the port to catch Solomun's free end of summer outdoor party. It was by far the busiest I have seen the port area of town. I managed to squeeze onto the end of a raised platform, so I could catch a view over the heads of the thousands of attendees. It was only then that I could appreciate just how many people had gathered.
The music was great and so were the vibes. There were even a few baby ravers on shoulders.
As always seems to be the case, the visit to Ibiza Town somehow morphed into a mini shopping spree followed by dinner. I returned to one of my favourite jewellery shops to get some necklaces and a bracelet.
Thursday 21 September
Yay! After a week away, my housemate, colleague and best friend Stevey is back today. It's been strange not having my right hand man in the villa. I haven't been the only one noticed the void. Whilst he's been away, Hayley and I have been taking care of his very needy cat, Cleo. I think our bond with the little lizard-bothering menace has grown over the last week.
Later that evening, I met Rio at Defected's Ibiza apartment and had a quick catch up with Sally. Then we drove over to the airport to collect Steve, before heading for a cheeky McDonald's. Sometimes the golden arches just call, you know.
After trying (and failing) to convince Steve to come to Solid Grooves with us, we all actually ended up having early nights, to save ourselves for a busy weekend ahead of us. In fact, it's all systems go now, with closing parties coming thick and fast.
I'll thank myself and Steve's stubbornness tomorrow.
Friday 22 September
By Friday, the weather was back to its beautiful Balearic self. I managed to catch a few rays on my glorious balcony, but at this rate, it's likely I'm going home paler than when I arrived in April.
Steve and I had curry on our mind for the past few weeks, so we finally took the plunge and went to Indi Lounge before our big night out at Defected. In hindsight, I'm not sure a banquet of Indian cuisine was the right choice to charge ourselves up for a night on the tiles.
Like the keen beans we are, we arrived at Eden's doors before they had even opened. Within 30 minutes of the club being open to the public, the main room was filled to the brim and the balcony area soon followed.
Our legs lasted till around 05:30, catching all of DJ EZ's masterclass before dashing off to beat the rush for taxis. Having seen him play at Calvin Harris' wedding a few weeks ago, I was intrigued to see if EZ would adapt his trademark style for tonight. It was equally as good, if not better, as he chopped-up the best of UKG and House together to perfection.
This was a definite highlight of the evening and well worth staying up well past our bedtime for.
Saturday 23 September
Very hungover from last night, I was in and out of consciousness all day, feeling like an OAP in a 26 year old's body. It wasn't until late evening that myself and Steve managed to clamber out of bed, into the shower and into the car to get ourselves over to Playa d'en Bossa.
How'd I wake up with this in my bag? :/
Tonight was our great friend and Defected head booker Mitch Nunn's debut in the Wild Corner.
Just a few weeks after my own debut set there, I was glad to find myself on the other side of the booth on this occasion. Bless him, Mitch was super anxious and I can totally relate. We did our best to calm his nerves and assure him that as soon as he mixed in the first couple of tracks, he'd find his groove and be in his element. And so he was.
The toilets were rammo. By chance, my old school friend Maisie happened to be in the crowd. Although I hadn't seen her in years, I knew she was out here on holiday. It was hard to catch up mid-rave, but we pinky-promised that we would see each other back in the UK over autumn.
Just like we knew he would, Mitch smashed it. A highlight for me was when he dropped an old favourite of mine Acapella by Kelis. It went off!
After he finished, he moved onto elrow at Amnesia. I'd like to say that we did the same, but our beds seemed the much more appealing option.
Thirsty for more misadventures in clubland? The next entry from Lissy Lü's dancefloor diary is online now, as our heroine hits Ibiza closing parties with enthusiasm.
Read previous weeks' capers here:
Storm clouds gather
Lissy makes her O Beach debut
Wedding of the century
Lissy gets some R&R
For daily insights, you can keep up to date with the life and times of Lissy Lü by following our TikTok channel here.
