Kaz James: 'Ibiza is absolutely driven by house music.'

The Australian DJ and singer-songwriter has a colourful history in Ibiza. During a career spanning 20 years he has played at all of Ibiza's major clubs; most recently at Amnesia with Jamie Jones. James also held a celebrated summer residency at Mykonos’ Skorpios beach club for six years, but recently left to join the island’s new Ftelia Pacha. He lives between Los Angeles and London.

You come from a musical family – how did that impact your choice of career?

My stepfather was jazz musician – a trumpet player – and I kind of got roped into playing the trumpet myself. I played for ten years which was great in that it taught me how to read music and all that, but I never felt especially connected to what I was playing. My obsession with music really began with electronic music, through watching video clips on the TV at home in Australia. There was a music show on Saturday mornings called Rage that I was really into. I think back then it was more the performing aspect that I thought was cool more than anything else. I grew up in an area in Melbourne where most of the kids were from an Italian background. It was the nineties and at that time there was a real Italo disco sound coming through and a house music community sort of sprung up around that. A lot of the kids that I grew up with, their family and cousins and friends would go to Europe for the summer and they’d come back to Australia bringing these great records. That was what sort of pushed that sound in to my area and I was aware from quite a young age that being a DJ would be something I‘d like. 

You have Greek and Italian heritage and you’ve lived in Europe for many years. Do you feel more European that Australian?

The thing is everyone from Australia is from somewhere else. Of course. Only the native Aboriginals are actually Australian. But I definitely have more connection to the European culture than to the contemporary Australian culture. I’ve lived in Europe more than half my life now. I definitely feel more European than Australian.

When did your musical relationship with Ibiza begin?

I must have been 19 or 20 years old the first time I played on the outdoor terrace at Pacha. There used to be a tiny DJ booth in the corner – it doesn't exist anymore, which is such a shame because it was one of the real hotspots of the island back in the day. That whole terrace would be packed with locals and industry people – it was the place to hang out and catch up with the crew and it felt like the whole world would pass through there over the course of a week. The booth was really tiny, and you could play anything – anything! A lot of the main room DJs would pop into that booth before or after their sets to just have fun and get a little crazy or get up to no good. Those were wild times at Pacha. Really wild!

What is it about Ibiza that makes it stand out and that keeps pulling the biggest DJs back?

Ibiza has a kind of purity about it still. People always say, ‘it's changed, it's changed’, but everything changes, everything evolves. I still think the scene in Ibiza is absolutely driven by electronic music, it's driven by house music. The lights stay on whether people like it or not. And Ibiza keeps it moving forward and keeps people coming back because they know they can go there and they are going to get a certain level of quality. In terms of production and sound and music and all that comes with it, it’s going to be of a quality that you simply don’t find anywhere else.

You were resident at Mykonos’ legendary beach club, Skorpios, for six years. How do the two islands compare and what made you make the move to Ftelia Pacha? 

I don't think you can really compare Ibiza and Mykonos at all. I think they're totally different islands. Ibiza is a totally different beast to Mykonos. It’s way bigger, with a lot more people and far more clubs Mykonos has three or four beach clubs and two or three nightclubs max. And they are mainly quite small. It’s much more of a daytime vibe and more chilled, whereas Ibiza can be super intense. That said, Mykonos is also a little sexier. I had the best time imaginable at Skorpios, but I guess I just ran my course. I took it as far as I could! There was a definite shift in feeling from when I started and where I had got to, and I wanted to leave on a high. I will always love Skorpios. It’s been a huge part of my life and my evolution as a DJ. The owner, Thomas, is one of my best friends and we speak every other day. But I just felt like I was ready to do my own thing and create my own Mykonos identity as Kaz James, rather than Kaz James from Skorpios. It was time.