Ahead of his appearance at Booom Ibiza for Glitterbox this Saturday, Defected's Ben Lovett profiles the prolific White Isle legend DJ Pippi.
“I was interested in music since I was a little child” DJ Pippi affirmed in one online interview. “I was always involved in music, not because of my parents, because my parents were not interested. I had a big family, seven brothers, but I always had some special relationship with music. I started singing at the age of 7. At that moment I realised I had to do something with music.”
Pippi was born Giuseppe Nezzo in Ruffano, southern Italy, 1956. During his mid-teens he would move to Switzerland with family - right at the time when his love of music and creative fashion were distancing him from his village friends. “They said I came from another planet” he once recalled.
Switzerland was a stepping stone to Germany, Pippi moving to Dusseldorf in 1973 to better pursue his interests. He was soon running a record store, and working to buy everything from the soul, funk and disco records capturing his ear to vintage mainstream cuts by David Bowie and Pink Floyd. His appetite for the eclectic was already set.
Pippi was also DJing but his real breakthrough came in 1979 at local club Malesh, one of Germany’s main and most influential discotheques at the time. Pippi’s profile grew. And through Malesh, with its cosmopolitan VIP clientele, he was making important friendships. Some of Pippi’s widening, well-travelled social circle told him to visit Ibiza. “So one day I decided to go, which was in 1979” he commented. “I was in Pacha and I was really freaked out, both about the atmosphere and the place itself. And I hoped that one day I would get to play in there.”
Pippi’s wish would eventually come true. Having fallen in love with the island, he circulated mix tapes to its key clubs – Pacha, San Rafael (subsequently Ku), Lola’s, Glories and Es Paradis – and bars in the hope of securing a residency and within three years knew most of the key Ibiza players. Gigs followed in Glories (featuring the heavy rotation of Rod Stewart) and then, in 1984, Pippi bumped into Pacha co-owner Piti Urgell who famouslydeclared: “Pippi, we need you.”
Within two days he’d moved from Germany – Pacha his major focus and the start of a ground-breaking new era in Balearic music history. Under Pippi’s skilful, open-minded guidance Pacha became one of the globe’s most essential club destinations. The energetic, divergent mix of new records by Grace Jones, Sade, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Billy Idol with pure disco and emergent house (Frankie Knuckles, Georgie Red) drove perpetually surprised and amazed audiences crazy. Pippi solidified his reputation as an Ibiza institution both on the island and off of it, as Ibiza itself started to grow in musical stature. His was the true ‘Ibiza sound’.
“The atmosphere and the vibe, the visual aspect. It [Pacha] was unique” Pippi commented. “It’s hard to explain. It’s still special, but it’s ten times bigger now. It was natural and full of love and peace. The people that came there were liberated and they only came there to dance and enjoy themselves and go crazy about the music.”
Inevitably perhaps, Pippi wandered into the studio during the Nineties. His discography, with more of a house skew, features gleaming collaborations with David Penn, Willie Graff and Kiko Navarro and output on revered labels like Purple, Drumpoet Community and Third Ear. And whilst his first full-time stint at Pacha ended in 1987, he was soon wowing crowds at Ku (precursor to Privilege) and then, when that closed, was back at Pacha playing regularly until the mid-Noughties – further emboldening his White Isle legend.
DJ Pippi is still busy at work today, a seasonal fixture on Ibiza and welcome tourist all over Europe. He plays often for the renowned Made In Italy crew (his fortnightly parties on Formentera a particular highlight) and this summer, rather excitingly, will be playing for Defected’s brand new Glitterbox night at Booom! – a suitably free-range platform for Pippi’s panoramic tastes. He visits 12 July, 9 Aug and 27 September, Glitterbox’s epic closing bash.
“The reason why it’s different is because it’s a holiday island, because, for some reason, Ibiza is special to people even when they don’t even know about it, but they come here and go crazy as though they’ve already been coming 20 years” Pippi has said of the White Isle. “Some of the people...because they’ve read about Ibiza they come because it’s Ibiza, it’s a party, there is drugs. Today it’s like this, unfortunately. But it’s always special because people are on holiday and they are happy. They want to have fun in any way they can.”
With Pippi soon at Glitterbox, bags more fun is on the way....
Words: Ben Lovett
For more info on DJ Pippi’s Ibiza appearances at Glitterbox visit www.glitterboxibiza.com
