A key fixture for Paradise at DC10, Richy Ahmed talks to us about Paradise going from strength to strength, the energy of the Universe and meditating before gigs.
Let’s be honest, making friends isn’t always a simple task. Part of the reason for this though is because people make it more difficult than it actually is. Friendships should never be forced… they should develop casually and naturally.
The best thing to do is focus on you, your own goals and evolving as a person. Anyone who is confident in their own personality is automatically very inviting to others. Before long, your tribe will magnetise towards you and you’ll be right at home. This is exactly what happened to Richy Ahmed.
“It’s in the energy of the Universe, you get back what you give out. I know it sounds cliche, but it is all about energy, this is what karma is” says the Newcastle native. He then continues by saying: “If you’ve done something wrong, karma will always come back to bite you. Whether it is in this life or the next life, it comes back.”
Welcoming me with open arms into his luxury villa in the unspoiled countryside of Santa Gertrudis, we sat down at the timeless, wooden table in his kitchen. He then continued: “In relation to this, overtime, I have learned that light attracts light. If you are thinking about doing things or want to do something extreme, and you keep thinking about it and thinking about doing it, eventually you will bump into someone who does that.”
“Someone will just come into your life and you’ll question it at first, but you’ll realise it happened for a reason. It always happens for a reason, there are no coincidences in life. You are literally the vibe you attract.”
And it certainly wasn’t no coincidence when Richy crossed paths with his now lifelong brother, Jamie Jones. First meeting on the White Isle way back in 2003, both individuals spent the summer on the island working a season. Regular hangs at DC10 as well as networking at countless parties meant Richy would eventually follow in Jamie’s footsteps and progress to become a DJ himself (remember, your vibe attracts your tribe).
“Me and Jamie go way back. I’m one of his best mates, his oldest friends and he was the one who helped start my career. He has backed me up the whole way and I have returned the favour by rewarding his faith with my hard work rate.”
Speaking on the formation of his popular Ibiza underground residency, he starting delving deep into the history of Paradiseand how it all began. “I was there when he (Jamie) got the offer for the residency. I was the one who came up with the name, Paradise. He was originally going to call it Amazon. He was just going to call it different names of his tracks every year, like Paradise Garage, and I just said to him: “Why don’t you just call it Paradise?” He agreed because if we kept changing it every year, people would just get confused.”
Now nearing the closing stages of its seventh successive season at Ibiza’s underground safe haven, DC10, Paradise has unquestionably experienced its biggest summer to date. An exacting reality of roaming soundscapes and stunning digital exploration, the Paradise crew offers an unrivalled party utopia consisting of trance-inducing visuals and some of the most talented selectors from the underground.
In terms of line-up selections, Jamie, Richy and Nick Yates always have an equal say in who appears for Paradise every year. However, in 2018, things were to be a little different to usual. “This season, Nick just flew ahead and boxed them off pretty much straight away because we were so busy.”
Complimenting the Kaluki chief for his savvy decision making and smart judgement, Richy said: “Nick has such a great knowledge of what names will fill what rooms, you need headliners and supporting acts on all the right dates.” He then added: “We weren’t as knowledgeable as Nick at first during the first few years, we had a lot to learn, we were trying to be too cool with the names we chose. Ibiza is different though, it is its own microcosm.”
Describing their selections for this year, the Geordie favourite explained: “Me and Jamie just worked on getting an array of different names, Honey Dijon, Bedouin, DJ Harvey… just names that will help educate the crowd.”
“This year, I wanted to book even more similar artists but it was just a case of getting the timing right. A lot of the time though, we were booking too many DJs and they weren’t getting enough time to play.”
Having become saturated in recent years with countless one-hour set times, such a booking policy has contributed heavily to the slow decline of the island’s tourism and nightlife. However, with many industry professionals and dance music enthusiasts focusing on quality over quantity, the return of extended set times has been embraced by all.
When it comes focusing on quality, there is nobody Jamie trusts more than his residents. Elaborating on this, Richy said: “When Jamie started Paradise, he took on the likes of me, Patrick and wAFF, and we wasn’t so established back then. But now, he has realised that some of his residents are bigger than half of his guests on the line-ups that he is paying for. Now, it is only a few of the residents that he trusts on in the Main Room the same time he is playing in the Terrace, because he knows we can draw big numbers.”
“With some of the guests, it tends to get quieter in that room, nothing to do with them, but we are just Ibiza people, and because of that, they will stay and watch us. Whereas when some techno guys are on, playing some heavier music, people will find it too much and they will just go and watch Jamie play.”
Whilst the residents are an essential factor in what has made Paradise as successful as it is today, it isn’t just those behind the decks causing all the noise. Fusing together an array of mind-blowing visuals, many party-goers now consider Paradise to be Ibiza’s ultimate hedonistic experience.
“When it comes to the creative aspect, my fiancée is the Creative Director of Paradise.” Richy smiles proudly before he goes into depth about his partner’s innovative, artistic talents. “So every thing you see, every year comes from her mind, this year it’s Dance Energy, it is all created by her from the ground up. From each year’s concept, to the flyers, from the production… the dancer’s outfits, the make-up, she so finely tunes it. This is why when people discuss Paradise, they are as eager to discuss the season’s theme as they are to see the line-ups.”
Creativity is something that comes in abundance for the Paradise favourite too, all you have to do is analyse his production process in order to realise how very different his mind works in comparison to other producers. “Every time I go to the studio, I always operate with a mood board and whatever I am feeling at the time with my current studio setup, whatever I produce will always be a bit of me.”
“I’m older and I have been doing this thing along time, I listen to older records and am therefore inspired by those. My studio is 90% analog, a lot of the equipment is clocked and synced… every drum machine, every sequencer and every synthesiser is always synced. It all operates as one instrument and everything just operates as one, then I just jam.”
Distinguishing himself from what has become a vastly overpopulated tech house scene, he continues: “Whereas that rolling tech house just isn’t me, I can’t play it. A lot of rolling tech house is pretty much just loops, young producers can knock out 50 something tunes and its just made with loops.”
Having your own sound identity is pretty much a necessity if you are to stand out in today’s electronic music climate. This was arguably the most influential factor behind why Richy set up his own imprint – FOUR THIRTY TWO. “This is my own label and I am gradually building it up.” Very specific and distinct in taste on the label’s release schedule, he said: “I try to keep things limited to just five released a year, maximum. I don’t release music for popularity purposes, I release what music I like.”
Emphasising this further, he adds: “I haven’t set up this label to land gigs. I want the music that we release on the label to be something I am happy with, it could be a variety of things, but as long as I am going to play it in five or 10 years time, and the quality is enduring, that is all I want.”
Talking about his future plans for FOUR THIRTY TWO, Richy envisions a set-up similar to Paradise, but completely different at the same time. “I want a little team around me, similar to how Jamie evolved Paradise, but with 432’s own image and vision. Being able to push rising names like Jansons and Sezala and build towards this is a blessing in itself. Jamie did it for me and I want to be able to do the same for these up and coming artists.”
When it comes to blessings though, probably the biggest of all for Richy is being privileged enough to do what he loves every single day, touring the world playing the music he wants to play. At the time of this interview though, he had played 16 gigs alone within that month and we still had another week left of June. Such a demanding schedule can prove overwhelming for many artists. From having impacts upon their mental health to leaving them largely deprived of their sleep, gigging and touring can really take its toll on DJs if they don’t prioritise their health first.
The Geordie has since learned to adapt and now has a specific routine before every set he plays. “Before big gigs, I always do sessions of meditations and have a visualisation before I go and play so I have an idea of what the atmosphere will be like.” In reference to pulling double duty at Paradise opening, he added: “I always visualise for both sets, especially for an occasion as big as Paradise opening, it’s means a lot because I want to be the best that I can be.”
With three gigs for Paradise at DC10, dates with MINT Festival and Circus as well as two FOUR THIRTY TWO showcases in the UK and a jam-packed ADE, life on the road for Richy Ahmed remains as relentless as ever. After all though, everything happens for a reason and this individual has unquestionably worked his ass off.
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