60 Seconds With... Jose Padilla

With his DJ sets at the celebrated Café Del Mar and subsequent series of compilations, Padilla created a sunset sound from a diverse mixture of mellow downtempo beats, dubbed-out grooves and heartbeat disco.

His latest compilation 'Café Solo 2' has just dropped on Resist, he plays The Big Chill, Herefordshire, on 5th August, and his Bar Zil residency at Atzaro, Ibiza, runs until September.

DJmag corralled the none-more-chilled cat to get the scoop on Balearic music, his gig at the Big Chill and more...

People are talking about a Balearic revival, but what does it mean to you?

"It's a way of life in Ibiza. Music sounds different here to other places, there are certain tracks that only sound good here."

What makes a tune 'Balearic'?

"I cannot tell you what a Balearic track is and what it's not. They don't all have a guitar and percussion, we have house tracks that people say are Balearic. It's a certain characteristic that makes them Balearic.
"For me, it's a way of playing music. It comes from the old days, in the'80s, when I only had a bunch of records and I had to play all night. So that could mean reggae, rock, soul, funk, disco, mixing it all together. And that's where Balearic comes from, that's where Balearic begins for me."

You're playing the Big Chill again this year - any fond memories?

"It's a great festival, I'm looking forward to playing again this year. There's always a good, fun, fantastic crowd, really easy going."

You've included a brand new track of yours - 'Voltar' - on the mix. Is there a new José Padilla album on the way?

"That's the next thing, I have a few new tracks ready and I'm working on some others. 'Voltar' is just one to fill the album. I think it is a very sweet tune, like electronic bossa nova. It fits in well with the rest of 'Café Solo 2', all the tracks are favourites."

What would be your dream gig?

"I've played everywhere, really, every country. But my dream gig would be at home with some friends."