BOOK REVIEW BALEARIC: AN ORAL HISTORY OF CLUB CULTURE IN IBIZA Author: Luis Costa | Christian Len From the reader report by: Ms. Megumi Yoshida I would definitely recommend taking a look at this book of nearly 600 pages. You will be swept away by the way the book is put together. It mainly features interviews with around 100 people connected with Ibiza’s club culture over its over-50-year history. This really conveys the seriousness and commitment of the book’s authors. As we read, we are swept into the atmosphere and passion of each era, with the book also communicating the thoughts and feelings of its interviewees. It is like a documentary, and readers will really get a ‘feel’ of the history, even if they don’t have much prior knowledge about clubs and music. The interviewees talk about their backgrounds (this part is surprisingly interesting) and they speak animatedly about their thoughts and feelings at that instant when they encountered something amazing. At times, they also express deep anger and discontentment. However, a love for music, clubs and Ibiza runs through all this. After finishing the book, the reader will definitely want to visit Ibiza. In Europe, Ibiza is famous as the Mecca of club music, but in Japan it is still relatively unknown. DJs have become more prominent recently, with club culture recognised as a part of our culture, but it still remains a minor field and in Japan is probably just conjures up images of dancing ravers. Nowadays we can get music and information in real time through the internet and social media, but there has never been a comprehensive Japanese-language publication about this club culture. This book traces the emergence of superstar DJs and it explores Ibiza’s club culture from the 1950s to the present through rich photographic materials and meticulously-compiled playlists. Though targeted at a niche audience, this book richly deserves to be published in Japan too.
PUBLISHED IN NEW SPANISH BOOKS JP
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