Juan Fajardo
Juan Fajardo
The Photographer who wanted to be a Musician
By Blanca Lacasa
“An anecdote? Well, even though I’m not the biggest KISS fan, I remember some photos that I took of them.
I’d already seen them live and photographed them playing, but being with them in their dressing rooms, with all that paraphernalia, was nuts. I freaked out when I saw them without makeup and in those crazy outfits that look incredible on stage but up close seem like they’ve been bought in Poundland. The thing is, I
wanted to take a picture of Paul Stanley touching up his makeup in the mirror. I asked for permission and he told me: “You can’t take that picture because, by contract, KISS can only be photographed with front light.” Juan continued: “Can you believe that? Everything has to be set in stone for Americans. Amazing!”
This is just one of a thousand anecdotes that the photographer, Juan Pérez-Fajardo (Madrid, 1969), keeps in his memory. He is rightly considered one of the great Spanish music photographers, and his camera has captured the likes of Loquillo, Enrique Bunbury, Luz Casal, El Cigala and Camela, as well as international superstars such as Nick Lowe, Bobby Gillespie, Santana and Neneh Cherry. Some have been portrayed almost in spite of themselves (like Patti Smith, who wasn’t having her best day, “she was just rude, but it’s understandable because she had been on a European book signing tour”), others with the urgency and authenticity that posing five minutes before showtime gives (Bobby Gillespie with that unmistakable, unchangeable gesture of his) and many others – the majority – posing for the usual album launch. I’ve hardly ever worked with models, it’s just too easy. You tell them: “look over there” or “put your hand like this” and they nail it. However, for many musicians, promo photos are a pain in the butt and you have to win their trust. You have to get them to forget about the camera so that it isn’t an imposing situation and they don’t feel like you are stealing their soul. There is a lot of psychological groundwork to be done beforehand because I want the musician’s craft to be immediately understood, so I need them to trust me. This blind faith is based on the fact that Pérez-Fajardo is a musician at heart. He looks and moves as if he were one of the band. He is, in a way, the artistic version of the frustrated musician, the term that perfectly describes a music critic.
Although he was determined to be a musician from when he was a child, (he also played in a couple of bands), he had to conform with being the person who expressed, in a single image, what happens in concerts. “Deep down I would have loved to be the one in the photo, but in the end, I work within the music industry, which is something that
gives me great pleasure.” Pérez-Fajardo started out by chance. He was kicked off a Physics degree that bored him to tears and booted out of his high-earning job in the entertainment industry because of the 2008 financial crisis. He then started work as a concert photographer, purely
by chance. Luck gave him a huge push one night in Madrid. “ I was showing a friend some photos of my trip to Utah in El Sol Club and Eva (from the group Amaral) saw them, loved them and understood what I was about. Shortly afterwards, the South by Southwest Festival took place. As I wanted to work with Rolling Stone magazine, I came up with the idea of contacting Amaral and telling them that Rolling Stone was interested in me going to the festival with them to take photos, and I told the magazine that I had spoken to Amaral and that they wanted me to take photos of them. I’ve never done this sort of thing again because it’s not right, but I guess it worked out really well…” You better believe it you cheeky b******!
Hoteles con mucho ritmo
Hotels with O.S.T
By Laura Martínez
As Bowie said: “Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.” At Concept, music is the soul of each hotel, with the sounds of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Funk, Disco, Balearic House, Swing and Cha-cha-chá providing each one
with a unique personality. Both the DJs that play in the hotels and the playlists perfectly sum up the vibe in each establishment.
Santos Ibiza
Your favourite artists of all time are elevated to the category of saints in Santos Ibiza, our celebrity temple dedicated to artists closely connected with Ibiza. This hotel’s soundtrack is full of Balearic house, disco, a little bit o’ deep and a whole
lotta downtempo. The music changes as the day progresses, starting at breakfast, which is enlivened with soul and bossa before giving way to Balearic sounds, house and funk in late morning. DJs take control of the afternoon, spinning deep house, nu-disco and funk, perfect for lying back on a sunbed while sipping a “Ain’t No Saint” cocktail.
Tropicana Ibiza
Mi-Mo aesthetics, vibrant colours and nods to “Cocktail,” (Tom Cruise’s classic 80s movie that makes you want to live in a bar forever) provide the inspiration for Tropicana, the hotel where you can sip on a cocktail while admiring the pool and the shower in the form of a Martini glass. Wrapped in a Miami Beach tropical ambience, its sound is a mix of “disco funk, tropical Jazz, 80’s vibes and bossa nova,” as defined by Simøne, the hotel’s resident DJ.
Dorado Ibiza
A love letter to the golden era of rock. This is the Dorado Ibiza’s statement of intent, backed up by the best in classic rock, folk, 70s and soul. This is a temple of Rock by the sea, where each of the hotel’s rooms is named after a song that went gold. Acclaimed artists such as Jim Morrison, Blondie and Bruce Springsteen have a room dedicated to them, and when the guest enters, the record which bears the room’s name starts to play on a turntable. The bathrooms are fitted with retro microphone heads so that guests can sing like a star while having a shower.
Music takes you to another place, and our hotels are designed to teleport you to Miami, Cuba or Nashville, without leaving Ibiza. Image and soundtrack have never been in such harmony.
Cubanito Ibiza
The flavour and character of Cuba are to be found in Cubanito hotel, with touches of Latin Jazz, Salsa, Boogaloo and Merengue. Jordi Cardona is in charge of putting rhythm to the eternal sunsets, (with a Mojito in hand) that take place on the rooftop of this little piece of Cuba in the Mediterranean. In addition, each Tuesday you can enjoy Salsero, our Salsa classes where you can give free rein to your hips. On Sundays, there are live performances from legends such as Ricardito, the “Cuban Julio Iglesias” who has sung with Celia Cruz and Juan Luis Guerra.
Romeo’s Motel & Diner
Everything that you’ve seen in the American films from the 50s, 60s and 70s is about to happen to you in Romeo’s Motel & Diner. Inspired by the ‘love motels’ on Route 66, Romeo’s is our most cinematographic hotel. It includes a specially designed room for getting up to no good doing bad things in, a 24-hour diner worthy of a Tarantino movie, and a chapel where you can get married, and divorced, on the same night – just like in Las Vegas. Folk, Americana, Classic Rock and a lot of 70s put the neon-lighted cherry on the top of your wildest adventure.
Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel
Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel is our very own pastel pink paradise, where both art and Art Deco aesthetics merge into a dreamlike space. What do these dreams sound like? Nu-Disco, Italo Disco, Balearic Beat and 80s Funk. An art gallery curated by Adda Gallery Paris, a tattoo studio, exhibitions in the lobby and a glass-walled room that isn’t for wallflowers… Ocean Drive in Miami would just love to do all this…
Siloé
Siloé
The band Siloé will broadcast live the recording of their new album Paradiso, from Suite Zero of the Paradiso Ibiza hotel.
The duo will stay for three days in the “Zero Suite”, which is a fully glazed room located in the reception area in view of the hotel’s clients.
The band will broadcast the experience through Youtube Live and IG Live in the purest “Big Brother” style, so that the public can know the whole process and get closer to their fans.
The Valladolid duo Siloé will visit the Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel, belonging to the businessman and hotelier, Diego Calvo, owner of the Ibiza Concept Hotel Group, to record their album. The album will be inspired by the hotel’s imagination: disco, house and synthwave music with the sonic essence of the band. It will also have stellar collaborations such as Bely Basarte and David Otero, among other artists, and producers such as Ale Acosta from Fuel Fandango, GARABATTO or PMP.
With the intention of also demonstrating the acoustic and electronic duality of the band, all the songs will also be released in an acoustic version and in a version remixed by a national DJ, joining all the songs at the end of their publication in a triple album: singles , acoustic versions and electronic remixes.
The group assures that it is one of the most interesting and fascinating challenges they have faced throughout their career. Staying in the “Suite Zero” (a glass-enclosed room in the hotel reception for any visitor to see) and recording your new album there, to be broadcast through a camera on YouTube Live and Instagram Live, is to recreate the experience of living a “Big Brother”, but creating a performance inside the hotel.
“We want to do something that goes beyond music. In the end life and the music industry is very similar to Big Brother or The Island of Temptations: either you know what your role is quickly so that people pay attention to you or you are out. “
Paradiso’s first single will be out in November and they will continue to release new ones throughout 2022 until completing the PARADISO EP album.