Leak Reported On Defected Ship In Ibiza.
With the New Year not yet upon us, the first big Ibiza 2025 news story emerged on the island’s social media platforms this week. It surrounded the Defected Ibiza residency and its rumoured move to Pacha. Defected Ibiza made the headlines last year when it surprisingly departed Eden for a daytime slot at Ushuaia with its new Captain, Wez Saunders, who replaced the brand’s respected founder and skipper, Simon Dunmore, at the helm. Dunmore had been forced to walk the plank on a ship he had built to navigate the pirate-infested waters of the Ibiza Clubbing seas.
The experienced captain knew well the treacherous pirates that prey on naive promoters sailing around Tanits island, having borne the scars of many a skirmish on the island’s clubbing battlefield. The fact that the good ship Defected is still afloat and sailing in Ibiza waters was a testament to his navigational skills and judgement.
After years without a safe harbour, Dunmore moored Defected in the calm port of San Antonio in 2017 to refit his listing ship. The old sea dog made a wise decision to make repairs at Eden nightclub. It allowed the brand to rebuild on the island, returning to basics and making it all about the music in a predominantly British resort, the celebrated brand’s primary market. It worked hard to restore its reputation, and soon, Dunmore and the new crew at Eden were making waves, becoming the number one party in San An, inheriting Judge Jules’s iconic Judgement Sundays accolade. Dunmore understood the value of an Ibiza residency to a record label’s relevance and prestige in world clubbing circles. He was present on the island when it all took off in the 90s and knows what it takes to survive in Ibiza.
I would guess Dunmore disagreed with Wez Saunders’s decision to leave Eden and join the luxury yachts and bikini-clad models at Ushuaia. He had previously sailed those waters and knew they were home to some of the island’s most dangerous corsairs and financial sharks. It was not a safe place to swim, and the new fish had taken the bait. To coin an old mafia phrase, a fish with its mouth closed avoids the hook. In my opinion, Defected at Ushuaia was only filling in while Ushuaia Entertainment dealt with the Tiësto problem. Rumours had been circulating that the sudden disappearance of the Dutch DJ from last year’s schedule was linked to the demands of another established Ushuaia DJ not happy with Tiësto moving in on his terrority. The issue seems to have been resolved, as Tiësto is expected to return to the Ushuaia Entertainment fold next season.
I would fear the same fate awaits Defected if it moves to Pacha. The rumour is that Camelphat is defecting to Ushuaia Entertainment, so Pacha requires a UK party to fill the void until they find something better. Pacha has always had a problem attracting British clubbers to its club, but Camelphat surprisingly bucked that trend. In Ibiza, Defected is not viewed as a premiership outfit; its skills are best suited to the championship. If Defected could not score at Ushuaia, then it’s unlikely to bulge the VIP net at Pacha. One would have to question the logic behind that decision, especially considering that Pacha was not the only option on the playing field.
The Leak
When the Jungle drums were beating that Defected was sinking at Ushuaia mid-season last year, it was rumoured that Amnesia was courting the brand. Negotiations were advanced, and Defected was ready to sign on the dotted line. However, deep into extra time, Pacha appeared and nicked Defected from under their noses like they did with Sven and Marco. That play did not go down well with the Amnesia boys, who are still hurting. If they don’t already know by now, the knives are out for them on the island, and they may have to call Paris Hilton back if they want a big name at the club going forward.
That brings us nicely along to “the leak” that Pacha had secured the signature of Defected for a Thursday residency in Marina Botafoch. The leak was published on the island’s well-known clubbing website Ibiza Spotlight. What’s unusual about the Defected publication is that Ibiza Spotlight typically confirms parties when the promoter officially announces them. On this occasion, nothing official had been confirmed by Defected about its Ibiza 2025 season, so one would have to question Spotlight’s motive for jumping the gun on this occasion.
Spotlight maintained the source that prompted the Defected at Pacha announcement was Defected DJ Darius Syrossian’s bookings for Ibiza 2025, which appeared on a third-party website. It’s not the first time that Spotlight used Syrossians dates as a reason to point a finger in a particular direction. Spotlight used the same source around this time last year to link Syrossian to the infamous Space party that replaced Defected at Eden. Syrossian was already confirmed for Defected at Ushuaia. It would appear that someone is holding a grudge or pulling strings to hang Syrossian out to dry and, in the process, killing two birds with one stone. The Spotlight leak bears all the hallmarks of a master puppeteer at work. In Ibiza, it’s not the sharks you can see that are feared; the ones you can’t see are the most dangerous. But thats club politics in Ibiza, and you don’t make it to the top by being Mr Nice Guy.
So, where does this move leave the good ship Defected in Ibiza? I think it’s heading straight for the rocks and Davy Jones locker by moving to Pacha. A more experienced Captain would sail straight back to Eden and consider himself lucky to have survived another Pirate attack on his old boat. Once sharks smell blood in the water in Ibiza, they attack.
Defected is a sitting duck sailing around Marina Botafoch and San Rafel. It must return to its safe port at Eden in San Antonio, surrounded by friends and allies who will give it the respect it deserves, or it risks the same fate as another legendary British party, Cream. There has yet to be an official confirmation by Defected as to its plans for Ibiza 2025.
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