29/08/2026
THE WOMEN WHO CHANGED IBIZA
Before Ibiza became a brand, it was a feeling.
Before the superclubs, there were pioneers.
And before women were celebrated behind the decks, there were women brave enough to stand there anyway.
In the 1990s, Ibiza was changing. The clubs were getting bigger, the music was getting louder, and the island was becoming the beating heart of a global dance music revolution.
But behind the scenes, the world of DJing was still overwhelmingly male.
For a young woman to walk into a club with a box of vinyl, step behind the decks and command a dancefloor took more than musical talent.
It took courage.
And women like Clara Da Costa, Smokin' Jo, Nancy Noise, Lisa Loud and Jo Mills had courage in abundance.
CLARA DA COSTA — THE TEENAGE TRAILBLAZER
Imagine arriving in Ibiza as a teenager and being trusted with a residency at one of San Antonio's most important clubs.
Clara Da Costa did exactly that.
At just 17, she was DJing at Es Paradis — and incredibly, was also appointed the club's Creative Director.
But Clara wasn't content simply to play records.
She became a bridge between the UK's underground and the island, bringing influential British club brands such as Clockwork Orange and Up Yer Ronson to Es Paradis.
She wasn't following Ibiza's culture.
She was helping shape it.
SMOKIN' JO — THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
In 1992, Smokin' Jo arrived at Space Ibiza and made her presence impossible to ignore.
Her powerful, uplifting house and garage sets became part of the soundtrack of an era.
Then came another extraordinary achievement — becoming the first woman, and still the only woman, to receive one of the industry's highest DJ honours.
But perhaps her greatest achievement wasn't an award.
It was what happened every time she stepped behind those decks.
She proved that a woman could walk into a room full of thousands of people and make the entire dancefloor move.
NANCY NOISE — THE SOUND OF FREEDOM
Nancy Noise understood something fundamental about Ibiza:
Balearic was never just a genre.
It was freedom.
Her eclectic musical taste, fearless selections and connection to the island's underground spirit made her part of a generation that refused to put music into neat little boxes.
House. Disco. Balearic. Leftfield. Soul.
If it felt right, it belonged.
Nancy represented that beautiful, unpredictable spirit that made Ibiza different from anywhere else on earth.
No rules. No boundaries. Just music.
LISA LOUD — NO APOLOGIES
Lisa Loud came through an era when women behind the decks still had to fight to be heard.
So she made herself heard.
With her love of underground house music and an uncompromising attitude, Lisa became part of the generation of women who weren't prepared to stand quietly at the back of the room.
She brought energy.
She brought attitude.
And most importantly, she brought the music.
Because the dancefloor doesn't care whether you're a man or a woman.
It cares whether you can move people.
JO MILLS — THE BALEARIC SOUL
And then there is Jo Mills.
A DJ who understands that Balearic isn't about BPMs, genres or labels.
It's about emotion.
It's the record that makes you stop talking.
The melody that takes you somewhere.
The sunrise when everyone is still dancing.
The moment when thousands of strangers become one.
Jo Mills carries that spirit — the deeper, more soulful side of Ibiza that reminds us why we fell in love with this music in the first place.
THE LEGACY
Different journeys. Different sounds. Different stories.
But one thing connects them all.
They were there.
They stepped into a world that wasn't always ready for them and changed it anyway.
They carried vinyl when everything had to fit into a record bag.
They travelled when there were no social media followers waiting at the other end.
They played rooms where they weren't always expected to succeed.
And they kept going.
Because they believed in the music.
And because they understood something that has always been at the heart of We Are Balearic:
This isn't about who is playing.
It's about what the music makes you feel.
So tonight, tomorrow and every time we step onto a dancefloor, remember the women who helped make this culture what it is.
Respect the pioneers.
Celebrate the music.
Protect the spirit.
Clara Da Costa
Smokin Jo
Nancy Noise
Jo Mills
Lisa Loud
