Friday Q&A with a Bali resident
This week with … PAPÜ
Papu, or Jon has been in Bali since forever, and has been Djing since… well, forever too. He’s got a fresh, uplifting and very danceble sound and for some on the island, mainly older, he will always be The Son of Beat. Let’s find out more….
The basics.
Where are you from?
My background is Spanish / Australian.
How long you been in Bali?
I grew up here, my parents moved over when I was a 1 year old. Spent my early childhood here and then came back after doing high school in Australia.
How did you first get into electronic music? Like, was there a certain moment it all made sense?
I guess initially it was because of The Beat Mag!! For those that might not know, I was a writer for The Beat, interviewing artists and doing research on the music industry and its artists, which eventually led to me deciding to study music in Amsterdam in 2013. Returning to Bali after that, I jumped into the scene head first and never looked back.
What do you think makes electronic music so good?
The connection that music brings is unparalleled. Uniting people from all walks of life. I’ve learnt that through my time doing events for Escape, building a community of like minded groovers. Those moments on a dancefloor making friends, everyone dialed into the same groove. It’s priceless. For me, the house music spectrum creates such a positive vibe everywhere it goes, it’s hard to have a bad time!
Do you produce music?
Yessir, I’ve been making house music since my studies at SAE in 2013.
How long have you been a DJ and how would you describe your music you make or play?
I’ve been DJing since I got my first controller 11 years ago. Professionally since 2016. Escape brought me on as a warm up DJ, then and I slowly worked my way up to play peak time, running the events and as talent booker. My music style can vary from low bpm disco, house, Latin, african, sexy, groovy stuff to more higher energy minimal, deep tech, 90s house rave. Depending on the venue / time / people.
Where did you get your name Papü and what does it mean?
The name comes from when I was working in a farm in the US during Covid with a bunch of Argentinians. Because I could speak Spanish and they couldn’t speak English I was the man between them and the boss. They called me Papu for a couple months, I added the smiley on the ü and it stuck. It was commonly used amongst them, and I was under the impression it was like saying “Bro” but I just looked it up and it’s slang for “daddy” Lol.
What’s your favourite area in Bali to hang out (day-time)?
I love nature. I tend to want to escape from the madness if I can. I’d say either finding new waterfalls in the mountain areas like Jatiluwih, Batu Karu, Gianyar and around Ubud. Otherwise, you can always find me at the beach, my faves are Bingin & Nyang2.
What’s your favourite place in Bali at night (where you don’t work)?
Hard one for me tbh, the nightlife scene in Bali has changed drastically in the last few years. For quality sound I’d have to say Klymax.
What do you do in your spare time? Any other interests?
Depends how much spare time I have. I try to give myself time to travel if I can, island fever is real. If I’ve got a couple days free in Bali, it’s either surf trips, padel with the lads or go on adventures with my dog.
Where are you a resident, or regular DJ?
Uluwatu: Tabu, Single Fin, Corazon.
Canggu / Seminyak: Attika, Miss Fish, Morabito, Luna BC
