The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Courtesy Resident Assistant DJ Alfredo, from Argentina, first began DJing in Thailand, but made his name in the exotic Mediterranean island of Ibiza. [Click to enlarge]

Many people have heard of Ibiza - the infamous island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean bliss that houses thousands of people who just wanna dance throughout a crazy, hot summer of wild antics.

However DJ Alfredo, who earned his status as "The Father of Balearic Beat" on the island, is less well known.

The midnight-spinner is actually from Argentina, where he goes by Alfredo Joaquin Fiorito. Alfredo immigrated to Spain at the age of 23 to flee the military government in place at the time. In an article with Resident Advisor entitled, "Alfredo Loves Ibiza," the time was called the "Dirty War."

"Alfredo, a learned man who had studied business, philosophy and medicine, fled the repressive regime to join like-minded people in Spain," the article reads.DJ Alfredo pursued a myriad of careers in Ibiza from fashion to candles to bars until he befriended a club owner and learned to DJ.

He worked a few clubs on the island ending up at Amnesia where his big break occurred.

In an interview called "The Birth of Rave" with Guardian News and Media Limited from the UK, Alfredo said he fell into the job as a DJ by luck and chance.

He also said in the RA interview it took up to four months of playing to no one to get a full crowd inside. He said this was one of his proudest moments on the island.

Combining what he learned with the new Chicago house sound, DJ Alfredo internationalized a sound alongside other DJs such as Paul Oakenfold.

"In England at that time, clubs only played one type of music, and London was full of attitude," Oakenfold said in the interview with Guardian. "But at Amnesia you had 7,000 people dancing to Cyndi Lauper"

And it was this mixture of music that blew Ibiza into the attraction it became for UK vacationers and other Europeans alike. In 1988, DJ Alfredo was named Artistic Director of Amnesia and the "DJ of the Decade" award from DJ Magazine.

He cited Herbie Hancock and Pink Floyd as part of the early collection he spun at Amnesia.

With albums such as "Sound of the Underground Ibiza" and "Space Ibiza Dance," DJ Alfredo remains a huge influence on the island's and dance music's scene.

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