Mamas in Ibiza

What brought you to Ibiza? 

Originally from Brisbane, Australia, I moved to the UK over 20 years ago in 1997. I first came to Ibiza in 2007, where my now husband Brian owned a house.  We welcomed our 2 children into the world in the UK in relatively quick succession. With both kids being very active and loving the outdoors, we decided to test the water and move to Ibiza. Since then we have never looked back and reformed Brian´s Ibiza original bachelor pad into our beautiful family home. The icing on the cake for us was my parents moving over from the Sunshine Coast in Australia to Ibiza in 2012. They now live nearby in Cala Conta.

Tell us about your children: 

I have 2 children, Hattie 9 and Harold 8. They both speak French, Spanish, English and Catalan.

Nurseries and schools in Ibiza – what have you chosen for your children and why?

When we arrived on the island we looked at the various private school options available. We wanted our children to be exposed to and learn as many languages as possible. We thus enrolled our children at the French school, which delivers the curriculum predominantly in French, whilst also teaching English, Spanish & Catalan. We feel languages are a gift and are super happy with our school choice and the multi-cultural environment in which our children are growing up.

Tell us about your work:

For many years I worked in the PR/Marketing sector for high-end luxury brands such as Ian Schrager, Vanity Fair and the Orient Express group. This enabled me to travel extensively and see the world.  From there I met Brian and I stumbled across some vinyl decks at his house. I began experimenting with mixing on vinyl, playing B-Sides at friends’ parties and they all encouraged me to pursue my music more seriously.  I trained and learnt to mix using USB and CDJ´s so as to keep up to speed with the latest music /DJ technology.  Through a combination of good timing and putting to use my years of marketing experience, I have been able to promote myself as a niche female artist playing at high end venues and luxury villa parties. Whilst I play mostly deep vocal house, I remain versatile across the genres and get no greater buzz than seeing music brighten peoples’ lives and make people happy.

What’s your mama trick to manage work and family life?

It can be tricky and without my mum around, life would be impossible. The kids adore her and see her as a second parent, who knows the routine inside out. Brian works away during the week so I try to schedule my gigs around this as much as possible.

What’s your favourite day out with your family?
In summer we love to escape to Formentera. It ´s a complete switch off, different vibe and magical turquoise waters.

In winter we love to get outdoors. My husband plays polo and the kids love riding. We also enjoy kayaking and hiking. Brian cooks a delicious paella so we are equally content spending family days at home.

What’s your best day and night spent on the island when not working and off mama duty:

For me, it´s all about the music and also exploring new events and venues across the island. I love Woomoon both day and night for its melodic beats and alternative spirit.

I am inspired by different genres and types of music. I visited both the Zoo Project and Eric Prydz at Hi last year for the first time; however Saga at Heart on a Sunday remains a firm favourite of mine.

Please visit Ainsley’s Facebook page to keep up to date with her latest gigs and events: https://www.facebook.com/ainsley.gowans