A LITTLE bit of Ibiza will be relocated to Northern Ireland tomorrow as Lush Classical hits the beach in Portrush, bringing with it party island favourites Lovely Laura and Ben Santiago, who top the bill along with a 55-piece Ulster Orchestra.
Classical and rave, saxophone and violin: all will meld in musical harmony at the all-new event which celebrates the 50th birthday of Kellys of Portrush – largely regarded as the seaside town's own answer to the Ibiza dance club scene.
The music brand's biggest classical show to date (following previous sell-out shows in Belfast and Derry), Lush Classical Live at the Beach will transform the town's east strand and include sets from a number of renowned musicians and DJs, among them Brothers in Arms, Maria Naylar, Seb Fontaine and K Klass.
Although not quite on a par with the summer heat of Ibiza, saxophonist Laura Fowles (Santiago) aka 'Lovely Laura', is still aiming for the "holiday mood" and will go back to her classical roots with the instrument she reinvented for the age of soulful house music, breaking the mould to infuse live saxophone performance with spontaneous DJ sets.
"I love the orchestral sound, there's really nothing better," she enthuses down the line from Ibiza where she is enjoying a few days off, relaxing in the sun before her busy schedule kicks off again.
"I remember the first time I played with the Ulster Orchestra, last October, and I was probably the most nervous I have ever been on a gig. Normally it's just me or me with Ben but if I make a mistake with a complete orchestra behind me... well, I'm thinking, 'don't mess up, just don't mess up'..."
It is telling that the multi-talented, Dorset-born musician, who made her name as an artist in the electronic era, still worries she might make an unnoticeable, tiny mistake but it is precisely her modesty and chatty, 'everygirl' charm that led to her being dubbed 'Lovely Laura' in the first place.
She laughs good-humouredly about the moniker and explains it stuck after a former manager asked for feedback from gigs he had organised on her behalf. Basically, everyone reported back that she was "so lovely" that he thought it a 'no brainer' and 'Lovely Laura' became a permanent label.
"It's so funny – it was years ago and at the time I didn't care that much and said yeah, whatever..." she recalls. "Now, there is a certain amount of pressure to be lovely all the time but, fortunately, I'm a pretty happy, upbeat person anyway."
She is feeling particularly chilled at the moment, having just returned from holiday in Croatia, after spending "the whole week dancing with a big smile on my face" while the other half of the musical duo, DJ husband Ben (Santiago) was fitting in a number of solo performances at the SuncéBeat festival in Tisno.
Although 'work' is still mostly in the evenings, ever since the pool party scene took off in Ibiza a few years ago, she has noted an "interesting shift" towards daytime entertainment, meaning her schedule is fuller than ever.
"The clubs are still busy at night but a lot of people opting for daytime parties, which I think is quite cool because at least you get to bed at a decent time and you get up and see the sunshine the next day," says the musician who has lived on Ibiza for more than 10 years and has a summer residency with Ben at San Antonio's famous Cafe Mambo.
Now performing at everything from exclusive pool parties and fashion shows for Dolce & Gabbana, to summer festivals in musical hotspots (Tomorrowland in Belgium and Electroland in Disneyland Paris), the saxophonist was actually discouraged from following her dream when at school.
"I was only ever good at two subjects and that was art and music," she says. "I remember going to the careers advisor, as you did, and my dreams of being a musician were kind of disregarded. It was a bit like, don't even try because it's only the creme de la creme who make it."
As a result, she went to art college and then switched to a fashion degree in Birmingham, which she "absolutely hated" and left after two days.
"I rang my mum and I remember distinctly saying to her that maybe I could take up the saxophone – that I had always wanted to play the saxophone," continues Laura (who really does seem genuinely lovely). "I had played piano and clarinet up to A-levels, but I went home, bought a saxophone and knew immediately this was what I wanted to do.
"I just couldn't put it down. I was getting jazz records, putting them on and jamming to them and recording myself. I then got myself on a jazz degree up in Leeds and it was from there I ended up accidentally jamming with DJs and falling into this career. I always loved jazz – my parents used to play jazz and my grandad had a big jazz band during the war years and loved jamming with me when I was a little girl."
In addition to art and music, these days she can also claim high marks in another subject – Spanish. She has been assiduously taking lessons in the language, along with Ben – whom she met while on a "girly, working holiday" on Ibiza over a decade ago – as a means of coalescing into life on the island.
"I'm a firm believer that in the country you live in, you should try to adopt the language," she says. "I'm still learning and we have more time for things like that in the winter. Summer is a crazy time for us but at the moment we're both just kind of enjoying the ride.
"If I had children I would want to be a stay-at-home mum, so I couldn't do this job, travelling the world and playing the sax. I don't know if I'm selfless enough to do that just yet, so I think we'll just keep going for a bit longer."
:: Lush Live at the Beach is at Portrush tomorrow. Full details at lush.kellysportrush.co.uk
