THE REAL ONES: JOHANNES GOLLER

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By Laura Martínez

One summer on the island was all this sincere German with a warm smile needed to leave his native Frankfurt and settle here permanently. His story in Ibiza will always be linked to Cocoon, the legendary party created by DJ Sven Väth in 1999, which marked the arrival of techno music on the island and which Johannes directed for two decades. We spoke with him about life on the island and his journey since, including the wine brand, Ojo de Ibiza, his Trip party at Club Chinois, and his vision for the future.

1. Let’s start at the top: What was your first contact with Ibiza, and when did it happen?

J.G: “It was in the late ’80s, with my parents. I was 13, and we stayed at Hotel Club Playa D’en Bossa, which is now Ushuaïa. I remember my parents—who were still into clubbing—went out one night to Pacha and left me at the hotel, thinking, “my time will come” (laughs). Both of them are deaf, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying the energy and the beat. In the mornings at breakfast, we’d see people heading to Space right in front of us, and that mix of people caught my attention. Later, I kept coming back with friends to experience the island’s nightlife, and I ended up falling hopelessly in love.

2. It was a proper crush! Tell me, what were the 90s like on the island, and how did you end up settling here?

J.G: “It was a time that changed the rules of the game. I remember Amnesia without a roof, and one night at a Ministry of Sound event at Pacha, when a woman appeared riding a white horse, in true Bianca Jagger at Studio 54 style. It was one of those unforgettable moments. In 1999, I came to work one summer for Sven Väth through his assistant at the time, Talida, with whom I was good friends. I arrived ready to help with anything—driving artists around, handing out flyers… and that’s how my story with Cocoon began.

3. What did your parents think about you staying to run a techno party at Amnesia, and how would you describe that experience?

J.G: “My parents run a family business, a butcher shop in Frankfurt that goes back more than four generations. I had started training for it from a very young age, and that was supposed to be my path. But after that first summer with Cocoon, Sven asked me to run the show. My parents supported me, but they wanted to come meet the man who was taking their 25-year-old son to run a party in Ibiza. I remember my father in the DJ booth with Sven, looking at me as if to say, “Everything’s fine—you have my approval.” The sense of community in nightlife back in those days was, for me, the most beautiful thing I took away from that time.

4. Then Dieter Meier—founder of Yello, the new wave band with Boris Blank, and owner of the Argentine wineries Ojo de Agua—and wine comes into your life. How did that happen, and how did this match develop?

J.G: “It was very organic. Dieter contacted me when he already had his first wine production on the island ready to go. He wanted a partner who understood things a bit and could help distribute the product here. Before I knew it, I had a portfolio of 4,000 bottles—some produced in Argentina and others here—and no idea where to start (laughs). But they moved quickly and successfully, and it’s become a world I’m passionate about.

5. And with all those experiences behind you, now you’re celebrating five years of Trip at Club Chinois, while producing and distributing your wine. How do you see the future?

J.G: “Trip is my final nightlife chapter. I’m still doing this because I love music and I still have the energy and motivation, but I’m clear that my future is in wine—who would have thought it!”