British born musician and painter\/sculptor Cathy Battistessa has shared a love affair with Ibiza for more than three decades.<\/p>\n
With studios in rural Devon in the UK and here on the island, she\u2019s perhaps best known for her chart hit \u2018A Little Bit of Luck\u2019. But there\u2019s much more to her story\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I\u2019ll wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, hear the whole song \u2013 like a symphony, get up and try to lay it down with my voice,\u201d she says while explaining that music and art has been in her blood since a child: \u201cWhen I was really young I\u2019d entertain family by singing songs by artists such as Aretha Franklin. Aged 7\/8 I started sketching friends of the family, and they would come alive, popping off the page. Believing my way was as an artist, I went off to art school and got my first break at 23 exhibiting with the Northcote Gallery on London\u2019s King\u2019s Road, and featuring in many magazine publications and adverts.<\/p>\n
In 1991 I bought a one way ticket to live in Ibiza. Very quickly a family group of about 50 DJs, artists, poets, writers, song writers, and producers formed a chill out movement which bonded us all. Living in Ibiza then was about meditation, retreat and spiritualism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group began recording sessions together at the first studio on the island called \u2018OM Sounds\u2019 where they wrote many of the iconic Caf\u00e9 Del Mar songs, including \u2018More Than Ever People\u2019 which encapsulated the dance era of the early 90s.<\/p>\n
Those early songs led to meeting like-minded producers and artists, getting involved with film soundtracks tracks and much more, including being flown to Iceland to work with Bjork\u2019s producer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2000 I had my first hit record \u2018A Little Bit of Luck\u2019 collaboration with DJ Luck & MC Neat, and downed my brushes and tools feeling I had to choose between art and music\u201d explains Cathy. Other collaborations, of which there are too many to mention, include \u2018Oh Home\u2019 (Paco Fernandez), \u2018Shine\u2019 & \u2018Speck Of Gold\u2019 (Afterlife), \u2018Depend on Me\u2019 (Danny Howard & Josh Butler), \u2018This Love\u2019 (Sam Devine\/Defected Records), and \u2018Black Water\u2019 with Grant Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\t\t