INTRODUCTION
EXPLORE THE BALEARIC MAGIC
01
SYNOPSIS
On the southernmost point on the island of Ibiza lies Las Salinas Beach, where one man has been performing a soundtrack to the good life for over a quarter of a century.
Twice a week, every week, Jon Sa Trinxa makes the journey from his home to Las Salinas. He takes his usual two glasses of fresh juice at Las Salinas Restaurant, then settles into his little beach hut, and begins to make and mix music. When the sun goes down about eight hours later, so does the music, and Jon Sa Trinxa makes his walk home.
In Born Balearic Jon tells his own story; he was born Jonathan Grey in a small English town. Though he was always obsessed with music, the pressures of the “real world” and urgings from his mother to “get some proper work” led Jon through a series of more practical (and less satisfying) jobs in Britain. Then all at once on a rainy day in London twenty five years ago, the stock-market crashed and Jon’s apartment was burgled. On that day, Jon began both his music career and his life as a Balearic. But Jon’s journey to Las Salinas still had twists and turns to come, including being hit by a car while hitchhiking and being rescued by the owner of Las Salinas Beach on the side of the road. Ever since, Jon has performed on that same beach, mixing a unique and personal genre of music that is both deeply familiar and totally new.
Jon’s music is Balearic: an undefinable, fluid, kaleidoscopic blend that defies genres, but more importantly reflects the values of the island’s permanent residents. It meshes across nations and cultures and eras, and it pulses with life and happiness, and it’s unlike anything you can find there or elsewhere.
But Born Balearic isn’t just about Jon’s performances on the beach. It’s a stunning, abstract audiovisual exploration of the community that has heard its own voice in his music: an international collection of creatives and craftspeople and thinkers that includes a leather artisan from Paris, a Kurdish new-age musician from Iran, a former New Yorker who publishes a newspaper that reports only optimistic news, and various other members of Ibiza’s cultural scene. All of these people have made their lives on this island, and they all share an ecosystem with Jon. They all represent Balearic culture, and Jon’s transcendent music is this culture’s soundtrack.
02
ABOUT JON SA TRINXA
The Legendary DJ of Ibiza. Every day, All day He plays Balearic Music.
Jon began his DJ career in London in 1987. He moved to Ibiza 25 years ago, and ever since has been making music from a little beach hut, or a called a "chiringuito,” located at Sa Trinxa Restaurant in Las Salinas Beach. During Ibiza’s off season, he travels around the world and brings his music with him.
While Jon's mixes are soothing, his life has been full of ups and downs that have informed both his music and personal outlook. Whether it was chance or fate, Jon has made his career as a DJ, and has never stopped pursuing his own original style of music - "Balearic."
Jon has a global following: not just natives of Ibiza, but people from all over Europe, North America, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan travel to the beach to see his spin.
03
ABOUT IBIZA
Ibiza is an island filled with love and music.
A small paradise under the beaming sun in the Mediterranean with majestic nature and history.
Paradise, and home of the world’s most stunning sunset. A registered UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island is filled with incredible beauty and biodiversity. A healthy community of artists have lived on Ibiza since the 1920s, lured by this island’s beauty. A strong hippie culture took root in the 1960s and is still cherished as part of island tradition. Eclectic and free-thinking locals have always embraced these cultural changes and continue to do so. The lush surroundings infused Jon’s music and can be felt in all of his songs. This film explores the relationship between this magical island and its unique music and lifestyle.
04
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
“I want to share with the world the beauty of being a free-spirit and following yor passion.”
Being born in Taiwan and growing up in Japan with Taiwanese parents, I always struggled to explain my identity. Even though I had lived in Japan my whole life, people there still thought of me being Taiwanese. Whereas people from Taiwan saw me as Japanese. I felt trapped in between worlds.
As a result, I found myself working a corporate job in Tokyo, desperately trying to rectify these different parts of myself. So, I set out on a quest to find my own sense of my humanity. I picked up my life and traveled the world. I eventually settled in New York City, but a particular feeling I’d found on a beach in Ibiza, Spain – under the sun, bathed in music, surrounded by all different kinds of people – stayed with me.
It was vibrant and organic. It was the Balearic spirit. And a lot of that spirit was Jon’s music. He created a space for everyone, without any kind of walls. Jon’s music didn’t care where his listeners were from, or what language they spoke. It’s about communication through music, how music makes communities and breaks down borders, which is so important nowadays. And since, I've wanted to share Jon and his music with as many other people in search of a beautiful community as I can.