The early days of drink & drugs

Speaker 1 0:01

Hello , hello and welcome to this week's conversation on the Low-No Drinker podcast , bringing you closer to the people , places and brands leading the low , no and light alcohol revolution . He is an alcohol-free drinks maker , a Reiki master , a DJ and the co-founder of the Sober Sound System . He is the Sober Sommelier , he is Alex Norwood-Hill and he is here with me today to talk about his epic return to the Ibiza rave scene with his second season of the Sober Sound System , which is a beachside sober clubbing sensation for all the party people . I want to know what inspired it , what the reception has been like on the ultimate clubbing island and just what you can expect when you decide to go and shake a leg at the Sober Sound System with Alex and his crew . It's so exciting . I'm so impressed with what you've done . Alex , thank you for joining me to have a chat about it . How are you doing today ?

Speaker 2 1:01

I'm doing great . What an introduction . Wow , it's a bit like wow , is that me , do I do all those things .

Speaker 1 1:08

You sure did .

Speaker 2 1:10

Me with a great team and amazing people along the way . So , as you know , we all rise together in this space . So I feel very blessed and privileged to have gone on a sober journey for starters and then followed all the different pieces of my life , kind of all kind of locked together um to sober sound system . So , yeah , thank you . That's a wonderful introduction and , as you know , when I saw you at the world alcohol free awards and I whispered in your ear I'm thinking about doing something and you were like do it , do it do it absolutely then it just seemed such a dream .

Speaker 2 1:43

So , so like , is it possible ? And then for them to do a season and to do five shows and actually do it and be recognised , and people go , oh , we were going to do that . Or oh , that's amazing . Oh , why do you want to do it there ? Oh , and then you explain and they're like oh , my God , of course , it's like such an amazing island , why should people who don't drink not be catered for ? Why can we not party in a new way where we have the best of all worlds , where we have high vibration , amazing drinks , amazing genuine connection and no downside dance the night away and do it all again the next day and then get on what I call the vomit comet . The Monday flight back to the UK , Everyone's dead and you're like all bouncy , just like you were when you flew out and everyone's like oh my god , who is that person ?

Speaker 2 2:30

it's so funny because everybody on the flight who who , like you know , is so like like excited on the way out and they're all kind of smashing back shots and everything and like yay , and then you're on the same flight back and they're all completely dead and you're just there like you know , just reading a book , feeling smug , looking forward to the week ahead , and it's like , obviously it wasn't always like that so .

Speaker 2 2:51

I've been on that flight , you know , in my drinking days and my drugging days and it was hell yeah , and . I'm so glad I don't have to do that again .

Speaker 1 2:59

So well , tell me about that , because I love your love . Your story kind of takes you full circle , doesn't it , in your choice to be where you are , with it all . So tell me , what was the adventure that led you to decide that Sober Sound System Ibiza was the right path for you ?

Speaker 2 3:18

OK , well , I think really to get to that point you have to understand as well a bit about um . You know I I went to university this is going back a bit , but I , I , you know , um , I lived in paris in my year off , uh , and I love going to the clubs in paris , um , and also grew up in london , west london . So I was going to things like um , you know the wag and subterranean , all those cool clubs , and you know the fridge in 88 , 89 , you know listen to giles peterson or going . You know listen to Giles Peterson or going , you know listening to kind of the early rave scene , shoe and Enter the Dragon and stuff like that with Danny Rampling and so . So I kind of had a , you know , I kind of hit 18 and kind of you know 1990 .

Speaker 2 4:01

And it's like a perfect kind of in terms of musically . You know 89 , soul to soul as well and all that stuff that was going on . You know , of course , jazzy b . So I felt very blessed um , and then uh , but but all the time , you know I was experimenting with , you know , kind of recreational drugs and alcohol and but it didn't really I , I kind of wasn't using it to excess , but I was , it was always there . And then I went to manchester university and was always there , and then I went to Manchester University and that was an incredible experience musically going to the Hacienda taking my first ecstasy , experimenting with psychedelics , drinking a lot , partying a lot .

Speaker 2 4:35

But you know , it was the music that I fell in love with and the dancing and that freedom , that freedom of being on a dance floor , being in a free rave , being in a rave , being in the hacienda , and it was something that just I connected with and actually I ended up . I first started studying fashion but I changed to comparative religion and social anthropology just because I wasn't enjoying the course , I changed . I went to the university and I actually did my kind of dissertation was about the ritual and ecstatic dance and religion and what it was saying was that actually , when , like the whirling , dervishes or sacred dance of the Tibetan you know Tibetan , like Devas or Tibetan sacred dancers or any sacred dance , like the Hindu sacred dance , you know it's when you go into dance you connect with the divine , are , you are a vessel , it's the , it's the individual's connection to the divine , because you're kind of the ego disappears and you've got that freedom , you it's . It's a really beautiful thing to understand and that's why , with kind of rave culture and dance culture , why we love it so much , is when you're dancing you're in in that kind of that balance where you're just free , ego is put to one side and you're connected to everything to source because you're just in that flow . So that was a kind of that's a background and so it's particularly the Hacienda and particularly going to all those parties .

Speaker 2 6:00

So it kind of cuts forward to when I left university I actually started working at the canteen in Chelsea Harbour as a trainee kind of cuts forward to when I left university I actually started working at the canteen in Chelsea Harbour as a trainee kind of mixologist and sommelier , and Marco Piel-White was the chef at that time and it was owned by the actor Michael Caine , and so that was my background in drinks . So I got a really good school in there . I think there's one of my lines that I think I've made a martini for four of the James Bond Roger Moore's dead now but I think I've actually made a martini for the actors you know , like Pierce Brosnan , you know George Lazenby , yeah , and so I was kind of like in that you know Roger Moore and then Sean Connery , so I was in that space learning about drinks .

Speaker 2 6:39

I won a few competitions as well and I helped set up well , not set up , but I worked for a company after that that opened this bar on the edge of Brixton and Clapham called the White House , which was a members club , and I was involved in corporate events . But yeah , I was taken after the canteen I was taken over to um to Miami to open up Michael Caine's South Beach Brasserie and I was the yeah , basically beverage manager there . But you know , I was there doing drinks but I was also doing music as well , so on the side I was really into my acid jazz , my rare groove , my drum and bass .

Speaker 2 7:15

I love my drum and bass because it was really kicking off liquid drum and bass , all that stuff . You know Fabio and Groove Riders stuff I was going to Rage at Heaven before , so it's like and Goldie , of course , and then DJ Ron and all that whole thing . So I started- .

Speaker 1 7:29

You're taking me back , alex , you're taking me back .

Speaker 2 7:32

Yeah . So I know Well , it was heady times and I think Ronnie Size had just won the V recordings and Jumping Jack Flops , ronnie Size had just won the Mercury Music Prize and basically I started DJing on two pirate radio stations , womb and Beach Radio , and I had two radio shows and I was one of the first drum and bass DJs in Miami and everyone because it was 96 , 97 , everyone was like what's this music ? So I was , you know , by night I was , you know , in the daytime I was doing my radio shows and by night I was a mixologist in Sommelier . So this is where it all comes from and I love that Miami time . I mean , there was a lot of alcohol and there was a lot of drugs , particularly cocaine and stuff , but it was a heady time and I think one of my highlights was I did a couple of winter music conferences and I was basically hosting the V recordings , the Ronnie Size tour bus and all the DJs .

Speaker 2 8:27

I was the fixer . I did a radio show with Fabio and Groove Rider , um , and well , actually it was Groove Rider . So that was like handing over to Groove , like the legendary Groove Rider , my radio show . It's just like what is going on , it's just like , oh my god and uh . And then I opened for Tricky in front of 5,000 people at the Cameo Theatre . That was my biggest show wow so so it was .

Speaker 2 8:47

It was an incredible time and I was just in the mixer and then I came back to the UK and then got into , you know , kind of settled down , got into corporate events and then finally from there went into property . So it was kind of this life . I moved to Kent , but , but always in the background . I carried on DJing , carried on doing a lot of charity events and carried on making amazing drinks , but only for me really . But in the background the alcohol and drugs were still kind of recreationally being used and , you know , unhealthily , you know the benders . It was just like there was stuff I think I've had quite a colourful childhood and there was stuff that I hadn't dealt with . So for me , self-medicating was my way of dealing with it and I was quite methodical . I was a bit like Sherlock Holmes , like right now , what I'm going to have , exactly this amount of alcohol with this amount of barbiturates and this amount of you know whatever , you know it's just kind of like it was all scientific but it would be fine for three days ,

Alex's Spiritual Awakening in Ibiza

Speaker 2 9:53

and then , when you stop , stop , it's just like , ah , okay , now , now , what ? Now ? Now I've got to pick up the pieces of my life , you know , um .

Speaker 2 9:54

So it all came to a head . Um , uh , on a , I was organizing a bachelor party , stag do for a friend of mine in ibiza . I'd never been to ibiza before and um , it was very messy and um , during during that trip , um , just to kind of cut it short because this story could take 20 minutes , but I ended up having a spiritual awakening went out to this desert , ibiza's got a very amazing energy , and the reason is there's this special rock called Esvedra which is connected it looks like a dragon head actually , and it has got dragon energy , but it's connected to this goddess , this Phoenician goddess , tanith . It's connected to Egypt . It's the third most magnetic point on the earth . It's also where Odysseus was supposed to be lured on the rocks and the sirens . It's mystical , magical . When you go near it , the energy is pulsing . It pulses through the whole of Ibiza .

Speaker 2 10:43

And on the Sunday of this trip , we took a boat trip out to Esvedra and we , because we were going there , I was sitting on the front of the boat meditating and everyone was , and we started laughing , me going , what's he doing ? And I was just like I had a sixth sense that something big was about to happen and I'm quite a spiritual person . Anyway , I had some spiritual awakenings at university , taking a lot of LSD and mushrooms , obviously , as you would , and then we got to the rock and then the captain said oh , we want you to touch the rock and it's a protected island , you're not allowed to touch it , and it is so beautiful . And I said , oh , why me ? You know there's 12 other people on the spot . I said , why me ? And the captain was like oh , oh , the rock wants your energy .

Speaker 2 11:23

It was quite a mystical response . So , uh , so I ended up as a video of me touching the rock and after I touched it , um , I it was like I had a massive , like lightning bolt activation and I was jumping around the boat like I touched the buddha's foot . I mean , it was really this . I didn't know what it meant at the time either . I was just like , wow . I was just like , and they were all taking the piss and going , oh , you know , spiritual hour , what's he like , you know ? And I was just , I was just going , wow , and I just heard this really loud voice , like a female voice , saying you must purify , you must purify , you must cleanse . It was like really loud and and and that it's really weird , because I knew what it meant at the time as well .

Speaker 2 12:02

And when we got , we went for lunch and I told them at the lunch the 2012 guys . It's like today is the last day I do alcohol and the last day I do recreational drugs . And they were just like oh , whatever , oh , he's high , he's pissed , blah , blah , blah . And they ordered me a birthday cake as a piss take . So this giant birthday cake came out going .

Speaker 2 12:22

It was his birthday and so this giant birthday cake came out going it was his birthday and the whole restaurant was singing happy birthday , you know , which , ironically , is my sober birthday . That was eight years ago , on the 29th . And then that evening we went to this club called destino , which is destiny means destiny in spanish and then , um , yeah , I had a beautiful encounter with this amazing woman who who , kind of , I felt like , was representation of the goddess tanennant , and she was , and she just , we just had this interchange and connection which was like very mystical and it was like an acknowledgement of the journey that I've had that day and I felt like , right , this is the . All these signs are leading up to it's time , time to to stop . And so I had this interchange with this beautiful woman and I put my beer down and I said , guys , that's it , it's 12 o'clock , this is my last beer and I'm out . And they were like , oh , they were giving me such a hard time for leaving because we had tickets to the opening of high , which had just changed from space , and I was like , no , I'm done . And we were leaving next day . We've been there five days and I hadn't slept three of them and um , and we , we went .

Speaker 2 13:23

I was sitting in the lobby and I was just about to go through the door and then I realized that because I've been organizing this and I've got like about a thousand pounds worth of drugs , of everyone's drugs , in my pocket , so I I can't start this new life in this way . So I went down to the bathroom , flushed them all down , all down the loo and like in just kind of a real like , and then I went through the door . It's like , okay , this new beginning , you know , yeah , and you know the beginning is , you know , one door closes , another opens through the door of destiny . It's , as you know , or anyone knows , if they're getting sober , that's , the work hasn't started . You can say you're gonna do , do it .

Speaker 2 14:44

But you know that was , you know , going back to the UK , broken . You know , I kind of had my rock bottom when I got back . You know , I left my laptop , my wallet and my phone on the plane . I spilled tea in my lap . I looked like a hobo . I peed myself . I had my shoes , because I'd spent the night dancing around the swimming pool the night before with no shoes on . My feet were bleeding , so there's blood seeping through my shoes .

Speaker 2 15:10

I mean my eyes were floating because of you know how much alcohol you know .

Speaker 1 15:14

Yeah .

Speaker 2 15:14

So yeah , and I had drove home I should never have driven home and I missed the turning and I had no fuel and I ran out of fuel and I was on the motorway at zero . It's like crying , you know , like totally broken . And then I saw the sign for the hospital A&E and I thought , oh , brilliant , I can get my feet , amazing . And I pulled . I pulled in this is just to end the story here but I pulled in and um , and I went , there was the hospital . I rolled in and I went round once and there was nowhere to park and I came on the second time and the barrier was up to the parking and I was just like , okay , thank you , okay . And then I ran out of fuel and I was just like you know no wallet , no keys , you know no dignity , that was it . You know . Just , you know no laptop . And and I walked into the A&E and and she was just like are you all right ? And I said that's a long story . And she's like okay , we'll get you bandaged up . And I said , oh , do you think you could call my wife and tell her ? It was like six in the morning . Do you think you just come and tell us a bit now . And she's like are you sure about that ? So I was like , and then she called up and said oh , mrs Hill , we've got your husband here . Um , have a nice breakfast , don't rush , we'll look after him , just , you know , just take your time , it's going to be fine .

Speaker 2 16:25

And then the work started and I was lucky enough I got an amazing therapist , chip Summers , who's very well respected . He does the Soberful podcast . Um , through a friend in the music industry actually Robbie Williams , a&r . Friend of a friend put me in touch a guy called Chris Briggs . Um , put me in touch with Chip . I went to see Chip and he said right , you don't need rehab , you don't need this is how we do it . It's going to do a 12 step loose 12 step program with me . And then I just built up the time and I did AA for two years and I still do a bit of AA , but it's not really I think through . Then I suddenly was like my drinks background started to come alive again .

Speaker 1 16:58

I was just like okay what are the drinks out there , ben ?

Speaker 2 17:00

Branson , just thought , seems lit . But you

From DJ to Sober Sommelier

Speaker 2 17:02

know , and I was just , I was hungry to keep , as genuinely grace says , hungry to keep the ritual , but change the change the ingredients .

Speaker 2 17:10

And that's when the sober sommelier started , because it was just like all my drink stuff came to life again yeah and I and I actually went to the one of the mindful drinking festival in trinan brewery , I think 2018 , 19 , one of those . I think one of the first ones met laura , met all these drink founders , paul from everly , or matthew uh , camille vidal , all some of the originals , and this is seven yes , kind of six years ago , and I think millie gooch was there doing she was on a panel and they were talking . It was this . I went to a panel , a sober influencer panel , and I was just like , oh , what's sober influence ? I mean , I barely have facebook . I didn't really know .

Speaker 2 17:46

I mean I still , I'm pretty much of a pretty much of a love that when it comes to it and I'm just starting to get my shit together on that front , but I , um , yeah , and I thought you know what ? It's quite good accountability , if anything . And also I wanted to champion this whole space because I was excited . When I tried Everleaf for the first time , I was like whoa , that's really cool . I was like that was the first forest , the saffron , and I was like that's interesting . I was excited and also censure spirits . You know that was called censor then . But James and Vanessa , um , who actually , you actually , and it's I probably shouldn't say it , but they were the ones that came up with censure . They invented it , vanessa created it , but then they were approached by professor nutt . But the narrative is it's professor nutt invented it , he didn't they , they , professor nutt approached censure and they were called censor then and I was in love with their spirit , their drinks , their functional and to me that's the most exciting space at the moment , is that functional space .

Speaker 2 18:42

But you know , last year , having done , I did a couple of events . Um , there's cosmopolitan , I did , and it says here is this the future of partying . So basically I did a couple of sober sounds . I like the idea . When I did the launch , the um the nest , which was hastings first alcohol-free bar it was a community space and I did a , I did a dj and I did all the drinks and on a Sunday we did the first ever Sober Sound System and everyone loved the drinks . We had Cordus , which I talk , you know about , which is my high vibrational , bittersweet aperitif , and it was a really high vibe event and it worked really well . So I thought , well , let's do some more . So I spoke to Laura Will Willoughby and we did a couple of events at um , at uh Club Soda in Covent Garden in the basement , really hot and sweaty , really cool uh . And then uh was covered in Cosmopolitan uh , and that kind of got us a bit of notoriety . It's like , oh my god , is this the future of partying ? Is this , you know , this is a , this is a thing .

Speaker 2 19:45

And then I was approached by um , a lovely friend , laura , and she , um , she works with a lot of some of the biggest DJs in the world , like Clapton , vintage Culture and Seb Lachey and all these DJs . And she . She said , oh , a friend of mine , I met her just after lockdown . She said , oh , a friend of mine's in Ibiza . Her name's Kelly Kelly Marie Bittles and she's a sober DJ . She's been sober , I think , just over a year and she's been is in ibiza .

Speaker 2 20:06

Her name's kelly , kelly marie victors , and she's a sober dj . She's been sober , I think , just over a year and she's been living in ibiza for seven years and she'd like to put on a uh , some sober parties . You know , because I was doing this , you know , so , the sound system . So so I was like , wow , okay , let's , let's chat , let's see . And and we had a conversation and we gelled and we just decided , right , let's do it . There's lots of reasons why we couldn't do it and it shouldn't do it , but we got our venue , we got our sponsors , our drinks brand sponsors , which I can talk about , you know .

Speaker 1 20:37

All .

Speaker 2 20:37

Bitter and a various great drinks brands , particularly Zeno , as well and Liars and Nista , and yeah , so it was a great little selection of sponsors and we did . We got our venue and we did five events . So it was amazing , a really incredible team effort bringing together , you know we had guest mixologists . So Keith from the Conscious Bar came out , um amazing guest djs , marcus enbo from sweden , um nick hayes , mr purple and a whole selection of other other kind of amazing djs and and it was just a fledgling , beautiful thing that just came to life , bringing together you know , the high vibrational , you know drinks , functional drinks , amazing music , amazing people in the party capital showing people that there's a new way of party . So it kind of it was a perfect storm really and something that you know , for me , when people say you can't do it , I want that but I'm definitely going to do it . You know it's like it can , it can't be done . Well , we just did it , you know . So there you go , wow that's a lot .

Speaker 2 21:50

That's quite the story .

Speaker 1 21:52

Uh , you definitely paint a word picture , don't you ? That's fantastic . Um , there's there's a lot there that , a lot of different uh angles that we can , we can go uh off in . I think your journey is , at the same time , in both parts , unique and very common to lots of people . You know that they've reached a path in their life where they've realised that it's time to make a decision and go one way or another . The minutiae of your story , obviously , is quite unique to you and it's amazing that it's brought you back full circle , as I said before , to being in Ibiza .

Speaker 1 22:29

I'd like to talk a little bit about about the the process of starting the club , because you know you're going to

Launching Sober Sound System Ibiza

Speaker 1 22:35

, as you said before , the party island is known uh for throughout the country and and many other countries as the place where young people go to get absolutely or just hammered really off their face on drink and drugs and party and have sex . There was , uh , that tv show for a little while wasn't there about teens in ibiza and it was just debaucherous . It was one of those places , actually , that I never I never managed to get out to . Even for me it seemed like a bit too intense , but I'd love to know what it was like when you started approaching venues to say , hi , we , we're sober , we like dancing , we like music , we want to put on an event here at your venue and not sell alcohol . I mean , what was that sort of reception like for you ?

Speaker 2 23:23

um , well , I think , really , kelly's probably the best one because she's living there and she was , you know , there is a sober community out there . There are Facebook pages , there are , you know . I mean , I think that in Ibiza it's very much people do stick to areas like San Antonio . Then there's Santa Elaria , then there's the north San Juan and then Salinas down south , or the old town . So to do it in San Antonio , go into the eye of the storm . Often they say , where it's darkest , that's where the light needs to be , and actually , in a way , that's even better .

Speaker 2 24:01

I mean , kelly literally had the idea of this rooftop terrace hotel , a really beautiful hotel called Aperture . It's got a pool , it's got a deck and you literally you're having drinks watching the sun go down in san antonio bay . It's absolutely epic and beautiful . And and she just , you know , it just happened she just rocked up there in the off season , thinking I'll just see if there's anyone there , and just happened to meet mario , who was the resident dj there , and just said look , this is what we want to do , we've got this idea . And he really liked the idea and he said it's something different . It's you know , it's another offering . You know they have this . I've got the next door farm streaming at the moment , so sorry about that Typical , but as long as you can hear , me all right , that's fine , you're good .

Speaker 2 24:48

Anyway . So Mario was just like you know what , let's do it . And we just said these are the dates . We really wanted it to be a residency . I mean , as you said , it's so beautiful that it's exactly almost seven years of the day I didn't go back to ibiza from the time I had my awakening , my epiphany in ibiza , and I always wanted to get , and when I , when I left , I said I'm going to come back here and dj , I know it , I just , I just know it , but I it took seven years , a-year cycle of sobriety and deliverance for the stars to align Exactly seven years .

Speaker 2 25:16

We did our first gig , which is amazing , and I think the reception from Mario was great . But I think , you know , generally there was a lot of resistance and like well , why ? And you know , people not really understanding it , people not really understanding it , but through the networks that we created both you know , in you know , liars just opened their first dedicated bar at Amnesia . Cameron , who was the social media director for Liars , was super supportive , connecting us . We did a competition with David Getter and High , which so two people won with Liars . We had a competition to go and see David Guetta , which was incredible . We also that was a great collab we also did Emily from Sober and Social did a sober weekend and one of her reels got like over 10,000 views and so it's like we knew that we were like the canary in the mine .

Speaker 2 26:16

We knew we were disrupting , we knew we were the first , we knew that we just had to . You know , if you build it , they will come . You know and and and . It wasn't going to be about footfall necessarily . Yes , you know we had 50 to 70 people coming through at various times , but you know we the fact that we had the space , we had the brand support , we had the beautiful content and we had this the you know , we the fact that we have the space , we have the brand support , we have the beautiful content and we have this the you know , this idealized view , but it's actually a real view of like actually this there needs to be a space for people who are sober , sober , curious mindful drinking and and the thing is it wasn't like you know , the hotel had its alcohol bar around the corner , so it wasn't .

Speaker 2 26:50

you know , people , some parties came . You know we're very inclusive , we're not . Oh , if you're a party of drinkers and non-drinkers , oh you know , no drinking here . No , there's a bar there you can get a drink . You know we're sober , focused , sober led , but we're about inclusivity and I think that's really key because I think , for you know , it's really important that everybody I mean , when I started my sobriety journey , I hated the fact that I wasn't looked after wasn't catered for .

Speaker 2 27:16

Now , if someone wants an alcoholic drink or they're zebra striping or they're mindful drinking or bookending , you know they should be able to get an alcohol drink . We're not promoting it , but it's there , and I think that especially in Ibiza as well , because everyone's on their journey somewhere . So there was a lot of resistance , a lot of question marks , a lot of scratching of heads , but but when people try the drinks and they're like , oh my gosh , there's , I'm not losing anything here especially the functional ones where they get a little bit of a buzz using sencha or three spirit or cordis , they're like , wow , you know doing like a picante twist on a picante kind of margargarita-type drink with a salted rim and it's just like , oh , so good , like a mixture of sweet and sour and a kick , you know , and the chili using fresh chili . Or you know , like the censure cosmopolitan using rosemary and like that lovely censure red and the rose coming through the bergamot . So it's just like , I think , think you know , we're at the tipping point .

Speaker 2 28:19

You know , five years from now , people look back and go , or you know what there's sober parties or sober low parties , or , you know , all over the place .

Speaker 2 28:24

I mean , the big trend at the moment is coffee shop parties or , like you know , cafe parties , like in the club scene , where people are doing parties between kind of like 8 and 11 or 11 and 3 , in cheese shops , cafes , bakeries Bob Sinclair just did a and there's no alcohol there . These people are just dancing and partying in new spaces , in new ways , because , you know , people want genuine connection . But it has been , you know , like a very interesting , like process and actually having the courage to follow through with it and going now , you know , you know because obviously trying to make it work financially , trying to get it over the line , but this year , you know , the response has been amazing in terms of from the venues , from from people in in ibiza who are sober , which has been covered by Native or Native magazine , which is like the lifestyle magazine , and Dan Prince has covered another feature on us , dan Prince . He set up MixMag and also runs the very famous and well-known Club Night Back to Mind . So there's like recognition is coming and there's a DJ called Balearic .

Speaker 2 29:33

Beard Mike , who is sober . There's loads of characters and I went back a couple of weeks ago just to meet with various and we've got a network . There's a woman , melody Melody , for Ibiza . She's creating an alcohol-free sparkling wine for Ibiza . She went to the Paris Wine Fair . She found the best non-art sparkling from france and she's white labeling it and putting her label on it and it's going to be an ibiza sparkling rosé and white . And I we tried it .

Speaker 2 30:06

We had a tasting at our villa pop-up we did two weeks ago and it was it outshone all the other liquids because you know she's got an incredible . You know she was making wines . Now she's making alcohol-free wines . There's also james win stanley . He , um , he is creating a botanical , a functional botanical spirit on the island . He's making in the uk but it's going to be from ibiza and , um , that's super exciting , um . And so there are , there's networks , you know , and just being over there seeing this fledgling movement and being there at the forefront and supporting it , it's just like a bit , like you know , going to the first Mindful Drinking Festival that you know Laura did , or just , as you know , I just went with Bole Wines over to the Mindful Drinking Festival with Sober Sound System in Washington for the Mindful Drinking Festival , with Sober Sound System in Washington for the Mindful Drinking Festival there . And so we just inched the dial forwards , but just showing people that this is the new way to party . This is the kind of partying with no negative , with no come down , and it's exciting .

Speaker 1 31:12

It is . It's super exciting . I think you're doing a wonderful thing . This is your second year , so you were out there last year . What's what's different ? So somebody's been before . What can they expect to see ? That's different . And for those who haven't been , you know what have you , because I know you mentioned it before You've expanded a little bit . You're looking at opening up the spaces a bit more .

Speaker 2 31:37

Looking at opening up the spaces a bit more , yeah , so I think we felt that , you know , last year we dipped our toe in and and and it was . It was just wonderful . It was wonderful to be there with a mission , obviously playing amazing music . In that , I mean , there's nothing quite like getting on a plane and sitting on that plane as a DJ , knowing that you're going to Ibiza to DJ can't quite put that into words how that works . It's just like you know . It's just like you know . I suppose it's how athletes must feel on the way to the Olympics . It's just like , oh my god , you're just like this is happening . You know , I'm sitting there doing my set list on the plane , like you know . It's so cool .

Speaker 2 32:09

I got , I had some air miles on my first trip out there and I was , I was , I got bumped up to business and I was like what a drag . I'm terribly sorry , sir , we can only put you in business from city airport . And there I was like in business on my laptop , and there's a guy next to me . He goes oh yeah , what are you up to ? So I'm just , yeah , just going out to my residency .

Speaker 1 32:31

A bit nonchalant , as you do , but it .

Speaker 2 32:35

But you know it's . It's just like ticking those boxes of dreams come true and making making dreams , you know , come alive and and and the whole point is , you know , having that space . People love the drinks , people love the genuine connection , the people they meet . They love the music and they love , you know , being on a rooftop terrace watching the sun go down . I mean it's just amazing . And actually , sarah Drage is quite a well-known in the space . She does a lot for NACOA . She was our first ever when we opened the doors . Totally by chance , she does a lot of work with Sober Dave .

Speaker 2 33:06

Sarah Drage was our first ever guest when she had a hen do with her . It happened to be Nadita and it was so perfect . This person that I'd known in the sober community was our first guest , which is like this is so poetic . You know that someone from the uk in the sober community , um , so this , so that this year , you know , last year was , you know , okay , we proved that it's a thing . And and on the back of it , one of the key things was we got xeno david and will xeno wines , as you know . Um , we got them . We worked with a distributor who was distributing lye it's called X-Drinks . Owner from X-Drinks , he's Dutch , he's based in Mallorca and he took Zeno on as a client as stocking Zeno . So Zeno got the through Sobersound Systems . Zeno secured distribution in Spain and the Balearics .

Speaker 1 33:54

Amazing .

Speaker 2 33:57

So that was a massive cat feather in the cap and they're in some amazing five-star hotels now , and also in my last trip , I did a tasting at bambuda , which is one of the oldest restaurants in ibiza 26 years , very well respected , like super beautiful . They call it mediterranean . It's kind of asian fusion , highest , like amazing dim sum and like kind of like sushi rolls and just like lobster and fish and wow and um , we have a tasting with the bar manager there , juliana , and they took two cases of xeno rose and it's just like and I told david I was like , oh my god , you just got a listing in my book . That is massive because , like others , others will follow , you know . So it's not just about partying , having fun , it's about , you know , the end goal for all of this I think I speak for a lot of people is I want to walk into a restaurant and a bar anywhere in the world .

Speaker 2 34:47

Look up at the shelf and half is alcohol the best alcohol free and half is alcohol . You know , know whether we'll get there in 20 years , 30 years . It'll happen because that's the way it's going , but it's it's . It's doing these little incremental things that we're doing as a movement and as people in the space leading the way is going to get us there . And and and it's just little things like like casino's listed at van budde . That's mental right . To me that's just like wow , you know . So this year I approached I wanted , because in Ibiza people

What to expect at SSS 2025

Speaker 2 35:20

stick to areas like the crazies go to San Antonio to party . The wealthy hippies are in Santa Catrudes or the billionaires and the wealthy hippies , the people a bit more chill and kind of down to earth , are over in central .

Speaker 2 35:35

Aria and then you know , super wellness is up in San Juan , super hippie , and so you know , and in the middle , las Dali is the big hippie market . So what people don't realise is Ibiza is not what you see on those shows . Ibiza is very spiritual . It's beautiful landscape , beautiful hidden beaches . You know , just think , uh like beautiful .

Speaker 2 36:02

It's like a beautiful Balearic island , like a Greek island , but with one area that's crazy , a bit like you know anywhere , like you know Balaraki , or or you know Albafera , and you know there's always a bit where you put all the crazies . But then there's also the beautiful bits and the magical bits and the spiritual bits . And Habitha's got it in spades because of Es Vedran , because of its history , its magical history . So this year I was put in touch with this amazing place called Word of Mouth Cafe in Santa Elaria , which is over to Beach Bar Cafe , and so they are offering us a date that's our , it's our launch date for the season , which is is the 29th of may . So thursday the 29th , which is exactly my eighth year soberversary well , it's gonna be a big one it's gonna be a big one .

Speaker 2 36:55

Let's make may of the 29th , so we've got that . So so the whole plan is we , as we go out for a long weekend each time the last weekend of every month , that's the thing we're doing five weekends , um that , the idea was to make the most of it . So if we're there , let's try and do a pop-up on different parts of the island . So we've got , on the Thursday , we're at Word of Mouth Radio Cafe with our DJs , with Karen , with her jewellery , with our amazing functional drinks Obviously , I've got a whole list of drinks that we're going to be able to talk about . And then on the Friday , we're in talks we're just finalising , but we have a venue , possibly which we're just about to finalize , which is hopefully a beautiful hotel , boutique hotel , down in the south , in Salinas , which is they call Salinas . It's where the salt they've got a big kind of like salt mine there . Ibiza salt is amazing , so that's to be confirmed .

Speaker 2 37:57

And if that doesn't quite happen , we'll do a little bit of pop-up .

Speaker 2 38:01

We'll do a pop-up or something , because pop-ups are great , because in Ibiza everyone's busy , everyone's doing stuff and people are out there .

Speaker 2 38:08

So if you do a pop-up , people are very last minute , oh yeah , okay , I can make that and you can get 30 or 40 people to a pop-up and it's a vibe , you know , and that's what we did , that's what we did two weeks ago in San Juan of this beautiful villa . So there will be a date , on the Friday there'll be something , and then on the Saturday it's our residency at Aperture , which is in San Antonio . So , basically , you know , if you're out in Ibiza that weekend , the last weekend of May 29th to the 31st , there'll be three opportunities to experience the sober sound system on different parts of the island , because you know a lot of people when they're up in the east or the north , they don't want to go to San Antonio . So we're giving that offering and a chance to try the liquids , new sponsors , new liquids which we're super , super excited , which we're going to be revealing soon and , yeah , I've

Drinks & sponsors at SSS

Speaker 2 38:58

got some of the liquids here that we're going to be sharing .

Speaker 1 39:01

So , yeah , yeah , tell me about some of the drinks . And you've mentioned Zeno . You've mentioned Liars .

Speaker 2 39:07

What else can people ?

Speaker 1 39:08

enjoy while they're shaking a leg .

Speaker 2 39:11

So there will be , I think there will be some Bolay as well on offer there will be , which is obviously . There'll be some Bolet as well on offer there will be , which is obviously beautiful . Alcohol-free sparkling wine , double fermented . There will be some Three Spirit , particularly Social and Leibner . So we love that there will be some Pathfinder , which I know you've got behind you .

Speaker 2 39:37

I think one of the key ingredients to making all these drinks so amazing and it cannot be underestimated and we are directly supplied by them is all the bitter . So all the bitter . I mean these founders , look at the awards there . They have a lot of free awards . These bitters are , to me , the biggest game-changer . If you said to me what's the biggest game-changing moment or drink in the alcohol-free space in the last five years , I would say all the bitter , alcohol-free bitters , because the flavour that they create , the viscosity , the texturing without alcohol is I mean you know Ian and Carly , they're in Chico , california . They were two of the best sommeliers in the world . They were at the french laundry . I mean the pedigree , the pedigree of of all the bitter , and it's not me just blowing smoke where the sun doesn't shine . This is literally , um , you know , because it allows you to make incredibly beautiful , crafted , complex , visionary , divine cocktails that taste that , that do not disappoint that actually surpass the alcohol versions because you know , in terms of

Speaker 2 40:50

flavour , and so to be able to have them as a sponsor and to be able to have their liquids in Ibiza is amazing , so that's really huge . I big up them and then new liquids , like the amazing Newt . Now I'm super excited to be sharing Newt with you and with them . So that's their classic gmt . These are newt tropics , these , these are mood enhancing . Okay , this is their negroni spritz , which is absolutely like . I'm not a big fan of rtds on the whole , okay , but these absolutely deliver , both in flavor and in uh and in uh like buzz like .

Speaker 2 41:28

It's a really nice buzz . It's not sugar buzz , it's a nootropic buzz , and this is their ginger mule . But they've also got a range of spirits like nootropic spirits , like spiced apple and watermelon , like whiskeys , and so that they they've just kind of launched in australia and they're going to be coming to the uk in may and they're going to be with us in ibiza and that's super exciting . Um , and then obviously , things like mother root as well . That's a limited edition bottle love , mother , love , mother root . I'd love to be taking this , but I can't , sadly , because it's no more .

Speaker 2 42:03

Oh yeah that's the muffin bird , yeah , I've still got a case of it and I I like , oh bless anyway . So those are the kind of liquids you know , but I'm really to me . The thing is , I really enjoy the functional space . I think , uh , you know censure , there'll be some censure as well , red and black , um , and the thing is with cordis . The way that cordis

Cordus: Made with crystals

Speaker 2 42:26

fits in is an amplifier energetically because it's made with crystals and rakia . But one of the crystals I use here , which is this , is a lemurian seed crystal , beautiful , very beautiful , very powerful . So it's using , it's used to charge the high frequency energy in the liquid . And actually cordis is actually , when I launch , it is actually going to be what I call an intentional liquid , not a functional liquid okay so it's .

Speaker 2 42:52

It's like it's taking functional but then going one step further . It's intentional because I think when people , when people are going out and when they're drinking if you take a moment , a bit like with cacao , you know , this is a kind of like bit , like alcohol-free cacao in a way it's kind of like that in terms of energy .

Speaker 2 43:11

It's like what ? What's my intention when I'm drinking it ? Do I want it to amplify the drink ? Do I want to feel a certain way ? And by actually putting your intention into the drink and doing a little , a little ceremonial moment with it , because drinking is ritual , drinking is social , is ceremony , but actually being mindful , like taking that mindfulness to the one next step where I'm actually going to be mindful and intentional with my drink and then I'm going to embody my intention . So I literally put my hand over the drink , I put my intention into it . Tonight I want to have a night full of epiphanies and connection and genuine connection and , you know , just a wonderful evening with no issues , or it might be bigger . I want to . You know , I'm going to sit down and do the best business plan ever , but when you drink it you embody your , your intention and your vision . So , and actually because there's a woman I recommend everyone to look up , her name is veda austin . Have you heard of veda austin ? I have not . Okay , the power of water and that water holds memory .

Speaker 2 44:23

So the point is that we are 80 water water 90 , 85% water and water holds a frequency and through that , especially through energy , healing and reiki , or our intention , we can heal ourselves , we can raise our vibration and we can also embody what our intention is . And it's scientific , it's not just woo , it's not just . It's not just woo , it's not just woo-woo , it's not just woo . So look up Vader Austin and you can see the science behind it , and then you can understand why making this liquid is so important to me and my journey because it's intentional and it's a frequency . So we're all energy , amazing .

Speaker 1 45:00

And for those who would like to join you at Sober Sound System and maybe try some amazing quarters , some of the other drinks that you've mentioned ,

Finding Alex & The Sober Sound System

Speaker 1 45:08

system and maybe try some amazing quarters , some of the other drinks that you've mentioned , uh , no matter which part of the the island they're going to , uh , give us some of the , the dates and give us the places that they can go to find out more about it , because we need to get people uh buying some tickets and jumping on a plane to go and and party with you exactly exactly so .

Speaker 2 45:24

So basically the the dates um we 29th of may , um thursday , the the 29th of May is season launch and my 8th year anniversary and that will be at Word of Mouth Cafe in Santa Laura , 1 to 6 pm . We are looking at a venue , all being well , called La Pandilla , in Salinas for the 30th daytime , in Salinas for the 30th daytime and then 5-10pm on Saturday , the 31st , in San Antonio at Aperture , aperture Roof Terrace . That's a beautiful hotel , so that's the opening weekend and we will repeat that the last weekend of every month . So in June , end of June , same weekend , and last weekend , july , august , september . So there will be five opportunities to come out .

Speaker 2 46:12

So you can plan , you can plan and you can always DM me if you need any advice on where to stay to do it on a budget . It doesn't have to be that everyone thinks , oh , ibiza has to be expensive . You can literally get a jet to or an easy jet holiday for a long weekend for like 500 quid . That's literally accommodation , flight and a large bag . So it's totally doable . People are like , oh , it's so expensive . And there are lovely little local restaurants and places . There's a place called the Golden Buddha we go to , which is Sunset in San Antonio . It's really not . You know , if you want to go and go to high and get a table and drop loads of money , that's fine , but there is a way to do it on a budget . So if you want to find out , you can go to at Sober Sommelier on Instagram or at Sober Sound System Ibiza on Instagram .

Speaker 2 47:04

My link tree on Instagram will have all the links , and soon our websites will be updated as well . So SoberSemillioncouk , or at SoberSoundSystemcom .

Speaker 1 47:16

Amazing , amazing . I was on your link tree earlier on . You've got links to everything that you can't miss it , so I will put a link to that in the show notes for people they can go and find all of the stuff we've spoken about , whether it's obviously sober sound system , uh , the work that you're doing , uh with your uh , your reiki work and your spirituality , because you've got your website there as well um , so I'll make sure that people can find you , uh and get on a plane . You know we all we all need a break . We're all working hard .

Speaker 1 47:43

It's been a stressful time and and if you're looking for something different to do that can support the lifestyle that you want to lead the way . You want to drink , whether you're with a friend or another half , and they might still imbibe , but you don't want to . It sounds like this is a perfect place for all sorts of drinking types to come together and respect the fact that this is a sober led space , but everyone is welcome to come and have a great time . So I think what you're doing is fantastic . My hats are off to you and the team , because it's not just about going and , you know , getting wild . It seems like you've really put some thought and some effort into making this a more holistic experience for people . It sounds phenomenal .

Speaker 1 48:23

Thank you very much , alex , for sharing that with us . Not at all , it's a pleasure . It's time for my very last question , which I ask everybody who comes on the podcast and you shouldn't have any issues with this one , although you perhaps will have

The BBQ-Q

Speaker 1 48:33

several options that you want to choose from . So I normally say to people imagine it's a sunny day , but the weather is warming up nicely and barbecue season is shortly upon us . So you and your lovely wife or your friends are off to a barbecue and you're taking a couple of drinks along with you to enjoy , um , other than uh , obviously , quarters , which you're working on at the moment . What do you like to enjoy in the low , no light space ? Uh , for a lovely sunny barbecue day so a lovely sunny barbecue day .

Speaker 2 49:05

Um , I think I would . I tell you what I would take some things like dalston . I love like dalston's like , because they're low calorie , their sodas are amazing , so that's quite good . And I do mix them with alcohol , free spirits , so dalston's is amazing . Um , obviously I would take one of the three spirit range , probably probably the Leibniz , just to get a bit of a buzz going on , okay , and I'd put that into something . I might make a spritz with it using the Pathfinder I love the Pathfinder , I love making spritzes with Pathfinder . And then I would use obviously some of the Newt and then all the bitter . So that gives me options . And also , you know , xeno Rosé I love Zina Rosé , that's really good . And things like , you know , the functional drinks from the Blurred Vines , from Free Spirit . So I mean when I think is I've got two like trolleys , like cooler trolleys , one from Fortnum Mason's and one my own , and I'll probably bring everything , fill them up . So my barbecue I'm like you know , I'll just set up a bar at one end and just kind of make hay .

Speaker 1 50:16

I can see you doing that . I can see you go to somebody else's barbecue and say , listen , listen , I've got the drinks covered . Yes , yeah .

Speaker 2 50:24

And also , you know , I love the Bole . Sparkling the Rose is incredible . So there's so many good drinks . Now it's so exciting , and you're right , when I go to weddings . I've got a few weddings this summer my stepson's getting married in Exxon and I've got another friend who's in the cricket club . I'm at play and I will take my own . You know , right here , look my own Fortnum and Mason F&M and I will just set up at one end of the bar and I'll just say to the staff is it okay if I just set up my bar here and literally by the end of the event I've got a little crowd and I'm making drinks and everyone's like , oh you know , and they're like oh , it tastes so good and it's just so .

Speaker 2 51:07

so , yeah , it's kind of I take BYO to the next level .

Speaker 1 51:11

You certainly do . You certainly do . Everyone should bring their own Alex Norwood Hill with them to an event and just have you set up .

Speaker 2 51:18

Available , your personal sober sommelier .

Speaker 1 51:22

Alex , it has been a pleasure talking to you . It's been very eye-opening . I think you know your , your approach , your perspective , the way you come at things is is is fresh , it's different , it's it invites people into your space and I think that's really important , because everybody in this space is is welcome to drink at our table , and we should make them all feel like this is a possibility for everybody . So well done on what you're doing . I'm so excited for your second season in ibiza . Uh , and I need to get my uh , I need to get my arse in gear and get on a plane come and see you .

Speaker 2 51:55

You do . You do definitely time to book that flight and thank you . Thank you so much for having me and thank you for all you do , because you're you're a star and we , we , yeah , we couldn't do without you .

Speaker 1 52:05

So thanks so much you're very welcome , take care .