Throughout Sankeys debut in the 2011 season it would be fair to say that Carnival, along with Monza, were the mainstays of the club, pulling it through what proved to be a testing time for a brand working hard to gain a foothold on the island. In this interview with David Vincent, the guy behind the hugely successful Sankeys clubs, we learn just how tough life can be when setting up a new club in a new environment, although it's particularly surprising seeing just how close everything came to falling apart considering David's success with Sankeys back in Manchester, UK.
It's testament to the work ethic and commitment of David and his team that Sankey's is even back in 2012, but it's clear from his refreshingly open and honest interview that this season will see something of a revolution in the small-to-medium sized underground club scene. David has ensured that they have taken time with the preparation, the club is ready, and - judging from the lineup's we have already - the music program looks fantastic.
It could be argued that on account Sankey's... shortcomings... last year, that some less 'in the know' people won't be expecting big things this time round. And that is something the club can feed off - they can completely blow everyone away and be the most pleasant surprise of the season. Ultimately, the club is in a state of transition, and each year it is back in Ibiza is another year of growth and lessons learnt for the next, and after last seasons almost trial run, you can be sure things will be better. Much much better.
As David says, “Last year wasn’t really a true representation of what we are about. I feel like this year we are reborn. It’s our second coming.” If anyone deserves a second chance it's David and Sankeys. Roll on the openings...
Was last summer a means to test the water in Ibiza then do you think?
Inevitably whenever you start anything from scratch, you’re likely to come against some challenges. We announced everything two weeks before opening, so everything was rushed. That culminated in having a very hard season and making every mistake possible, but we survived to tell the tale and re-grouped in the winter, and have come up with a concept more inline with what you expect from Sankeys. As they say failure leads to success!
So… do you feel like Sankeys has found its place for this season now?
For sure. We’re getting loads of amazing feedback with the style of lineups we’ve put together. We’re creating parties that are not rushed, but have been thought out strongly for the last 6 months. The whole vibe and theme is really positive, I’m very excited about this season. Already we’ve sold more tickets now than we’ve sold for the whole of last season! Last year because of the rushed product we had we were literally a free party for most of the season.
Was there much to have learnt from your debut season, although I know you have Sankeys back in the UK, it’s all a bit different here isn’t it…
Of course. Unfortunately there’s no handbook on how to run a club in Ibiza. The biggest difference is that you’re condensing one year’s worth of programming into four months. Running a club in England is totally different, but it also gears us with invaluable experience that we take to the White Isle. Musically speaking, things change so rapidly in clubland we’re constantly reinventing our format and tweaking various things with Sankeys in Manchester to ensure we’re always dishing up something fresh and new. We take this mindset to Ibiza.
There is also another train of thought that suggests because we are a smaller club, we have the freedom to be more musically edgy and forward thinking and push boundaries the other bigger clubs cannot do as they need to book bigger artists to pack there club out. As a smaller club, it’s important for us to beconstantly thinking outside the box, especially as music is changing at such a fast rate. Running a weekly club in Manchester keep us in tune with exactly what is going on 12 months a year, which in turn ensures we present the most cutting-edge music talent. Because the bigger clubs in Ibiza only run five months a year, it can be easy for them to fall into the trap of thinking what was relevant last year, is relevant now.
I guess taking on some of the most respected clubs and events in the world in Ibiza must be difficult with all the huge competition on your doorstep. Have you found it hard to penetrate the Ibiza clubbing scene?
Just to be clear - we’re not challenging any clubs or having wars. I hate the idea of ‘taking on’ or taking something away from all these other great clubs– we’re not doing that. We want to bring a new energy to the island. Hopefully the type of DJs we are putting on are new who have never played there before. They might build a career there and go onto play the big clubs. Our intention is to bring a new energy and a new wave or different type of clubber to the island for everyone else to benefit from.
Yes it was really hard to penetrate it last summer for us. We didn’t have time to program what we were doing. But this time we’ve had a lot of time to plan the right type of concept that reflects the club and can penetrate the Ibiza scene. There’s a lot of DJs and artists who are literately phoning us wanting to join the Sankeys revolution in Ibiza. Feedback and ticket sales definitely reflect this. Last year was really hard – a big mountain to climb which was so frustrating for me. We just didn’t have the right tools to do what we set out to achieve, but this year is totally different. It’s a bit like being a fantastic artist without being able to use the right paintbrush.
When you made the move last year did you take yourself out of your comfort zone do you think?
Completely. Last season we never expected that 70-80 per cent would be frees just to get people in. It was really tough. I had an investor drop out at the last minute worth one million euros and had to max out all my credit cards and borrow money from people just to get by. I was living on pot noodles for a while, which is hardly what you’d expect from a nightclub boss in Ibiza! Haha!
It was so bad that each week, I needed to scrape the pennies together just to get enough money to print posters to go around the island. Some weeks we could not even afford any promotion and had to do it by word of mouth, but this added the magical side of the venue and made it “underground” by default and therefore cool to everyone. But as I say this was a fluke due to our lack of finance for promotion and not intended but it worked in our favour as people really had to look out to find out about us, which they felt we did on purpose, if they only knew…
Is that something you thrive on then, the whole doing something new and challenging yourself?
Absolutely, I thrive on it. But last year was beyond a challenge and the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The most important thing to me is surviving the challenge, picking yourself up, reflecting on the mistakes you’ve made and going forward and moving onto the next level.
Every week I had to think totally out of the box. I just knew we had to survive the first season, then the future would be bright in years to come. Everyone says it takes three years to make it in Ibiza, and we are well on our way to getting there. I could see by the end of the summer the islanders and workers loved what we are doing.
There loads of new and exciting events involved this season, what was it you were looking for when programming your schedule?
Something new and exciting. The beauty of Sankeys is that a lot of people kind of got what we were trying to do last year. Literally every week we’d have a new promoter coming to us offering us a different idea. Guys like Steve Lawler came to us because he loved what we were doing and wanted to be involved. The Diynamic night with Solomun is another beauty – I’ve got a great feeling about this too. Carnival’s line ups are getting ridiculous now, we are putting a policy together or hardly repeating any artists, there is so much amazing stuff being booked there and moving it to the Saturday I believe will become a good move for us as there is nothing going on in the evening on this day for this type of music. Also this year we’ve got Italian night Supalova with Joe T Vanelli on Friday, Baccanali on Thursday and Propaganda, which is an Indie night on Sunday.
You’ve plans to introduce a live element to the Sankeys crowd this year right? What can you tell us about that?
It’s more of an electronic live element. You have to be careful not to put live stuff on for the sake of it. They can be boring if you don’t have the right type of lights. We’re adding that element
to Saturday nights at Carnival. We’re also speaking to Hacienda about a legendary Manchester band making an appearance at the club, which will be massive, so watch this space!
Of course, we expected developments with the music policy this year, as any club would do in a state of progression and growth, but are there any new physical elements to
the club itself that people will see?
We’re going to paint it and re-tweek the soundsystem a little bit and add a bit of graffiti. We’re also looking at adding more air conditioning. It’ll be a nice organic growth.
We talk a lot about this Sankeys adventure being something new for you, but you’ve been in the industry for a long time, and you’ve some experience with the likes of Pacha. What happened there, presumably you took a lot from it?
Working at Pacha was probably one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. It has a real family vibe – some people have worked there for over 30 years. In terms of the club, owners and management it’s basically the Mona Lisa of nightclubs; it’s an artistic masterpiece. If there was ever any club I would have worked for if I did not set up my own nightclub (and I did not consider it) it would have been Pacha, all the people there were amazing.
You quite boldly stated that you ultimately intended there to be 7 Sankeys, like there are 7 wonders, around the world. Do you think that plan is still achievable?
It should be after the end of this year when we open in New York. After last season I was thinking that it’s definitely not achievable, but with the feedback and the momentum built up this season,
we’ve only got four to go!
Is that your actual ultimate goal? What have you set out to achieve here, both this season and in the long-term?
This season I’m looking for consistency. Sankeys last season was one long soft opening. The things that stood the test were Monza and Carnival, which both did the whole season. I think consistency
is the most important thing. If our attendances are better than last year, then that’s a massive step in the right direction. My long term goal in Ibiza is to create a club I originally set out to
do, but got stifled by a lack of funding; it may take 5 years to get there but by the end of it, but it’ll be an organic journey for everyone to witness. Sankeys Manchester took 12 years!
Cheers David, leave us with a little message from you and the Sankeys team for the season…
We’re anticipating a big season at Sankeys this summer. With the quality of talent on show and value for money offered (showcasing everyone from Basement Jaxx, Booka Shade, Solomun and Diplo to emerging talent like Julio Bashmore, Joy Orbison and Guti, among many others!), judging by the massive response already, I can’t see us needing to do any free wristbands this summer. There are still lots more exciting stuff to be announced, so watch this space!
