Hi David! When we had our last big chat a year ago (Sankeys 2013 Season Preview), we were looking ahead at the Sankeys Ibiza 2013 season. We already reviewed Ibiza 2013 from a Spotlight point of view a few months ago (2013 Season Review), but let's start with hearing your thoughts on the Sankeys summer 2013...
"Last summer was a massive success for us Stivi. We were the fastest growing club on the island and we were 120% up compared to the year before. When we prepared the season, some industry people said I was insane to put a program together that was so similar musically. But if you think back to the era when Danny Whittle used to program Pacha, its musical direction was also pretty similar in itself. Yeah OK, some said it was always the same, but you can't deny it worked a treat. People just knew what to expect when they went to Pacha and they loved it for this. And it was the same in Sankeys last year. Even though there were some musical distinctions between the nights, the punters always got that Sankeys experience."
"Not every night worked perfectly well, but often it was not in our hands. Hypercolour on Mondays was our most difficult night, but it wasn't because of the brand or the DJ who played. Sadly it was badly run and not promoted correctly from an external promoter."
Don't you think it was also the most challenging night because of going up against Circoloco at DC10?
"Circoloco is Circoloco of course, and yes we could simply say it was because of this. But to be honest, we're in Ibiza and there is no easy night on the island! So I definitely think Hypercolour could have done better if the team behind it did their job right. The shows we had with MK and Duke Dumont at Sankeys on the Mondays worked a treat."
"Coming back though to the general feeling I had and the result we achieved; we proved our peers wrong and showed we can run the club without any cancellations, have a full week program during the whole summer and we've definitely grown considerably in 2013."
What were the highlights for you last year then?
"Our opening party was magnificent. It was the first time we've ever sold out the club and the vibe was incredible. The VIVa night they recorded Darius Syrossian's and Steve Lawler's Essential Mix was obviously a biggie. Then Loco Dice playing unannounced and the FUSE closing party were both pretty special moments too."
Sankeys finally brings the legendary Tribal Sessions to the island with a quality opening line up.
There were a lot of rumours about around Diynamic and other new nights. For now, we know the dates of your opening parties and we know Tribal Sessions will be at Sankeys, but let's have a look at the full Sankeys 2014 week now. You've told me in advance not the whole program is set in stone yet, so let's hear what you can disclose at present.
"OK. to start with, Monday nights are still TBC. We'll of course let everyone know once that night is confirmed, but we might surprise quite some people! FUSE should be back for another full season and will move to Tuesdays which is a much better night for them."
"Then I'm very excited for both Wednesdays and Thursdays. We will bring finally the legendary Sankeys Manchester Tribal Sessions to the Wednesday nights. It will be an extremely eclectic night and a lot of people will be surprised with what we're going to present artist wise as we have booked over 70 different artistes from across the globe, there will be quite a few names who haven't played on the island in a long time. It's also gonna be a PROPER session as it's always gonna be a 12 hours party from 6pm to 6am of house and techno. You know, the best parties are always the long ones, when there's a story and some drama to the party, so it's going to be a very interesting night this summer I think. Tribal Sessions will be the feathers & facepaint revolution on the island!"
The LAB going off. You can expect plenty of this over the 2014 season... and this isn't even the main room!
"On the other hand we've just signed Amine Edge & Dance for a full summer residency. They'll do their own night CUFF on Thursday nights. They're one of the hottest acts at the moment and when they came to Sankeys Manchester, the show was sold out in record time. We're really glad to have them at Sankeys. Of course there were also other venues on the island bidding for them but they really wanted to be at Sankeys."
"Flying Circus is confirmed for Fridays now, back from 2013. Saturdays won't be Carnival anymore. Carnival was the Sankeys in house night, but now we will obviously completely focused on our beloved Tribal Sessions which in our eyes is the soul of Sankeys. London Magna Carta, who threw two amazing sell out parties last summer, will be doing 17 Saturdays this summer and replacing Carnival."
"The Sankeys week ends like last year, with the biggest night of the past season - VIVa Warriors which we are really excited about as Steve Lawler is on real form right now. We love Viva."
Alright. Curious to see Mondays confirmed soon too. Now, last year, most of your residencies only started in late June or even in July. Are you gonna stick to that formula?
"No, this year Sankeys gets going properly earlier. Most of our nights will already start right at the start of the summer. Sankeys is celebrating 20 years of existence and we'll celebrate it with having 20 weeks of Tribal Sessions for example. Also a lot of our other nights will have a long season, VIVa for example."
What plans do you have for the club? Any major changes you're going to get done this summer?
"I'd say there will be two main changes probably. We're going to change Spektrum so it's going to look and feel more like Spektrum in Sankeys Manchester. The second thing is, we're currently in talks with Pioneer to have our sound system completely redone for this season, hopefully this will come along! The collaboration with Pioneer then might even go next level for all Sankeys venues worldwide. Apart from that, we'll have some new Graffitis and also few more LEDs etc, just a bit more fine tuning for Sankeys Ibiza really."
Well I guess we'll see it all on the opening night then! Let's chat about Sankeys international now. Manchester is open again, but will it stay open all year around?
"Yeah I think everyone is glad it's back and things are going really well in Manchester. It won't be open in the summer, but we'll be back from September onwards."
Sankeys New York is up and running now - what's your verdict with it so far?
"Well, like any new club in New York, it needs time, but so far I'm happy. It took us three years until we finally could open the club, so we might as well be a bit patient now!"
What's the sketch with Sankeys London then? The first night is happening on 15th March, but what's the concept behind it?
"Sankeys London will be a monthly pop-up club in changing venues. For the first night we sold 3000 tickets in 5 days without any line up announcements, this just shows where our brand is now. Looking forward to Saturday as I can assure you it's going to be great party."
Impressive first lineup at Sankeys monthly pop-up in London, with familiar faces drawn from across the Sankeys international network of clubs to play the party. This starts early with a full outdoor terrace, so don't be late.
And then you've also got plans to open Sankeys in Malta this summer...how did that come along?
"'The Element', a Maltese DJ and friend of mine, approached me with the idea and we're now currently looking at venues. Sankeys Malta is coming!"
So, we've got Sankeys in Manchester, Ibiza, New York, London and Malta. What does the future hold?
"Currently we've got about 15 offers to open up other Sankeys... Toronto, Miami, Croatia, Tokyo, Mexico, Paris, Moscow, Brazil etc. But we wanna take our time expanding. We could have had Miami ready for the Winter Music Conference but it didn't feel right. We don't want to rush things."
It certainly looks like we'll see more Sankeys around the globe soon though! Last question David, what's your goal for Ibiza 2014?
"You see, last year Sankeys became a real contender on the island. This year, we don't just want to be a contender, but rather win the World Cup. Our aim is to be the best club on the island - simple as that."
