Tell us about the history of your club and what the first great memory you had from the amazing venue?
Luca – It’s been 11 years for us as Junk in Southampton. We’ve got a huge amount of amazing memories over the time and a hell of a lot of ups and downs… Whenever we’ve hosted brands we always have an amazing time so working with the likes of Watergate always goes down well. I’d say the first time Watergate came to Junk was pretty special we hosted M.A.N.D.Y. as headliners and they totally delivered! Was an amazing show… following on from that we hosted a 10 Years of Watergate warehouse party in London that was totally packed – Uli from Watergate rated it as the best show on the tour, we followed it up with another in Factory 7 in 2013 which was another amazing showcase! If you have time check out the videos on our youtube page.
Uli – It was – as you can imagine – the outstanding location and the view to the river that had the Watergate team immediately. At the time the area around Oberbaumbrücke in Kreuzberg was a totally no-go for the clubbing scene so it is satisfying to see we made the right decision. Also the moment when we had the LED ceiling installed and tried it for the very first time in action on a night. It was like a total win / loose gambling situation…will people like it or not…the loved it and from then on it was all about LED action upstairs.
In 2016 what can we expect?
Luca – You can expect more of the same from us. We try to offer something other clubs don’t, the opportunity to see amazing DJs in an intimate setting – coming up we have Jackmaster, Heidi, wAFF, Cristoph, Watergate hosting an album launch party, Ben Pearce and a few more surprises.
Uli – Loads of great nights of course. The team is fully motivated and we have only just refurnished the Water floor last year and made it more attractive and up to date. Sound has improved massively and we’re only waiting for summer to come to celebrate some sunrise madness…
Why go to Watergate/Junk Club in 2016? What does it have that other clubs in your area don’t have in your opinion?
It seems like these days people want a bigger and bigger experience and they lose sight of why the club scene is so special – it’s about the people at the party not being a person at the party. We have a really tight family of clubbers and everyone kind of knows each other so it’s a really great crowd. We don’t have too many people taking selfies / photos of the DJs people tend to just get loose and have a great time.
Uli – Watergate is not the new thing anymore of course. We’ve been here the last 13 years and will stay hopefully another while. I guess that’s also what makes us attractive. We’re by now a club standard in town. Stable and reliable, always good party and a carefully selected nice international crowd, plus great lineups.
What do you think is best about each other’s club?
Luca – I’d say for us it is the intimacy we offer… it’s totally unique to our club especially the fact you can walk all the way around our DJ booth and see the headliner from all angles… that definitely keeps them on their toes and usually means we get the best out of them. Even our residents feel the pressure but their really good crew of DJs so they always deliver!
Uli – Junk is simply a quality club, nice architecture and great sound, you don’t expect that when you go to a smaller place like Southampton and having once meet the people behind the club it’s clear. All our nice guys, heart in the right place, fully in for the music, simply good people I feel connected with…
Can we see you guys at any other venues or festivals in the summer?
Luca – We’ve already hosted a mainstage at Bugged Out Weekender this year but we’re also taking over the mainstage at Somerley Tea Party and we’ve got some serious club showcases for our brand ‘Not Your Thing’ around Europe and the UK most notably heading to Berlin to showcase at Watergate, a date Badaboum club in Paris and also in Fabric this March with Stephan Bodzin headlining.
Uli – Some festival shows are confirmed already but the biggest part is yet to come i guess. It’s only February and bookings are still in progress here and there… Currently I am working on the line-ups and concept for our yearly party during Sonar in Barcelona. Last year was amazing and so will be 2016…
Watergate x Junk takes places at Junk Club on March 13th – www.facebook.com/junkclubuk
