The big Two O kicks in nautical stylee. All aboard
Sancho Panza return with one of their first class boat party’s as part of there 20th anniversary celebrations…welcome Matt Brown and Jimmy K Tel to DMCWORLD Magazine…
Sancho Panza, strange name, did you start with a philosophy, or did it come form the character in the Don Quixote novel?
“Sancho Panza is from Don Quixote, we liked saying it and we liked the character. He’s a bit like a 15th century version of Terry from Minder.”
You began Sancho Panza in a basement in 1992. What was the first night like and did you think 20 years later you would still be hosting club storming nights?
“The first night we organised a New Years Eve party, basically to get all our friends together, and as an outlet for the creative people we knew. We packed a basement to dangerous levels and had a legendary night. We certainly had no idea it was going to last this long but we still enjoy it, so long may it continue.”
You have toured and played the festival circuit including Glastonbury, Sonar, Glade, Big Chill and Bestival what’s been the best Sancho Panza festival experience?
“We love festivals, they’ve all been good in their own way. Glade is perhaps a stand out as we had our own tent/arena to produce, we were given a completely free hand to do what we wanted, so we did everything from dressing to stage building, booking DJs and programming the music for 3 days, organising our sound, lighting and visuals. We brought Funktion-One into the Glade, they went on to putting sound into every arena!”
Jim/Matt, you have been flying the flag for Sancho Panza for a 20 years. What a milestone to have reached. How have you managed your keep your relationship/DJ’ing partnership strong for so long?
“We’ve been best mates since school days, 20 years is a long time in any partnership, it hasn’t all been plane sailing, we’ve learn’t over the years to have a mutual respect for each other’s skills.”
You are renowned for hosting the Funktion One sound system at the UK’s largest street party ‘The Notting Hill Carnival’ for two decades – 20 years of hedonistic parting! From a promoters point of view, what have been the biggest changes you have experienced over that time? And any sign of a knighthood?
“Blimey how long have you got?! There have been improvements and there have been things that make it more of a challenge. It’s a unique event in terms of production, it’s basically bonkers but organised. Sir Sancho Panza has a nice ring to it, but that’s not what we’re here for.”
Is there a stand out night that lives in Sancho Panza folk law?
“Quite a few of our early warehouse parties, still give me goosebumps when we think about them! Our boat parties have been consistently good over the years, the vibe and energy that we manage to get on them still amazes me!
The 20th anniversary boat party we did in May is a stand out night… but we do have a final boat party of the year on Saturday 19th October, and it’s a full moon so let’s see what happens…”
What’s the best venue in London, been to – or promoted?
“We had a residency at the AKA (The End) for over 6 years, which was a brilliant experience. We got to work with loads of great DJs. We think The End was truly the first great underground club in London, run by an amazing bunch of people, it had a real family vibe about it, we miss it loads…”
Stuff goes wrong sometimes, what’s been the strangest/funniest ‘I can’t believe that just happened’ experience during one of your parties?
“We did an after party in a venue that’s normally used as a private members club for people who like dressing up and whipping each other, amongst other things, we turned up and there was still quite a few club members hanging out, it became the beautiful union of 2 different worlds.”
If there was a twenty years of Sancho Panza CD, what would be the top ten songs that would sum up the vibe.
Alison Limerick – Where Love Lives
River Ocean – Love and Happiness
Roach Motel – Movin’ On
Gorillaz – Dare DFA remix
Inland Knights and Da Sunlounge – Little Bit More
Liberty City – If You Really Love Someone
Hey Hey – Dennis Ferrer
Dream Rabbit – Frogsnatcher
Jestofunk – Say it Again Remix
Soft Rocks – Talking Jungle (Justin Vandervolgen Remix)
You championed new talent like ‘Asadinho’, ‘PBR Streetgang’, ‘Debukas’ and established DJs like ‘Freddy Love’, ‘Stuart Patterson’, ‘Leftside Wobble’ and the legendary ‘Femi Fem’. How do you go about selecting the right people for your nights?
“We like ‘em, we call ‘em, if they’re available, we book ‘em! We always try and mix things up with the Sancho family favourites, as well as some bookings who our crowd may not have heard of before.”
What do you think are some of the key factors in Sancho Panza?
“We’ve always said ‘without you there is no party’. We’ve always attracted a good crowd, like-minded people with a discerning taste in music, who trust us…it’s a winning formula.”
You remain consistent and selective in your choice of talent bookings when it comes to guest DJs, how much pressure is there on you when you experiment and try new people?
“It’s good to try and work with new people, we are very selective and tend to work with people we’ve got to know along the way, I think our crowd generally trust us with the music, in the early days, when we were putting on 3-4 warehouse parties a year, we didn’t even put the DJs names on the flyer! One of our mantras is, ‘We only work with idiots once!’ haha…”
Have you ever considered an Ibiza residency?
“YES! Someone please book us…you won’t be disappointed.”
Do you still play vinyl?
“Yes it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, saying that we’ve introduced CDs into the equation now, probably just as they are about to become yesterday’s chip paper. Vinyl still sounds way better than anything else out there…”
Apart from promos, how do you source new music?
“Friends, family and the internet…”
What would you say are your strongest qualities as promoters?
“Attention to detail, we really do care about what we do…”
Was there a club that inspired you? And what have been some of your favourite clubs to hang out at over the years?
“The End obviously, Phil Dirtbox’s warehouse after parties from the 90s conjure up some great memories and the original Plastic People on Oxford Street.”
Who have been the new stars this year, and who especially made an impact?
“PBR Streetgang are on fire and the new Debukas album is brilliant.”
Your Notting Hill Carnival after party ‘Flyover Fanfare’ sold out with ‘PBR Streetgang’ and ‘Psychemagik’ at The Supper Club plus you had a secret guest ‘Laurent Garnier’ on the day. This must have been up there with one of your best carnivals and after parties?
“Yes it was a special year for us, a huge milestone reached, we’ve been trying to get Laurent over to play Notting Hill Carnival for over 10 years! Just goes to show good things come to those who wait…(or have incredible patience).”
Your skippering another one of your famous boat parties. What can we expect from this trip down the Thames?
“A great sound system, great DJs playing great music, and a vibe and energy you rarely get in clubs these days…”
What is next for Sancho Panza?
“The next step forward will probably be a step back in some ways, more warehouse parties and perhaps a festival, there’s a few things on the hob. Watch this space, join us on facebook or sign up to our website.”
And finally, not many people know this, but Sancho Panza is secretly brilliant at…
“Baking and Tai Chi!”
All aboard the good ship “Fullness” celebrating 20 years with skippers Jimmy K Tel and Matt Brown (Sancho Panza) along with their deck captains Asadinho (Rvs Music) and Le Jorge (Loving Deep) playing the best house and disco up and down the Thames on their final voyage on Saturday 19th October.
Tickets can be purchased from Skiddle and Ticketweb.
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/83323
http://www.sanchopanza.org/
