Rhythmatic 2011 – A chat with Kiri & Kostas Poulos – by ibiza voice

Double Trouble brothers Kiri and Kostas Poulos are deep into their preparations for 2011 for their impressive Rhythmatic night. 2010 was a resounding success for the burgeoning night, taking in appearances from the likes of Matthias Tanzmann, Marco Carola and Davide Squillace. Always paying real attention to detail with their events, the Greek brothers have been looking for a way to raise the bar even more in the next twelve months and beyond. Kicking off their 2011 campaign, the boys will be taking on a Shoreditch warehouse space on Saturday February 12th to deliver an extra special night of live performances. All three headliners will be playing live, offering London’s clubbers the unique chance to catch Guillaume & The Couto Dumont, Damian Schwartz and Lemos all playing live on the same night. Of course, the support will be supplied by charismatic Rhythmatic residents, Stathis Lazarides and Wesley Razzy.

I Voice caught up with the promoters to find out a little bit more about their future plans and how they see themselves fitting in to a dance culture that is highly saturated in London.

How exactly are you taking your Rhythmatic concept in a new direction this year apart from the artists on the opening party playing live?
Kiri - Rhythmatic is not just about the headliners we book or the way we programme our events, we give a lot of attention to our production, decoration and presentation, whilst still maintaining the warehouse/underground feel. We have also teamed up with leading professional sound supplier Flare Audio, to provide us with the unbelievable quality of the Stealth Array system. Everybody that attended the 3rd anniversary will definitely remember the power and clarity of the PA…..Overall, we try very hard to be on the forefront of technology when it comes down to sound, lighting, visuals, and live shows.

Kostas - bringing all this together as one this year, we believe is going to be a very rewarding experience for everyone who comes to our shows.

Do you think that Rhythmatic does actually stand out from other nights? It seems most parties use the same few ‘secret warehouse venues.’ Will you actually be doing anything different?
Kostas - The competition is massive and when we started 3 years ago, there were a lot of promoters and clubs, but throughout the years a lot of these nights and clubs have died out. The reason why we have managed to survive is because we are always pushing the boundaries and that’s why we have managed to stand out from a lot of rival nights. Last year we were the first people to bring together Matthias Tanzmann and Davide Squillace playing a 4 hour set B2B, and we had Marco Carola playing 4 hours set. You have to always keep trying new things, that’s one of the keys to success and of course to have a good team is always very, very important!!

Kiri – What we do that other night/warehouse parties don’t is invest hugely in production. The Label and club Showcases we have confirmed in association with Rhythmatic, Moon Harbour, Cavo Paradiso, Hideout, Weplayminimal and of course the first ever Live showcase, which is live on the 12th Feb, are our pride and joy.

Why did you want the artists to perform live rather than DJ? What is so special about a live show?
Kiri – We are always trying different approaches to keep our guests entertained and on the dance floor. You give the freedom to the artists to perform a very personal set and bring that to an underground audience, and so having all acts performing live, is an exciting thing to experience. Personally I don’t mind if the DJs play live or a DJ set, the result is what is important and to us the music is what matters most. When you have the dance floor buzzing right up the last track of the night, then you know you have done something right.

Kostas - I love the way they perform as it brings you closer to the elements and the sounds coming out of the speakers, live performance can manipulate sounds, put in new sounds and elements and it keeps you on a different level than someone who plays a DJ set – no offence hahahaha,

In what way was Rhythmatic so successful in 2010?
Kiri & Kostas - I guess the fact that after spending 2 years in clubs we decided to move out from our regular spots and comfort zone to do something that we would have never dreamed of a year ago, organising big warehouse productions and being successful when we didn’t really have any experience in that side of the business. Hosting the first ever 4 hours B2B set with Matthias Tanzmann & Davide Squillace in the UK, having Marco Carola on our 3rd Bday in our final Warehouse for 2010 and of course our summer Greek adventure with Carl Cox, was such a great achievement for us. And then after all that hard work having MixMag quoting us as “one of the most exciting underground raves, Nov 2010″ and Marco Carola praising our night and listing us as being one of his best gigs for 2010 alongside Amnesia, is a very happy, exciting and rewarding thing for us. Special praise has to go to our long serving residents Wesley Razzy, who has brought some new fresh sound that Rhythmatic is always looking for, and Stathis Lazarides, with his impressive and extensive knowledge of music and the industry as a whole, who has been so influential shaping and forming the sound of Rhythmatic.

Which was your favourite party last year?
Kiri - Definitely our 3rd Anniversary Party with Marco Carola. He was a DJ that I had always wanted to see playing for us, and so having him on the decks doing a 4 hour set, has to be the highlight of our career so far. As someone said of the night, ‘one freezing amazing night, over 1000 people stayed until the early hours hearing Marco thumping our Warehouse Party for 4 hours’ and seeing Stathis after an impressive warm up set dancing in front of Marco Carola with a huge Glitter Ball on his arms.. Moments like these are priceless

Kostas – Ohhhh memories, memories, our first warehouse Party where we hosted Matthias Tazmann B2B Davide Squillace playing for Rhythmatic annual collaboration with Cavo Paradiso World Tour for 4 hours, and having the whole warehouse staying there until the very last second.

How would you describe your booking / programming policy?
Kiri & Kostas – Well we don’t have a policy as such; we choose DJs based on the quality of the music they play and whether we feel that they represent our brand Rhythmatic

Why have you chosen London to throw your parties?
Kostas – Good question, London is where all it happens, it’s like Pandora’s box, there is always something to surprise you… it’s a long story, we were separated for a few years, and one day I decided to make a move and visit my brother in Newcastle. We had a few problems with our last business and I was missing my brother, so I asked Kiri what he thinks about moving to the big smoke? And he said let’s do it. Well it wasn’t very easy at the beginning, we found it very hard, leaving everything behind and moving to a big city where we knew nobody, but with our determination and commitment, we started gradually to find our feet… we still do but now it feels like home, and hosting our events in London is a result of that.

Kiri – But we are not limiting the brand to the UK, watch this space for our summer 2011 Mediterranean adventures ; )

Words by Tom Jones

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