Funk D'Void: Keeping the Beaches Happy

Having resided in Barcelona since the precious days of the peseta, Lars Sandberg has witnessed the Catalan capital evolve into one of Europe’s prime party locations. Certainly, for one long June weekend each year, when the fiesta of advanced music and multimedia 'Sonar' takes over the art compound MACBA and exhibition centre FIRA (and every club, bar and beach chiringuito for that matter), Barcelona can claim host to one of the most desired and recognised electronic-based events on the global clubbing calender. However that still leaves plenty more rave weeks in the year to fill - an issue currently rattling between the ears of Senor Sandberg (aka Funk D’Void aka Francois Dubois... and also know as one of the key protagonists in the success of his original hometown’s seminal record imprint for well over the past decade - namely Glasgow’s Soma Records). He took a few moments from the Barca-based production studio he shares with upcoming Irish talents Chymera and Sian to let The Skinny deeper into the dance music ambassadorial role he has forged into as “a way of giving back” to his latin home...

“I’m currently rushed off my feet getting ready to open a club just up the coast, but still easily accessible from central Barcelona. It will be the city’s only specifically built outdoor club, some 2000sqm and open five days a week, Wednesday to Saturday [er? - ed]. A dark techno mausoleum,” he chuckles with potent intent. Alluding to its seaside access and one of his favourite touring destinations, the club will be named Kanna - Japanese for beach - and located towards the outer-limit of the tram line which opened for the ’92 Olympics (further up past the Forum, for the Primavera fans out there). And with Lars’ vast DJ/producer/label contact list, the potential for the summer venue, at this stage, is quite frightening, what with Barcelona’s excellent communications and close proximity to Ibiza. (Wee Skinny exclusive: notorious chaps Sven, Ricardo and Luciano will be appearing during Sonar).

The Funk D’Void (techno) and Francois Dubouis (deep house) split producing personality has, well, apart from giving his booking agent a pleasant ambiguity to solve, meant that his DJ touring schedule is as swamped as ever. Opening a brand new venue is no easy feat, either personally or with the law-makers and their recent attitudes to clubbing: “The local government have been in a panic for the past five years trying to ‘clean up’ what they perceive to be the anti-tourism blights of late night sound-systems, rogue skaters, stag party drunkards, pick-pocketing and prostitution,” he says. “They basically wrongly targeted bars with decks and stripped their DJ licenses. Thankfully our technology was one step ahead with the advent of playing live on a laptop so that saved some of the key small venues around the Gotic.”

The current gloom in global economics, however, has inadvertently allowed licensing confidence in the approach to this venture: “Our location is actually under the jurisdiction of poblé Sant Andria - which means a separate mayor to Barcelona city,” says Lars. “I went to meet with him. In today’s global climate he agreed that we can’t be too restrictive with trying to attract the better elements of clubland (and the obvious tourism benefits), and that the shock tactics of the city to cure anti-social behaviour had been detrimental to how Barcelona has been perceived around Europe. I can foresee a ‘model of Berlin’ approach over the next few years... much more relaxation again.” You can’t help agree that this will aid creativity levels in a city already blessed with wonderful cuisine and climate. Indeed, another of Lars’ sidelines has already been one step ahead in the promotion of Barcelona. Spotted on the backs of clubbers from as far as The Big Chill in England to WMC in Miami, his range of strapline T-shirts have been claiming “Minimal DJ's have small decks” and “Fuck Berlin... Barcelona has a Beach!”. If only the politicians took such a direct and honest approach.