you will be missed

zouk kakis... we gotta find some other way to spend our fridays and saturdays now...

----------

STI Home > Life! > Life Buzz > Story

July 29, 2005
Zouk to close for revamp

By Arti Mulchand

ZOUK, Singapore's hottest club, will be closing its doors soon for a major revamp.

No date has been given for the closure - or for how long its doors will shut - but Life! understands that it will be sometime after the end of next month.

The club at Jiak Kim Street will spend a massive $5 million on the revamp, said its marketing manager, Ms Tracy Phillips.

The makeover will affect the entire club and will involve decor, fittings and even the facade.

Zouk's move comes as London mega-club Ministry of Sound (MoS) prepares to open its 40,000 sq ft outlet at Clarke Quay's The Cannery complex in December.

MoS' opening will come about eight years after plans to bring it here were initially discussed. In that span of time, several attempts to set up shop here stalled due to various roadblocks.

So, is Zouk revamping in order to head off the expected competition from MoS?

No, said Ms Phillips.

She added: 'The last time we had a revamp was 2000, so it is time for a change that will bring the clubbing experience to a new level.'

Indeed, MoS' delay in opening here means it is coming into a vastly different market from eight years ago - thanks in large part to Zouk's efforts.

The latter has been instrumental in creating a vibrant dance scene here and, in the past few years, has been recognised as a world-class name in the clubbing scene, both here and overseas.

But Mr Clement Lee, executive director of mainboard-listed Lifebrandz, which is bringing in MoS, is undaunted about the challenge Zouk poses.

'Singapore's dance scene is in its early stages, compared to dance music havens like Ibiza, Paris and even London, which are already exploring new frontiers,' he said.

'There's room to build the dance culture and grow the market by getting more people out of their homes and attracting a regional crowd. Besides, we don't intend to just go with what the market has done. MoS is setting the next scene.'

The club has brought in DJ Justin Berkmann, who in 1991 set up Ministry of Sound in London with raver friends James Palumbo and Humphrey Waterhouse, as a consultant.

It is also getting ready to cash in on the increased buzz in the dance world - it is planning for a DJ academy, helmed by the five foreign MoS DJs who will be the club's residents, Mr Lee said.

In addition to training four or five local DJs to play in 'Ministry's style', it plans to offer basic, intermediate, advanced and professional DJ-ing courses, he said.

Dance-music fans like Ms Michele Low of design firm Blow, think MoS may have 'missed the dance wave in Singapore somewhat', but agrees that it is better late than never.

The 36-year-old said: 'I think MoS will bring in something distinct in terms of sound, because it is their sound that makes them so recognisable.

'That would be interesting to see. And I think it will still give the other industry players a real run for their money - no one will be able to rest on his laurels.

'That's a good thing.'