Michael ‘Kenno’ Kennedy, Eddie Sauvage and Warren Sauvage have been running parties in The Crystal County for over ten years. They have been instrumental in not only establishing, but maintaining the modern electronic music scene in the south-east.
We caught up with them before what will surely be a salient year for the collective.
You’re now firmly established as some of the best promoters of electronic music in the country, but tell us a little bit about how you started off?
Thanks! We started off back in 2005 when we noticed a lull in the Waterford dance scene during the summer. Five of us, who were friends through DJing and music thought, “Why can’t we book DJs we want to see in Waterford?” and at the same time play at a few gigs ourselves.
DJs like Mark Farina, Miguel Migs, Charles Webster and Phil Weeks were some of the first names we brought over to Waterford. These new guests alongside our monthly “Loft parties” helped create a more underground scene in Waterford. It started off just as a hobby as we all had some interest in the scene but we could have never imagined we would be still here nearly 11 years later running some of the biggest events in Ireland.
What’s been your favourite gig to date?
Kenno: To be honest, I have had so many favourite gigs it’s hard to pick but two stand out for different reasons. Mark Farina in 2006, was a real “Go with your heart, not your head” kind of booking. He was a big favourite of ours, we all really wanted to get him here and it turned out to be a great night.
It was the first time I felt like I was a promoter rather than just a DJ which was a great feeling. Something I had never experienced before and I wanted more I firmly believe if it wasn’t for that gig I wouldn’t have kept promoting events.
Secondly, was our 6th birthday with Andre Lodemann in 2011. It wasn’t the busiest of nights but Andre was up there with the best DJs I have ever witnessed and to see how he played with so little people on the dancefloor showed me the venue doesn’t always have to be rammed to have a good night.
Warren: I think Mark Farina in 2006 really set us up to say actually we can do this on a big scale, since then though there has been a lot. Maceo Plex in 2012, Tale of Us in 2014, Ben Klock in 2014 too but some of the smaller nights have been just as good, acts like Patlac and Matthias Meyer or even our own Stephen’s Night parties that bring in 900+ people for an all local line up!
Eddie: It is really is hard to pick one. We try to keep all our birthday parties that bit extra special and thank God up to now they all have been. Gigs which stick in my mind to date are, in September 2014, we had Patlac and Matthias Meyer over and the whole night was just pure quality. Anyone who can throw the Pet Shop Boys into their set is top notch in my book. Also last June, we brought over Job Jobse and again it was one to remember from start to finish, everything he did was amazing. So much so, we have him back February 13. We don’t normally have a guest return so soon but can get never get enough of the man to be honest and so down to earth and humble too.
Can you think of a watershed moment in the history of RePublik that you look back on and think, that’s when we became successful?
Eddie: If I’m honest I still wouldn’t look at ourselves and say we are successful, how do you measure success really? In terms of giving people an introduction to dance music and giving them a memorable night out with their mates, I’d like to think we have succeeded in that regard alright.
Receiving positive feedback from people does go a long way, but in doing what we do to think of ourselves as successful would be a little naïve, you’re only as good as your last event I suppose.
Warren: The Maceo Plex (RePublik 8th Birthday) gig in October 2012 has to go down as the major turning point for the Waterford scene. This gig was the biggest in years and gave Waterford a new lease of life with regards to dance music. The young crowd became more interested in the underground scene and it had a massive knock on effect to everyone else.
All of a sudden, Waterford was crazy for dance music! This has in turn influenced so many younger people to start to listen to our type of music and attend events since.
What are your plans for Crystal Nightclub?
Crystal is no more! We have just completed the first of the renovations to the club space and it has now have been given a new name. Crystal now becomes “PROJECT“.
Project will be unveiled on Saturday, February 13, when Waterford clubbers will be able to check out the newly reconfigured performance area. This will bring the DJ more in contact with the crowd, a new lighting system and the dance floor is redesigned. A new smoking area has been created at the back of the room. It is also an ongoing PROJECT, so further major changes will be made throughout 2016.
We will continue to bring the freshest, in demand dance acts in the world. Upcoming are Job Jobse, Patrice Baumel, Ben Klock, Slam, Kink and &ME. With the new club surroundings, we are confident this will make Project one of the best clubs in Ireland. PROJECT SATURDAY is a new platform is to highlight the wealth of DJ talent that exists in Waterford and nationally. A mixture of resident DJs from local club nights will be on rotation alongside the occasional Irish guest. These nights will come with cheap admissions and again we hope to build the scene to encourage clubbers to support the locals.
You’re starting a radio show; can you tell us more about why you think radio culture is so important?
We have recently joined up with ReKord podcast to run a weekly radio show on Open Tempo FM. ReKord podcast is run by close our friend Ado, who started a weekly podcast in order to showcase the regions DJ talent alongside the occasional RePublik guest. The new radio show includes some new material by Irish producers as well as guest mixes from previous and upcoming guests.
All shows are available on Mixcloud and you can listen live Fridays at 10pm on Open Tempo FM.
What are your future plans for your label?
RePublik Music Recordings was started in 2015 with Waterford native Wayne Duggan releasing his debut EP “The Experiment EP”. This included a wonderful remix by our friends Matthias Meyer and Patlac which has recently been included on John Digweed’s live mix CD “Live in Montreal” which is a major achievement for a debut release from an independent record label.
With charting and plays by Mano Le Tough, Ame, and the likes we couldn’t be happier at the way it has gone. We are currently working on the next couple of releases but we believe in quality not quantity.
We aim to try and promote Irish artists as much as possible in some way or the other. We hope to have our next release soon.
How do you see the next five years of electronic music in Ireland as whole?
The Irish electronic scene is in the best shape we have seen since we have been around anyway. New club nights and festivals are being created every year and many young people are into the scene.
Personally, we thought the scene was dying in Waterford, with no new faces and dwindling numbers, up until 2012 and it all kicked off again. Luckily we have continued to run events throughout the recession and things are looking extremely positive for the whole country.
We aim to continue running events in Waterford, both international and local gigs. We want to develop Waterford’s underground scene as a whole and not just host a one off “guest night”. The wealth of DJ talent and producers coming through was this area is unbelievable and the future looks good for all concerned. The dance music community is growing stronger than ever and it long may it continue!
Check out the RePublik Facebook page to keep up to date with their parties in Waterford.