Punchfunk Takes on London

Portsmouth isn’t traditionally a town associated with world-class clubbing. Chris Vaux and Simon Blann, promoters of burgeoning house, techno and electro club night PunchFunk, should probably be thankful for the historical situation of their home town. After all – if Portsmouth was full of great clubs and parties, they would never have felt the need to set up their own event back in June 2004 – and they probably wouldn’t be amongst the country’s most respected young promoters right now neither. “I wanted to have a party for my mates, at a small 130-capacity room in a club in Portsmouth” says Vaux. “Within 3 events we had taken over the whole club. The club then got shut down, and we moved to a small bar before The Opera House in Bournemouth offered us Room 2 at their new night Refresh. We had more people in our room than Eric Prydz in the main arena!” The decision to start PunchFunk initially came to Chris when he was hospitalised following an unwarranted attack by a group of bouncers outside a Portsmouth nightclub. “I was lying in hospital and I thought I really wanted to do something with my life instead of waiting for it to happen” he recalls. Whether the name PunchFunk had anything to do with the vicious attack remains to be seen…

As can be ascertained from looking at their line-ups, Chris and Simon represent the new wave of young, passionate, determined promoters who are willing to put everything on the line to make their party succeed. Putting on a good party is priority, with profits a bonus for the most part. Since those early days, the promotion has attracted some of the world’s most revered DJs such as Carl Craig, Nic Fanciulli and Funk D’Void. Meat Katie and Slam both loved playing for PunchFunk so much that they asked to be invited back. With a residents roster featuring Justin Robertson, Phil Kieran, Trevor Rockcliffe and hot new talents Jon Gurd and Dave Robertson alongside Chris, Simon and Danny G, PunchFunk effortlessly combines world-famous talents alongside the most talked about newcomers in the scene. Gurd and Roberston’s production efforts in particular have been attracting rave reviews across the board – with releases and remixes for the likes of Cr2, EQ [Grey] and Toolroom sticking them firmly on the young producer’s map.

The regular Opera House parties in Bournemouth and South Parade Pier parties in Portsmouth opened up several exciting avenues for the PunchFunk brand, and by 2006 they were hosting rooms at Ministry of Sound, and stages at Godskitchen’s massive Hi-Fi South and Global Gathering festivals. The future looks even bigger and brighter for PunchFunk, with their London launch party featuring Fergie (beginning his exclusive London residency with the promotion), a party in Amsterdam in conjunction with Sander Kleinenberg’s This Is…..brand, and hints at some events at some of Ibiza’s biggest clubs this summer. Chris has hinted at the possibility of festivals again, but is keeping his cards close to his chest. There’s also the matter of their two labels – PunchFunk and PunchFunk Digital – both of which have been off to very solid starts. So far the labels have featured the likes of Fergie, Valentino Kanzyani and Trevor Rockcliffe, alongside very impressive cuts from PunchFunk residents and friends. The club night and the label work in a symbiotic, synergistic manner – complimenting and promoting each other to great effect. It’s a simple but very effective idea, and it makes you wonder why more promoters/labels don’t follow suit. When it comes to categorising the label’s style (and indeed that of the PF parties), Chris is suitably cagey. “All the sub-categorisation of dance now has its pros and cons. Prejudice only exists because someone gives a track a genre. This is needed in some cases to help sell a track to the right market and give the DJ an idea of what they’re going to listen to before they buy it. But it sometimes shuts it off from DJs in other fields until they hear a DJ they like play the track. I think when it comes to parties and being a DJ it’s important you don’t close doors in what music you can play. PunchFunk has been an electronic music night since we started with the diversity of guests being really important. One month you can see house, the next techno but always high quality. If you can just get people enjoying the party then that’s the job done. I would never say I’m more of a certain genre of music player than another. In my opinion I just play what I like” The calibre of the label and the stature of some of the artists also belies Chris and his team’s former experience in the game. “I’ve got no previous [record label] experience really. Just clubbing and running events with a little luck and a lot of perseverance. Now it’s a global record brand which is surreal really. Myself and Simon went to the Amsterdam Dance Event and had people from around the globe commenting on how good they thought the label was. It’s a nice feeling and keeps the dream alive.”

With the ongoing contribution of PunchFunk and their merry crew, Portsmouth now has a very health clubbing scene, as Chris is keen to point out. “It’s probably stronger in diversity now than it’s ever been. You have so many different varieties of house and then you have Geushky roaring back and fort parties, boat parties. Every weekend there’s something different going on, and now the band scene is so strong there’s a new indie night every week.” It’s not all gravy though – Portsmouth suffers from licensing and venue issues like so many towns in the UK. “Sometimes I think the council might leave their cave and wake up to the fact that because people stay in a club until 4 or 5 it doesn’t mean the streets will become Beirut!” he adds. “Portsmouth is a special place with totally unique clubbers which is why DJs love playing here! Just need that special venue………”

PunchFunk’s London Launch party is this Friday at The Key in King’s Cross, London, with Fergie, Gregor Tresher (Cocoon) and many others...click here for full details: https://www.skiddle.com/whatson/guide.php/skiddle/London/Key_Club/Punchfunk/78800/