The Nighttime Gulliver

On May 25 the Gulliver of Moscow clubs turns four. The capital's biggest dancefloor, able to hold up to five thousand people at once, is celebrating its birthday. Over four years, the undisputed stars of world dance music have performed at Gaudi: Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Timo Maas, Christopher Lawrence. Moby himself played a four-hour DJ set at "Gaudi Arena" - a unique occurrence in the musician's career. And Christopher Lawrence's album Gatecrasher: Live in Moscow, recorded during the DJ's December performance at Gaudi Arena, brought the club worldwide fame.
We decided to find out from the club's creators some details of the project's childhood, youth and adolescence...

Alexey Grek, club owner:
"The study of the grain-elevator building began in 2003; at one stage our designer Dmitry Androsov was given the task of making several sketches for decorating the space in the style we'd dreamed up. And a few days later he brings in excellent drawings, exactly what was needed. It turned out that all our design ideas coincided with the works of the famous architect Antonio Gaudi, and the question of the name resolved itself"

Karina Grigoryan, PR director:
"Of course, Gaudi didn't start from scratch. We had our own clientele. We'd already done several projects and knew who could be invited to the first party. A club is, above all, a community. When you have, say, 500 acquaintances you can ring up and tell: "Listen, I'm throwing a great party tomorrow, come along!". Everyone followed the construction of the elevator with great interest. By the time of the official opening, about eight events had already taken place there - several private rowdy birthdays of our friends, a couple of commercial "Tatu" concerts (that was more for the press), and joint projects with other clubs. The most famous, probably, was Halloween by Tseppelin"

Alexey:
"Back then we were more into technical support. It was Tseppelin's event. Nobody knew how to get to us. A phenomenal set of directions came about on its own: "turn right onto Dvintsev Street. You drive past the Great Miussky cemetery. Crossing the railway tracks, you reach the grounds of an abandoned factory with rusty pipes...". And it was all for real!"

Karina:
"By the time the elevator opened, some 15-20 mentions of us had already appeared in the press. But even without that, everyone was already itching to feel for themselves: what's it like, an evening under the pipes?"

Alexey:
"The first time we turned the sound up to full power, a huge cloud of sand came crashing down from the upper floor and covered all the equipment. The sound guys were furious at the time, but afterwards they said the acoustics were excellent"

Karina:
"Unfortunately, at some point the elevator got cramped and we had to move to the space next door.
We were always very public: we sent out bright crimson limousines plastered with posters. Our friends rode around in them handing out invitations to parties at friendly clubs - at Lesha Gorobiy's, for example. That's how the VIP crowd found out about us"

Yura Marychev, organizer of the Gatecrasher festival:
"The reason for the club's popularity is the team. Great people run Gaudi, Alexey first and foremost. He puts so much energy into the club that it simply can't go unnoticed. And at the same time he doesn't try to be something he's not. Gaudi is a very democratic, friendly venue. As far as I know, Alexey actively communicates with visitors on the club's forum and pays very close attention to visitors' feedback. I've heard that a community of "Gaudi-goers" has even formed on the Internet"

Karina:
"Advertising in the ordinary sense is needed too. Where would we be without it? Usually 1,000 people are "VIPs", and the other 5,000 are DJ fans, clubbers who are always on the dancefloor"

Alexey:
"Once we held a Russian trance event. I arrive, and in the 20,000-square-meter car park there are three cars. I recognize our security's car, the other two are taxis. And inside the club - 3,000 people. Back then we were throwing the Reactor Sound System party"

Karina:
"Then - freaks. This is very important. Way back in the day, Garry Chaglasyan was the first in Moscow to understand this. In the West the freak movement is very popular; five freaks create all the necessary atmosphere in a club. Drug Queens, for example. With us, unfortunately, it's closely tied to gay culture, which is wrong, because abroad such characters are, above all, great artists, very creative people. That's how the idea to hold Freak International in 2005 was born. Visitors dressed up as they pleased, in whatever they fancied. I have to say, the foreigners invited to the party were absolutely delighted. And freak No. 1 was my driver. Just imagine, he's so tall and bony, and he put on a short white frilly skirt, white stockings with garters, a bra! The result was a debauched 2-meter princess. On top of that he's a transvestite himself, it just so happened that at one point he was my driver. I have to say, everyone loved it - and besides, recently at Halloween half of the men I know dressed up as Drug Queens"

Alexey:
"Not every club will hang a 45-by-12-meter neon board as its standard signboard"

Karina:
"I'll let you in on a secret - we're doing a huge project, "Gaudi Aviation". Together with a certain jet company whose name I'd like to keep secret for now. Imagine a club plane, half of it made up of first-class chill-out with DJs, a dancefloor, a mini-bar! We're planning to fly off to Ibiza as early as August, with a stopover in Gaudi's homeland - Barcelona"

Alexey:
"And at the party on May 25, right inside the club, a huge fountain will be built, 9 meters long and 5 wide, with a capacity of 24 tons of water. The height of the multicolored waterfall is 8 meters. You won't be able to bathe in it, true, but it will be very beautiful. The decorations will also be top-notch, which Seryozha Zuich and Volodya Manych will take care of, but that's still a secret. Although I've always held to the idea that it's the guests who make a club beautiful - when there are lots of cheerful clubbers, it's already beautiful. DC FC - as always at Gaudi. As we explained to the security three years ago - "you have to be a Gaudi-goer to get into Gaudi". Ever since, there've been no unwanted people, and nobody complains"

In May, Gaudi Bar opens for business. In July the famous Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren will play at the club, and in August there'll be another dose of English-quality music, sound and light at the Gatecrasher festival at Gaudi. But for now Gaudi Arena is celebrating its fourth birthday in the company of loyal friends, among whom are the Czech beauty Lucca, the Italian Alex Gaudino, the famous DJ Groove and the rising star of the Moscow techno scene DJ Sonia. Join us!

The 44100Hz project congratulates the team of the Gaudi Arena club on its birthday!

May 25, Friday, starting at 23:00, the Gaudi club celebrates its birthday, address: Skladochnaya St., building 1, block 6