DJ Harvey’s new Bali club is “the best on Earth”, according to Artwork
Although details about the George Stavro-designed sound system at Klymax Discotheque are under wraps, it’s already receiving major hype.
Credit: Getty / Darren Gerish
British dance music royalty DJ Harvey has opened “the best nightclub on Earth”, according to fellow DJ/producer, Artwork.
Based on the Indonesian island as part of the Desa Potato Head beachside complex in the Seminyak region of the country, Klymax Discotheque opened on New Year’s Eve with an all-night set from the man himself.
The 400-capacity venue boasts an impressive sound system, according to those involved. Although full specifications on this are yet to be in the public domain, we do know that it was designed by Harvey with help from LA-based sound system engineer, George Stavro.
The club has a sprung dance floor and floor-to-ceiling perforated wood panelling. According to Mixmag Asia, the punctures get larger as the ceiling gets higher to enhance dancers’ acoustic experience.
One DJ who was able to experience this sound recently was Harvey’s colleague, now Amsterdam-based disco selector Artwork, who took to Instagram to write: “Imagine a room with studio control room grade sound treatment. 4 monster stacks and an old-school sprung dancefloor with ridiculous lights. I am a bit excited about Saturday I can tell you that for nuffnk… well a bit more [than] a bit if I’m honest.”
The next day, he returned to social media to write, “Last night was without doubt the best club I have ever played in.” One fan comments, “What is the spec of the sound system please? Us audio geeks need this detail,” to which Artwork responds, “It’s US that’s all I’ve been allowed to be told”.
Klymax Discothque has been in the works since around 2019. During the build, Potato Head’s Creative Director Dan Mitchell revealed his decision to work with DJ Harvey, telling Mixmag Asia, “Usually you have a space and put a sound system in it but we had the luxury of being able to design the sound with the space holistically. And Harvey literally did the process by hand alongside myself and the team.
“Harvey very much embodies the spirit of David Mancuso, Larry Levan, and Ron Hardy—and he’s still living that today,” Dan says in the interview. “But he’s not a heritage act; he’s still very relevant. You go to his shows and it’s full of 21-year-olds, but he’s also a hero for a lot of people in the music industry, especially the ones I grew up with.”
According to Mitchell, Harvey has a keen eye for details: “If you want to put a disco ball up, he’ll tell you that you can’t have a disco ball up unless there is a certain amount of dust on it because apparently, when you have dust on a disco ball, it gives off a softer light than if it were freshly polished,” he says.
Alongside Klymax, Desa Potato Head acts as a creative hub for emerging artists on the island. There’s a rooftop music studio, a record store, an outdoor amphitheatre for performances – even an ‘art house’ exhibiting 5,000 artefacts from dance music history, provided by collector Steve Terry.
So far in Klymax, the likes of Nina Kraviz, Manfredas and Tornado Wallace have played. Carl Craig and Marcellus Pittman are set to visit the venue this month.
Find out more about Klymax Discotheque via Klymax.
