“We want to be the best”: An interview with XOYO’s new owner

A fixture of London’s nightlife is in new hands and relaunching this week. XOYO is known for some stellar dance music programming in years gone by, including artist-led residencies with the likes of Honey Djion, Andy C and Bicep. More recently it drifted from that heritage to predominantly commercial programming.  New owner Kirk Allen, of Propaganda Independent Venues, wants to breathe new life into the Shoreditch nightspot, promising “a renewed focus on sound quality, production and underground programming.” His experience includes operating The Warehouse in Leeds and winter festival Rise in France.

Since the start of January, Kirk and his team have been transforming XOYO to their vision, redesigning each room and expanding the Void soundsystem. The basement now features 350 metres of pixel-tube lighting and six custom-built LED cubes for an eye-catching show overhead, along with changes to the dancefloor layout and DJ booth. Giving us a demonstration, Kirk says he wants the room to feel like “like a thunderstorm”, with strobes and smoke backing up the pulsating tubes and cubes.   

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Room 2 has been renamed The Jungle, with curtains ripped down and seating opened-up for a more spacious feel, with LED screens and foliage across the walls as decor. The system has been tweaked for extra power, and the tucked-away ‘naughty corner’ remains. There’s also a giant disco ball that greets you on entry, and neon lighting inspired by Tokyo's back alleys. Throughout this process Kirk has been documenting the build in viral social media posts, including candid insight to costs (the disco ball cost a grand, for example.) But phones will be banned for parties hosted by Into Reality which debuts in April, bringing "all-night long sets and no distractions".

On the bookings front, Fridays will be helmed by Little Gay Brother and Jodie Harsh’s queer weekly Feel It, which moves across from Omeara, while for Saturdays, Kirk promises “a real mix” of underground dance styles, with both in-house bookings and external promoters. Weeknights will stay on the student-focused tip. 

The 800-capacity nightspot is throwing its opening party this Saturday, January 31, with Fleur Shore, St David, BTAY and Tom Haigh holding down the basement. With excitement about the relaunch palpable among London’s club scene, we headed down to find out more about what’s in store. 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in nightlife?

I started about 20 years ago, started running student nights, that's kind of where I learned my trade, [as a] promoter. I think you really learn a lot about how to promote without talent and really building a brand. We took our first plunge into a venue probably about five years ago, owning The Warehouse in Leeds. We took it on in a very similar situation to this, a bit of a legacy venue which was unloved, and invested a lot of time and effort into it, and I feel like now it's in a really good position within Leeds. That's hopefully what we're aspiring to do with XOYO, bring it back, everyone's got so many fond memories of this place. 

What attracted you to come to London and take over XOYO specifically?

This all came around probably in December, so we're talking like five weeks ago at this point, so it was a bit of a quick turnaround. I'm novice to London, whenever I came, Shoreditch was the spot. I just thought this venue, the legacy behind it, the location, the license, it's got everything going for it, and when I did come to visit the space, I just loved the layout, the layers, and the potential I saw in the space and where it is. 

You're keeping the old name. 

I did think about having a complete reset and the name change would be the easiest and fastest way to do that, but it means so much to people and who am I to come in and just instantly take that away? And it's proved to work so well, with the love and the support I've received. I feel like everyone I've spoke to says ‘I used to have the best nights in there’ or has a memory of this space, so far we're definitely keeping XOYO and proud to continue its legacy.

The reaction to your videos on social media has been strong, how has it felt to see this excitement and positivity and the relaunch?

So much love for nightlife, so many DMs, and just around Shoreditch, getting stopped and supported for trying something new and championing nightlife, there’s been so much love. I wasn't expecting it. But I love it, keep it coming and thank you so much for this journey so far.

The economics of nightlife and running nightclubs is known to be tough right now, what is it about this industry that makes you personally up for the challenge? 

You've got to do it for the love, and that is definitely where my passion is, so it's passion first and money later. But I've always thought, you know, if you do something the best, or you put yourself out there and throw everything into it, it will come good. That's my thought process into this, we want to be the best within our field, within our capacity, within our realm, and that's the end goal. I do feel like people are still going out, but they're being very picky on where they go, and instead of going out 10 times a month, they're maybe going out three times, and they want that good product, they want that experience, and they're choosing and picking where they go wisely. So if you are the best, if you do provide a good product, there's still a business to be had.

What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered so far?

The hard work starts once we open. I was so confident in delivering this vision, with the team and who we've got involved, I knew it's at the top of the game. The hard work starts when we're open and to continue the hype, continue people passing through, and to hopefully compete with the amazing venues in London.

You’ve been transparent about the costs and process, what’s your reasoning with that?

I just wanted to be open about it, I've got nothing to hide, I'll share the suppliers, I'll share the costs, it's all open and I'm not shy about doing that. Hopefully people appreciate the transparency and understand what it takes to run this, when they're coming in, maybe disputing an entry price or disputing a drink price, you know, the costs are hidden as well within that, so it's not just the cost of a vodka you're paying for.

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What are you trying to achieve with the ways in which you’ve transformed the club, in terms of creating an atmosphere and experience?

I feel like people do expect a little bit more, and I want to give them value for money when you're here, and I just wanted to bring something new to London. It was just an idea we had and then we kind of evolved it from there. It won't be the finished product, it's going to be phase one, we’ll continually add to it, we'll probably do this every season. Just creating an experience where it's about the sound, about the production, and about the music and the atmosphere, so it's kind of a complete package.

How will each room differ?

Upstairs is LED screens and that focus, we've got a little bit more control with what we put on the screens, you can go with whatever we create up there. Here [in the basement] we've got the tubes, we've got these cubes, which I've never seen before in a club to this level. 

We definitely wanted to provide two different experiences. Upstairs has got a little bit of seating, it's maybe a little bit more subdued. When you step down into the basement I want it to be like 'bang', it hits you with the sound and the lights, and it definitely feels outer-worldly.

Is there any change to the smoking area setup?

We have extended the smoking area, added heaters, it is located out the front door. Long term we have plans to improve that space as it's an important part of any night out, if you smoke or not. 

You’ve done it all in a few weeks, how have you pulled that off?

Yeah, we got it just before Christmas and then the plans were put in place, stuff was ordered, so from the first of January the guys were in and it's been nonstop round the clock this week. There's no better time to do it than in January, right? That has to be a time when you refit a nightclub, and probably the only time.

What are you looking for in the types of artists you book to play the venue?

Fridays is Feel It moving over, they've been a massive help and personally just great friends with me moving to London, which I did last week. Then Saturdays is gonna be a real mix, working with external promoters or in-house bookings, all talent-led focused shows. I want to ensure that people check the listings of what's on, it's gonna change musically. 

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What sort of genres will there be in that mix?

House, techno, hard dance, drum 'n' bass, you know, everything really which we feel like is suited to this space.

What are you most excited about going forward with XOYO?

The reaction's been so good, I want people to come back, give us another chance. The next year is gonna be so much learning and feedback and building a reputation back. Getting it to where we want to go, so I'm just looking forward to that journey for the next year.

xoyo.co.uk