Ambasada Gavioli
Industrijska cesta 10, SI-6310 Izola
386 (0) 31 255 706
Ambasada Gavioli
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History and concept
The whole enterprise started in the early 1990s without a clearly defined artistic direction for the warehouse that was to became Ambasada Gavioli. In its initial stages, the place was supposed to be a slightly posh oriented hybrid discotheque and restaurant with an intertwined programme of cabaret, opera, circus and electronic dance music. This did not work out as planned and soon after it set off, the club focused onto the early techno and rave subculture.
Still, some of the early ideas persisted and the weekly clubbing events were usually interspersed with spoken word and extravagant performances by acrobats, dancers, MCs, jugglers, and the like. The prime musical orientation was techno, with the programming done by Valentino Kanzyani, now a well recognized DJ who was at that time also a resident
The second half of the 90s and the first years of the new millennium are hailed as the golden years of Ambasada. Besides hosting cutting edge artists from all over the world, the prime attraction was the club's merging of an Ibiza-styled clubbing experience with the counter-cultural aspects of warehouse raves. In Slovenia, as well as in some neighbouring regions, Ambasada gained a cult following and was visited by all sorts of people, from young ravers to notables from show-business.
Architecture
The man who projected the club was the Gianni Gavioli. With nightclubs as his forte, he used to be one of the more renowned architects in Italy and he was given free reign for this project. This resulted in a striking place that features numerous playful allusions to Mediterranean culture, from Venetian Gothic architecture to the lavish mosaics of Antonio Gaudi. With pop art inspired, over-the-top decorative practices and the many citations from fields as varied as circus, Etruscan civilization and Shakespeare plays, it is a vivid example of the post-modern architectural style that was at that time still in vogue.
Due to the strong imprint of the author, the Irwin arts collective (of the of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) movement) suggested the name of the new venue to be Ambasada Gavioli (Embassy of Gavioli). The same group later also introduced the official flag of Ambasada Gavioli, and this contemporary arts connection is quite indicative about how strongly Ambasada differed from the concept of a plain discotheque.
The club has the capacity to accommodate up to 2500 people. It has two floors, with the main one named as the "dance lounge" and the smaller one upstairs (originally designed to be a restaurant) called "mezzanine" .
Music programme
Throughout its years, Ambasada hosted the better part of the big names in electronic dance music and it even used to act as a regional trendsetter. In its first few years it already hosted DJs like Laurent Garnier, Tedd Patterson, Sven Väth, James Ruskin, Misjah, Robert Hood, Bob Sinclair (at that time still as a support and not a head-liner), some more experimental Slovenian electronic artists like Random Logic, and had DJ UMEK spinning as a resident. Besides techno and house, goa trance and drum'n'bass were also present, but to a much lesser extent. Other DJs from the first decade include David Morales, Erick Morillo, Barbara Tucker, Takkyu Ishino, Carl Cox, John Digweeed, Westbam, Dave Clarke, etc.
In this past decade, Ambasada Gavioli was also visited by Fatboy Slim, Shapeshifters, David Guetta, Martin Buttrich, Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Tiësto, Loco Dice, Pete Tong, Dubfire & Sharam (Deep Dish), Mousse T, Sonique, Armnin Van Buuren, Axwell, Magda, Frankie Knuckles, Ro ger Sanchez, Marshall Jefferson, Luciano and others.
