They've been going on for three years now, and listening to Mantas, or Endeser, talk about his records kind of reminds me of a child talking about his toys. To him they are all connected to little anecdotes of Animaux past. He showed me some of the signed records he's collected over the years, and told me a few things about them.
But Mantas did not want to talk about doing press at Gottwood, he wanted to talk about music. In light of Friday's celebrations, Animaux's third birthday, here are some of the most memorable nights and people that have been part of it. "We've waited three years for this day and, believe me, it is going to be a party," he says looking at the upcoming night with Viers at Mansion. I think I do believe him…
"Asa was our first booking. I don't think I have ever been as nervous since. When you are starting out, it is quite difficult to actually even get someone – you have no name nor any background and are trying to convince them to come and play for you. Add trying to negotiate prices to the mix as well as worrying if anyone will show up and you have a one stressed Mantas. I thought I'd pee myself before I met Asa, turns out he is one of the most easy going guys I had to ever deal with. I remember talking to him about it all and as he saw I was nervous he reminded me that at the end of the day – it's a party, doesn't matter if it is 10 or 500 people there, the vibe is all that matters."
"Chronologically looking at my vinyls, the next one I have is from Annie Errez. We had loads of other fantastic artists in between, however I remember this one quite well. It's the only one that got delayed in the post and I never received it in time. Look at it – its beautiful! I am very tempted to get Annie back to York just so I could get this beauty signed."
"Next one is Inxec & Droog's Westbound. The vinyl is absolutely mint, a great showcase of quality house music! This specific Animaux does bring back quite a sour taste in my mouth though. Quite a few reasons why which I will not go into, but I learned a lot with this one and since then same mistakes have not been done! Killer party thoough!"
"Last, but certainly not least – Zenker Brothers "Pollioni”. This night has been my personal Magnum Opus. I managed to “tick off” so many things I wanted to do for years with this – a new city, a new crowd, a first foreign booking – we flew them in from Germany specifically for Animaux (!) and I remember all throughout I could not shake the memories of when I first booked Asa. I have learned a lot of things throughout the years and even though Animaux will one day have to stop and people will move on, this one will most likely be the one I will always go back to. For the first time I managed to arrange it so that majority of “I wish we could…” were actually realised and that feeling of being oh so close to my dream party will always stay with me. Dario and Marco were friendly and their set was on fire – they even gave us some Ilian Tape merchandise as well – the most expensive lighter and king size papers I own…"