When Kami Tadayon founded Lost Beach Club in Ecuador in 2012, he hoped to earn international acclaim through top-name DJs and the best possible sound. With a recent upgrade centred on an Evo system from Funktion-One, the venue continues on its mission of reviving the glory days of Balearic clubbing.
It was an ambitious project, made more so by the choice of location – the small surfers’ town of Montanita in Ecuador, a two-hour drive from the nearest city. But, defying doubters, his dream quickly became reality: ‘Lost Beach is unique,’ he asserts. ‘You’re under the stars, on the beachfront, in a town of 1,000 residents, and you have this superclub, with the best sound system in the world and some of the best DJs in the world coming to play every weekend. There’s nothing like this anywhere in Ecuador – or even Peru and Columbia.’
Far from a hindrance, the club’s remote setting has endorsed its reputation for being among the best beach club experiences on the planet, and ensured that those who do make the journey arrive with a real passion to party. At Tadayon’s insistence, Lost Beach Club has, from its inception, featured a Funktion-One sound system. Ever one to push for the best, he recently ramped things up a notch with the addition Funktion-One Evo 7 and Evo 6 enclosures.
It was in 2003 that Kami first found and immediately fell for the Funktion-One sound. Relocating to Ibiza for two years, he embraced the island’s superclub scene, witnessing from within the sound systems installed at venues like Space and Privilege. ‘Space Ibiza was a big inspiration for me,’ he recalls. ‘I studied and investigated the place thoroughly and swore to myself that one day I would start a club and take it to the same level.’
On the way to realising that ambition, Tadayon first established a series of club nights branded the Global Unity Movement, based out of his adopted home of Ecuador. He turned to Funktion-One experts Blue Box, owned by Mark Metcalf, the man credited with introducing the loudspeaker manufacturer into Ibiza, for an initial system comprising 10 Resolution 2s and eight F218s (split in to two systems). This was soon augmented by a further six Resolution 2s and four F215s. And when Tadayon selected Montanita as the location for Lost Beach Club – and spiritual home for the Global Unity Movement – this same system provided the starting point for the venue’s audio.
In 2014, a change in Ecuadorian law led to restrictions on the opening hours of outdoor clubs. This provided the impetus for the club’s next evolution – an indoor ‘cavec space, fitted with a carefully designed Funktion-One system from Metcalf and the Blue Box team. They installed a pair of DS4 Dance Stacks with Evo 6SH skeletal speakers and F218 dual 18in bass enclosures for the mezzanine area
‘Mark is an unbelievably experienced expert,’ Tadayon says. ‘He understands our needs and always delivers to our high expectations for the club system – and, on top of all that, he’s a great guy.’
Metcalf, in turn, is quick to praise the mastermind behind Lost Beach Club: ‘What Kami’s achieved here is remarkable,’ he says. ‘And he continues to grow his audiences, many of whom travel up to ten hours just to experience Lost Beach and its sound systems.’
In 2017, Lost Beach Club’s audio provision evolved again with the addition of the new Evo 7 and Evo 6 systems. The Evo 7s have taken the place of the Res 2s in the Lost Beach terrace while the Evo 6s provide updated sound for the large VIP area behind the DJ.
The full Lost Beach system supplied by Blue Box now comprises six Evo 7E, six Evo 6E, ten F221, two E100 amplifiers, two E60 amps, two E25 amps and two XO4A audio management systems.
‘Kami and his team have created quite a buzz with the installation of this new system and Lost Beach has raised its game once again,’ Metcalf adds. ‘Kami’s maxim is “If I build it, they will come”, and they are coming in ever increasing numbers.’
More: www.funktion-one.com
