Back track to New Years Eve 1992 when a certain Jimmy K Tel and one Matt Brown decided to throw a party for their friends. Disgruntled by the monstrous fees super clubs were charging for that night, these two organised an event in a basement in North London for a mere 5 quid! Their aim was to provide an avenue for good music without splurging too much. That was how Sancho Panza began. The boys wanted to create an environment that they couldn't get in a club, that raw energy, getting people together, playing a hybrid of music, hunting for a location and even doing the décor themselves. Fast forward to present day and the Sancho Panza boys have established a name for their happening and quality warehouse and boat parties and have a strong and loyal following. The close camaraderie and chemistry between them was unbelievable as they talked to Zakiyah of RA about Sancho Panza, the Notting Hill Carnival, the top 100 DJ poll and their take on super star DJs.

How did you guys get the name Sancho Panza? It's not from a brand of cigars right?
Jim: (Burst out laughing) Well, it was actually taken from a character from a well known Spanish folk story. Sancho Panza was this jovial and funny character who tried to live his dream. So that's how we decided on that name. It has a nice ring to it too.

Describe the sort of music that you play.
Matt: It's quality underground stuff, tracks that you may not hear anywhere else. Definitely not the commercial club anthems that you can't play more than 3 times without getting bored. We try not to play those records that are destined to be quick hits, but short- lived in our boxes. We tend to choose tunes that we can keep for a while.
Jim: We play a cross section that can range from tech house to breaks, American house, garage and vocals.
Matt: But nothing hard. We like to keep it housey. Lots of happy house that you can sing to, tracks that play with your emotions and tunes that will set the right party vibes.

Do you have any influences that made you want to get into the music scene?
Matt: I was blown away by the scene and music during my first rave parties. And then there were the full moon parties I went to in Koh Phangan, Thailand. I was attracted to the party atmosphere.
Jim: It was the disco and funk for me. And Frankie Knuckles.

It is difficult to be a duo playing together all the time? Some DJ tag-team end up going separate ways after a while. What has kept Sancho Panza together all these years?
Matt: Actually, we do play individually at times.
Jim: But we mostly DJ together as a team.
Matt: What has kept us together is definitely our friendship. We're mates.
Jim: And we click well. I think that's important. We respect one another.

Ok, let's talk more about the Notting Hill Carnival. How did Sancho Panza start getting involved in the event?
Jim: Our first carnival was an experience for us. We were only granted permission at the last minute, two and half weeks before the actual event! We had to scramble for a sound system, we did the props ourselves and we cooked food and tried selling fruits to kind of help pay for the expenses.
Matt: (Laughing) It didn't work. No one bought any food from us at all. We had these big bowls of pasta at the end of the day. Sad indeed!
Jim: But now we're in the carnival every year. People have are starting to expect our presence and the crowd support has grown from strength to strength.
Matt: We've done about 10 carnivals now. And our spot is usually near Norman Jay's, in Middle Row.

Do you keep to the same sound during the carnival?
Jim: It's still house music. But we play more tunes that have Afro-Caribbean elements, some rare groove and lots of soul.

Let's talk about quality music. Personally I feel that there aren't much quality production out these days. Is dance music getting stagnant? Boring? Not developing or progressing?
Matt: I agree that there is very few good stuff. There are just loads of crap and rubbish. All you need now is the right software loaded on the computer to make music, and there you go. People are just jumping on the bandwagon and releasing music…
Jim: But it doesn't mean it's quality.
Matt: Yeah, it's hard to find anything great at the moment. See, someone comes up with a great idea, others follow suit and all these copy cats mean mass production of music. At the end of the day, it's the same sound being repeated all over again in different forms.
Jim: And it's saturating the market!
Matt: That's why I think we're going through a recession where music's concerned. It's the same old formula, there's nothing new.

What's your take on the annual top 100 DJ poll?
Matt: It reflects corporate clubbing. And it has become a massive part of the industry whether we like it or not.
Jim: It definitely has a commercial positive effect on the DJs who get on that list.
Matt: The poll does make a difference in getting gigs, playing at clubs around the world and getting the exposure from the audience.
Jim: It also means DJs who are out there a lot get the votes. That's why DJs who play to massive crowd world wide, like the trance DJs, get to see their names on the list. House DJs tend to play for a smaller lot, we don't seem to get the same type of crowd in numbers.

What do you think of super star DJs? Will you change if you become really huge one day?
Jim: Hey, did you see our limo waiting for us around the corner? Nah, just kidding. We'll still be the same regular guys we have been all these years.
Matt: I don't think we'll change and start demanding for all sort of stuff.
Jim: Money does make the world go round, but we won't let stardom, if it happens, get to us.

But you won't know until it happens…
Matt: True, but we’ve been at it for 12 years, and we still firmly believe in what we're doing. It's all about the music. It's the people. It's the energy. It’s the vibes.

What's Sancho Panza's aim for 2004?
Jim: More gigs outside London, play overseas more often.
Matt: (Nodded) Yeah and maybe remixes.
Jim: And production.

Any words for those who want to DJ?
Jim: Don't! Ha ha….
Matt: Listen to lots of music. Seriously. Listen to everything and anything. There's so much music available. The more you listen, the more direction you'll get. Don't be afraid to take risks and play what you believe in.

For more information, go to www.sanchopanza.org, Sancho Panza holds a monthly residency in the AKA bar each time Layo & Bushwacka have their night at The End. They also have a CD compilation released last year to critical acclaim called Float. And a previous one aptly titled Carnival. Check them out!