Hello everyone, happy Wednesday.
I’m pleased to share a conversation I had with Arnaud Frisch about building the business of Silencio since 2011 - from an iconic Parisian institution, to a beach club in Ibiza, and to a globally recognized nightlife brand synonymous with culture, fashion, and music.
Something I appreciate about Arnaud’s perspective is how he gathers diverse references to influence the creative expression of Silencio, which not only does nightlife but also programming such as talks and film screenings. I believe that doing the work to discover references and things that inspire you are part of creating something original and unique, such as Silencio.
In 2021, upon the removal of travel restrictions, Arnaud opened El Silencio on a quiet cove beach on the western side of Ibiza. It filled the white space for a beach club on a more discreet part of the island that could provide a relaxing yet stylish experience and be an homage to the artistic and bohemian roots of the island. I’ve returned every year since, and because you all know that I’ve been so curious about what it’s like to open a beach club in Ibiza, I’m particularly excited to share this conversation.
If you’re in Ibiza in late August, check out the Silencio x EDITION collaboration. More details here.
Follow Silencio Paris here, and El Silencio Ibiza here.
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Let's start from the beginning. How did you go from law school to nightlife and hospitality?
I was in business school and studying law on the side, but I was always drawn to nightlife. I became part of the electronic music scene and the rave movement quite early. At that time, I started defending this culture quite actively, even filing a legal appeal to the city of Avignon, which resisted the movement back then. That's the moment when Jack Lang, the former minister of culture in France who invented the Fête de la Musique, came to see me to organize the Techno Parade in France. I was 24 and I brought 300,000 people and that became a defining moment. It was a real shift because electronic music was breaking out of clubs and into the streets.
I think I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. From there, I moved to artist management, event production, and festivals. After a few years, I wanted to create a space that could bring together creative worlds such as music, art, fashion, and design. And that's how I participated in the creation of Social Club in 2008. It was the time of ‘French Touch’ because there were a lot of different labels such as Ed Banger or Kitsuné that were emerging in Paris.
I was driven by a desire to bring people together through culture. That was the beginning of the story of Silencio, which we opened three years later in the basement of the same building as the Social Club.
That's how I got into nightlife and hospitality.
Tell us the story behind meeting David Lynch and collaborating on your first club in Paris.
I was introduced to David Lynch through Nathanael Karmitz from MK2, and at that time, he just had an exhibition at the Fondation Cartier. When I started working on Silencio, I didn't want just a designer. I was looking for someone who had a multidisciplinary vision. The concept of Silencio was never about creating just a nightclub. It was about exploring the night for cultural expression. I think David loved the idea – he's always been fascinated by unconventional spaces, and the connection was great immediately.
The building itself had a long history because it was a printing house for L’Aurore, the newspaper of Georges Clemenceau that published a notable article called “J’Accuse” during the Third Republic. There were other elements from that time that also seduced David. He also had a very strong connection with Paris - most of his films were produced by French producers. He did lithography in a very interesting space in Paris where Picasso and Manet were doing lithographs. So, I think he totally understood the project since the start. His involvement gave great momentum to the project. Artists like Lana Del Rey, Prince, and Pharrell Williams, who came to perform at Silencio, had a strong connection with David Lynch's universe. He brought legitimacy but also an immediate understanding of the cultural project.
Ibiza is a very difficult market to enter, especially as a foreigner. How did you find that location? Did you have investors that helped you get that location off the ground?
We relocated with a part of the team to Ibiza during the pandemic when the restaurants and clubs were closed again in Paris in October 2020. We thought it was a good time to think about what we wanted to do. I visited Cala Molí, a beach that I visited a few years before for a project with Experimental Cocktail Group. It's a beautiful and magical space. Other groups had tried to make it work at that location, such as Bagatelle and IT, but at that time it became free.
We decided to go for it in February 2021 with the idea of opening for that summer. So, that was very quick. Most clubs were, as you know, still closed at that moment. There was a lot of uncertainty about tourism.
But I think people were looking for a different experience - something more intimate, safe, and outdoors. We may have been the only venue to launch in Ibiza that year. It then became a gathering point in the same year, because I think it was the right concept at the right time. We were lucky to be in this area to launch the club.
Concerning investors, we did it on our own because it was not an easy time to find investors for tourism. So, we decided to open the place gradually, space by space, and let the project grow at its own pace.
Three years later, we've built a solid understanding of the island, of what Ibiza is, what the rhythm of the island is, what the audience is, and how to program it. It has grown naturally and now I think it's time for us to explore other destinations where we can bring culture and hospitality. We are looking ahead for future destinations, and maybe a new form of collaboration with partners. Back then it was not the right time to find investors. Now that El Silencio is a success and has found its place in the hospitality world, we'd be happy to develop it.
Can you share how much you bought the site for or was it a lease?
It's a lease. It's a property that is owned by a private owner, and we signed the lease for a few years. It's not a concession, contrary to a lot of beach clubs in Ibiza, so it's more long term. We changed the space with our own investment.
Why do you think Bagatelle and IT didn’t work in that location?
They were restaurants, but I don't think they found their audience. Maybe because those concepts were something a bit too festive for this space, and the regulation in Ibiza is quite constraining in terms of music.
We had a different approach. For example, it's an experience that is different from Paris. We adapted to the island and built another community there. We are doing more visual art or installations, not really programming, talks or screenings as we do in Paris because it's more something for an urban location. We knew that having less music was a risk for us, but we found a different approach - maybe more cultural, more artistic, that was really in sync with the island.
We also selected More Design, who are the amazing designers from Mallorca. This studio has been created by someone who's always lived in the Balearic Islands, so he knows the history very well. We all wanted to go back to the roots of Ibiza: to the 70s, to something more natural. We used only local material: wood and sand. Ultimately, they designed a project that came back to the roots of Ibiza. They're called More Design after the film, and that was a big inspiration for us, the film More.
Going back to 2021 when you were working on the build-out, which was a very risky time to open a new venue in Ibiza – how did you manage the uncertainty and the anxiety around what was happening in the world at the time?
I think there was a lot of uncertainty when we signed the lease. But there were more uncertainties about indoor clubs than there were about outdoor restaurants. We saw everything else was closed so we made a choice to move forwards. For us, Ibiza was a great destination because it gathers people from all over the world, and also the kind of people that we’ve welcomed at Silencio since 2011. It was a bet on the future. Of course it was risky, but I think it helped us grow the brand more internationally and explain what Silencio is. In the end, it was a great decision that we made at that time.
What are some unexpected challenges that you faced as a seasonal beach club owner compared to owning a city nightclub that’s open year-round?
It's challenging to find and keep a team when you have a seasonal project that you have to reopen every year. But it was also something we had experience with because we have other seasonal projects in Paris, such as Wanderlust which is an open-air club in Paris. We know how to build this rhythm. It's also exciting because you have a new season, a reopening. It's something very different from a permanent project. But we got used to it - we found the right team and we learned from the first years exactly what we need to face this challenge.
You also outsourced the F &B program. Why did you decide to do that versus doing it yourself?
We had already collaborated with Pharrell Williams and Jean Imbert in the past on projects like Miami Art Basel and Cannes Film Festival where Silencio is doing pop-ups. Working with their F&B management company ToShare for the Ibiza opening was a natural continuation of our collaboration. We always try to find inspiring, creative people in music, design, hospitality, and that's why we thought it was a great idea to work together to launch the brand. Now we are collaborating with chef Mauro Colagreco, who's doing the menu. We now have a second restaurant called Urusai with a vinyl bar.
For us, collaborating with chefs, artists, and designers is a major component of what we do. Whether it’s in Paris, or Ibiza, or New York, we try to find the right team and adapt to the rhythm and history of the place and the audience. That's why we work with different design studios that can understand the geography and what we want to do in each space. It's the same brand, but it's adapted to every different opening.
One thing that is really challenging for all hospitality entrepreneurs like yourself is finding great staff. In the case of El Silencio, customers are probably spending the whole day at the beach club and spending hundreds if not thousands of euros per check. So, the customer service experience is obviously really important. It’s very challenging to find the right staff, especially in Europe, because the industry has gotten so competitive. All of these seasonal hotspots, such as Ibiza, have had many new openings in the past couple years. So I was wondering what your philosophy is on finding and keeping amazing people that work for you.
I believe that working for projects that you like and that you share values with is important. It helps to have a team that is interested in working on a project like Silencio. Now we have four different locations, we can allow our team to travel from Paris or other cities to Ibiza. It’s a lot of logistics to manage, but once you have experience, it's something that you can do well. It was very difficult just after COVID, but it has improved since because people adapted to the situation and the changes that period brought. Now it's easier for us and we have a team that loves the project and that is very committed. One of the major things that you have to do in hospitality is to create a great team.
And now as you're expanding your business, how do you preserve creative integrity?
We don't really build franchises. Every venue for us needs to be adapted to every environment. For example, Paris and Ibiza are very different - the programming, the partnerships, and the design must be reimagined each time. But, the artistic DNA remains the same. Staying relevant means being curious, open to experimentation, and maintaining close relations with artists. During the 15 years of Silencio, we've built a creative community that inspires the project and use our space to test new ideas and new forms of creations. We have two other venues in Paris – Wanderlust and FVTVR - that keep us engaged with the emerging culture and scene. We also travel a lot with Silencio, to Miami for Basel, to Venice for the Biennale, to Arles for the Rencontre, and to Cannes Film Festival. We have remained in close link with the creative industries and have learned how they evolve through the years. That explains the longevity of Silencio, which has become an institution in Paris now after 15 years, which is a really long time for clubs.
What are three most valuable lessons that you learned as a nightlife & hospitality entrepreneur?
First, I would go back to the team. I think you need to be surrounded by passionate people, who care about artists, hospitality, and the guest experience. Building a team that is on the ground is key, but also behind the scenes to program, communicate, and organize the operation.
The second lesson could be about a sense of community and creating spaces where connections can happen. It's not only about doing a show – it’s about building and curating the right energy and the right people.
And the third lesson would be thinking long term, because nightlife can be about fashion and growing and dying very quickly. We were always interested in how you make it last. In the design of the club, it's a bit timeless design. We didn't look at doing something that was fashionable but something that would last through the times. They’re not only clubs – they’re cultural spaces where you can host concerts, talks, performances, screenings and private events. Longevity also has to do with the way that we think about creating flexible space to host various programming, which helps the spaces to live longer and adapt to any evolution of how people want cultural activation.
oh wow throwback! I remember going to Social Club quite a lot as a student. They always had a good line-up of nu-rave and emerging electro people.
It's obvs in the same building (Social Club also didn't have phone signal!) but I didn't know the same people were behind it.
I live in Paris, and I adore silencio. If I choose a night out, I go there. I already knew a bit about its history as a members' club, and it's very cool to see how much of that history has been carried over, even insofar as the public seating by the entrance and the secondary movie room that will also sometimes host sets. But learning more about their expansion and hearing thoughts from the founder is truly exciting! Thank you for this.