Ahead of our Manchester to Milano collaboration with Closer, we wanted to delve a little bit deeper into the origins and the vision of the party….
Closer started as, in your own words, “a humble afternoon gathering”, what inspired its creation and why did it start in that form specifically?
Masada gave us the opportunity to start our events in Milan, and being a cultural association, the only possible formula was daytime. We experimented and refined this formula for several years, realizing that both we and our crew had such a strong desire to socialize and have fun that they followed us even on Saturday afternoons.
How do you think the Closer experience and community has evolved since those humble beginnings? Are there some things that have stayed the same throughout your growth?
Closer has always had the main goal of giving ourselves and those who follow us an unforgettable experience, without any distinction of gender, race, or social class. Our strength lies in bringing people together. You just need to come to one of our events, even by yourself and without knowing anyone, and you’ll leave with plenty of new friends. This is the spirit we started with 9 years ago, and it’s still the same today.
In your opinion, what are the most important parts of curating an event that ensures its authenticity and the quality of experience for those on the dance floor?
The most important aspects of our events are certainly: offering our audience line-ups close to home that they would usually find across Europe, a great sound system, and above all, many hours of partying through our various marathon formats, making the parties iconic.
You speak about the power of transformation and connections on the dance floor – what does that mean to you at Closer?
For us, the power of connection is what we establish with our audience and the DJs we host, by living the event firsthand in all possible roles. Being an active part of the party is our secret to evolving. We are personally on the dancefloor to see and listen to the audience’s reactions to the sound of our Turbo Sound system, and we gather feedback during and after the event, accepting both positive and negative notes. This allows us to avoid repeating the same mistakes and to recreate what impressed the audience.
How do you make sure you balance the artistic vision of multiple people coming together to create one event?
We are very in sync with each other, we all have the same ideas and work in unison to create the line-ups by holding several annual meetings where everyone promotes their ideas. After gathering all the proposals, we simplify the process by choosing the names that have received the most feedback, ensuring we give our members the best possible final product.
The intimate ambiance of Masada plays a significant role in Closer’s essence. What do you think is unique about the relationship between the venue and the atmosphere of your events?
Masada was our first love, a visceral and mutual love. Every time Closer happens, we try to make it as much ours as possible with visuals that over the years have perfectly integrated with both Masada and Circolo Amelia. The latter has also become our second home since the post-Covid period until today, so we can say that Closer’s uniqueness lies in the perfect blend of location and audience, where the uniqueness of the location contributes 90% to the success of the event.
Can you tell our UK readers a little bit about the scene in Milan and what makes it unique?
In the last 10 years, Milan as a city has changed positively in my opinion. It has become European, inclusive, full of art and artists who want to express themselves. For us, it hasn’t been easy to step up, but I believe we’ve managed to make some changes in the city over the past few years, starting by moving away from the classic 6-hour line-ups, where in our opinion there’s not enough time to express yourself fully, offering the audience line-ups lasting 24 and even 26 hours.
Looking outwards, your collaboration with international brands like Bassiani, Vault Sessions (and of course Meat Free!) brings with it diverse influences. How do these partnerships and collaborations help to shape Closer’s identity?
After 9 years, we have a very clear identity, already shaped by the journey we’ve written so far. We believe that the beauty of collaborations is to not change your attitude even when stepping outside your comfort zone. Our collaborations are and will be with realities that align closely with our way of thinking, which in turn enriches our humanity and inclusivity, which is always beneficial.
Is there a dream collaboration that hasnt happened yet?
Recently, we collaborated with the legendary Tresor. It was a 26-hour party with two rooms open at Amelia plus Masada, and I would say that for now, our dreams have become reality. We continue on our path with our feet on the ground, enjoying what we’ve created.
Looking ahead,what does the future of Closer hold?
The future is celebrating our 10-year anniversary in 2025, spreading our smiles and music with the same enthusiasm we had in that November 9 years ago, which changed and marked our lives forever.