A great debate has been going on in blogdom where, like that Governor in Illinois, my own words are being used against me. That’s fair enough. I wrote a story about a year ago when Mansion first opened saying that Mansion was “capable” of leading us into “a new era” of clubbing. To many, that prediction fell short -- yet, it has not folded as others predicted. The semantics of bankruptcy proceedings aside, the public can still dance and imbibe at the former Crobar/Mezmor/Mansion -- and now, M2 space. Although some Mansion peeps were asked to return from whence they came, Mark Baker and his crew remain, and as long as Mark is there and enthusiastic, there is great hope. There were many reasons why Mansion did not become all things to all people.

Little things, like the general demise of the 27th Street club corridor due to police harassment following the unfortunate death of a club patron, as well as the slump in the world economy, have been factors. Mansion’s business plan was heavily dependent on Euro and South American jet-set loot, which certainly lessened as the cost of travel in this global economic downturn impacted even “the beautiful people.” Fighting and old debt were topics talked about in media as well as on the street. Still, Mansion has more than just survived, and last week as reported here (and now everywhere) Mansion has been re-tasked as M2. It isn’t “dunzo” as some have said; it's merely adjusting to the changing climate. Mark Baker, who some incorrectly say I am way too kind to, welcomes the change. New partners Joey Morrissey and Artie Arboleda will bring the endangered species known as “the filler crowd’ to the joint. This crowd will generate (according to Mark) enough revenue to have substantial loot around for much needed “spectacle.” Alegria, a monster of a gay party, is coming to M2 as well. Previous Mansion management had frowned on the gay scene; this I did not know, but I read it online the other day, so it must be true.

The Ministry of Sound coming in to do Fridays is further evidence of the dynamic changes serving as part of an attempt to make this space, whatever-they-call-it, be all that it can be. How the addition of these fine British folks plays out in the New York City house scene is a topic of heated debate at Pacha and over at Webster Hall. Will M2 emerge as a major player competing with the other mega-clubs for talent and rare patronage? Is this the beginning of club war? An interesting side note is what happened with Bob Sinclair a couple of weeks ago. This big DJ with a big draw could not get the $40,000 booking fee he was seeking and was used to getting from the Manhattan clubs; instead he opted to play in Astoria for a reported $35,000 in a smaller venue. Astoria? That’s a place over a bridge. and I, for one, don’t do that.

I sat down and had a conversation with Joey Morrissey, Artie Arboleda, and Mark Baker of Mansion, and Andy Horsfield and Lainie Copicotto of the Ministry of Sound.

Ministry of Sound is making a move to New York City. Of course you’ve done parties in New York over the years, but here we have a Friday night residency at a major nightclub. An ongoing affair beginning Friday January 30, with the Ministry of Sound booking DJs like David Vendetta, Andy Caldwell, and the FreeMasons. Why is Ministry making the move to New York at this point? Andy Horsfield: We set up Ministry of Sound in America last year to start releasing records, and the second thing we’re trying to do is to create these individual events. Not just here in New York -- we’ll spread it out across the US -- but it’s very important that we do these events properly. It’s not just a DJ standing there and playing other peoples’ records for a couple hours -- it’s about creating something. What we’re creating with M2 in New York is a whole clubbing experience. So not only is it not just one DJ, we’ve got three great DJs, but we’ve also got a performer, Katherine Ellis, signed to our label who is going to be doing live performances. I think that whole aspect is sadly lacking from clubs here in the US. There’s plenty of clubs full of sweaty kids with their tops off, but I feel that what Ministry can bring to the US and particularly to New York is the whole clubbing experience. The music’s going to be the very best in the world, and the performers are going to be the very best in the world -- it’ll be visually as well as musically pleasing, an experience for everybody. Mark Baker: I think that the reason why this particular venue is the perfect fit for Ministry is that Mansion is a warm, sexy, large ultralounge with no giant dance floor. Even though we’re a big venue and our capacity is large, we have extremely high ceilings and different areas within the club that are warm and sexy. This whole vibe that Ministry is bringing is an adult club experience geared towards a slightly more sophisticated crowd, as opposed to the young ravers who are popping pills. There are different levels and different spaces within the club so everyone can find their own niche. That combined with the fact that we love to have performances, aerialists, and dancers. There are lots of wonderful, weird, and wacky things that go on here that are just unique to this venue -- there’s no other venue in the city that can do it, and I think it’s a perfect fit. I think everyone’s going to love the whole experience. This is a first in nightlife ... this is a first for this generation.

Isn’t this new to the Ministry of Sound -- the fact that there’s seating on the dance floor? Lainie Copicotto: The reason why actually we came to Mansion (and we are very familiar from doing our events over the years in New York) is that it breaks up the monotony of a regular dance floor. When you go to clubbing in any major city, it seems like everyone stops dancing and starts staring at the DJ booth, and it’s becomes almost like a really lame concert because no one’s interacting with each other. And it may be very well just the performer of that evening, but Ministry, especially in the UK, always brings a scene where you can actually bring a guy and a girl, a guy and a guy, or a girl and a girl, and everyone can dance together again! It’s about the camaraderie, it’s about being able to have a conversation, to hook up at the end of the night, whatever it is, but that’s being an adult, it’s not about just jumping up and down in once space. I remember when people used to dance together in a club and get a phone number ... that doesn’t happen anymore in certain venues. This is going to be that experience, where you’re going to get to actually meet people again and just have an experience together.

London is very different from New York. New York is far more mixed racially, and our pop music is hip hop, which is not the case in London. DJs like David Morales play before much smaller audiences here than in London. Don’t the DJs based in New York always play for bigger crowds overseas? AH: It’s kind of weird, because there are a lot of European DJs who have done particularly well in New York and the U.S, like one of my artists DJ Sasha. It’s not as cut and dried as you see it. For about 15 years, they’ve made a lot more money overseas than they have in US, but that works the same for Tokyo and it does for London ... it’s not just about the European thing. A lot of European DJs and a lot of UK DJs have made a significant amount of money touring in the US as well, so it’s not as clear cut. I think the grass is greener, for instance. When you’ve got a New York DJ, most people have probably seen them spin, so it’s not as glamorous for them here. I think there’s always an element of that -- the local guy is never going to be a hero ...

Mark, when this club opened, a lot of people thought that you were competing with Pacha. Eddie Dean and Rob Fernandez were nervous about this club because they thought eventually there would be a war. It never happened, but now with the Ministry of Sound, isn’t it more likely to be head-on-head with the Pacha programming? MB: I think it’s actually different. We try to come up with innovative ideas of what makes clubbing fun in 2009. Again, we do not have a dance floor, and that makes a huge difference. It’s more about table service, sitting, more about entertainment, production, aerialists, and performers. And I also think that the average age of our client here is slightly older than they have at Pacha. Pacha is definitely a legitimate DJ-driven music venue.

So you’re going to draw people because you have a social thing here that’s not dependent only on the DJ? MB: The reason that we moved into this venue was because the size of it allowed us to have performers and artists and have a little bit of breathing and elbow room instead of packing everybody into a small club. That was the philosophy here, and it still is. So the point is that it’s all about service, predominantly table service, but within the club there is somewhere comfortable for everyone to find their niche. You don’t get lost. Crobar was a huge club where you could get lost easily, but people don’t get lost here. I love this concept that Artie brought to the table -- this is quite a new concept, the fact that a group like Ministry will be in a space like this. When we opened up, you know how much shit we copped from the ravers, et cetera ...

I still find myself defending some of your early decisions ... MB: People thought we weren’t legitimate, but this is moving forward -- this isn’t Crobar, this is something new, it’s an ultralounge, and everyone gave us shit. I think having the world’s best DJs and having performances and arts and shows combined with ultralounge-style environment and service is great. I don’t think they have to be exclusive of each other, they can work together. And I think to see these two elements coming together now is unique ... I think it’s a new direction in music.

Andy, in New York we have restrictive door policies, furniture on the floor, etc. ... it’s certainly a new adjustment. Is Ministry compromising to adjust to this joint venture? AH: In all honesty, the real reason we came to Mansion is exactly for that setup. The rules, the layout of the club, and the way they handle everything within the club environment are the whole reason we came. We can’t come and start picking away at elements that work for them and extracting them and saying we don’t agree with it -- we want to make it an adult clubbing experience, and the crowd they get at Mansion is ideal. So if people come and they’re not well-dressed or they don’t represent themselves properly at the door, they’re not going to enhance the cachet of the night if they do get in.