Zouk is a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

located in the

Clarke Quay Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay. Etymology ''Clarke Quay'' was named after Sir Andre ...

district. Opened in 1991, the brand has since expanded to various cities around

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. One of the country's most prominent nightclubs, it has won the

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and wa ...

's "Best Nightspot Experience" award 6 times, between 1996 and 2007. Zouk was ranked as number 10 on DJ Magazine's list of Top 100 clubs in the world in 2006, 2007 and 2010. In 2017, Zouk Singapore earned its highest ranking yet at number 3, the top entry for clubs across Asia. In 2021, Zouk Singapore was ranked as number 11 while Zouk KL was ranked as 33 on the

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

Top 100 Clubs list in the world. In September 2015, one of its founders, Lincoln Cheng, sold the rights of the Zouk brand to

Genting Hong Kong Genting Hong Kong Limited ( zh, 雲頂香港有限公司) was a holding company that operated cruise and resort businesses. It was headquartered in (海洋中心), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (). It was p ...

, an affiliate of

Genting Singapore Genting Singapore PLC is a Singapore-based regional leisure, hospitality and integrated resorts development specialist listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited. The principal activities of the company’s subs ...

. The brand and its business was valued at S$40 million by financial audit firm

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

in 2013. On 1 September 2020, Genting Hong Kong sold Zouk for S$14 million to Tulipa, a firm owned by Lim Keong Hui, the former deputy CEO of Genting Hong Kong and the son of Genting Hong Kong CEO and chairman of

Genting Group The Genting Group is a company headquartered in the Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It comprises the holding company Genting Berhad (), its listed subsidiaries Genting Malaysia Berhad (), Genting Plantations Berhad (), Genting Singapore ...

Lim Kok Thay Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (; born 16 August 1951) is a Malaysian Chinese billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of Genting Group, a casinos, resorts and palm oil conglomerate with a market capitalization of almost MYR40 billion, and the secon ...

Etymology

The club is named after the

Antillean Creole Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages. Antillean Creol ...

word for 'party'.

Origins

The original Zouk Club at Jiak Kim Street was designed based on founder Lincoln Cheng's travels around

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

and other Mediterranean coastal countries. Zouk at Jiak Kim Street was housed in three restored warehouses that originally occupied the land when Cheng acquired it. The three old warehouses that make up the original Zouk were built in 1919 by the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, altho ...

, on present-day Jiak Kim Road, housing three interconnected clubs: * Zouk (1991), with a large dance floor and sound and lighting, catering to a variety of artists. * Velvet Underground (1994), a quieter, more relaxed lounge that plays

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

. * Phuture (1996), a more

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

bar specializing in broken beats and hip hop/R&B. In December 2016, Zouk Singapore moved to its new premises at

's entertainment epicenter. Housed in a revamped warehouse, the new space retained its multi-room concept with three club outlets and two bars: * Zouk, the largest club in the complex with a capacity of over 3,500, has a main room that regularly hosts international guest DJs, ‘live’ performances and other events. The club is decked out with a customized Gary Stewart analog sound system, state-of-the-art lighting, and multi-level dance floor. * Phuture, an underground-esque club outlet for hip-hop and R&B lovers. The outlet is aerodynamic design, playful furniture, funky

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

backed bars, a circular dance floor and characterized by graffiti murals by Singaporean artist,

Jahan Loh Jahan Loh (Chinese: 羅傑瀚; born 1976) is a contemporary artist based in Singapore. Personal life Jahan Loh grew up in Singapore and is of Chinese Hakka descent. He attended St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore. At 17, he forayed into str ...

. * Capital, a dual lounge and club space aimed at older audiences with open format music nights. The club is adorned with a mesmerizing ceiling art designed by Tetsuya Toshima, a neon piece by Singaporean artist

Dawn Ng Dawn Ng (born 1982) is a multi-hyphenate visual artist from Singapore. She works across a diverse breadth of mediums, motives and scale ranging from text, illustration, collage, light, sculpture to large scale installations. Her work primarily dea ...

, and geometric LED glow ceiling on the dance floor by LEDSCONTROL. * RedTail Bar, Zouk Singapore's pre-game playground. Fashioned as a casual and pre-game space for lively gatherings, the bar serves an array of contemporary Asian bites, craft cocktails, beers, wines and Zouk signatures including Blue Spin, Velvet Rope and more. RedTail Bar boasts a DJ deck of its own,

beer pong Beer pong, also known as Beirut, is a drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in a cup of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of opposing teams of two or more player ...

tables, and several drinking games against a backdrop of tracks put together by Zouk resident DJs – all intended to bring forth a convivial setting for post-work hangouts and pre-drink sessions to kick off the weekend party nights. * Queens, a hip-hop inspired cocktail bar inspired by the New York borough.

Other Outlets

Apart from running Zouk nightclubs, Genting Group also runs and manages other outlets, ranging from bars to fine dining restaurant and

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

lounges.

Events

ZoukOut ZoukOut is an annual dance music festival held in Singapore since 2000. One of Asia's biggest music dance festivals, it is organised by Zouk Singapore. DJs that have performed at ZoukOut include Paul Van Dyk, 2ManyDJS, Masters at Work, Gilles Pet ...

is an annual music dance festival held in Singapore since 2000.

References

*Boey, Dylan. Mambo Rocks in Sunday Times 8 August 2004. Singapore: SPH. *DJ Adam Low. (1998) Mambo Jambo Wednesday Night Live. Singapore: Avex Trax.

External links