Night Image

Nightclubs in Madrid

The El Pais newspaper printed a special supplement on night clubbing today (Guía De La Noche - extraíble). Included was a top ten list ('Top' 10 De Los Mejores Clubes) covering the whole of Spain in which two Madrid nightclubs were featured - Danzoo @ Macumba and Deep. There are a lot of posters for Danzoo plastered over walls and lampposts down in the Chueca and Malasaña zones and Madrid-Uno was pleased to see that Richie Hawtin has been gigging there recently - an old-school fave from the Detroit minimal techno years - LOVE IT! Deep is a night rather than a club and is now resident at Changó, a converted theatre with the old stage still intact and used by the show-offs. Quality house music led by the two resident DJs José Luis Magoya and Ángel Molina and sometimes supplemented by the likes of Coxy and Digweed.

Here's the rest of the Madrid clubs recommended in the supplement:

  • Fabrik - Out of town 'megaclub' (holds 5,000 people+). Techno / progressive.
  • Fulanita De Tal - Gay / Mixed club in Chueca. Very camp. Free entry.
  • Independance - Rock and indie (Franz Ferdinand / Strokes etc.) Chueca zone.
  • El Juglar - Funk and RnB disco-pub in Lavapiés.
  • Luke, Soy Tu Padre - Very small. Post-punk sounds (think Sonic Youth / new electro).
  • Nasti / Barbarella - Hot and sweaty club nights down in Malasaña.
  • Low Club - Fridays and Saturdays. Very fresh sounds and good DJs. Always packed.
  • Supersonic - 1980s indie and 1990s Brit-pop.
  • Space of Sound - An 'Afters' club that kicks off at nine in the morning and goes on all day. This place is an institution and attracts all the 'serious' clubbers in town from all walks of life. Muscle-bound poseurs, glammed-up girls, spaced-out students, Versace clad metro-sexuals and frenetic dancing activity. If you're on an all-night bender and don't wanna stop, try here.

    • Public safety advertisement, it says: if you wear a helmet into a discotech you won't lose any points (on your licence) although you will look a bit of an idiot.

    Sin embargo, Madrid-Uno showed this list to some trendy friends of his who live down in the Tribunal zone and they were fairly dismissive, agreeing only with two; 'Space of Sound' and 'Luke, Soy Tu Padre'. But hey, it's all subjective right? Having only been here a few months Madrid-Uno is not sure his comments count for too much on the general 'scene' in Madrid but here are some thoughts. Firstly, folks is friendly. Even with my limited Spanish people are happy to chat and total strangers go out of their way to help. There's a (wonderful) absence of that London 'too cool for you' arrogance and whilst they love to get completely smashed the Madrileños rarely fight. Secondly, it's very retro; an awful lot of post-punk and 1980's indie, trannies still consider themselves outrageous, the electro house thing is only just starting and there is no sign of any emo. They've only just caught on to the late 1990s South American invention 'Reggaeton'. House music however is very fresh and the leading Madrid DJs work closely with the world's best producers. Thirdly, it helps enormously if you know how to dance 'Latino' (i.e. salsa, merengue, rumba etc.) because it's the base of all the pop music you'll hear. Fourthly, the locals are bionic. These guys have serious stamina and know how to pace themselves. There's no wimping out at 2.00 am here so be prepared!