CLUB MATADERO

Dance music, such as house, techno or disco, emerged in Chicago, New York and Detroit in the late 1970s with a hedonistic and rebellious spirit that has since permeated today’s globalised society. From LGTBIQ+ clubs and discos it moved on to festivals around the world and eventually came to occupy a prominent place in celebrations at major contemporary cultural institutions (from the 25th anniversary of Tate Modern to the festive closing of the Centre Pompidou). The journey of this music represents the triumph of resilience and hedonism.

With the second edition of El Club Matadero, a public programme continues that seeks to highlight dance music as a genre (with multiple variants) capable of allowing people to travel without moving, simply through listening and dancing. Music of resistance, dissidence and enjoyment. Through regular sessions, supported by a carefully designed sound system, the programme proposes sets of sufficient duration to allow audiences to move through different states and emotions. Sensory journeys for citizens curious about this musical genre.

Curated by Marc Ventosa, artistic director of Bilbao BBK Live and Kalorama, among others, the new sessions of the club will consist of two five-hour sets performed by two of the most charismatic DJs on the national club scene: John Talabot and Rachael.

The glow of spring will serve as the connecting thread for these sessions, which will take place in a vermouth-time schedule from 12:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March. On the first date, John Talabot will offer a journey through the history of disco music filtered through his synthetic sensibility, while Rachael proposes a voyage toward euphoria through her vinyl selections.

BIOS

John Talabot (Saturday 21) is a DJ, producer and electronic musician from the Barcelona scene who has become an international reference thanks to his unique ability for mixing and improbable remixes. His sound feels less of this world than something arriving from outer space. After his early steps in such an emblematic venue as Razzmatazz Club, international specialist media such as the musical bible Pitchfork and The Guardian praised his debut album fIN (2012). Since then, Oriol Riverola (the name behind Talabot’s enigmatic alias) has continued to perform and experiment while achieving success at festivals around the world, from Sónar to C2C, including Dekmantel, DGTL Festival, Garbicz Festival and Paraíso Listen Festival. Particularly memorable is his historic achievement of closing Basoa at BBK Festival for five consecutive years.

Rachael (Sunday 22) is a Madrid-based DJ whose initial interests, primarily focused on electro, techno and the hardcore continuum, have expanded through the exploration of diverse forms. Characterised by her use of vinyl as her preferred mixing medium, her style is confident and unadorned yet dynamic: Rachael’s sets are living structures that, adapting to the demands of the dance floor, unfold into unexpected territories or settle incisively within a progressively expanding zone. Among her more than thirty published sessions are appearances in Resident Advisor’s Mix of the Day series and on NTS Radio’s programme Peking Spring, hosted by Jon K. A regular presence in DJ booths across the country, her name appears in the programming of venues and festivals such as Soundit Festival, Mostra, Volumens, Festival Perpendicular, Razzmatazz, Laut, Dabadaba, Jimmy Jazz, Upload, Sala Villanos, Siroco and Cosmos, as well as events such as Human, Dialektik, Golpe de Amistad, Canino, Onyro and Tombolo.