Back to 30s: Barcelona Pipa Club

If you're in the magnificent Plaça Reial, a hot-spot of Barcelona nightlife, and you ring the bell of "Pipa Club" at number 3, it will seem you that you're travelling across ages and that you've jumped into the 20-30s. You'll get into an old, Victorian flat, transformed into a fancy bar with the vibe of the beginning of the XX century. You'll see jazz musician jamming in the main hall and you will be able to drink vermouth while listening to good music and enjoying the atmosphere. 

Barcelona Pipa Club's location: Plaça Reial

The Barcelona Pipa Club was founded in 1980 as a non-profit association, which now counts over than 400 members. It was born as a pipe-smoking club, even if live music constitutes the main attraction.

The style - as already said - is very Victorian: it seems to get back to the London of the 20-30s, especially the Sherlock Holmes pub, which reminds us the foggy atmosphere of Londoner Baker Street. It is one of the most unique places you'll ever visit - especially if you're a vintage lover. 

Barcelona Pipa Club

The list of activities offered by Barcelona Pipa Club is wide: the gastronomic section, which organises gourmet assays and monthly dinners; the photographic one, which arranges laboratories and expositions; the cigar section for Havana fans; a literaly division which allows you to chat with writers; the pipe smoking courses, coherently with the true spirit of the place; painting and photography exhibitions; snooker, darts and chess groups and, last but not least, jazz concerts.

Every sunday, there is the jam session held by some jazz musicians, on monday and tuesday you can enjoy tango and milonga, while on friday there are always musicians playing different instrument with various styles, from blues to gipsy jazz . 

Barcelona Pipa Club: flier

Unfortunately, Barcelona Pipa Club will move soon to Grácia district, at number 21 in Carrer Sant Eulalia. I say unfortunately because Plaça Reial is - without any doubt - one of the most suggestive Barcelonian locations, and it will be difficult to recreate the same atmosphere. However, Grácia has its own allure, and I hope that Barcelona Pipa Club will not lose its timeless style. 

Carlotta Neuenschwander

Por la carretera ~ Manu Chao and his concierto clandesti in El Hospitalet

José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao is a French-born artists of Spanish origin. He began his successfull career in the mid-1980s with his first group, the Hot Pants, but it is with Mano Negra, a "multiracial" band founded in 1987, that Manu Chao reached popularity. 

"Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different style of music."

In fact, Manu Chao and his band are influenced by many different music genres, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, ska, reggae and Algerian raï, that create a unique music style appreciated in all the world. His songs and lyrics deal with immigration, love, social problems and often carry a left-wing message. Moreover Manu Chao sings in many different languages, such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, English, Galician and Arabic, even mixing them in the same song.

His experience with Mano Negra ended in 1995, and Manu Chao started his solo career in Madrid with a new group, the Radio Bemba Sound System. In this new phase José-Manuel wrote some of his most famous songs, like Clandestino (1998) or Me Gustas Tu (2001). 

He considers himself a citizen of the world, however he actually lives in Barcelona (even if he rarely stays in Spain), a city that perfectly matches with his way of living, full of live and energy. The people love him, and he loves his city, he even opened a bar in Barri Gotic, the Mariatchi, and he owns a disco in El Hospitalet where he often performs.

This weekend, in particular, he held two conciertos clandesti in his disco, the Salamandra. Why clandestine concerts? In Barcelona he often performs in secret concerts to avoid a huge request of tickets (and resulting disappointements), so only if you're a regular client of his bar, or if you are a true fan of him (if you are really lucky too!), you will found out about his shows. 

Yesterday, 5th of May, Manu Chao performed for more than two hours without any true break, more than 20 songs in his set list, and energy, really a lot of energy in every single song. This is, in fact, why Manu Chao is so appreciated by his fans, even at the age of 53 he seems a young, crazy boy on the stage, always singing and inciting the public that follows him singing every word and dancing at every song. Clandestino, El Viento, Desaparecido, all his best known songs, spaced out by Pinocchio and other crazy motifs, entertained a public of less than 1000 people in a quite familiar atmosphere. A lot of good music, but also social engagement characterized this concert, with a speech about the human rights crisis in Mexico, with the disappearence of 43 mexican people in mysterious circumstances: 

¡Vivos los llevaron, vivos los queremos! 

With his music kaleidoscope, you will feel lighter, happier, so if you are fishing in troubled waters, if you have some problems, and if you feel sad, just go to one of his concerts, and you will forget everything for the next three hours.

Pase lo que pase, sea lo que sea, próxima estación: Esperanza.

Palo Alto Market in Barcelona ( 4 – 5 April 2015 ): The Power of Creativity and Music Together

ThePalo Alto market is a new idea of market: it is a handcrafted and sophisticated street market based on the idea to promote creativity and quality of the products. It is located in an urban island with a wonderful view where talents are mixed the five senses.

Why the five senses?

An area was completely dedicated to food and testing different kind of street food: from Thai and sushi to vegan, but also Spanish and Latin American.

Another area was dedicated to workshops: touching and transforming materials, such as recycled materials, cardboard, but also learning to construct of vegetal puppets and decorative objects. 

Three galleries were dedicated to fashion and design: the design gallery, with handcrafted decorative objects, the Boehme and the fashion gallery, mainly with handmade shoes and clothes.

Creativity and quality were the key words. A huge number of Spanish designers and fashion designer were present there to promote their cretions and let them know to the public.

Music & Performances were also present:

In order to create the right atmosphere, music could not miss in such an event. Two places were dedicated to music, an open air space with dj set and a bar where you could taste martini and vermouth, called “Jazz Club Martini”. There, a fantastic trio, Khaoula & Friends Trio, exhibits in a captivating show full of rhythm and different sonorities: jazz mixed with African and South American influences. Incredible was the energy and the positiveness released by the singer; she was able to live up all the public of the bar.

Here is a video:

What about the location?

Actually it was not in the city center but in a new area, called Poblenou. Poblenou is one of the few areas that has grown independently, keeping away from mass tourism and maintaining its identity. As a result it has become one of the most genuine and prolific metropolitan scenarios of Barcelona city.

In recent years, a series of creative atelier have found their home in Poblenou, since cultural and commercial spaces are present to offer innovative proposals. It is there where new buildings coexist with art galleries, foundations, design studios, advertizing agency, hotels and restaurants.

The area is living an incredible transformation due to the creative community of “Poblenou Urban District” which promotes, reinvents and creates ideas to transform this postindustrial zone in a Barcelonan vanguard and referring point.

We shuould wait for the next Palo Alto market, the 2 and 3 of May to see the community at work again to revive the magic of the place where creativity and music mixed together.

Spring has come! Let's start it with a new festival: Brunch Electronik Barcelona '15

Spring has arrived, and with it a new great festival starts here in Barcelona! Temperature are rising, hot sunny days are coming, so it is the moment to put aside plaids and dvds and spend the weekend outdoor instead of staying at home.

The Brunch Electronik Barcelona offers you a different plan to enjoy this beautiful season of the year with music, cuisine and culture, so if you are bored of wasting your time on the sofa come and have some good fun! In fact in the Brunch Electronik Barcelona you will have the chance to join culture and leisure together, you can rest under the sun and at the same time you can be involved in a lot of cultural activities like shows, cinematic projections, flea markets where you can buy second hand books and vinyls, reading spaces, activities for children and more. Moreover, as you can understand from the name of the festival, you will find a tasty brunch menu if you're hungry, and you will have the chance to dance to the music of the best national and international djs of the moment.

The festival will be hosted at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, in the heart of the city, then it is an opportunity to visit it and get seduced by its beauty, since the entrance ticket will allow you to visit the museum as well.

So, from the third sunday of March, every two weeks, all the families with children, all music lovers, "nihilists", people that love culture, vintage markets addicts, but in general to all the people that want to spend a different sunday, you already have a plan for the weekend: the Brunch Electronik Festival.

For further information, don't waste time and visit the website!