Madrid Snaps

Taken By Sarah Rebecca Wilkie

What Is/Is Not Socially Acceptable In Madrid?

What Is Socially Acceptable in Madrid?

1. Wearing sunglasses indoors, especially on the metro. The Spanish are all about creating that mysterious, too cool for school look... I just do it when I'm looking rough. 

2. Staring, especially on the Metro. Cast your eyes on someone on the Metro, look at them up and down, check out what they are wearing, stare into their eyes, and don't worry if they spot you… keep looking and don't get scared. 

3. Being late. In Madrid you should never be on time for anything. Being on time is just not cool here. 

4. Kissing twice on the cheek when you greet someone. This is the cause of many awkward moments when someone only goes for one kiss, and you are left hovering in their personal space with your lips pursed ready for another one. 

5. Being slow. Everyone in Madrid, whether young or old, walks at the pace of a tortoise. In England everyone always seems to be in a rush, but in Spain, the pace of life is extremely slow. I have places to be, people to see, and I just want to kick them up the hiney and tell them to move out of the way!

What is NOT Socially Acceptable in Madrid?

1. Non-Spanish Clothing. Women, don't wear anything else but jeans and parka coats, no matter what time of year it is. Even in the blistering heat, it's just not socially acceptable to get your pins/cleavage out. If you dare try, I promise you will spend your whole day trying to cover up your skin as you receive disapproving looks off old women, and unwanted attention from men. Unless you like that greasy, slimey, tracksuit wearing fella who is desperately trying to chat you up. 

2. Being polite. Spanish people are not polite, and they don't do queues. Every man is out for themselves. Since moving here I've realised that English people are incredibly polite, and I love that. The English are forever saying sorry, queueing patiently and giving up their seat on public transport. The Spanish on the other hand, are quite the opposite. 

3. Going out early. You shouldn't be going to a club in Madrid until at least 3am. PRO - The Metro will be open when you leave the club. CON - You will have been drinking from 11pm until 7am, and by this time, you probably won't even know what a Metro is...

Mondo/Music

Much to my delight, Madrid's electronic music scene is huge. (I'm so edgy la la la) I've been lucky enough to see some awesome DJs here, including Jamie Jones, Danny Daze, Maya Jane Coles, DJ Zinc, Pachanga Boys, XXXY etc. Solomun and Art Department were also meant to play in Madrid, but never turned up...

In my opinion, Mondo is the best place to go in Madrid if you are into electronic/house music. It's very central, only 5 minutes walk from Puerta del Sol. The programme each month never fails to impress, with some of the biggest DJ's flying into Madrid to showcase their stuff. Next week, on the 16th May, we are going to see Joy Orbison at Mondo which I'm very excited about.

My housemates Greg and Charlie have also massively influenced my taste in music after they took up DJ-ing when they arrived in Madrid. Their career was short-lived, but incredibly exciting. They played at Taboó many times, as well as house parties. One particularly memorable week was the week before they played in the main room in Taboó. They practiced all day, everyday, until I was dying to hear some acoustic music without the housey beat. It all paid off though, the audience absolutely loved them and I was a very proud of my boys! I really hope they continue to DJ in Nottingham next year.

Laydown

Feeling a bit worse for wear, we decided to make our way down to the beach, with lots of hangover food, for an afternoon of sunbathing. (living the dream!) We got our tan on for about 2 hours, then got very bored so decided it was time for Megan's ice cream of the day. As we got to the ice-cream van we started to hear some really good tunes, and ended up following the music. 

Somehow we stumbled across an absolute winner. It was a Moet and Chandon champagne bar, all outside, with white beds. Not usually my cup of tea, but I had a whale of a time. Bikini's and maxi skirts were adorned, as well as a rather cringe flat cap that I found on the beach. We hastily got the Gin and Tonics in.. hare of the dog and all that jazz. 4 hours later we were all overcome with this huge urge to pretend we were Shakira, dancing to African Tribal music in front of about 50 people. 

We really did not want to leave this place. With views of the Puerto, huge white boats, bright blue sea and sky, surrounded by palm trees, everything was just perfect.  

We left the bar, slightly disheartened as we had a dinner reservation to rush back for. We just wanted to be there all night. When i returned home I searched for the bar in Google and realised that that day was their opening weekend again for the summer. 

This place really is a MUST SEE in Valencia, if you are looking for a chilled bar, near the beach, with some ridiculous tunes, then this place is everything you could wish for, and more.  

Taboó

Why don't you have a go at guessing where Taboó is…?! Of course it's in my favourite neighbourhood of Malasaña!

With everything from reggae to hard-core punk and a whole lot of house music in between, Taboó likes to keep its options open. The music is a fusion of many different genres, but everything that you hear in Taboó will immediately get you dancing.  I have lost count of the amount of times that we have been to Taboó on either a Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening, and I will continue going most weekends until I leave Madrid in June.

Despite it being very small, at around 4am the atmosphere in this little joint could easily rival the atmosphere of a much bigger club. The mood is always electric and everyone is there for the same reason: to lose their inhibitions and to appreciate incredible music. 

From 11pm there is usually a live band, showcasing the best in Samba, Reggaeton, Punk or Funky beats. Then from 1am until 6:30am, Taboó handpicks the best House, Deep House, Techno and Electro DJ's from Madrid. Occasionally, a fantastic Bongo drummer will join the DJ's on stage which really gets the crowd going. You may even have the pleasure of seeing my favourite duo Greg Ilsen and Charlie Schmidt ;)  Check them out here… https://soundcloud.com/uk-houseplant

The other night I spotted this curly haired, friendly looking chap with the biggest grin i've ever seen plastered on his face. He said that he had been coming to Taboó since he was 16 years old, and that 10 years later, it was still his favourite place in Madrid. That says it all really…Yes the music in Taboó may not attract the Top 40 commercial music lover, however, why not give it a chance and see if it tickles your fancy!? And if it does, every night you spend there will leave you wanting to come back for more!