They say it is the new fashionable district and they even tried to sell it as the third most popular neighborhood. cool of the world. It has been a year since Time Out magazine praised Carabanchel as a mecca for Madrid artists, although the news fluctuated between pride and indignation. After all, it is a working-class neighborhood where housing is also becoming more expensive or where health centers suffer from a lack of doctors. A year before glorifying it, the same magazine placed it among the neighborhoods with the lowest annual income in the city. But art galleries, leisure centers and alternative activities are multiplying, and there are those who already speak of Carabanchel as the ‘SoHo’ of Madrid. The cultural offer is growing, especially for musicians.
The district already brings together more rehearsal facilities than any other place in Spain. In total there are nine licensed businesses and, among them, some are quite well-known and frequented by both artists on the scene and emerging bands. Whether successful or unknown, the groups use these spaces to create their music, try new sounds or even propose collaborations with their local neighbors without having to rearrange their homes or disturb other residents. Some of the most famous are concentrated in very few square meters, such as El Observatorio, Matilda, or Gruta 77. Juan Luis Nieto runs the last of them, a job that he combines with his activity at APLEM, the Professional Association of Musical Rehearsal Venuesof which he is president. In their latest survey, they estimated up to 250 licensed rehearsal facilities throughout the Community of Madrid, several in the district where he lives and works. And where artists like Biznaga, Los Punsetes, Bechamel, the Hinds or Vicente Calderón rehearse
“We want to be recognized for what we are: a cultural activity,” he says from minute one. “The hidden side of music are the rooms where songs are born, but we are not publicly recognized,” considers this sound lover. Renting a venue costs between 200 and 500 euros per month for a space that is generally shared with other groups and in which rehearsal hours have to be organized in advance. Nieto clarifies that not only do they offer a place to practice, but in many cases – such as Gruta 77 – they also offer singing or instrument classes. At the same time, it is an ideal place for “musician trafficking”, or in other words, the transfer between groups of both technical material to play and their own members, who in many cases fluctuate from one band to another. “If someone is missing a drummer for a concert, ask the place next door, this is very common. And they do each other favors to fill those vacancies that arise on a daily basis,” says Nieto.
We want to be recognized for what we do and are: a cultural activity
Juan Luis Nieto
— owner of Gruta 77, one of the rehearsal space companies in Carabanchel
Hinds, the famous Madrid band that Carlota Cosials and Ana García Perrote currently form, is one of the duos that rehearse in the district and shares time or space with two other bands. They became the opening act for Coldplay, but the glamor The scene is much grayer and more disciplined behind the scenes. Cables, synthesizers, guitars, speakers, capos… there are many tools that an artist works with in the rehearsal room, and generally they are the ones who provide the material from their own pockets. That is why it is very important to be able to use the tools of other colleagues in the industry to get out of a specific setback. Your case is no exception.
“The other day we shared a flight case [contenedores especiales para transportar equipos] to Depression Sonora, and with Toni [Díaz]from Cupid, we also recently exchanged something that we needed,” recalls García Perrote, who has visited up to three different establishments with his partner in the ten years they have been active. They chose businesses like the Pandora Box or the now extinct Rock Palace, both in Arganzuela, but as they grew they noticed that they outgrew them. They also tested in Argüelles, where they shared a cabin with the Ginebras. In their case it was the search for space that displaced them from more central areas, but they agree that many of their people have been driven away by “the absolute gentrification” that Madrid has occupied. “Today there are more active bands than rehearsal venues,” Cosials points out, pointing to this paradox.
In the end, they notice how there are artists who leave their neighborhoods to move to the south, where prices can be somewhat cheaper, and then they have to look for a place to practice close to home. “For us it is like an office, the place you go every day,” reflects García Perrote. The trend, however, has already changed. The monthly rent is in the doldrums: the usual thing now is to rent by the hour, at about 10-20 euros depending on the case. “What happens is that most bands are made up of young people, in their twenties, who still live with their parents or do not work and have free time to dedicate to music. That means they also have little purchasing power,” deduces Cosials. If they have to choose which is the best place in Carabanchel, they do not hesitate to name El Observatorio, next to the Oporto metro. “He is the best of all. They have a terrace, a bar… and that makes many bands bond over a drink after rehearsals,” they conclude.
Many of the greats can be seen there, like Biznaga. The rock band Vicente Calderón also plays at the venue on Algorta Street. There are five of them in total and they pay 470 euros every month to reserve the space, which they share with three other bands. As the Hinds mentioned, what convinced them was partly the quality of the space and the “good atmosphere” it provided. But also that it was open practically all day or they gave the option to access before opening if someone has a concert and needs to charge the equipment. Before they spent a season at the Metronome, a rare bird in Madrid where free venues are offered to a select group of artists.
It is a commitment by the Community of Madrid, which makes ten rehearsal rooms and a recording studio available to emerging bands. The options of getting a place, therefore, are few, since there are quite a few groups on the scene that try this route. Vicente Calderón’s team had to abandon it due to availability problems. “We always had to go at the same time, and it ended up becoming impossible,” they explain to Somos Madrid. The success of Carabanchel as a new home for many groups is a phenomenon that they see as quite established, especially since the district was redefined on an artistic level and many painting studios or art galleries began to settle there.
“We don’t know if these movements arise from there being so many places to rehearse and a great variety of music, or if it is rather the other way around. What is clear is that Carabanchel is a real neighborhood, with a diverse population and a broad music culture,” they consider. From this breeding ground boils a movement that seems to be here to stay. Just like the trend of hourly rentals, which is also well known to them. They are a group with a certain audience and, therefore, resources. But those who have just started do not have it easy and this can serve as an intermediate solution.
“At first you are not very clear in what direction a project is going, nor is there a fixed rehearsal plan.” That makes it a “commitment” to enter a place for months, since “you never know what you are going to need or what you will want in the medium term,” they point out. The final calculation gives a higher price to rehearsal time, but for those who first try something specific it gives “greater flexibility.” Bechamel, another band that moves through the district and which consists of four members, also moves along this line. Like the previous ones, they also play at El Observatorio and pay about 500 euros each month. “Fortunately or unfortunately,” they share their scarce 10 square meters with four other groups.
“When a project starts, everything is expenses. Precisely the rehearsal space is a chore because, on the one hand, it is very difficult to find and there is almost no space and on the other, it is expensive,” says this recent band from Madrid, which was only born in 2021. “It hurts us. the soul for paying 500 euros for 10 square meters that comes unequipped, and to which we must add the cost of an entire piece of equipment,” they say. If you do not do this and look for an alternative location in which to practice, whether on the street, a garage or inside a home, the noise annoyance would be much greater. In a recording studio, the walls are soundproof. “If you have a certain economic stability and sufficient means there will be no problem, but I wonder how many incredible projects have been lost throughout history for economic reasons.”
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