Charada

This 600 capacity venue has been open for just three months but is already proving to be a great success. It is currently open from Thursday to Saturday plus some extra nights for special events, a recent private function held by Charada was an after party for the Gobos, the Spanish Film Awards.
The club serves a large selection of tipples however specialise in cocktails and champagne, they have six labels of French champagne for their clientele to enjoy, and it is even available by waiter service.
The upstairs of the club is where the main bar and dancefloor are located, along with the DJ booth and the stage area where bands play live gigs to the clubbers. Downstairs is more of a chill out area but it also houses the VIP room, which is guarded by a security code. Only those who are attending the VIP party are privy to the code to ensure it remains exclusive. There is also a fridge in the VIP room, which is stocked with drinks of the party goers choosing.

When Charada was being put together, it was with an audience in mind: those who are not first time clubbers, those with some experience and can appreciate what the owners have tried to achieve. The initial idea was to open “a dance club with contemporary classic elements but with a modern twist,” says co-owner Petro Ortiz. His business partner Chechu Hernán works for a company named Forward Visual Communication who specialise in visual production, and it was decided that they would be the ones to design the club’s lighting.

Sebastian Jaensch (or Basti to his friends) of Forward Visual Communication was in charge of the installation. The concept was to get rid of all the conventional lighting you normally associate with nightclubs and replace it with a huge video wall mounted on the ceiling above the dancefloor. Charada is the only club in Madrid to have a product of this kind, indeed Basti believes there is nothing else like this on the Spanish market at the moment. It is capable of displaying live video, animations and white lighting which all run via JavaScript software. Dubbed MIL by Forward Visual Communications, the screen produces extremely high definition images, which you are able to see clear imagery on even from long distances. Another function of the video wall is that there are sections of it, which you can move, they tilt out from the main screen and then pan around the room, producing a similar effect of a moving head.

At the moment the MIL is only working to 2% of its capabilities, as this is a prototype version and therefore is being altered all the time to make improvements. The screen comprises lots of square pieces, which all slot together and this intricate work was all completed 12 feet above the ground. There are already plans to extend the screen by two more lengths, and the plan is for both of these sections to be moveable.
All the team are very excited to watch the video wall grow and evolve as developments within the product emerge and upgrades are made to the software. It is a work in progress but one which will bring a great sense of satisfaction at the end result.

Otriz and Hernan chose a Funktion One system for Charada because they believe it is the best on the market. Ortiz says, “ I’d seen it and worked with in at Space in Ibiza and was very happy with the results I saw there.”

A local company named Sondeagua completed the sound installation, and it was Isidro Matamoros who headed up the team. As well as completing installations, Matamoras rents out equipment for gigs, festivals and events and runs his own DJ school, his combined skills made him an ideal choice when it came to kitting out Charada. Matamoros was supplied with the Funktion One equipment from their Spanish distributor SeeSound.

For the main room, Funktion One’s Resolution 2 range was chosen. Four loudspeakers hang over the DJ booth and there are subs placed in and around the DJ equipment, made up from an Allen & Heath Xone V6 and a Xone-92, Technics SL1200 MK5 turntable and Pioneer CDJ1000. The two mixers allow for live music and a DJ to play at the same time.
There are two Res 2 SH’s located halfway down the dancefloor on either sides of the room, each mounted alongside a Funktion One’s F118 bass enclosure. There are a further four Res 2’s at the opposite end of the dancefloor above the second bar area, these are used when there is a DJ playing, turned off if they have a live act performing to prevent delay.

For the seating areas both upstairs and downstairs F88’s along with some more subs have been used, to create a more relaxed, chilled out area for clubbers where they can either take a breather or catch up with some friends. The owners have so far been very pleased with the response they’ve had to the sound system.
“It’s been a real team effort. Us, the designers, the installers, we all pulled together to make this the best club in Madrid,” says Hernan.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

SOUND
4 x Funktion One Resolution 2; 4 x Funktion One Resolution 2A; 2 x Funktion One Resolution 2 SH; 2 x Funktion One R-1; 2 x Funktion One F118; 4 x Funktion One F-218A; 8 x Funktion One F-88; 9 x Lab.gruppen FP 3400; 4 x EAW DX8; 1 x EAW DX8 remote; 1 x Vieta Sumador; 4 x Vieta Re-10M; 3 x Apex IX 48; 1 x Light Viper VIS-1832 ST S1; 1 x Light Viper VBZ-1832; 2 x Light Viper XVPL-012; 1 x Light Viper VIM-1832 ST; 1 x Light Viper VCM-600; 4 x Light Viper VCB-ADXM; 2 x Light Viper VCB-ADXF; 2 x Allen & Heath V6 EQ Isolator; 1 x Allen & Heath Xone:S6; 1 x Allen & Heath Xone:92; 3 x Technics SL-1200 MK5; 3 x Pioneer CDJ 1000 MKIII

LIGHTING / VIDEO
1 x Foward Visual Communication MIL; Par cans

www.charadaclubdebaile.com