Welcome to a cocktail-party à la Clandestino!

I got to know Justo Bagüeste through a gathering of artists in Madrid. They took me to a concert in their house in Malasaña. Justo lives on the ground floor in a historical block dating from the revolutionary period; it was here that Napoleon’s brother, who was crowned king of Spain, was defeated. In Justo’s apartment a scaffold and an attic come out of nowhere, creating a space for the audience. Everything between extreme alternative electronica and revolutionary troubadour songs flood out of the sound system. However, on Bagüestes latest album Bestiario (2005), made in collaboration with Susana Cáncer, Silvia Grijalba and Christina Rosenvinge, it is animal sounds that are in focus.

As an outsider you get a feeling that this creativity is a unique leftover from ”la movida madrileña” (The Madrid Movement) that arose after the fall of Franco and culminated in the 80`s with Pedro Almodóvar, also an accomplished musician. Bagüeste grabs the most post-punk part of our consciousness. He says that it’s possible to express the human predicament in this way, and drive the animal, or beast, out of us.

If my living room wasn’t so small, I would have surely invited Bagüeste home. On the other hand, there is a room in our office on Tredje Långgatan 13b. This is perhaps an even better local alternative for this imaginary Madrid night than Bagüeste’s apartment in Malasaña.

Dress code: Scandalously appropriate.

Dj Mleccha

Arranged in co-operation with Instituto Cervantes. Instituto Cervantes