The birth of CineClub 113: An interdisciplinary synergy
During the months of July and August of this 2026, the legendary Sala Apolo in Barcelona has redefined the paradigm of early-week nightlife entertainment. In a strategic alliance with the In-Edit Festival, an essential international benchmark in the field of music documentary, the Barcelona institution has inaugurated the "CineClub 113" series. This proposal transforms La (3), the venue's unique open-air space, into a summer cinema that intertwines the screening of cult cinematic works with live DJ sets, creating an immersive ecosystem where audiovisual narrative and dance converge in a completely organic way.
The project, whose name pays a heartfelt tribute to the number 113 of Nou de la Rambla street that the venue has occupied uninterruptedly since 1943, transcends a mere summer leisure offer. While the month of July focused on the rhythms of the Afro-Latin diaspora and early reggaeton, the August programming has taken a curatorial turn to pivot specifically towards electronic music subcultures, working-class dance floors, and European and Caribbean sound resistance movements. As detailed by the venue's own management, each screening functions as a conceptual catalyst that expands into the DJ booth, allowing the audience to transition from reflective viewing to clubbing without fractures in the narrative.
Underground X-ray: From the outskirts of Caracas to the Gabber scene
The meticulous audiovisual curation of this month evidences a deep institutional commitment to the history of marginal electronic music and its rawest branches. After the recent session last Monday, August 3rd, where "Esto es Raptor House" was screened—an incisive documentary directed by Roberto López Buschbeck that analyzes the birth of techno-house at 140 BPM forged on the outskirts of Caracas by figures such as DJ Babatr—and the subsequent set by producer Phran, the series continues its exploration of the most forceful sounds of the electronic spectrum.
- August 10th: Screening of the film "Gabbers!", complemented by the warm-up by selector vtrxkddo, exploring the aesthetic and sonic radicalism of 90s Dutch hardcore.
- August 17th: Immersion in the phenomenon of British illegal raves with the documentary "Free Party: A Folk History", accompanied by the careful musical selection of ronni.
- August 24th: Viewing of "Italo Disco: The Sparkling Sound of the 80s" by director Alessandro Melazzini, a journey to Mediterranean synthesizers that will feature the performance of Zonzo, renowned creator of the emblematic Glove Party.
- August 31st: Closing of the summer series with "MaQKina: Historia de una subcultura" and the DJ set by ricardof_dj, paying a well-deserved tribute to the maligned but influential Catalan mákina sound.
To round off the proposal, the experience is complemented by the gastronomic section led by the neighboring restaurant La Porca, consolidating an integral format that invites early socialization. In parallel, this solid collaboration has given birth to a new initiative of great importance for the visual industry: the creation of the Apolo Award for Best Music Video. This call, of national and international character, is born with the objective of vindicating the creative talent that sustains the music video format. The works selected by a professional jury will be exhibited during the 24th edition of In-Edit Barcelona, which will be held from October 29th to November 8th, 2026, at which time the official winner will be announced.
The resignification of the dance floor: The club as an agora of cultural preservation
The consolidation of formats like CineClub 113 underscores an undeniable maturity in the Spanish nightlife industry. By programming documentary works that dissect everything from the sociopolitical impact of self-organized raves to the resilience of the queer scene in hostile environments, clubbing abandons its stigma as a mere space for hedonistic evasion to stand as a legitimate center for historical preservation and debate.
The sound of the documentary extends to the booth and the audience goes from dancing to cinema without changing the narrative.
— Official statement from Sala Apolo
This interdisciplinary fusion shows that electronic music and its subgenres possess a fundamental sociological weight. Far from being an ephemeral phenomenon, club culture has an aesthetic, political, and human legacy that deserves to be documented and analyzed with institutional rigor. Initiatives of this magnitude demonstrate that it is possible to sustain a demanding and reflective cultural program, keeping intact the primal essence that gives meaning to these spaces: collective connection through the incessant rhythm of the speakers.
