Cadavra Club

Beneath the old skin of Costello

The pulse at 10 Caballero de Gracia changed when Cadavra Club took over from the former Sala Costello, a highly recognizable enclave for live music in the center of Madrid. The new era was presented at the end of 2021 and officially launched on February 4, 2022, following a renovation designed to preserve the venue's underground character while moving it toward a more contemporary interpretation of club culture. Its location next to Gran Vía places it in a zone of constant transit, but the venue operates on an intimate scale, closer to a listening and dance club than a massive format.

Two floors, two uses, and reinforced acoustics

The renovation reorganized the venue into two floors and two main spaces: The Lounge, oriented toward concerts, and The Hole, dedicated to clubbing sessions. Both are linked to complete soundproofing and a d&b audiotechnik system, a choice consistent with the type of programming that combines bands, live electronic acts, and DJ sessions. The booth has been associated with a philosophy of careful mixing, with the presence of vinyl format and a Formula Sound FF4000 analog mixer, a detail that places the club within a sensibility more selector-focused than spectacular. The offering is completed with a bar, cocktail service, and a gastronomic line of reinterpreted Spanish cuisine, with attention to vegetarian and vegan options and products from local suppliers.

Proximity electronics in the center

Cadavra was not born as a simple nominal replacement for Costello. Its programming was conceived as a platform for scenes seeking more space in the capital: house, electro, breaks, minimal, melodic electronica, experimental live acts, indie, rock, and flamenco. In its first months, it brought together residencies and collectives such as Sigh Club, Trama, Chineurs, Drone, or Jazzy Club, in addition to live acts linked to the Cadavra Live Musical Experience. Names such as Binh, Onur Özer, Arapu, or Reykjavik606 also passed through its opening, reinforcing a hybrid identity between a concert hall, an electronic club, and a meeting point for the Madrid scene.

A small dance floor with an inclusive vocation

The Cadavra experience relies on physical proximity: low ceiling, red lighting, urban cave aesthetic, visible booth, and a direct relationship between artist and dance floor. Its scale allows for concentrated listening and fluid circulation between concert, drink, session, and afterwork. The club has communicated an explicit desire to build a safe space, free of racism, homophobia, and LGTBIQ+phobia, something especially relevant in a program that coexists with queer collectives and proposals far from the commercial circuit. On the Madrid nightlife map, Cadavra occupies a specific place: a central, renovated venue with limited capacity that attempts to connect the legacy of a historic hall with the current mutations of underground clubbing.