Matadero Madrid, center for contemporary creation of the Department of Culture, Tourism, and Sports of the City Council of Madrid, presents the program of DEMM 25, a festival that commemorates European Music Day. It will take place from June 18 to 22 and includes concerts at Plaza Matadero, music for families at Nave Una, and film screenings related to the visual music universe at Cineteca Madrid.
This event, which has become a classic in Matadero Madrid’s programming since its first edition in 2009, aims to be a barometer of contemporary music through an international program that combines rock, pop, and electronic music, featuring new stars and musical trends.
Matadero Madrid, curated by music promoter Nacho Ruiz, with the collaboration of Heineken® and the artistry of poster designer Javier Navarro (alias ‘El dios de los tres’), thus consolidates its strong commitment to music by embracing new genres and musical trends in DEMM 25.
International Projection at Plaza Matadero
The first day, Friday, June 20, will feature Emilia Grima, a rising star in the underground electronic scene. A regular in Madrid’s DJ booths, she subverts expectations, always surprising and transgressive. Also on the lineup is Sofia Kourtesis, a Peruvian based in London, who has become one of the great revelations of international electronic music thanks to her sparkling mix of techno beats, sunny synthesizers, subversive spirit, and hedonistic house.
On the same day, Moxie, a DJ, radio host, and cultural agitator from London, will take the stage. Whether playing music on stage or on her weekly show, this true musical encyclopedia effortlessly transitions from techno to garage, soulful house, or afro beats. Rounding out the day is Hot Chip (DJ set), British music legends who have been pillars of international electronic pop for two decades with irresistible melodies and always clever arrangements.
On Saturday, June 21, the second round of DEMM 25 concerts will eagerly welcome the Error 97 group. Its members Álvaro Casado, Gonzalo García, Sara Guayanay, and Nicolás Escardó—aged between 18 and 20—pour their thoughts passionately into their songs. Also on this lineup is Hinds, composed of the duo Carlota Cosials and Ana Perrote, perhaps the most internationally renowned Spanish rock group, having won over audiences and critics wherever they go.
Adding to this day of dance and fun is La Paloma, poised to be the next great rock group from Madrid. Their anthemic songs, backed by iconic albums like their debut «Todavía no» and having filled venues like La Riviera, have solidified their place. Completing Saturday’s lineup is Baiuca from Galicia, skillfully blending his region’s folklore with an adventurous spirit that ventures into electronic and new creative dimensions.
Family Concerts at Nave Una
DEMM 25 also focuses on future music lovers and the educational and playful possibilities of music with special concerts for families. Thus, Nave Una will host concerts on Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, at 12:00 pm, specially designed for families. The first concert will be performed by Remate & Wild Honey, two of the most prestigious and unique musicians in the national scene coming together for this concert. Remate is one of our most international creators, and Wild Honey, on the other hand, is the project of Guillermo Farré, a pop connoisseur and top-level composer. The Sunday event will feature the Creativa Junior Big Band from the Escuela de Música Creativa.
Movies on Visual Music at Cineteca
Cineteca Madrid will join the European Music Day celebrations from June 18 to 22 with three programs dedicated to visual music, in collaboration with the Top Film Twitter team. The first three sessions will focus on musical avant-gardes, with works that embed the mathematics of sound and musical rhythm in their form. The films explore the relationships between music, memory, affection, and the history of the concept of visual music in avant-garde cinema from the 1930s to the present day.
Additionally, in partnership with the Punto y Raya Festival, two sessions will allow for a reflection on the concept of visual music today, featuring a selection of avant-garde cinema that highlights the relationship between music and image in our time.
As a culmination of the program, students from the LAV (Audiovisual Laboratory) film master’s program will present experimental pieces that explore the future of visual music and its evolution in contemporary cinema.
Tickets and Schedule for DEMM25
All concerts on Friday, June 20, at Plaza Matadero are free admission until full capacity and will run from 8:00 pm to 12:30 am. The entrance fee for the concerts on Saturday, June 21, at Plaza Matadero, between 8:00 pm and 1:15 am, will be five euros. The price for each of the concerts on Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, at Nave Una at 12:00 pm, is also five euros.
Safety and Accessibility
With the aim of ensuring safe and violence-free leisure and cultural spaces, Violet Points will be set up to inform and raise awareness about preventing sexual violence against women, and will also have communicative mediators in LSE providing information in Sign Language to deaf individuals. Furthermore, all concerts at Plaza Matadero’s stage will have loop systems, amplified sound, and vibrating backpacks.
Matadero Multipista at Nave Una
Led by Pablo Gil, former host of the Multipista program on Radio 3 (2013-2021) and current culture editor of El Mundo newspaper, Nave Una at Matadero Madrid will host thematic music sessions dedicated to the most current world music every Friday between May 23 and June 13. Admission will be free until full capacity.
The protagonists of Matadero Multipista will be contemporary sounds that have emerged during this century beyond the Anglo-Saxon industry, with four double programs over four consecutive Fridays: a relaxed conversation with various experts in the afternoon (at 8:00 pm) and a DJ session in the evening (starting at 9:15 pm).
While the music of the United States and the United Kingdom continues to inherit styles from the 20th century, from rock and pop to rap and dance electronica, the major musical revolutions are emerging in other regions of the world, where some of the biggest global stars are also emerging.
The first day of Matadero Multipista on May 23 will focus on new Latin music. Beneath the commercial success of reggaeton, a myriad of styles and sensibilities flow, increasingly blending modern rhythms with traditional ones. Over the past two decades, numerous modern genres have emerged around urban music (from dembow to moombahton, through electrocumbia, Argentine trap, electrolatino, or neoperreo), with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Puerto Rico consolidating as geographical epicenters of a wave that has united the continent. Pablo Gil will chat with communicator Miriam Martín, and following them, Ms Nina will get the attendees dancing at Nave Una.
The second day (May 30) will showcase K-pop. South Korea has turned culture into the best tool to convey an international image of a modern and dynamic country, with music being its first and most effective bet. Before the Oscar-winning film «Parasite» and the Nobel Prize for writer Han Kang, the bubbly songs of K-pop had already sparked a global frenzy. DJ Sani (OfficialKEvents) will set the party in motion after a conversation between Pablo Gil and pop electronic producer and singer Marta Movidas.
If there is a music genre dominating the charts in the last decade, it is urban music, which will be the focus of the third day of Matadero Multipista (June 6). The combination of rap, trap, pop, drill, and Latin cadences is hegemonic in the most listened-to lists in Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, or Egypt, forming a back-and-forth sound that constantly merges and has become the soundtrack for the millennial and Z generations. Pablo Gil will converse with Sarah Robledo from the independent record label Dale Play Records. Following them, producer and DJ Kabasaki, one of the pioneers of urban music in Spain, will take the stage.
The final day will be dedicated to Africa (June 13) and its vast and varied array of cultures and music. South Africa’s amapiano, Nigerian rap and R&B, Ghana’s hiplife, Angola’s kuduro, the Congolese congotronics, or the experimental proposals of Uganda’s Nyege Nyege label are examples of a musical reality as broad as it is diverse. Pablo Gil and journalist, curator, and researcher Tania Safura Adam will discuss all of this. DJ Catu Dioisis from Kampala, Uganda, will bring the Multipista return to a thrilling close.
