Soltura!
Client
Juan Solo
Services
Brand Identity, Event Production, Curation & Booking
Year
2019 - 2022
Soltura! is a contemporary dance club. A space to loosen up, let go, and surrender to the rhythm. It’s a night dedicated to House Music without any prejudices, purisms, or rules limiting it.
The Project
Juan Solo is considered one of the true pioneers and innovators of Spanish Hip Hop since the 90’s. Ever since he discovered his passion for music at a young age, Juan has developed his craft as a DJ in silence, collecting everything from 80’s Funk covers, to Hip Hop and Electronic Music from all eras.
After joining our artist roster in 2018, we discovered his passion for House Music, a genre he had been following closely since its birth. Juan’s love for the genre had led him to amass a privileged collection that encompasses the full history of House, giving him a unique understanding of the music and its power on the dancefloor.
Given Juan’s desire to position himself as a DJ and House Music connoisseur in Barcelona and Spain, we started conceiving a series of events he could host and share his vision of the music in all its glory.
Project Overview
1. Brand Identity
● Creating the concept and consolidating the intention, in order to establish a name that could represent the initiative in the best way possible.
● Compiling references and guidelines to conceive a visual universe that captured the classic House music aesthetic, while keeping it relevant and fresh today.
2. Event Production
● Finding a space where original House Music lovers can feel confortable, while engaging younger generations.
● Creating the right atmosphere and setting the mood for attendees to enjoy the experience to the fullest.
3. Curation & Booking
● Curating line-ups where different interpretations of House Music can coexist, pairing Juan with a new guest each night.
● Establish a format where the interaction between DJ’s is at the forefront, with improvisation and spontaneity as one the key factors of the musical experience.
Our Work
1. Brand Identity
⏤ Concept
Rather than focusing on the music itself, we looked for adjectives and descriptive elements that we associated to House Music. Freedom, playful, colorful, soulful, and sexy, were some of them.
We wanted to create a space for celebration rather than a formal event.
What is the key differentiator for us?
Dancing.
With music and dance as the main pillars of the experience, we wanted the audience embrace the vibe and let go of everything for a few hours. We wanted to create a safe space were everyone could be themselves, connect with others, and surrender to the rhythm.
⏤ Naming
We were looking for a unique name that encapsulated the concept and mood we envisioned for the event. We also wanted it to be a simple but powerful statement of our intentions.
No other word described better what we were looking for than ‘Soltura!’, ‘Looseness!’ in English.
⏤ Branding
After having Soltura! defined, the job was to translate the concept into a coherent visual universe that could be recognisable in every design asset.
Our goal was clear. We wanted to pay homage to the visual aesthetics from the early years of House, turning them into something that could be relevant and fresh in our times, while avoiding current visual trends.
We worked with our trusted design studio LEÓN ROMERO, to conceive and produce all the visual assets following some simple guidelines:
Simplicity
We have always believed in simplicity as the key to timeless design. For Soltura!, we wanted something that could work beyond trends.
Colourful
Soltura! is meant to be a celebration, so we wanted all the flyers and design assets to be eye-catching and powerful in order to achieve it.
Typography
With our visual references in mind, we wanted the typography to be the main design element. We also asked the designers to translate it into a visual language that could homage the classic House Music aesthetics while keeping up with the times.
2. Event Production
Given the conception of event, the space had to be more than just a club. It had to fulfil a certain criteria in order to bring Soltura! to life.
Intimate
Classy
Safe
Well-located
Created as a space for free expression of culture, arts, and music, Primavera Sound’s Abaixadors10 was the perfect location for Soltura!.
Located in the heart of the Born neighbourhood in Barcelona, the vintage yet modern decor of ABX10 met all our requirements and captured the essence of Soltura! in a physical place.
As a bonus, there was a very special added value for us: the cocktail bar.
⏤ The Soltura! Cocktail
Having a cocktail bar available within the venue, gave us the opportunity to translate Soltura! into flavour, something tangible and tastable, that also helped connect the different rooms in ABX10.
Made from a combination of Gin, Martini Fiero, Cava, Blood Peach and a touch of lemon, ‘El Soltura!’ is a refreshing and stimulating cocktail created to perk-up attendees and take them directly to the dancefloor.
Having an exclusive cocktail only available during the Soltura! nights, is something that helped make the events memorable and original.
⏤ Curation and Booking
With 80’s Funk, classic Chicago and Soulful House as starting point, we wanted Soltura! to be a common ground for different interpretations of the genre, opening up to a musical conversation between DJs, letting them introduce new sounds and genres influenced by House during the night.
In order to achieve it, we adopted an all-night-long back-to-back format. With Juan as the host of the night, the idea was to turn the sets into a dialogue between the guest DJ, where connection, improvisation, and rapport, are the only things that mattered.
We wanted the relationship between the DJs to be egoless, with only the goal of making people dance from the start on the night.
