Monkey Room, the largest room at BAM Karaoke.
If what stopped you in a karaoke was the unknown tumult, now you have no excuse to tune up your voice in the afternoons and nights of Madrid. After succeeding with his formula in France, BAM Karaoke Box disembarks in Madrid to attract all those who want to have a good time singing Shakira, Julio Iglesias or Heroes del Silencio.
Who hasn't regretted that night that ended in that karaoke whose name you don't want to remember and you destroyed Bohemian Rhapsody by yourself or you thought you were Jasmine and Aladdin dreaming of An Ideal World? Those dangerous nights of embarrassment, if you want, can come to an end in this karaoke bar that exports the Japanese model, the one of the private rooms in which you and your friends are the only witnesses of the out of tune and the disheveled. Almost as Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.
Cigar Room, woods and Havana songs.
BAM Karaoke Box is, in fact, the project of Arnold Studer, a Frenchman who traveled Japan and without being a fan of karaoke, or an amateur singer, ended up hooked on those mysterious places in the Japanese country. Upon his return to France he decided to transfer it to the Parisian night, reinventing the concept a bit, adapting it to the demands of the city and its trends, making it more sophisticated. And he created BAM Karaoke Box, a signature cocktail bar with private rooms for singing. "A festive place, only designed for people to have a good time," he explains. Bertrand Boullay, marketing manager of BAM (French acronym for boîte à musique, something like disco).
“It is a good place for both a bachelor or bachelorette party, as well as for a team building”, Boullay continues. "A place to free yourself and have fun while feeling comfortable."
With five karaoke bars open in Paris and one in Bordeaux, Madrid is his first European stop in an ambitious plan which hopes to exceed 20 stores in two years throughout the continent. And why start with the Spanish capital? “It was the clearest option –he answers–: here people know how to party and there is good food, people are curious, they want to try new things. It was the best option." The afternoons of their full karaoke boxes in just one week open, prove them right.
Library Room, for more intellectual singers.
SING IT AGAIN
The idea of Arnaud Studer and his team was “dusting” the idea of karaoke that we have in Europe. For this reason, they have added to the concept of private boxes a bar with “luxury exterior but with affordable prices”. Furthermore, starting with Madrid, the idea is that each new karaoke breathes the local spirit of the city in which it lands, even the neighborhood in which it is located. Hence, the elegance and sophistication that the architect was asked Paul Peyra in the decoration of the BAM Karaoke Box in Madrid.
The idea? “We imagine this was an old mansion of a well traveled man, full of mementos of his travels, and over the years it has become a kind of hotel in which each room is occupied by a character with a particular personality”, This is how Boullay explains it in the bar area, the first part when you enter from the street. Spacious, gold and green colors.
Letting your hair down... but in private.
Later, he goes through a jungle of plants and lights to get to that “hotel” he was talking about: seven numbered rooms with peephole to gossip a little what happens inside. Each one of a different size (they are for 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 people), it also has a different decoration. The Library Room, Monkey Room, Cigar Room, Art Room, Disco Room…
But in all perfect soundproofing, a first class sound system (speakers and microphones, with volume controls for music, voice and effects), television to read the songs, large sofas and a screen from where you control everything: the catalog with more than 25 thousand songs in which you can plan your own playlist, the drinks and snacks menu (Serrano ham, hummus...) to order and have it delivered there. You can even change and control the intensity and color of the light according to the atmosphere you want in that two-hour private party.
The boxes are rented for periods of two hours and the price varies according to the hours and the number of people. Must always book in advance (from the web). And, as a curious fact, their schedules: in order to remove the stale dust from karaoke, they open from the afternoon, in case you want to have a little song before dinner and until dawn in case the night cheers your voice up. On weekends the hours are even broader "thinking of a family audience", Boullay tells.
Address: Calle de Recoletos, 23 See map
Telephone: 91 578 97 76
Schedule: Wednesday to Friday from 18 to 3H. Saturdays and Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Half price: Between 7 and 8 euros per person and per hour. Cocktails €8/10