Nightlife land in Shanghai these days seems to be spinning around faster than what the DJs are doing behind the decks. After
last week’s announcement that hard-to-get-into French club Le Baron was shuttering its doors, this week’s news turns the opposite way with Celia – once the city’s go to spot for dancing into daylight – finally ready to cut the ribbon on their new home in Jingan with a house warming on Friday 18 June.
Since closing up the original Xingfu Lu location late last year the team have kept its spirit alive by hopping between venues around town including UP, Bar Rouge and Owners Play to throw ‘staycation parties’ where you could hear club’s signature sounds (deep house, tech house, minimal, techno and so on) dished out by its close collaborators and resident DJs. The last one is happening at
La Suite this Sunday 13.
Photograph: courtesy Celia
The new digs will harness much of the same techno and house-fuelled energy that’s made it an institution over the years. Often given an after-hours label because its parties went on until 10am, it seems you’ll be going to bed a little earlier this time round. Celia’s marketing manager and resident DJ Lina K states ‘we’ll start at 11pm and finish up around 6 or 7am, but it will still be an all-night thing until the morning.’
Details on what the inside will look like are being kept tightly wrapped until next Friday. What’s been disclosed so far is that the music programme will be much the same and there’ll be two rooms – one of which is a super small space called ‘The Cave’ (expect the intimacy to be ramped up in there).
A grand opening has been pencilled in for early July, so see this as a test run. A test run that will still leave you sweating and dancing to the point where the rest of the weekend becomes a write-off.
Settle in Soft Opening Party is happening Friday 18 June at Celia, 709 Jiaozhou Lu, near Yuyao Lu. Tickets are 100RMB on the door (include a drink).
