DJ Mag’s Top 100 Clubs featuring Funktion-One (Part Three)

DJ Mag’s April 2016 issue and website features its well-respected Top 100 Clubs rundown. Venues with Funktion-One sound systems have a healthy showing, with 28 out of the 100 featuring Funktion-One sound. Here’s the third part of our rundown.

All of the following excerpts were produced by, and originally featured in DJ Mag. Pick up a copy in your local shop or subscribe online.

No. 5 Octagon (Seoul)
Capacity 3,000
Once a three-story basement karaoke lounge bar, probably plying its trade to drunken business men staying in the rooms above, these days Octagon (main pic) is a Funktion-One fitted rave cave that plays host to the area’s young, well-heeled clientele. Taking its musical lead from the US mainstream, the polished, industrial minimalism of the main room, based on its founders’ experiences of rave-era warehouse parties, though now surrounded by a VIP balcony and private rooms, mainly plays host to EDM. So expect big builds, drops and bass lines presided over by everyone from Dadda Life and Andrew Rayel to Fedde Le Grand and DVBBS, who have all visited in the last year.

No. 10 BCM Planet Dance (Mallorca)
Capacity 7,000
Magaluf may have a certain rep amongst some clubbers, but its biggest nightclub by far — BCM Mallorca, aka BCM Planet Dance – has still managed to persuade the world’s biggest DJs to spin in its huge environs. Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Garrix, Avicii, Nicky Romero, Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris, Afrojack… Presided over by main man Gordon Phillips, BCM has a 7000-capacity and a whopping all-inclusive 15 bars – so you definitely won’t leave thirsty. Upstairs is the serious main party-hearty dancefloor with a 65,000W Funktion-One soundsystem, pukka lasers and a big ice cannon.

No. 16 Berghain/Panorama Bar (Berlin)
Capacity 1,500
The simple but effective two pronged attack of this underground dance music mecca continues to be like catnip to cool club kids all over the world. For techno, the dark and dusty, vast and industrial dungeon of Berghain offers a place to lose yourself, your mind and your fiends to the most cutting edge sounds of the day. As well as globally renowned residents like Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann, on point guests pass through for marathon events on a weekly basis… this remains one of the most important clubs of its era.

No. 17 Boothaus (Cologne)
Capacity 1,600
Whether it’s EDM, trance or house blasting from the Funktion One systems, it seems the one rule of Boothaus is party hard. Boosted to up the league tables by the legendary Loonyland events — founded by promoters U Lee and Sascha as way to escape the techno obsession that dominates most of Germany — the Cologne club has become a veritable bastion of all things big, loud and stupefying. Boothaus regularly plays host to an impressive assortment of the world’s biggest DJs, with the likes of Oliver Heldens, Paul van Dyke, Yellow Claw, Borgore and Axwell Λ Ingrosso all gracing the decks in the last year alone.

No. 19 Motion (Bristol)
Capacity 1,500-2,200
Motion has become a real party force in Bristol over recent years, and it is easy to see why. Being a former indoor skatepark lends the whole place a rough, raw and real feel that is perfectly conducive to late night raves. As well as the festival styled In:Motion series, legendary Brizzle night Just Jack plays out here on a regular basis and has the likes of Ricardo Villalobos and Kyle Hall headlining. There are also regular visit from Annie Mac, dub & bass crew Hospitality and colourful Cirque du Soul showcases.

N0. 25 Cocorico (Rimini)
Capacity 6,000
Before you have even heard a beat, Rimini club Cocorico is something to behold: much like those outside the Louvre in Paris, this long-running club is actually a vast pyramid made from hundreds of triangular glass panels. Lasers shoot down from the top of it to the clubbers who gather en-masse below, and the whole thing has a beam-me-up feel that adds a sense of futurism and intergalactic magic to each event. In the past year the likes of Luciano, Loco Dice and Ilario Alicante have all passed through the doors.

No. 26 Zouk KL (Kuala Lumpur)
Capacity 5,000
Since closing the old venue and moving into a new purpose built address at the centre of a planned ‘entertainment district’ last summer, one word best describes Zouk KL – massive. In fact, it’s currently the biggest super-club in Asia. Graced by the likes of Martin Garrix, Paul Van Dyk, Laidback Luke, John Digweed, and Dannic in the last few months alone, bookings equal the scale of this place… tourists have free entry in 2016 thanks to a deal with the Malaysian tourist board? Probably worth a visit then.

No. 28 The Warehouse Project
Capacity 5,000
Gargantuan line-ups have defined the semi-nomadic TWP since inception in 2006… Again returning to the belly of Piccadilly Station for 2015, after relocating from here to an old factory for a stint and starting life in an abandoned brewery, the venue, Store Street, was an air-raid shelter, is usually a car park when this rave is inactive, and is aesthetically impressive. A cavernous main room comes with brick arches and incredible production, whilst the second area is a quality, intimate space ideal for heads down mayhem.

No. 31 Digital Newcastle
Capacity 1,200
Digital Newcastle has set the bar for clubbing in the North East of England since day one. Originally built as part of the city’s Millenium developments, the space was taken over by Tokyo Industries CEO Aaron Mellor in 2006, who made it instantly clear he intended to rival the UK’s most renowned locations by importing the club’s prototype quadraphonic [Funktion-One] Dance Stack system from Miami. Digital has racked up multiple awards in the years since, including Best Large Club at DJ Mag’s 2010 Best of British ceremony.