New nightclub set to open in Paris from team behind Concrete

Paris is set to welcome a new nightclub, ESSAIM.

Coming from the team behind Concrete, the new venue will be situated in central Paris, between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est — the same building once occupied by Club Carbone and Bisou Club.

The team behind ESSAIM consists of Brice Coudert (the founder and ex-artistic director of Concrete), Jonathan Malaisé (the ex-technical and production director of Concrete) and Antoine Hernandez (co-programmer of the Positive Education festival), among others.

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Concrete was shuttered in 2019, following an eviction notice which forced it to leave the three-storey barge it was housed on. At the time, Coudert issued a statement assuring fans he was “already looking to the future, to come back stronger, with the same values, and put [his] experience and know-how in an even more ambitious project”.

In its seven-year lifetime, the 24-hour institution had become one of the most important spaces in Paris’ underground clubbing scene, carving new paths in electronic music and redefining how people experienced nightlife.

Since its closing, many renowned and respected DJs have noted its indelible mark on French dance music including Laurent Garnier, who said: “When we’ll look back on the history of French electronic music in twenty years, we'll have to include Concrete.”

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Meanwhile, the French news publication Le Monde remembered it as “The club that reinvented the Parisian nightlife”.

Part of Concrete’s brilliance can be attributed to Coudert’s expert musical curation. During its time, the boat played host to a number of underground techno and house heroes such as Leo Pol, François X, Marcel Dettmann, DJ Harvey, Zip, Robert Hood, Andrew Weatherall, Helena Hauff, Ben UFO and Nina Kraviz.

Bringing his artistic vision to club ESSAIM, Coudert will be joined by Hernandez, another of France’s greatest musical connoisseurs. Together, they will channel the legacy of Concrete in their programming by championing modernity, skill and fearlessness.

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According to an announcement from the club, ESSAIM will be prioritising extended set times, offering affordable drink prices and maintaining a so-called “human-scale” capacity of 400 guests.

Another aspect of Concrete that is being replicated at the new venue is forgoing a VIP area and implementing a ground-level DJ booth — a cocoon-shaped installation developed by architect Dorothée Hachiken.

According to ESSAIM, the venue will also include a top-quality L-acoustics sound system and resonance-free, sound-trapping materials that ensure the purest listening experience.

For more info and tickets, head to ESSAIM's Instagram.

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram