Peckham's Palais is London's best new nightclub

"That’s been one of the biggest parts of the journey, taking a space with so much history and completely reworking it so it can function as a modern-day music venue," he adds. "There were definitely moments where it nearly fell apart, but we felt it was worth sticking with. Opportunities like this don’t come up very often in London." One of the most noticeable ways Palais deviates from the standard club formula is in its balance of old and new across both its main club room and The Ballroom, with details that reflect both its ambitious present as a modern venue and the building's art deco past.

In the main club space, this is subtle - the room is dark and intimate, lit only through columns of light beaming down from the ceiling in various colours to the beat, and onto the sepia-tinged fixtures on the bar. On the first floor, The Ballroom features mahogany floors and its ceilings feel old-timey, as do the old-skool stained glass lighting fixtures reading "pool" that hang above the booths. The windows on one side, facing onto Peckham High Street, are covered in graffiti. Considering the attention to detail throughout the room's renovations - which were undertaken by architecture studio Nikjoo and Fare Inc - it's difficult not to surmise that the decision to keep this graffiti as a fixture is a purposeful one.

The Ballroom's role in the Palais experience grows ever more crucial the longer you remain inside the venue. There’s a warm, hospitable environment that hosts elegant cocktails and rowdy pub chat with equal aplomb, complete with a DJ spinning tunes to soundtrack your post-midnight DMC. Throughout the night, The Ballroom goes through cycles where it might be brimming with attendees one moment, then taking on a more subdued vibe the next, but it feels like a rare instance of allowing attendees to both take a break from the dancefloor while also being a social hub.

That being said, if you're in the market for a dancefloor catch-up, Palais caters to that too, with its system and room treatment resulting in a sound so clean that you can hear your pals chatter over the music, without having them having to shout periously close to your eardrums. "The soundsystem has been a huge focus for us from the start," says Rule. "In the club room we’ve installed 10 Funktion-One BR118 subs, 2 BR121s and a BRF132 infra bass, which is pretty crazy for a space of this size but we really wanted to push it and create something truly exceptional."

"We spent nearly a year developing and testing the system to get it exactly where we wanted it," he continues. "Just as much attention went into the acoustic treatment of the room, which has been fully tuned to work with the system. The result is something we’re really proud of. It’s powerful, but incredibly clear, and it just sounds next level in the space." It’s a sound you can really feel, without having to be turned up too loud and cause eardrum pain with minimal exposure, or deviating in quality based on where you're stood within the room - in a way that many modern venues can sadly fall prey to. That withstanding, as soon as you cross the barrier to head out of the club room, the music is barely audible within a few steps, with next-to-zero sound bleeding between its upstairs and downstairs spaces. 

This isn't the only area Palais’ main room shines, however; the aformentioned ceiling lights never feel abrasive or blinding, instead add to the immersion between the dancefloor and the music. The DJ booth, which hugs against a wall at the front of the space, is simple and not covered in bells, whistles or lasers, which draws more attention toward the dancefloor itself. While we're sure it is less a wholly vibe-led decision, and more a health and safety one to have the bar as the only constant light source within the room, its presence makes the visual focus much more fluid — though vast pillars dotted across the dancefloor also easily shield it from view for those wanting to total engrossment. Like countless venues across not only the UK, but around the world, Palais has adopted a no-photo policy throughout the venue, with stickers put over phones immediately upon entry, only adding to the submerged energy of the crowd. 

There are other seemingly minor inclusions that indicate the thought that Palais' creators have put into ensuring the crowds here are having the best time possible; there are plentiful toilets across both venues, the second floor smoking area rides high to avoid the hassle on street-siders and disturbance to local residents, while lockers have been added in lieu of a traditional cloakroom to prevent annoying queues and missing tickets. "We want people to come in, enjoy the space, feel safe, let loose and really lose themselves in the music," says Rule. "At the end of the day, it’s about creating a club where people can just come and have a great night out."

Of course, Palais' music programming has so far been exceptional, with the likes of mad miran, DJ Python, Pariah, Facta, Christian AB, Norman Jay MBE, Pearson Sound, Anish Kumar, K-Lone, and many more having already graced the decks. Palais hosted an initial residency with Chaos in the CBD, while Rhythm Section boss Bradley Zero will take the reins for its next. "Our aim is to become a space known for great music and strong programming," says Rule, “to become somewhere artists want to play and where people come knowing they’re going to experience something unforgettable on the dancefloor. If Palais can grow into one of those venues that helps shape the city’s club culture and supports both established and emerging talent, then we’ll be very happy." 

All-in-all, Palais comes at a unique moment for London nightlife. A club like this, in an endangered building at an intimate scale with such a focus on atmosphere and experience, rarely exists. In the face of mass-scale events venues, endless line-ups and clubgoers having to travel miles for a night out, Palais, in its six-minute walk from Peckham Rye Station, in its mostly all-night-longs and carefully curated B2Bs, in its focus on ensuring that 500 people are having a fucking great night out, demonstrates exactly what we've been missing all along, and maybe even things we never knew we needed from a nightclub. Palais is the venue you want to take all your mates to, tell your younger siblings and cousins about, snog your partner in, and see your favourite DJ at. Get down there, immedietely.