Must Be The Reason

Something is stirring in the Scottish capital. The nation's city for high culture, Edinburgh, has always had its fair share of options, but Scottish clubbers have tended to look westward, to the nation's industrial capital, Glasgow, for their party fix.

Aside from Liquid Rooms, Cabaret Voltaire (recently bought out by mega-group G1) and the 100-capacity Sneaky Pete's, reliable spots to let yourself go to decent dance music on the cobblestone streets of Scotland's most sophisticated city aren't easy to come by. Praise the partying Lord above, then, for this 700-capacity bad boy.

Borrowing the identity of the historical landmark that's made the city such a sought-after tourist spot, Castle Clvb is already positioned as a similarly prestigious attraction to Edinburgh's club scene, since officially opening on 17th September with Benoit & Sergio and Richy Ahmed on the bill.

Exchanging hands twice and switching names four times in the space of eight years — from Berlin (2004) to The Lane (2010) to District (2011) — the venue went from a well-frequented haven for techno and electro during the best part of the '00s to a struggling commercial list-and-bottle club which lasted only six months (District). That is, until 22-year-old business student Tom Ketley stormed it to take the reins and rebrand it at the end of the summer — in effect saving it and bringing some much needed reinforcement to a lagging scene in the process.

“The scene died a bit in previous years, so we see this as a chance to show how good a house and techno party can be in Edinburgh,” explains Tom. “However, everything we've done has been off the scale, so there definitely is a thirst for it — there is a massive buzz about the club just because we are doing something different.”

Tucked just off Princes St, its covert central location offers prime position away from the prying eyes of passing trade. Expect only to see dedicated dance enthusiasts snaking the stone tiles of Queensferry Street Lane most nights of the week, including a few switched-on students who — after losing their minds to Jamie xx, Disclosure and Dusky on the club's first Wednesday (We Own) — won't stop coming back for more.

With Prosumer, Dyed Soundorom, Dan Ghenacia, Tensnake, Hector, Danny Daze, Sneak, Midland and Catz ‘N Dogz taking the throne over the past couple of months, November promises to be equally on-point. Catch Chez Damier & Lovebirds (2nd), Bicep (3rd), Miguel Puente (10th), Tiger & Woods (17th), Amirali (24th) and Laura Jones & Robert James (3rd Dec) at the club's resident events — We Own, CNDYBXX, Bixon, Hippy Hippy Shake, Saturdaze & Rendez-vous — over the coming weeks.