It's comeback season, and making their grand return to Manila's nightlife scene is NoKal.
This month, the iconic neon sign has lit up once again at its new home in the basement of neighbourhood mall, Makati Cinema Square. Short for North of Kalayaan, NoKal's original HQ was a three-story building on Kalayaan Avenue - a structure that has housed numerous bars and restaurants throughout its years, with only NoKal besting the rest of them. Founded in 2018, the New York concept was a Poblacion pioneer and crowd favourite, garnering regulars fondly called Lokals of NoKal every single night.
In 2020, at the height of NoKal's reign, the pandemic struck, bars and clubs remained closed for too long, rent was still due, and NoKal had to let go of the now iconic landmark on Kalayaan. Almost three years later, as you follow the neon lights leading to the basement, the NoKal sign now burns brighter, this time in neon orange, transforming from its signature neon pink.
NoKal partners: Lee Watson, Jason Soong, Raul Fores, and Marco Viray
BANDWAGON TV
Described as "anti-establishment" by Managing Director Marco Viray, the new NoKal puts together an amplified sensorial experience in its brand-new location. Despite the chandeliers and plush VIP areas, NoKal isn't your sleek superclub. It retains the cozy charm and elements of the Poblacion OG that made NoKal a go-to respite for its patrons.
"The ones that brought back NoKal was the community – the people, the patrons of NoKal. They used to be our biggest spenders, now they're our partners," shared Viray. "Because of the pandemic, we weren't sure if we could afford to open up the new space once we started drawing up the plans. I just wanna say thank you to the new partners."
In keeping with the theme of underground movements, NoKal's new signature cocktails carefully crafted by resident bar guy Lee Watson are named after legendary New York nightlife experiences – Le Clique, Studio 54, Electric Room, and Stork Club.
Lokals of NoKal have definitely missed their diner classics including the burger with fries, along with filling appetizers (also available as rice bowls for when you need to sober up) like Wings and Tits and Barcia Strips by Chef Raul Fores.
Beneath the neon lights, underneath the shiny disco ball, and beyond the indulgent bar list and sumptuous menu, the core of NoKal remains with the music. Ahead of their official launch on 26 October, we talked to Music Director Jason Soong about finding a new home by surprise, sticking to their music principles, and who we can expect behind the decks and onstage at NoKal.
How did you end up here at the Makati Cinema Square basement?
Absolutely, one hundred percent by chance. We had zero plans of opening a club, or reopening NoKal, that wasn't the drawing board. Not at all. A friend just showed us this space and when we looked at it, we were like, "Woah! Parang pwede to ah." (I think we can make this work.)
What made you decide to take the NoKal concept here instead of starting a new one?
The following of NoKal was just so strong, so we figured if we bring the NoKal brand, our sponsors, and everything, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. The brand was so strong, they were just waiting for us to do something. NoKal is a New York concept, so for this [reiteration], we got inspiration from places like Electric Room, Studio 54, which are all New York concepts. And you know what? It worked out.
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Who do you think will come to NoKal now? Will it be the same crowd as before?
I think the same with more people. We always felt that with Poblacion, traffic is a situation, and parking is a situation. For here, I think it will attract a whole new crowd, there's so much parking. It's in Makati, it's not in the center of Poblacion which is so busy.
Describe what a good Friday night would be at NoKal.
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Our driving force with NoKal has always been the music. So what to expect on a Friday night would be like, it would be like a musical journey. If you get to see our sound system, and our lights, there were no shortcuts. We really planned for it. What you see at 9 PM will be completely different from what you see when we're closing at 5 AM. Everything from 9 to 5 will be constantly, slowly, changing. It will be a very interesting journey or experience.
Like what you said, music is the core of the club experience. Can you tell us more about your music programming and artist curation for NoKal?
Our main goal is to educate people and show them good, new fresh music. I've been doing this for a while, and I'll hear comments from other establishments like "Oh, our music is like this cause this is what our guests want." And I always say that the moment you say that about an establishment, you've already lost the fight. Running a club is about [...] giving them something new, something fresh. Because if it's not fresh, if it's the same thing, then why would people come here? Why would people come here just to hear the same music everyone else plays? Like, I wanna try to replicate the experience I've had in other places around the world. Not just clubs. I wanna try to replicate that here, to share it with the Filipino people. I feel like everyone's just hungry for a new sound.
Who's your dream artist to play on the decks at NoKal?
Right now, it would be Eli Escobar. He's from New York, and every time I'm there, he has the best parties for me. He has this party called Tiki Disco, and that's my short-term goal and dream, I wanna get him over here.
So we can look forward to that soon! Ok, last question. In the old NoKal, you've hosted bands like UDD and Basically Saturday Night. Will we see any of that here?
I'm out to look for new talent, [with the] new bands out there. I would love to discover more.
Follow the neon pink signs to NoKal's new location: Basement 1, Makati Cinema Square.
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