- Milanese people like to party. One need only take a glance at Milan's festive calendar—the numerous fashion weeks, the famed Carnavale Ambrosiano—to recognize this. What's not so obvious to the outside observer, though, is that, in Milan, they know how to throw a party as well.
Spend time at the Elita Festival, held annually across five days in early April, and you'll be able to see that for yourself. Elita coincides with—and serves an official nighttime backdrop to—the annual Milan Design Week, a five-day showcase that draws artists, creative tastemakers and the general public to the city with a multitude of exhibitions and conferences. Which isn't to say that Elita isn't big enough to draw its own crowd. You'll see a Rolex paired with Prada sunglasses on a Design Week attendee at Elita parties, but you're just as liable to see a group of ecstatic local university students, thrilled at the rare prospect of five consecutive nights of clubbing to top-tier talent in their hometown.
Elita is a series of events, ranging in scale from intimate midweek gatherings to triple-header lineups hosting up to 2,000 attendees. This year was the event's most expansive yet, seeing a number of local promoters collaborate to host over two dozen events and parties spread around Milan's central suburbs, but with a headquarters in a vintage theatre in the southeastern Porta Romana district. Each of the event locations was within relatively easy reach from this central base, either on foot or via Milan's highly effective public transport system.
The festival's official opening celebrations were held at the Teatro Franco Parenti. Upon entering the dimly lit and looming multi-story venue, guests were able to freely wander the theatre's numerous halls. The festival's visual cleverness was apparent from the off, its interior adorned with sophisticated and intricate lighting, hanging artworks, a record stall and several drink stations. The night's live performers—Black Fanfare and Dewey Dell among them—dished out downtempo instrumental ballads from the theatre's elevated stage, while local DJs rinsed house and disco upstairs in a room at the top of a winding metal staircase.
Photo credit: Maddalena Arosio
This kind of atypical clubbing environment was a consistent thread throughout Elita's duration, testament to the organizers' resourcefulness in transforming spaces into venues. Getting from venue to venue was half the fun. Passing by buildings, some over 500 years old, from party to party was an experience few other festivals, music-based or otherwise, can provide.
The following night, Thursday, played host to a several events. Moodmusic's Sasse and Penner + Muder at the intimate Rocket, and the live house of French trio dOP—one of the more apparent standouts on the festival bill—at Privat were Elita's first electronic draw cards. The former welcomed the midweek crowds with their deep house selections, dishing out some of the smoothest low ends heard all week, while dOP played to a surprisingly lively crowd, considering Thursday night parties in Milan are quite a rarity.
Friday saw Seth Troxler and Carl Craig take to the booth at Magazinni General, a warehouse-esque club around 20 minutes walk from the Elita headquarters, for what was ultimately Elita's highlight. Troxler and Craig each dished out sets that were just as willing to throw a curveball as they were offering up a classic. Prior to Troxler and Craig's appearance at the club, however, many chose to spend the first part of their evening at Franco Parenti, where Milan locals Clockwork and A Tale of Us each played tech house to a room adjacent to math rockers Battles' sold-out appearance in the main hall. Performances from festival regulars Henrik Schwarz and Paul Kalkbrenner then saw Saturday through, both bringing in two of the largest crowds of the weekend.
A Wolf + Lamb vs Soul Clap DJ set served as Elita's and Design Week's official closing. The party's location at Franco Parenti was a fitting conclusion to the Elita week, reaffirming that promoters in Milan seem to be drawn to interesting and off-the-beaten path venues for their events. So often Italian youth express disenchantment with the obvious "oldness" of the cities and towns in which they reside. But in the case of Elita at least, this is its defining trait, and makes for a remarkably unique experience, particularly for the outside visitor. Because even if the bookings weren't extraordinarily daring, you got to see acts in places that you (and they) would never see them play otherwise.