SUMMER | FEATURE
Elrow room
Access talks to Cruz Arnau, co-founder
of Elrow, one of the team behind the
uber-successful touring experience
How did Elrow get started? We
are a family that has followed the
history of electronic music which
we have lived and enjoyed from
generation to generation since we
were kids. A few years ago, Juan
and I began to notice and feel that
the scene was needing a change.
The night was starting to become
boring, dark and linear… and people
asked for something new to have
fun and be part of the show. They
wanted to forget their problems and
find their inner child. Then, little by
little, we started to investigate and
try to make something new. Firstly,
we decorated the room. Secondly,
we got some costumes “like a
present” for the crew and we added
the confetti during the show. People
loved that. The audience was now
part of the spectacle and light and
colours came back into the scene.
We gave inflatables and toys for
people to interact with each other,
play and take as a souvenir. Elrow is
polyhedral, poetic and inexplicable.
A remix of several worlds, that we
now call themes.
What kit does it include and how
has this expanded? Elrow is the
brainchild of the sixth generation
of the Arnau family, a dynasty of
show business entrepreneurs from
a small town in Spain between
Barcelona and Madrid. The family
had run casinos, restaurants,
nightclubs and cabarets for many
decades. The sixth generation, Juan
Arnau Jr and myself developed
eight years ago (2011) a very
38
“Elrow is
polyhedral,
poetic and
inexplicable”
party. We try through the daylight
to give our clients the emotion and
sensation to move into a colourful
world
grassroots concept of immersive
parties under the philosophy of
turning upside down everything
that was boring or dull about
clubbing, and Elrow took off first
in its hometown of Barcelona, then
in Ibiza and from there to the rest
of the world. We currently run 150
events in 30 countries, employ
120 people in the headquarters in
Barcelona and have two additional
commercial offices in New York and
Shanghai.
What does the future hold for
Elrow? We always opted for a
different concept from the rest
of the industry. When Elrow was
created, the electronic scene was
dominated by a certain darkness
that always characteriSed this
sector. Since the beginnings of
Elrow, we were clear that we
wanted to differentiate ourselves
from the others and create our own
new concept. The concept ‘row’ is
given by a summer atmosphere, as
colourful as it would be in a daytime
What are the logistical and
organisational challenges touring
Elrow and how are they overcome?
Elrow has grown exponentially the
last four years and we have had to
adapt the logistical aspect of the
company while we were, effectively
touring the world many times over.
We currently have five different
teams capable of delivering five
shows on the same day in five
different cities on five different
continents. But imagine the work
that goes before and after each
show: set and decorations need to
be produced and get to places on
time as well as the right people.
After every show, the equally
important take down happens and
we are on to the next city. I try to
explain that besides being the most
creative company in the industry,
we also need to excel in logistics,
operations and the technical and
engineering aspects of the show. We
have become truly a left side brain -
right side brain type of company.