'ESPINAMA INFO DECK'
WHO WE ARE
The Mountain Bass Members Club (MBMC) is a private, members-only, not-for-profit cultural association focussed on a shared love for Liquid DnB (liquid drum and bass), promoting and appreciating “off the beaten track” mountain locations of extraordinary beauty, as well as having a deep focus on social and environmental sustainability. The club was founded by ourselves, Matt & Jo, as a response to the current evolution of both the music and social scene in Britain, whereby massive international companies have taken over all aspects of the industry, leading small projects, events, promoters and companies to close down while they deliver increasingly greater and more socially and environmentally negatively impactful events where individuals are treated like cattle and the places they operate in destroyed. As we left our prior careers in big corporate companies and industrial settings to dedicate ourselves to projects we align ourselves ethically with, we strive to showcase to our audience the beauty, benefits and attractiveness of natural and rural areas over big cities and the built-up world.
Our mission is to bring people together in small groups to explore and experience the world positively through our common love of music and nature and to contribute to a more sustainable natural ecosystem and society, at a local level. We believe and actively pursue bridging the gap between the opportunity to experience quality music and rural areas/small cities or villages. We run a very high expectation of how our members behave during our trip and events and we follow a strict code of conduct, despite not having had any issues so far. You can find out more about us, our ethos, how we positively impact the environment and the villages we operate in these links:
​
​
OUR TRIP
We organise several events in Europe and the UK to portray our values, however, our flagship event - The Mountain Bass Experience - is a yearly 5 day private trip, exclusively for club members and a hand-full of prominent, high-profile headliner musicians that we engage with and invite to accompany us to promote networking, a democratisation of the music industry and equality between different actors. During this trip, we take up to a maximum of 100 members to discover and appreciate a new mountain location every year, where we organise a mix of outdoor activities, social activities and private music performances by the headliner artists in small intimate venues and/or areas with natural landscapes. We also include a group of non-established musician members who benefit from the exposure and networking with headliner artists. We have in the past created music videos that help local areas gain international visibility, although that is always subject to permission of venue or land owners. Our first MB Experience event, in the Winter of 2023, was based on and around the ski slopes of Arinsal, Andorra. In 2024, we took our members on an Autumn adventure to two epic locations in the sunny Sierra Nevada mountains, South of Spain. In 2025, we will be bringing our members to Picos de Europa, where we hope to put a focus on the areas of Espinama, Fuente Dé and Puertos de Áliva. You can see information on our page here:
​
The Mountain Bass Experience 2023 - Arinsal, Andorra
​
The Mountain Bass Experience 2024 - Guejar Sierra & Pradollano, Sierra Nevada
DEMOGRAPHICS
With currently over 300 members, our club’s demographics is incredibly diverse: our youngest member is 18 and the oldest is 70! We have members from as far as New zealand, Australia, USA, Thailand and Canada but also from the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Netherland, Portugal, France, Italy…..among others!
So far, for this year’s trip to Picos de Europa, we have 36 members enrolled for this year’s trip, making us a group of, currently, a minimum of 60 people, once volunteers, organisers, headliners and support musicians are accounted for. Members and musicians enrolled in the trip to Picos de Europa, so far, are from the following countries: UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Russia, USA, Canada and Thailand. Age wise, the oldest enrolled member is 70 and the youngest is 23 years old.
VISIBILITY
As part of our mission, we want to focus on bringing value and a spotlight to small, rural/natural areas. As a not-for-profit organisation which has, so far, has relied on our personal donations and volunteer work all year round, we don’t have access to a marketing budget and we rely solely on organic growth and “word of mouth”. However, we have been fortunate enough to have such great reviews and feedback from members and musicians that we currently have a typical visibility of 5,500 views per social media post, we reach an average of 12,200 instagram accounts per month and we currently have almost 55,000 views in the last 90 days alone.
As we promote the trip to our members, we produce almost daily posts, reels and stories actively showcasing the areas, villages and local businesses we get to know and work with.
You can see some examples here:
​
​
Güejar Sierra Teaser Promoting Local Businesses
Additionally, we have created music videos and recorded several podcasts which also insured further visibility internationally. Some examples are Keeno’s Music video, below, or The Liquid Chill Podcast.
Keeno’s Music Video (almost 50,000 views in one channel alone!)
​
​
Liquid Chill Podcast Sierra Nevada
On another hand, the feedback and appreciation we get from both members and headliner musicians is so incredibly positive that they produce and share several “after videos” showcasing their experiences. This provides further visibility as some members are active social media influencers while headline artists have dozens of thousands of followers online. You can see some examples here:
​
​
You can also see our members and artists reviews here: Reviews
OUR CURRENT PLANS/WISHLIST
(To be confirmed possibility of some of activities!)
Monday 9th of June
(Most members will be accommodated in Espinama, possibly just a few in Fuente Dé)
14h-17h: Open Air Picnic Reception in Espinama
Members come to meet & greet and collect their ID. As suggested by Jesus, it could be interesting to have a small showcase of local products.
18h-21h: Outdoor BBQ with Open Decks in Espinama
We’d like to approach Hostal Nevandi to see if they are interested but we have not discussed anything with them yet, so we still don’t know if it is feasible and if they’ll accept.
22h-03h00: Night time music party with headliner musicians and support artists.
We have a “plan B” venue in Potes but we are looking for a place in Espinama or closer than Potes, to avoid having to arrange for transport and create more local value to a bar supplier. The venue needs to be somewhere where we will not bother neighbours with music. We can arrange for all audio equipment but need the venue. If we find a venue in Espinama or nearby, we will engage one of the local businesses to supply bar service.
Tuesday 10th of June
(Most members will be accommodated in Espinama, possibly a few in Fuente Dé)
​
Morning Time: rest and outdoor activities**
Explore the Fuente Dé walks and area, walk up or get the teleférico to the top, do activities by external providers**
16h00: Liquid Chill Podcast recorded from top of Fuente Dé
We want to try and get permission to record one Liquid Chill Podcast from the cafeteria terrace or area nearby, at the top of the Telefèrico. This is pending permission and possibility due to noise restrictions and authorization, as we have not discussed it yet with them.
22h-03h00: Night time music party with headliner musicians and support artists
Again, we have a “plan B” venue in Potes but we are looking for a place in Espinama or closer than Potes, to avoid having to arrange for transport and create more local value to a bar supplier.
Wednesday 11th of June
We have secured 34places in Hotel Áliva so half of our group will stay there and the remaining will remain accommodated in Espinama and commute through the 4x4 track for day activities.
​​​
12h00: Check out and move from Espinama to Hotel Áliva in our vehicles or walking or through the teleférico.
16h00: Sound healing in the mountains with Riya & Voice
16h00: Reiki with Collette Warren
16h00: DnB Yoga
22h30: Astronomy session close to/walking from Hotel Áliva
We need to find a local provider for this activity!**
Thursday 12th of June
We have secured 28 places in Hotel Áliva so half of our group will stay there and the remaining will be accommodated in Espinama and commute through the 4x4 track for day activities.​​​
​
11h00: The Great Excursion to Bulnes
The whole group goes to Bulnes for the day through the 4x4 road to Sotres. Some members will travel in their own 4x4 vehicles, others would like to do a motorbike tour, some would like to horse ride (if possible to arrange) and the remainder will go in 4x4 vehicles organised by us with a local external supplier/operator.** Some members will get the funicular to Bulnes and have lunch there while others will walk up and have a picnic on the way.
17h00: The most remote DnB Pub Quiz in Spain or Liquid Chill Podcast in Bulnes
Depending on what we can get a place (bar, terrace, etc.) to allow us to do, we will have one of these activities in Bulnes.
​
21h00: Group dinner at Hotel Áliva
Friday 13th of June
11h00: Keep Fit with Katalyst in the Mountains
13h00: move down from Áliva to last village
Considering Potes due to the access to night venues for the last night
15h00: Group social activity in last village
(The decision on where to stay for the last night is pending on Áliva confirming our booking for the previous days. If we can stay in Áliva, we would consider somewhere between Espinama and La Hermida so it’s easy to get to airports the next day.)
​
22:00: Final night party (location TBC)
** Activities & services that we're looking for providers:
​
Climbing/Via Ferrata
Horse riding
Motorcycle tours or independent rental
Showcase of local products (at an appropriate event/activity)​
Astronomy night provider (guide and telescopes)
4x4 transport from Áliva to Poncebos/Funicular and back
Mountain Bike rental
Local place for a BBQ with Open decks
A location where we can legally film a podcast or music performance with background view
​
​​
​​
