Domicile, a spacious but unostentatious rave venue, is situated on NW Second Avenue smack-dab in the middle of Little Haiti, offering a space to anyone and everyone who's looking for an experience outside the Magic City nightclub norm.
Like many who have learned of the venue, university student Noelle Piatas found it amazing that a city with an international reputation for flaunting wealth, glamour, and Latin-centric culture has a safe space dedicated to those with a passion for everything from grunge to techno.
"I was really surprised to see how many people were at the event since it's kind of unassuming from the outside," Piatas says. "I'd only just heard about it through a friend and decided to go with her because I'm into the type of music they play, and it was super cool from the start."
That is precisely Domicile's appeal and its intention: to be one of Miami's best-kept secrets and to keep the focus on the partygoer's experience.
"There are often events where they cover your camera, so while you're having fun, it takes you away from the delusion that you need to keep track of what you're doing," says Daniel Betancourt, a frequent Domicile guest. "It's also good in the fact that people get to enjoy their privacy as they go out in what they normally wouldn't, and can express themselves. So I feel comfortable in a situation where I know people aren't able to log what I'm doing, and people are just able to enjoy themselves."
A quick scroll through Domicile's Instagram page confirms the low-key vibe around attendees and performers alike, highlighting management's desire to cater to the underground scene while maintaining the aura of mystery around their space.
New Times reached out to Domicile owner Sagiv Israeli several times but was not able to arrange an interview by press time.
Photo by Daniel Betancourt
"I actually found out about this venue through a booking," says Winter Wrong, who DJed at the club and then went back as a guest. "You definitely have to know where you're going. People are welcome from all different types of personalities, but most [find Domicile] through friends of friends."
The modus operandi has tended to transform those who rave at Domicile into devotees. The intimacy of the space and the familiarity of faces add up to a physical manifestation of its name: a comfortable place for people of all backgrounds to gather to have a pleasant experience. A home.
Some nights may even result in discovering an entirely new genre of underground music, as when Domicile collaborated with baile funk dance party Probidæ or techno-based Internet Friends.
"It's really a mix of different genres that you get to hear, which makes it exciting," Betancourt says. "Baile funk — which is essentially techno with a lot of Hispanic roots in it, and it's also kind of a harder type — plays there. There's also harder house and dark wave music from the '70s and '80s, and that's a vibe where they generally stick around."
Recent years have seen the closure of several prominent local music hubs, and preserving Domicile's unique position as a refuge from Miami's perpetual nightlife chaos and the excesses of powerful tourist magnets like Miami Art Week is a priority that's top of mind for the club's devoted clientele.
"Unlike other widely popular electronic music venues like Club Space or Treehouse, Domicile has provided a venue to the much smaller collectives that book mostly local talent and create queer safe spaces for people to express themselves," says Steffi Rangel, a frequent Domicile performer. "It is incredibly unfortunate that Miami is losing venues for local collectives to throw events at, but at least we have Domicile to appreciate, to all come together and enjoy good music."
Domicile. 6391 NW Second Ave., Miami; instagram.com/domicile.miami.
