It doesn’t take much these days to travel to the other side of the world and party, be it a big ole festival or clubbing around a city, it has never been easier!

To kick start our new series ‘Insiders’, we’ve rung in LPZ – a trio of Paraguayan producers who have spilt the goods on the top five spots to hit up in Asuncion Pargauay.

In what could be LPZ’s most successful year, the three – real names Ariel Soler, Javier Rodriguez and Jorge Carron have spent the past 4 years gradually putting Paraguay on the dance music map.

With a successful and XLR8 hailed release – The Benedict & Grace E.P, the guys have set the bar high. They welcome you into their world!

Bars and Clubs to check out in Asuncion, Paraguay

1) FDM

FDM, aka Fin del Mundo (End of the World), is the oddly named club run by the Migraña crew who have been throwing parties there for around a year now. It’s sort of a secret spot with a great soundsystem that only people from Asuncion know about as they don’t advertise their parties anywhere but online. So if you are lucky enough to be in the know then expect to hear the best quality House music for their Migraña parties, as well as the long running Fondo Funk nights where music goes from hip-hop to bass music to at least 4 hours of drum n’ bass which is the main draw for their clubbers.

2) Taller 1130

Another new bar/club, this one has been open for less than 3 months but with the residency of the first lady of house music from Paraguay, Nat Doljak, as well as the parties thrown by Los Fanaticos del ritmo (house/techno) this new venue is quickly becoming a favourite of the party people from Asuncion (or Asunzion for those down with the slang). An anything goes decoration meets an interesting music policy that goes from 4/4 music to 80s themed tunes depending on the night. Definitely worth checking out.

3) Kilkenny Asuncion

Part of the Kilkenny chain which means Irish styled pubs, this ale house is great for their beer selection and food. You might even spot some band members from groups currently touring Paraguay or who knows, maybe an impromptu performance from those bands themselves, as seen recently with Gogol Bordello who tore the roof down at their recent secret concert at this place.

4) Planta Alta

The artier side of Asuncion, this bar meets gallery is well known already for their display of local and international art, installations, talks and the odd concert and DJ night. Established in one of the nicest colonial houses in the centre of the city and with a beautiful balcony that overlooks Asuncion (quite handy for the everlasting heatwave we get here), Planta Alta is a great place to unwind during the week or have a browse through their collection of art if you are that way inclined.

5) Fondo Studio

Not a public space as such but we spent so many nights here that we might as well call it our usual spot. This is the LPZ studio in Asuncion where we work on our music most of the time but it’s also open for recordings of bands. Among the artists that have recorded here are Paraguayan rocksteady masters The Tempranos, rock/fusion bands like Pipa para Tabaco, Los Chamos del Momento, Revolber and others, as well as being the incubator of the latest compilation of local jazz music including old and new artists like Carlos Schvartzman, Toti Morel Sr & Jr, Jose Villamayor, Remigio Pereira, etc. As you can imagine after a long day/night recording or mixing music and with all of these artists around there is bound to be some refreshments so this our place. Mi casa, su casa!

While your planning the trip already, sink your teeth into their most recent release already hailed by XLR8 – The Benedict & Grace E.P.

LGN028 – LPZ – The Benedict & Grace E.P. by lounginrecordings