Over the years, the Studio nightclub has become a true legend in Estonian nightlife. About 5,000 days, over 1,250 parties and about 700 weekends have brought guests from Estonia and beyond to the club on Sauna Street. This place has played an important role in Estonian nightlife, bringing with it a lot of adventures and introducing new artists. We asked people closely associated with the Studio to recall the most colorful moments that are important in the history of this place.
Stig Rästa (Musician and DJ)
I remember when Vallo Kikas and I had just met and we went to a party at the Studio for the first time. That night there was an event called Tallinn Express and the music was so loud that it was impossible not to take a sip of vodka. Nowadays, music is not played that loudly there anymore.
Kohver (Musician and DJ)
I remember when the shift supervisor lost his office key. I was on my third day. I wanted to go home, but the bag was in the office and the keys were in the bag. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the girl started crying. An hour later, the keys came out crying from somewhere. I went home. The coat stayed in the Studio office for two months.
Tõnn Kuuli (DJ and first manager)
The studio has always been in constant development, but in the beginning you could really see and feel it. I remember that for the first few months, the construction workers basically came right after the last party left early on Sunday morning and left just before the first guest arrived on Friday. It must have been only a month after the opening event that I sat in the club an hour before the doors opened and thought to myself that it was strangely quiet. I realized that we were finally ready. After a week, new ideas for expansion were already emerging……
It is certainly not easy for a new club to get its foot in the door in the world of booking foreign performers, but thanks to Meelis Meri, the Funktion-One standard and the help of good acquaintances, we managed to do it well. I remember one incident from that period, which comes from an email conversation with an agent, where it still took me quite a few good days to explain to people that the distances in Estonia are really as we wrote down. Often, the agency questionnaire asked for information about the distance of the club from the airport, the distance of the hotel from the club, etc. When I wrote eight minutes and one minute, they clearly thought I was trying to fool them. Later, we were already “in good shape” for the same reasons.
How I became the manager and how I got my position in the first place is, of course, a separate story. Initially, Anton Must invited me to this group, where, in collaboration with Meelis Meri, we had to help figure out the programmatic side of the club. Meelis for the upper floor and Anton and I for the lower floor. But right from the beginning, all conversations related to the club were very open and we often tended to have long discussions about other topics related to the club. After cultivating this for a few weeks, one day one of the owners came to me and said that since I always like to express my opinion, maybe I would like to do it in a more formal form in the future and offered me the position of Studio manager. I didn’t have to think long.
Tigran Gevorkjan (Comedian and DJ)
I remember the first time I played house at the OI-EI event. A girl approached the remote control with a phone in her hand that said “CAN I HAVE RIHANNA PLEASE”. I said yes, of course. She never heard it.
Madis Räästas (Before there was a Studio, she worked at Angelis)
There were all kinds of events at Angelis and a very diverse group of people would always walk through the stages. Starting from the guys from my house, who did both striptease and go-go dancing, to Eurovision singers. And no performance ever left the audience indifferent.
I don’t remember what kind of party it was, but there was a drag queen on stage with two great dancers. They performed Christina Aguilera’s song “Dirrty”. At that time, the programs in the club started quite late, because the partygoers only got into the house at around one o’clock. The show was in full swing when the artist fell from the stage (the current DJ console of the Studio) directly into the crowd. But the crowd was in such a great mood that they didn’t realize that the artist had jumped off the stage. Since the drag queen quickly got her feet back, the guests thought she had “jumped into the crowd” and continued her act from the floor. She got back on stage just as quickly.
During the same event, another small mishap occurred, which was noticed by a few sober guests. Once again, the artist was on stage with dancers. The act was met with a loud roar and a warm reception. However, after the performance, when they went into the audience to interact with the guests, these 2-3 guests thanked the artist for the bravery and courage she had managed on stage. Namely, the artist was enjoying her performance on stage with all her heart, not knowing that her costume had failed her and her beak had popped out from under the costume and was visible to everyone. But fortunately, it was not noticed very much.
But in general, Club Angel was like Las Vegas – everything that happened there stayed there. And once, when a picture was published in Just magazine, which was taken secretly, there was a big outcry. And to this day, when I talk to my colleagues and visitors from that time, the memories are quite general, but very warm and pleasant, but no one has ever wanted to talk about their sinful deeds.
Priit Tomp (Boss)
Imagine the following: one of the greatest music lovers, a former closet DJ, walking towards the Studio with a slight anxiety. Here, music is not just a sequence of sounds, it is an experience – first pure technical perfection, then melody and finally performance, which forms a whole. The real gem lies in 2014, when John Newsham, the creator of the world’s coolest club sound, Funktion-One, arrives at the Studio to perfect his creation. As if that wasn’t enough, another sound guru, Alfred Vassilkov, the founder of Estelon, appears to validate the audience. These two are absolute world class (in Asics sneakers, of course), who roam the hall in search of the perfect sound. After Newsham’s passionate and precise setup, Alfred wanders around, searching for something. And then, from the darkness of the club hall, a thumbs up emerges – a sign of perfection. That moment, that silent recognition, will stay with me forever, because something has finally been done right. And there, the crowning element of the scene is my partner in crime, aka Alari Ossa – in the best shape of his life, probably still with pimples, witnessing history being made.
Max Õispuu (DJ)
It’s hard to find one good story about the club Studio, because there are so many memories of that house on Sauna Street. A suitcase once met me on the stairs of the Studio and asked “well, this is where you live, right?” That sums up how much time I spend there. Home club forever.
Siim Otsak (DJ)
My first time at the Studio was probably during Halloween 2020, when I was still quite a fresh face in Tallinn and didn’t know anyone or anything. From that evening onwards, I remembered how friendly and accepting everyone was, from the bar people to all sorts of bosses. That’s still the first thing I would describe this club with – warm, sincere and even strangely homey. Over time, all kinds of jokes have been made on these floors in the company of dear friends, candles have been blown out on cakes, and I believe that this is where Siim’s most intense and intimate sets in Tallinn have been. Favorite people, favorite club!
Over the years, Studio has been a place where memories have been created that will be carried with you for a lifetime. Countless stories have been born within these walls, some of which will only remain with those who were there, and some will go down in history as legends. Whether it’s big parties, smaller parties, or unforgettable musical moments – Studio will always remain in our hearts as a place that has brought something special and lasting to Estonian nightlife.