On a Tuesday night, KINKI, a small bar and nightclub above the restaurant TETSUO in Poblacion, came alive to host DJs Jorge Wieneke a.k.a. obese.dogma777 and Sherwin Calumpang Tuna, better known as DJ Love. Inside, guests maximize the 80-square-meter space dancing to budots remixes of everything from Kamikazee’s “Narda” to Troye Sivan’s “Angel Baby.”
“We just operate Thursday to Saturday,” KINKI founder Rex Puentespina, also known by his DJ name Trust, tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “So this is our first event outside the regular schedule.”
He explains that DJ Love is in Manila for his visa application, and that Wieneke had reached out to do a popPopShort for popular music, a broad genre built on catchy melodies, clear hooks, and polished production that aims to reach a wide audience. Pop constantly borrows from other styles, andGo to Pop Glossary-up event to recoup travel expenses. “As the main operators [of KINKI], we really want to push ourselves and plant our flag as a very community-led and artist-forward space,” says Puentespina. “We want to be as generous as possible to the collectives and the people we work with, and really try to support them in any way that we can.”
Making the Most of a Small Space
When asked about the club’s name, creative director Andi Osmeña, who takes on the name baby ikea when behind the booth, explains that “KINKI” serves a two-fold purpose. “We definitely wanted something playful and a little sexy, so that felt right,” he says. “But Kinki is also a rockfish. We got really inspired by old Japanese izakayas and love hotels. And so many of the clubs that we love from around the world have that vibe that’s a little bit janky and unpretentious.”
A club like that demands a venue with versatility, and the room above TETSUO provides just that. With the lights on and not much else going on except for the bar at the back, it’s an unassuming black box, but when the music starts playing and the crowd begins to pour in, guests may find that interiors don’t matter much. Nonetheless, the founders describe the space as “somewhere between a fever dream, a dance floor, and an aquarium.”
“When we throw our popPopShort for popular music, a broad genre built on catchy melodies, clear hooks, and polished production that aims to reach a wide audience. Pop constantly borrows from other styles, andGo to Pop Glossary-up parties here, it feels like if you dressed it up enough or change the lighting even just a little bit, it would transform completely,” says Osmeña. “It’s just a nice blank canvas for all of these possibilities.”
“We’ve realized that our crowd is pretty diverse. There are gay people, straight people, people from all walks of life. But they’re all people who are nerdy about music.”
The very limited real estate is a challenge KINKI’s founders have accepted as an opportunity. “On paper, our capacity is around 100 pax at one time, but we’re really slammed at that point,” says Puentespina. “There’s a lot less pressure for us to fill up the room in the way that other venues function. So, our metric for success is really the vibe more than it is about packing it in, the way that other businesses would see it.”
Osmeña emphasizes that small venues like theirs offer a chance for guests to “create a scene where people actually know each other.”
“And if you’re a DJ, it’s just less intimidating to start with a small venue,” he says. “When we think about the early parts of our DJ careers, we usually cut our teeth in smaller rooms before we play bigger clubs.”
Built for Dancing
Osmeña attributes KINKI’s music-forward philosophy to DJ collective Transit Records’ “nerdy” audience. “We’ve been putting up events with dance records for maybe almost a decade or a little less than that,” he says. “And in the past few years, we’ve realized that our crowd is pretty diverse. There are gay people, straight people, people from all walks of life. But they’re all people who are nerdy about music.”
The emphasis on community also shows in KINKI’s programming. Thursdays are for spotlighting queer collectives like ELEPHANT, which started a 10-night residency when the club soft-opened in June. On Fridays, KINKI runs Provider, a night where resident DJs from Transit Records, the collective behind the club, take the booth. And Saturdays are for takeovers by other collectives or events featuring international guests.
Aside from music selection, a lot of work has also gone into the club’s custom sound system, built by acoustics engineer Patrick Casabuena of Fatima Sound Practice and boasting a setup that reduces distortion and keeps the sound clear and warm. KINKI says the sound system was made “with care and intention towards making guests dance.”
“A common expectation is to crank the sub, crank everything, play everything loud,” says Puentespina. “That’s not what we want to do here. We want you to spend eight hours on the dance floor, and then after the event, you’re like, ‘Wow, my ears feel amazing!’”
“We keep what matters here and just do that really well. It doesn’t have to be ‘Instagrammable.’”
Osmeña says the restraint suits the room. “I think it adds to the aquarium vibe. We want the sound to be immersive, especially if you play certain genres like deep house, or even shoegaze and ambient. There’s a dreaminess that you want to come with the sound.”
The same priorities extend to the bar, which offers beers, cocktails, and highballs alongside non-alcoholic options and KINKI’s signature five-shot sets. “I’m actually proud of the drinks that we have,” says Puentespina. “We have a lot of signatures and very fast service. We’re aware of the fact that we’re not necessarily a cocktail bar, so we want our drinks to be fun and approachable, but the quality’s way up there.”
Little Time Left
According to Puentespina, Transit Records has been carrying out events and club takeovers, but had never found a place to call its own until leaseholders gave the collective an opportunity to use the space. “The original leaseholders were like, ‘Hey, we still have the contract here until the end of 2026, and it’s yours if you want to take it,’” he says. “And that’s all they had to say.”
“It was a dream of ours for a pretty long time, actually,” Osmeña adds. “In our Telegram group chat, there’s a channel where we would ideate and send listings, so it just felt perfect when we heard about this.”
The one caveat to the collective finally having a home base is the end of the lease. But when asked about the looming deadline, Puentespina says, “We don’t want to invest so much in a space that’s not gonna exist after December 31. So we keep what matters here and just do that really well. It doesn’t have to be ‘Instagrammable.’ We want it to be a dark club, foggy, with a good sound system and lights.”
For Osmeña, the end of the lease also encourages them to make the most of the little time they have. “If you want to make any changes, you have to do it as well,” he says. “If you wait, then you can never do it.”
Frequently Asked Questions
KINKI is located above TETSUO, on Kalayaan Ave cor. Matilde near Poblacion, Makati.
KINKI’s regular programming runs from Thursday to Saturday, with a dedicated club night for each day.
Creative director Andi Osmeña says the founders wanted something playful and sexy, but the name is also a reference to the Japanese rockfish.
KINKI soft-opened in June and had its grand launch in July. The club is expected to close in December 2026, when the lease ends.
KINKI features resident DJs from Transit Records, the collective behind the club, as well as guest DJs and collectives from the Philippines and abroad.
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