When Inception Group’s Charlie Gilkes and Duncan Stirling took over the former Bureau, an exclusive members club behind London’s Carnaby Street, and set about creating a retro disco theme redolent of the early ‘80s, they brought in their long-term sound contractor, SSE Audio Group.
Photo above: 'Disco', Soho, London equipped with JBL loudspeakers
The company’s installation division, led by Emma Bigg, ensured that the new venue — fittingly named ‘Disco’ — would achieve best value by repurposing (and augmenting) the existing JBL Contractor Control series loudspeakers that had also served the previous private members club so well.
Iconic brands of the past populate the club — such as the Pan Am-inspired lounge where air stewardesses greet visitors on arrival and issue boarding passes before checking personal items into the cloakroom via an automated conveyor belt, and allowing entry through an aeroplane door. The lighting too, is a faithful recreation of neon signage fast moving beams and the famous Flower effects while there is an abundance of nightlife memorabilia (the bar is even mocked up to resemble a vintage fairground stall).
But probably even SSE Audio themselves weren’t aware that the club that kick-started the modern club sound idiom 35 years ago — Paradise Garage in New York — was JBL-inspired.
JBL’s Contractor Control 29AV may not quite be the legacy handed down by Garage sound designer, the late Richard Long — whose ghost would later appear at UK venues as far afield as Cream in Liverpool and the Ministry of Sound in Liverpool — but SSE project manager Dan Seal has ensured that following a complete overhaul of the JBL components they are more than able to keep the spirit of Manhattan alive.
Seal, who had previously worked at Canegreen, joined the company earlier this year, and this was one of his first major projects. He has designed the basement venue into a three-zone system: the four original JBL Control 29’s, each providing a dispersion of 110 x 85, are again flown — this time augmented by a further four newly purchased Control 29’s — over a black and white chequered dancefloor.
In the general seating lounges are Control 28T’s (transformer versions) along with JBL Control 25’s used for infills and further JBL Control 23T’s used in ancillary areas, such as the toilets. The pre-existing Control 28 provides DJ referencing in the newly created DJ booth, populated by industry standard tools.
Explained Emma Bigg, “When Inception bought the venue a lot of the kit came with it, including the JBL speakers. We were able to fit new grilles and brackets and give the system a complete service.
“The owners were keen to to stay with JBL because it’s a brand of recognition and quality. The venue is very design led and fairly compact so everything needed to be carefully thought out.
“The Compact 29’s are a great speaker — we’ve used them on other installations and they are always snapped up when we put them up on our ex-hire sales.”
Duncan Stirling agreed. “Both Charlie and I wanted to create a venue that transcends the entire Disco era, and JBL was one the iconic brands that featured so heavily as the idiom developed.”
The Inception Group also owns and operates Chelsea speakeasy Barts, 80s themed nightclub, Maggie’s, the acclaimed Bunga Bunga in Battersea, and Mr Fogg’s, a Mayfair based bar modelled on Phileas Fogg.
JBL Professional products are distributed in the UK/ROI by Sound Technology Ltd | 01462 480000 | www.soundtech.co.uk/jbl
