Late-night London reawakened by Funktion-One
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Blazing onto the capital’s live electronic music scene at the beginning of 2018 with a 27-hour New Year’s Eve launch party, E1 blends simple industrial minimalism with cutting-edge technology to provide the perfect backdrop for a quintessential clubbing experience.
Occupying a two-room converted warehouse space, E1 is a location-turned-destination. The brainchild of Yuval Hen and Oren Arush, the venue is an evolution of the founders’ existing Studio Spaces facility – an events and high-production photo shoot destination catering to global brands and the biggest names in fashion and film. Having already run a series of successful warehouse style parties over the past few years, the team wanted to hone their offering; redesigning the space to place the focus on audio excellence and a heightened consumer experience.
Marketing manager, Tim Hinson, explains: “We decided to create a space that was the combination of a rough and ready warehouse space with the luxuries of a full club, whilst still retaining a blank canvas feel – something we felt London was lacking.”
Taking inspiration from clubs like Trouw, The Cross, Tresor and The End, Hinson wanted to ensure the new venue could tap directly in to their guests’ emotional state. “People’s experiences - whether it be in a club, at a football match or in a restaurant – are all based upon their senses,” notes Hinson. “We feel that a good clubbing experience is based predominantly around the sense of sound; for the optimum experience in a club, there has to be a great level of sound quality.”
With this in mind and having used Funktion-One on countless projects over the past decade, the Studio Spaces team knew where to turn. “When it came to choosing permanent sound systems to suit the programming of the space, there was no other option.” says Hinson.
The E1 crew turned to long-time collaborators Sound Services Ltd. Headed by Curt Gilmore and Rich Cufley, the audio specialists designed and installed a bespoke Funktion-One system for both the main warehouse space and the smaller ‘Black Studio’ room – the latter undergoing a complete redesign based around the audio installation, DJ and dancefloor.
The two 5-way systems feature the most recent loudspeaker innovations from Funktion-One, including Evolution 6 mid-highs and the revolutionary BR132 32-inch bass reflex enclosures.
“This new technology can deliver unparalleled low end with precision, unlocking low frequency information that goes unnoticed on most audio systems,” remarks Cufley. “Combined with tried and tested F221 and F215 horn-loaded loudspeakers, it makes two 5-way systems of epic proportions.”
The systems are powered by Full Fat Audio FF10000 and FF6004 amplification, with digital signal processing from XTA Electronics XO4A/DP448 – all designed and built in the UK. DJ Monitoring in both rooms is provided by the iconic Funktion-One PSM318s.
“When it comes to sound, we all know that there’s not anyone quite like Rich Cufley,” says Hinson. “Like us, Sound Services are constantly aiming for perfection and, despite some challenges we’ve faced together, it has always been a constant pleasure working with Rich, Curt and the rest of the Sound Services team.”
(Jim Evans)
