James Bryant, who runs MTS, explained that this is the third time he has fitted out the venue, previously known as XS. "The Chapman Group were looking for ideas to create a wow factor - particularly on the dancefloor of Club East - and so we decided to augment the traditional disco lighting with LED effects. At the same time we wanted to enhance the general mood of the bar and restaurant with some general colour-changing washes. This is by far the biggest LED project we have carried out - and for each application Lighting Effects Distribution were able to provide great value-for-money solutions."
This included a Saturday Night Fever style acrylic underlit dancefloor created out of 36 Ledion modules in a 6 x 6 matrix - "a square within a circle, and just like a giant chess board," as Bryant puts it. Further Ledion 300mm Ultra strips can be found recessed into Persia's back bar, where it washes the bar on a slow colour change. A further six Solar MR16's are used to illuminate and backlight in silhouette the dancers (in conjunction with chrome Birdie lights, while; Alkalite Rivas (90-LED intelligent heads, built into a recessed dome) light up the dance podiums. Meanwhile Solar L80 3-LED RGB effects are used on the bar fronts.
"We have gone to various other LED manufacturers in the past," says Bryant, "but the reason for using Lighting Effects Distribution is because of their varied product range, which allows us to maintain continuity."
The Chapman Group's operations director Richard Pipe, was delighted with the result. "The overall effect of the LED fittings, and standard of detailing by Marshall Technical Solutions are excellent. They have done a very good job." The 200-capacity Middle-Eastern themed Persia opens at 6pm, but after 10pm, when DJ's take over from the BGM system, admission requires VIP membership; the sound source is then linkable with the adjacent 800-capacity Club East until 2am.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
