Sound Division has also put JBL sound systems into some of the capital's hottest celebrity hang-outs, in particular the Philippe Starck-designed Light Bar in St Martin's Lane hotel. A total of 16 JBL Control 25AV monitor speakers have been installed in a distributed system throughout the space. Sound Division's Elliot Patterson commented: "The client needed a system that would deliver high quality background sound during the week, but was capable of handling greater loads when the system was pushed harder on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The Light Bar is becoming well known for some of London's hottest DJs on those nights, so it was important that the system could handle it without compromising on quality."
A similar system has gone into the Long Bar in sister hotel, the Sanderson, recently dubbed "the hippest hotel in the world" by GQ magazine, while the Morrison on the Kings Road has just benefited from a full AV installation, including a Crown-driven Martin Audio loudspeaker system based on the compact EM Series cabinets and a Sanyo projector and screen system, complete with a 42" Fujitsu plasma screen, plus Panasonic and Denon DVD and VCR players - all controlled via a Kramer switching system.
A number of trendy London restaurants that feature late-night DJ and cocktail bars have also recently turned to Sound Division for their audio requirements. Recent examples include Cafeteria in Ladbroke Grove, the result of a collaboration between celebrity chef John Torode, owner of Smiths of Smithfield, and Simon Wright, most recently general manager of Food & Beverage for Schrager hotels, and the second of David Azouri's acclaimed Shish restaurants, recently opened in Hoxton. According to Sound Division's David Graham, the keyword in both instances was quality. "Both clients required high quality systems that would cruise from background to foreground levels with the minimum of effort, and the flexibility to zone the system as required with remote, independent level control. Again, we opted for Crown-driven JBL systems based on either Control 29AVs or Control 25AVs. Both venues also feature highly specified DJ control areas to cater for their late-night clientele at the weekend.""We've had a good year so far, and we're looking forward to it continuing," confirmed Graham. "We've got some interesting projects on the books for this autumn."
(Ruth Rossington)
