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Singapore’s Clarke Quay has undergone a massive transformation in recent years, having benefited from a multi million-dollar facelift involving some major construction work. The shops, bars and restaurants on the north bank of the Quay are protected from the rain by giant overlapping pagodas, under which the Ministry of Sound has attracted ever-increasing numbers of revellers over the past year. The jigsaw around the internationally renowned club was completed on 15 December 2006, when the 8,000-sq m Cannery was officially opened. The Cannery brings five further party venues under its wing including the distinct Fashion Bar, Kandi Bar and Barfly, which have greatly diversified the variety of the entertainment spots on offer. Also in the mix are the Italian bistro Bice and home-grown Clinic, which is an anything-but-sterile supper club where drinks come in test-tubes, infusion drip packets and syringes, and food is served on kidney dishes and surgical trays. For more conventional fashion followers, F Bar combines glitz and glamour and the Kandi Bar allows its customers to chill out to soul grooves. Being in the same block as the Ministry, the Cannery opted to have the same audio brands installed throughout the venues. The contract to design, supply and install the sound system was, therefore, assigned to local Martin Audio distributor Swee Lee.
The dancefloor incorporates a stunning LED wall, with surrounding pill-shaped rooms called Caffeine, Anthrax and Cyanide offering a more intimate atmosphere. Here pulsating rhythms are interspersed with live music from a saxophonist, percussionist and vocalist ensemble. The foyer, upstairs and pill areas of Clinic all have background music provided via Martin Audio C6.8 and C8.1 ceiling speakers. The dancefloor however uses suspended LE2100 monitor speakers with two WS218X subwoofers built into the lower section of the DJ booth, powered by MA4.8Q and 6.8Q amplifiers. Symnet Audio Matrix 8x8 digital signal processing drives the various signals for the various zones from 15 rack-mounted Martin Audio amplifiers (MA 200, 900, 1400, 1.6, 2.8S and 4.2). Loudspeaker management has been entrusted to three DX1s and a Klark Teknik SquareOne graphic equaliser, while a Mackie VLZ Pro mixer allows the engineer to perform simple mixes. The live artists use Sennheiser e300G and ew550 wireless microphones. The upstairs section of Aurum has been christened Insanity and, allows the checked-in ‘patients’ to dine from tables with wheelchairs before 11pm, after which they should have recovered sufficiently to move their limbs to the DJ’s beats. Part of this recuperation is the transformation of the show kitchen with operating theatre lights into a DJ booth. Six C8.1 ceiling speakers supply background music before the dining/club watershed, while two Blackline F15 speakers and two MX subwoofers kick into action afterwards.
Buddha Bar creator Raymond Visan has weaved his magic to Barfly, which is a supper-cum-dance club that serves exquisite bites at its sushi bar, and smooth grooves on its dancefloor. Inspired by one of his favourite movies – Barbet Schroeder’s Barfly – the restaurant became the first in Paris to feature a live DJ. Marking its first franchise in Asia, the 450-seat Barfly Singapore has become the watering hole for the sophisticated and discerning jetsetter serving up swank and sex appeal with the finest food. Barfly is a heady blend where Parisian chic-meets-New York cool – a lengthy bar stretches across the room and hosts a Buddha Bar statue from Paris. However, its signature of rich colours, plush fabrics and sleek modern lines converge to add a touch of the Orient. The quieter dining section has two Martin AQ6s and a AQ210 subwoofer, blending into the surroundings with chrome speaker grilles matching the designer fabrics. The bar area section incorporating the larger dining area has a more extensive sound system, composed of six AQ10s, six AQ6s and two AQ215 subwoofers, powered by MA900, MA4.8Q and MA200Q amplifiers. Here a Peavey Digitool MX multi processor provides the necessary signal processing. Located between the Buddha Bar and the Bice Bistro, the Fashion Bar attracts a different sort of patron. Posers may relax on the silver couches or strut their slinky hips on the dancefloor, which makes way for a catwalk during fashion shows. Two AQ10 speakers and two S15 subwoofers powered by two QSC RMX1450 and three RM2450 amplifiers offer a more refined club sound. An Inova Pro DA28 distribution amplifier allows zone control and a Digitool MX multi processor has once again been used. Video projection portrays modern icons and models, via a Kramer VP-703SC digital scan converter and a Kramer 16x16 video matrix switcher. The DJ booths of Kandi Bar, Clinic, Barfly and Fashion Bar are all equipped with Pioneer DJM600, CDM800 and CDJ1000 mixers together with Technics SL1210 turntables. The whole project had been put out to tender earlier in 2006, with Swee Lee handed the lucrative contract to design, supply and install all the audio equipment, based on its prior work with the neighbouring Ministry of Sound and reputation for after-sales service. Given the detailed interior designs, some of the cabinets were custom finished and a close relationship with the designers was paramount to the install. Swee Lee’s Arthur Soh and a team of seven spent just four weeks prior to the 15 December deadline installing the cabling infrastructure and audio equipment: ‘The final week was a little frenzied,’ admits Mr Soh. ‘However, you can see the finishing line, so you work day and night to complete. It was greatly reassuring and we can now claim one of the most exciting nightspot installations in Singapore.’ Mr Soh and his team were finally allowed off-site following successful commissioning, but would not comment on whether they had fully recovered from the long exposure to Clinic’s interesting interior décor. Featured in "The Edge" Martin Audio Issue 15 March 2007 - |
