Sound Division capture
Nuevo Latino vibe
in Hoxton
(Cube & Star photographs
courtesy of Theme magazine)
Sound Division, who continue to dominate the
Shoreditch/Hoxton landscape with their technological
solutions, this month arrived at the village’s
Holy Grail — Hoxton Square.
Here Mark Turner, who also owns Malecon in Dubai,
has opened his Nuevo Latino-themed
Cube & Star restaurant.
Believing that music will be paramount to capturing
the mood of his fusion operation, his websearch
led him to Sound Division. But he also spoke to
three other companies before inviting the North
London contractors to design a three-zone system
capable of showcasing the music from contemporary
Latin jazz musicians, brought over from Cuba,
and lounge DJ’s from across Europe.
“The right music is fundamental in setting
the scene when you’re having dinner and
drinking a Mojito,” believes Mark, who will
present a crossover of genres — from salsa
to Brazilian samba and Cuban son, in an Oceans
12-style soundtrack pastiche, delivered
from multiplay CD and computer.
And to underline Mark Turner’s commitment
to music, leading jazz fusion DJ Gilles Peterson
was the opening night guest on the turntables
which Sound Division had provided.
Mark also had fixed ideas about how the sound
system should be configured. “I wanted it
set up in stereo pairs — I’m convinced
it makes a difference. Sound Division knew exactly
what I wanted from day one. They were keen, and
in terms of execution of the contract they had
fitted and EQ’d the system inside a couple
of days. On top of that, they are nice guys to
work with.”
Sound Division have provided a DJ input point
(and highly-specified DJ booth) and used the dbx
ZonePro 1261 — a 10 x 6 Digital Zone Processor
— to store different gain setting feeds,
which are routed to JBL Control 28 loudspeakers
in the front and rear restaurant areas (reinforced
with a JBL SB210 sub) and a smaller room at the
rear which functions as a cigar lounge.
Mark confessed he wasn’t even familiar
with the Shoreditch area when he first returned
from Dubai. “But I was offered the site
and immediately fell in love with it. The atmosphere
here is fantastic,” he says.
The new restaurant was designed by Italian architect
Leopold Vezzoni, and a second phase — a
basement level lounge and private club —
is scheduled for the Autumn.
Said delighted Sound Division managing director,
David Graham, “As a result of this installation
we now have around six premium sites in Shoreditch.”
May 2005 |
