NOZOMI

Sound Division hit the perfect beat for Nozomi

“Whatever that CD playing is burn it, break it, do whatever … .”

Marios George sighs, as he sits in the middle of his chic new Japanese restaurant in Knightsbridge’s trendy Beauchamp Place, which has already entertained a host of A-list celebs ranging from David Schwimmer to Rob Lowe. “This is why I have a DJ in every night.”

But long before joining the top echelons of London restaurateurs Marios (along with brother Chris) ran the most influential hard dance club in London — the seminal Club UK in Wandsworth — as well as celeb nightspot, Attica, and other high-profile venues spread from East Anglia to Eastern France.

The demands he places on his sound suppliers have always been considerable, and although Nozomi is never likely to host a Hed Kandi night, the same exacting parameters prevailed when he contacted, through recommendation, David Graham’s The Sound Division Group

Marios George wanted a system that would work at low level during the days — delivering an eclectic ambience — but which could be notched up after hours for the increasing number of corporate and celebrity parties that the venue will host. This will range from the ultra-cool Paris and North African vibe which Marios espouses to a wide range of world and seductive lounge music.

Meanwhile, The Sound Division Group have danced their own gilded beat to Beauchamp Place (via an upmarket club in nearby Kings Road, Chelsea and a brace of top-style bars in Shoreditch and London’s West End).

“We needed a properly-equipped DJ booth and a system that would accommodate all requirements,” said Marios. “David knew I wanted to take a leaf out of the fashionable Parisian restaurants and he understood the brief perfectly. His company did a very good job fitting this out.”

The sound has to be distributed evenly — from the ground floor up through the mezzanine to the top sushi bar and private banqueting areas. For this Sound Division have used Bose Freespace 3 recessed ceiling speakers in the front lounge and a JBL S210 sub built into the DJ booth, powered respectively by Crown XLS202 and XLS402’s amplifiers.

Four ceiling-mounted JBL Control 24C’s and JBL SB210 sub bass provide the aural atmosphere for the fine diners under the glass roof of the mezzanine while upstairs Sound Division judiciously reconfigured the existing Bose Freespace recessed ceiling speakers and amplification.

The DJ booth is equipped with CD playback (Pioneer CDJ-1000 Mk2’s), while DJ’s will be more than happy to see this breached by an industry-standard Allen & Heath Xone 62.

However, the success of the sound is only as good as its signal processing and Sound Division have plugged the outboard rack with a Cloud Z4, which routes the sound into the four separate zones, while the speakers are optimised by a DBX DriveRack loudspeaker management system.

Said David Graham, “Knowing how serious Marios is about music — and his reputation at the cutting edge of dance music — we are privileged to have been asked to implement the system requirements at Nozomi. It is the latest in a prestigious portfolio of London venues that Sound Division has been asked to fit out this year.”