Wagg: the view from the DJ booth.
The famous Paris site where the legendary Jim Morrison said farewell to the world has been converted into a discotheque by Sir Terence Conran. The former Whisky-A-Go-Go, underneath his celebrated restaurant Alcazar, had been empty for some time, and when it was excavated for the refit, artworks from the legendary Doors frontman were found. The site has now reopened as the Wagg - with the sound and lighting specified and administered by fabric of London, and featuring exclusively Martin Audio sound reinforcement and amplification.

Technical consultant, Dave Parry of Most Technical, who last year turned famous London club fabric (where he is resident) over to Martin Audio sound reinforcement, with the use of Blackline and Wavefront components, this time opted for the EM architectural range. Sound over the main basement dancefloor - a long tri-domed corridor - is delivered through a distributed Martin Audio system comprising 14 Martin EM26s, reinforced by six Martin Blackline S15 subs, while the DJ will be able to reference the music, mixed on an Allen & Heath mixer and delivered from Vestax, Technics and Pioneer playback devices, through a further pair of EM26 monitors and a Blackline S15 sub.

Dave Parry promises that the 350-capacity venue, in Paris’ trendy St. Germain, would appeal to the ultra chic. And those lucky enough to gain entry to the bijou second room will be able to hear the music played through four tiny EM15s and an EM120 sub. The entire system will be powered by a combination of nine Martin Audio MA1.3 amplifiers, a pair of MA1.6s and an MA900. As with fabric, the system will be tuned using three BSS 9088 Soundweb DSP devices and utilise the OutBoard Timax ImageMaker. Each speaker has its own separate EQ programmed into Soundweb, and then sent out to Timax.

Dave Parry explained that after Sir Terence Conran had first called on his expertise to initiate the restaurateur’s first nightclub, his instinct had been to approach tried and trusted contractors. And his faith proved well justified. "We knew all the product worked so the bigger issue was what level of back-up we would get. As we anticipated, everyone has been incredibly supportive."

Dave Parry also specified the lighting, using the new Pulsar ChromaDomes at floor level to create solid blocks of moving colour. Martin Professional moving yokes and strobes are also controlled from a ShowCAD MIDI controller. "This will ensure we remain one step ahead," he said.

The venue’s architects are Sarah Aldridge and Marie Deroudihle of Conran and Partners and the manger is Leon Akarsirat.

(Lee Baldock)


Latest Issue. . .