Club Salvation , York

York

Club Salvation

venues, September 2008, COMMENTS

When McMillan York Ltd devised the progression for its venue, Nexum, it envisaged the creation of a superclub that would not only be a worthy and profitable addition to the business, but a monumental bolstering of the city’s offer. The transformation saw hybrid venue Nexum become a more focused Club Salvation; much more of a fully blown nightclub, but not, perhaps as fully blown as director Russ Brown initially hoped, as he explained: “We’d been down a long and painful route of applying for an extension into what used to be a supermarket next door and we were looking to go from a 600 capacity, which is what Nexum was, up to a 1,850. We got planning [permission] but we didn’t get licensing so we appealed and we failed at appeal.”

Settling on a small extension into an adjoining building that offered the space to add a new entrance and reception, the new venue maintains the direction of the proposed superclub, with a slightly adapted plan to suit the restricted capacity of just over 800.

Blik Design has developed the two rooms of the club, which occupy a floor each, with their function in mind. On the lower floor, the aesthetic is more functional, as this level is both a room in its own right and a thoroughfare for those destined for the more luxurious setting upstairs. The top floor has been afforded more detail to its design, incorporating a more extensive colour pallet and a deep pile carpet.
Commenting on Neville Fuller of Blik Design, Russ said: “He’s done the last three refurbishments that we’ve done; Nexus, he did our other club across the road, which is BPM and he’s done this one. He was recommended to us actually; we use sound installers TMC and they recommended the design guy.” He continues: “We were TMC’s first ever customer when they set up in business all those many years ago and we’ve used them ever since.”

For any venue pitching itself solely as a nightclub, rather than a late night bar or similar, technology, or more so the installation of credible technology capable of shining through the hustle and bustle of a busy operation, is the key to the kingdom. Terence Potter at TMC has transformed Nexum into Club Salvation by following those guidelines for the audio, lighting, special effects and visual installations. Describing the aim, he stated: “To create a sound and lighting system that would quite simply blow the competition away by utilising set light and sound performances that would be integral to the main night operation.”

A combination of Martin Mac 250+’s, Martin Mac 250 Kryptons and a Martin Atomic strobe provide the intelligent lighting, which work well with an array of LED products including 60 Pulsar LED ChromaMR16 Hearts and 16 Pulsar LED ChromaDomes. Control comes courtesy of Martin Lightjockey 2 and a mix of Pulsar Chromazine 12’s and 6’s.

Special effects come in the shape two Le Maitre Co2 Cannons, two Le Maitre Pyroflash 2’s, a Le Maitre G300 smoke machine, two Le Maitre Neutron Star hazers and a Martin ZR 24/7 back up hazer, rendering the venue well equipped. Several plasma screens and a Hitachi projector complete the visual installation.

Terence added: “The design denoted what technology should be employed. For complex light show scenarios it was a no brainer putting Martin Lightjockey in; easy to learn for novice lightjockeys and infallible night-after-night reliability.”

Rather than plumping for a sound system complete from one manufacturer, TMC chose a selection of Bose, d&b audiotechnik, EV and Funktion One as well as some JBL kit that remained from the old venue. Terence explained the decision to mix and match: “We believe in choosing our own sound system and taking the best parts from different manufacturers, no matter how much time and effort it takes, as it is one of the most important factors. In our opinion d&b of Germany had without question, the best performing top end, and Funktion One had the best bass of all the systems we listened to. Something that many people fail to take into consideration is the fact that most DJs are downloading MP3’s directly via software; audio solutions for us need to be based around this factor.”

Despite the downsizing demanded by licensing control, McMillan York Ltd has what they set out to achieve; a formidable club. Arguably at the heart of any nightclub is the sound installation and if Russ’ feelings about the sound are indicative of his feelings about the venue as a whole, it can be assumed he is happy: “TMC has always been great with us at getting what we need, on a tight budget. The system they put together is just the most astounding system I’ve ever heard!”

Words: Michael Nicholson

Images: Jim Ellam

From: September 2008 Issue

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