Pacha, Victoria

Pacha, Victoria

Victoria

Pacha

venues, August 2008, COMMENTS

Not long after talking to London operator Billy Reilly about his club closures at the Kings Cross depot, NIGHT returns to the capital to meet him on an entirely different foot. With that legendary chapter in club history – which included The Cross, The Key and Canvas - finished, Billy Reilly and his operations director Gemma Ross have set their sights on spinning a new story; that of Pacha London.

The story begins with one of the world’s most successful dance brands, and ends with a new look London club, which is heavily invested, glamorous, has an extensive Martin Audio sound system install and will boast one of the best smoking terraces in London. “The time was right to refurbish Pacha because the other clubs closed and for the last four years I don’t think Pacha was loved,” said Gemma. “It just rolled on and got forgotten about. Having three clubs and offices, as well as the taxi company and the catering company on one site in Kings Cross, meant your day just got absorbed there. With the yard closing, we needed to change Pacha.”

Billy’s pub The Driver was originally earmarked for the first refurbishment, but with the closure of three clubs came the risk of loyal promoters taking flight and corporate clients making bookings elsewhere, so Pacha became a priority. But this risk assessment proved to be unfounded, as Gemma explained: “We have had lots of interest in Pacha. We thought the refurb would come first and then we would get people interested in coming to the venue, but in fact it’s been the other way round. People have jumped in straight away and trust us already because of our history with them. It’s happened organically.”

Pacha, which was launched by Billy in London six years ago and is managed by Alex Anderson, is now essentially benefiting from the other club closures, with a cutting-edge music policy that befits its status as one of 23 clubs belonging to a major global club brand. However, apart from the flagship cherries and branding, the Ibizan Pacha stamp is not an integral part of the venue. Billy and Gemma retain full operational control over the club, its identity and its music policy. A new website and a “cooler” logo are in the pipeline, as are a host of new nights. “Pacha’s music is funky house but not the dated type, and we’re bringing in electro, but not minimal - we don’t want to be too cool. We like to think most of the crowd like the slightly edgier, electro music,” said Gemma. Following the rising success of Azuli, which started life as a record label and used The Cross as a launch platform for club nights, it will now become a regular at Pacha, as will Rennaisance, Pure Pacha, Dusted and Hed Kandi.

Like many other operators in the current climate, Billy and Gemma managed a rolling refurb, working round the clock and staying open at the weekends, in order to avoid a fall in profits. The majority of the £800,000 investment has allowed Bernard Mani at Systems Etc to replace the old sound system with a new Martin Audio WT3 rig, processed via Martin Audio’s new Engineer 418 DSP. There have been few structural changes to the venue, apart from a migration of the DJ booth to the far end of the venue, where it holds a more prominent position. But plans for a new roof terrace were underway as NIGHT went to press. Originally created as a solution to the smoking ban, the roof terrace is now a destination in its own right, with a central, frosted glass bar, white leather sofas, decking, big umbrellas, and white Martin Audio speakers all on the agenda.

With most of the design co-ordinated by Gemma and stylist Natalie Hullett, the refurbishment process was a thoroughly “organic” one. The result is a sleek, sexy venue, dominated by sultry black, with glamorous detailing, shimmer screen booths and smooth, black leather seating. Gemma commented: “Doing the design ourselves meant we could be more critical and keep changing things. Natalie has been great, when I said I wanted sparkles, she came back with 100 - she’s great at sourcing stuff.” Initial design concepts began with silvery tiles and black paneling, and expanded with the extravagant additions of sparkly wallpaper, Vivienne Westwood lights and a champagne bar with a raised bed where the DJ used to be.

Pacha London is the latest in a long line of premier London venues that have been seduced by the potency of Martin Audio’s dance systems, including Fabric (owned by Billy Reilly’s brother Keith). But Mani has taken a less obvious route, eschewing the company’s consolidated dance systems for the more transparent WT3, which is designed for greater vocal clarity. He explained: “Originally the club was specced with Martin Audio H3s, but I wanted to achieve a more theatrical and accurate sound. I knew all the components of the WT3, so was confident in what a fully active system would sound like - and that is predominantly a much smoother midrange and greater warmth.”

Gemma said: “We consulted a number of DJs and promoters, and we knew that with Martin Audio the back-up and support would be there.” “I had worked with Bernard on the TDK Cross Central Festivals and Secretsundaze parties at Canvas and I knew I could trust him.” Ten days after initial discussions his team were on site, and 14 days later the system was installed, she said.

At Pacha the WT3s are configured in four arrayed pairs around the balcony of the main room, with low frequency extension provided by four ground stacked pairs of WS218X subs.

Meanwhile the upgrade at Pacha is ongoing - four 58” plasmas and a VJ replacing the former dancers - and these will be supplemented by LED panels (taking lo-res signals). Summing up, Billy Reilly says, “We had an international brand which we hadn’t given the time it deserved. Sound is a major tool of any successful club, yet this is where we had let the place down badly; it was like having a contract for Ferrari and fitting it with a plastic interior. With Martin Audio we’ve now got a signature sound and credit for this goes to Gemma who has taken this under her wing and turned the whole thing around.”
With a highly capable ops director, contemporary club design, a cutting-edge Martin Audio system and leading club nights at Pacha, we’re looking forward to the venue’s story unravelling.

Words: Rachel Esson & Jerry Gilbert

Images: Jim Ellam

From: August 2008 Issue

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