Synergy Rotherham

Synergy interior shot

rotherham

synergy

venues, may 2007, COMMENTS

ince Nexum Leisure launched in 2004 with the opening of Darlington’s Escapade, the estate has steadily grown to be a domineering force in the UK’s on trade, exporting the best of high street glamour to satellite and market towns. The original Escapade boasted three rooms and a weighty entertainment offer that aimed at putting real value back into nights out for the regional 18-40 year old age bracket. Boasting weekly celebrity PAs and big name DJs, the continual capacity crowds made the unit a flagship asset for Nexum boss Paul Kinsey.

Since then, the weight of Nexum Leisure’s portfolio has shifted. In 2005, newly-appointed BEDA chairman and non-executive chairman of Gatecrasher Paul acquired Blackpool’s legendary Syndicate club from the Norwind family, beginning its roll out - with the successful opening of Syndicate Bristol - to key areas around the UK. Meanwhile the second and third installment of the Escapade brand in Croyden and Chesterfield has been followed swiftly by the acquisition of another freehold in Barnsley, this time the former Tonic club, which will be turned, with the help of a £3 million investment, into Nexum’s third Escapade.

Now, Paul Kinsey and his team have launched the third of Nexum’s brands: Synergy. Where Syndicate offers a high powered music policy to a cool, inner city crowd, Escapade is geared towards a market town sensibility, with a range of music policies, a party oriented atmosphere and inclusive decor. As its name might suggest, the Synergy concept unites the best of both the former brands.

Opening in Rotherham on 29 March, the venue is geared towards a market town clientele but its interior, defined by large scale Audio Visual presentation from TechLiason, big effects on the dance floor and a veritable cat’s cradle of reflected lasers, owes much to the big-room ethos of Syndicate.
“Synergy sits squarely between the two other Nexum brands,” confirms Nexum Operations Director Julian Stones. “It’s going to be implemented in smaller towns and satellite areas, but rather than recreate the different themes and periods of Escapade, Synergy will provide the Syndicate customer experience in a smaller sized venue. Inside, it has the familiar dark features, hard industrial architecture and a big dance floor feel to it, capable of setting off the party with an extreme audio visual installation around the bars and the extensive use of lasers.”

A former Blu Bambu unit purchased from Ultimate Leisure in January, the venue has undergone a swift overhaul by a team of contractors that includes lighting and sound specialists TechLiason and audio installers Willpower PA Systems, overseen by main contractors Commercial Carpets and Interiors Ltd.
The lion’s share of the budget has been spent on developing the mezzanine into a second R&B room and upgrading the lighting installation to include huge banks of video display. Malcolm Robertson, MD of TechLiason, has had a long standing partnership with Paul Kinsey, creating unique lighting systems for some of First Leisure’s most memorable nightspots – The Empire in Leicester Square, the Black Orchid in Nottingham and Paradise in Watford to name just three. The working relationship has accustomed Malcolm to what he calls the ‘Kinsey way of doing things’.

“We’ve been doing Nexum work since the formation of TechLiason a few years ago,” says Malcolm. “Paul Kinsey and I go back a long way, and have renewed our professional relationship on the recently completed Bristol Syndicate, the Newport Escapade and the new project in Barnsley. We now know what Nexum are looking for: they run a shrewd business but aren’t afraid to spend money to achieve that ‘X Factor’.”

Accordingly, the installers have created a top of the range visual concept to flank the venue’s main bar on the ground floor. Here, six NEC ceiling -mounted projectors are configured to run graphics and video onto specially painted 16 x 3m screens using a Kramer 8 by 8 channel matrix, and the various promotional videos and graphics on offer are repeated throughout the venue on Philips 42” plasma screens. On the front of the DJ booth a bank of six 1200mm by 600mm mirror panels are back lit with colour-changing LED lights, while a further eight LED panels draw attention to the bar, courtesy of Creative Lighting Solutions Ltd.

The lighting over the dance floor is split into two sections. The main focal point houses the big effects: four Martin Pro 575s, Martin Wizards, six Martin Atomic strobes and six CX4s. Above the rest of the dance floor four Martin Pro 918s, eight 812s and four 250s have been bar mounted and directed either towards the venue’s stage or two chain mounted 750mm mirror balls.

Above the dancefloor the mezzanine level has been filled out to include two ballustraded viewing ‘pods’ from which worn-out punters can take a minute to people-watch. Between these two fixtures, a Matrix Pro 532 nano green laser has been mounted at balcony level, and is directed onto various well placed mirrors and reflected down onto the dance floor to illuminate the haze from a Silver Star YG10401 smoke machine distributed by MMS Distribution Ltd.. The effect is economic but suggests an elaborate laser show. Three powerful PCs handle the control of the lights, visuals content and laser display using a customised suite of software, operated from the DJ booth, whilst a Showcad Artist handles the LED mirror display.

Upstairs, the newly created R&B lounge provides a relaxed environment, fleshed out with box furniture and soft furnishings, digital wallpaper and drapes from Themed Leisure. The lighting is designed for socialising rather than dancing, but still has the power to raise heart rates as required. A mixture of Martin Professional Wizards and 160 XTs have been used alongside Martin 812s and CX4s; all controlled through a Showcad Artist. With CCI at the helm of the project, Synergy Rotherham is an efficient, well packaged prototype of a brand that, with the experience and business talents of Nexum Leisure behind it, will enjoy a long career in the UK on trade.

Words: Leo Batchelor

From: May 2007

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