McQueen in Shoreditch, London has been relaunched for its 10th anniversary, now offering a wider spectrum of entertainment. Central to this is the audio provision with McQueen choosing Pioneer Pro Audio’s XY Series speakers to deliver all the power and quality required in a club setting, as well as the versatility to address the needs of the venue’s multi-functional spaces.
The venue, themed after the late American star, Steve McQueen, has been a feature of London’s club landscape for 10 years. The multiple award-winning venue has an overall capacity of 650, divided between two principal spaces and a 55-cover restaurant.
Recognising a trend towards increasingly multi-functional venues, Dezzi McCausland, head of design and concepts at McQueen, took the decision to use the occasion of the club’s 10th anniversary to relaunch McQueen. The core values of popular club nights and excellent hospitality remain in place, supplemented by more live music, a modern American pool lounge and casino tables.
McCausland was seeking audiophile quality throughout and having experimented with other brands, had yet to find what he was looking for. His team was aware of Pioneer Pro Audio’s reputation and decided to make contact and arrange to attend a demonstration.
“We were blown away with the quality of the sound that the boxes produce,” said McCausland. “We want to set McQueen above the bar and maintain its position as the coolest boutique club in London and one of the ways of ensuring that is to embrace the very latest technologies and place them at the heart of our design. High quality audio is fundamental to everything that goes on at the venue – DJs and performers of the calibre that we present expect nothing less and the same is true of our patrons, whether they are eating, playing pool or enjoying a full-on club night – it has to be the best.”
Trusted and experienced integrator, Cosmic Electronics, was engaged to install the systems across the three spaces at McQueen. The company has an impressive portfolio of completed installations in all sectors, including a number of high-profile UK nightclubs. Under the supervision of technical director, Mark Damon, the Cosmic team completed the install in three days.
In the downstairs club area, which hosts promotions such as Cafe Mambo Ibiza and sets by the likes of Melon Bomb, Artful Dodger and Idris Elba, the system comprises eight XY-101 10in full range speakers with two XY-115S bass reflex subs, two XY-215S quasi-bandpass subs and two XY-2s. Upstairs in the bar area, where adaptability and versatility are key to the staging live bands and DJs, as well as a range of ambient background music, eight XY-81 8in full range speakers with four XY-115S bass reflex subs make up the main system, with portable XPRS 10 full range active speakers deployed as stage monitors. To complete the picture, a further three XY-81 speakers are installed in the restaurant space adjacent to the bar area. The systems are all powered by Powersoft M and K Series amplification.
Pioneer Pro Audio MD, Kei Aikawa, commented: “The trend towards venues using their spaces for the broadest possible range of events, is clearly on the up. It makes sound economic sense and is a direct response to greater customer demands for multi-faceted experiences. Our XY-Series, as is perfectly illustrated at McQueen, is designed to be adapted without compromise to meet this wide variety of applications – whether it’s a club night, a live band or even a spoken word presentation, the power and consistency of the XY combinations delivers every time. We’re very pleased that Dezzi and his team chose Pioneer Pro Audio for their beautifully designed, award-winning venue.”
McQueen officially relaunched in early April with Pioneer Pro Audio at its heart. Not only do the systems boast impressive audio credentials, they fit seamlessly with the venue’s carefully designed aesthetic – a fitting addition to the Shoreditch destination dedicated to “The King of Cool”.
McCausland concluded: “Cosmic Electronics did a fantastic job. They’re super sharp and know their stuff, big time. Their team came well prepared and did a thoroughly efficient and professional job. We would definitely work with them again. Pioneer Pro Audio is a relatively young brand, but they are flying and we want to be along for the ride – we have plans to install more Pioneer Pro Audio boxes in our next venture later in the year.”