Hearing of the impending closure of a nightclub in the Sarugakucho hot spot near Daikanyama Station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Creativeman Productions CEO Naoki Shimizu had found a permanent location for a new club and for his company to showcase live entertainment for the first time.
A well-known organiser of Japanese music festivals such as Summer Sonic, Shimizu approached MSI Japan to supply the sound system and Takashi ‘Kon’ Imaoka from Martin Audio distributor Audio Brains was placed in charge of the project.
Naming the venue Space Odd when operating a a music showcase and Sankeys TYO (from the original venue in Manchester UK) in its club guise, Shimizu made two stipulations – that the sound should be mainly for live performance, but could also provide an immersive nightclub sound. Kon and his team proposed several different brands, in different configurations, from which Martin Audio was selected.
The main speaker system comprises three MLA Compact and MLX subwoofers, on the special wheel-board frame for each side of the stage, and XD15 and WS218X for rear left and right. Stage side fill is provided by XD15 and WS18X, along with ten LE1200 floor monitors, giving Martin Audio the full signal chain including amplification.
The second important consideration was that the venue had to be able to switch between serving live bands and functioning as a nightclub. Physically, the main speaker and rear speakers set on the wheelboard frame, could be selected, and the casters moved accordingly. And from a technical perspective, MLA Compact can be quickly optimized between the two different preset profiles via Martin Audio’s proprietary VU-Net software. They also established synchronicity between the sound and visual/lighting effects.
‘I’m be thrilled with this place,’ Shimizu says. ‘This is not Shibuya, Daikanyama or Ebisu but simply The Place. Previously, it was a popular nightclub, and before that it was a flower market. I totally love this place including its history, also.’
He adds that, with a reputation to preserve as professional event organisers, Creativeman would accept no compromise and that this was truly innovative.
Sankeys TYO is quickly becoming popular and attractive destination in Tokyo, offering special special show from world-leading dance exponents such as Kaskade and Zedd from Germany.
