Tucked behind legendary industrial boot manufacturer’s prominent new store in Camden Market, Dr Marten’s Boot Room is a new live venue supporting emerging talent, bands and DJs. Common to all is the Martin Audio CDD PA, installed by NoiseBoys Technologies.
As a freelance engineer, NoiseBoys Director, Phill Beynon had been familiar with Martin Audio technology and was happy to extend the relationship after NoiseBoys was set up nine years ago. With the store’s aim of becoming a cultural hub and upholding the musical heritage of Camden Town, the store’s shopfitter – retail design company Closed Sundays – called on Benyon to equip the 8m x 8m room with a complete staging infrastructure. NoiseBoys had no hesitation in specifying CDD – a solution already proven through the HOW and cruise ship sectors in which they have worked.
The first challenge they faced was that the store was set within The Stables, a 19th century, Grade II listed building at the hub of Camden Market. ‘This meant we had to fly the speakers off ground supported box truss rather than from the ceiling,’ he says. ‘Therefore, aside from CDD’s excellent dispersion pattern, weight and size were a further consideration.’
NoiseBoys have flown a pair of the compact CDD10Coaxial Differential Dispersion speakers on each PA wing along with a CSX112 subwoofer. When the venue is opened out to the overflow area in the main store via the stable door, crowds at the back are serviced by four of the tiny CDD6 satellite speakers, on a separate control circuit.
The installation needed to be as discreet as possible: ‘As this is a flexible room, used as a shop during the day, it was important that customers could roam freely without the risk of tripping over cable and so on,’ he says. ‘We wanted the installation to be compact and serve the space well but at the same time respect that proper bands would be coming through with their sound engineers, and so we needed a recognisable brand.’ He knew that CDD10, with its 110° (max) horizontal, 60° vertical dispersion pattern would tick all the boxes. ‘This is exactly why we went for it.’
Beynon adds that he had been eager to keep the design concept as ‘British’ as possible from the outset – an ideal discussed with Closed Sundays. ‘Not only is DM’s an iconic British brand, but the Boot Room is actually full of famous Doc wearers’ band memorabilia. The Clash used to rehearse just over the road,’ he says. ‘And so we are delighted to have Martin Audio as part of the set-up.’
‘The sound system has met and exceeded our expectations and delivers exceptional quality across all our activities,’ Dr Martens UK Marketing Manager, Daniel Freeland, reports. ‘NoiseBoys were immense partners throughout the speccing out of the DM’s Boot Room and we now very much see this exciting new store and cultural space becoming a hub for the brand, its fans and Camden. We’ve already welcomed the likes of Mykki Blanco, Warpaint plus a host of other live acts and DJs.’
