A guide to The Renaissance Rooms — London’s most talked about new venue
Reported by e99
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Submitted 19-07-06 10:48
For such a massive, nightclub-saturated city, London doesn’t have much in the way of large-scale multi-arena venues. What is there? SEOne, Brixton Academy, Canvas, and Alexandra Palace for those really ambitious promoters. Sometimes a normal-sized club isn’t enough. Nothing beats the thrill of spending a night in a labyrinth-like club which has enough space in each room to allow for the most mind-blowing production. It’s just a different, more spectacular experience that elevates the event above the myriad of smaller-scale parties that take place every weekend in the capital’s smaller clubs. Let’s be grateful then for The Renaissance Rooms — a brand new club space for 2006 which is bringing back that old skool arena vibe.
The Renaissance Rooms is tucked away down a side street in Vauxhall, a short walk away from the rest of the area’s vibrant clubs. This secluded and ever-so-slightly isolated location induces a feeling of excitement and anticipation upon arrival — a little like the feeling you get when trying to locate a secret outdoor party in some random, rather desolate area. It started off life as BT Telephone Exchange, before it was put up for sale, sold, and then renovated by its new proprietors to be reborn as a club called The Mayfair Works. This all happened around 10 years ago, and in those years the club never really took off. The owners changed the venue’s name to its current moniker in an attempt to rejuvenate business, but this didn’t help.
In August 2005 it was taken over by The Pure Group — the people behind the long-running, legendary club Heaven, and a string of bars across the country. It’s only been since the start of 2006 however, that the venue has made its mark on the London clubbing map with a regular schedule of cutting-edge club events taking place in it.
The venue has a warehouse style feel to it — little in the way of décor or a “look”, and rather an ability to adapt to whatever vibe the promoters are going for. It’s somewhat of a blank canvas that is open to subjective interpretation and manipulation.
The main section of the club consists of two massive arenas — the smaller one being rectangular in shape with a large stage, and the larger one of a more square shape, with a smaller stage. Both are impressive spaces in themselves, and provide ample space for both clubbers and production possibilities. Upstairs there’s a small attic style space, which is rather plain, but works very well when the music is kicking and the crowd are smiling. There’s now also the fantastic open air courtyard, perfect for summer socialising, and a fifth space just adjacent to it. Having so much space to play around with is a promoter’s dream, and allowing for five arenas of music opens up endless possibilities.
The club wasn’t always laid out like this however, as Sarah Libretto, manager of the venue, explains. “Since we took over last summer some major changes have taken place in the venue. Some more apparent than others, but nonetheless all have been very integral to the turnaround of the club. We originally had to take a look at the layout of the venue as it was obvious to us that for the space to work certain things had to change. As such the main bar had to be removed in order to reposition the stage, which in turn would benefit the set up for the new sound system.”
There was only one choice in terms of sound as fair as these guys were concerned — the much vaunted Funktion One. In the hands of a skilled sound engineer and DJ, you can’t do much better. However, the choice of which Funktion One soundsystem to select wasn’t quite so straightforward. “As the venue is such a large open space with high ceilings, particularly in the main floor, we decided to go with the Funktion One Dance Stacks. Spending over £130,000 on the main floor system alone, we understood the importance of getting the sound right. In addition, the lighting rig was completely stripped and refitted. Essentially we took everything back to the bear essentials and started again!”
Like any good venue manager though, Sarah isn’t resting on her laurels. Not until further renovations have been made and the club is looking and functioning at its potential anyway. “There will always be improvements to make as the venue will always need to move with the changes and demands of the clubbers. We are by no means near finished as the list of improvements/renovations and upgrades is still very long but we don’t want to rush anything. Our aim is to concentrate on one item at a time, so the clubbers see something different each time they return. Efforts were put towards the outdoor terrace for last weekend’s Tasty, and we will do our best to ensure we concentrate on another area before the next event. Any suggestions for improvements are always welcome as we strive to get the venue right.” Such a focused yet open attitude well surely go a long way in a city which is overcrowded with run-of-the-mill venues run by people who aren’t interested in offering clubbers the best experience possible.
As for the events being held at the club, the menu reads as diverse as any other venue in town. It’s not just a coincidence though, as the club is suitable for any type of music, as Sarah points out. “The great thing about RR is that it’s a completely blank canvas for any promoter to adapt to their specific requirements. As such we have hosted everything from hard house to drum ‘n’ bass to psy trance and RnB. And in the next few months, the events coming up prove that diversity with Renegade Hardware and Frantic’s 9th Birthday both across the August Bank Holiday weekend. Stir returns with its combination of psy trance and breaks in October after their very successful launch at the venue in May and Salvation continue to host monthly nights with us amongst others.”
The first night held there this year was Frantic’s classics night Timeless, which definitely benefited from this fresh, spacious venue — as opposed to the rather hot and restricted space at Koko, its previous home.
The finishing touches were being put to the venue in the run up to the event, and it was a rather nervous situation for all involved. “The week leading up to the event was incredibly full on,” Sarah recalls. “As the renovation work continued, further problems and more work was created as the roof started leaking, the division between the two main rooms proved unsatisfactory and the drains collapsed! The work was ongoing right up until 8.30pm, half an hour before opening for Timeless, the venues first major event since Pure took over. Frantic’s decor was set up around a building site and it was touch and go as to whether we’d make it for opening. But I think those that came down that night will agree we pulled it off!”
Other notable successes at the club since then have included the aforementioned Stir — a daring combination musical policies from the people behind Glade Festival, which successfully reproduced the playful vibe of the festival within the bounds of the club, and more recently Tasty — which in Sarah’s opinion had the best atmosphere of any event held at the club so far.
Renaissance Rooms is already well on its way to becoming one of the most acclaimed venues of the year, and if it can continue on its excellent opening streak, it should have no problems becoming a regular fixture for us HarderFaster types. The next hard house and trance biggie is on Sunday 27th August, in the shape of Frantic’s 9th Birthday celebrations. See you in the courtyard for a bit of open air schmoozing!
Photos courtesy of *cheeky chick*, Daf and The Renaissance Rooms. Not to be reproduced without permission.
FRANTIC presents...9
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On:
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Sunday 27th August 2006
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At:
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Renaissance Rooms [map]
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From:
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21:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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ONLY 100 x £8+BF Early Bird Tickets on SALE NOW as we go back to the ticket price of the first ever Frantic on Aug15th 1997! These will SELL OUT in Hours!
Saver Tickets £14+BF
Standard Tickets £18+BF
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Website:
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www.f-h-h.co.uk
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Ticket Info:
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£8+BF Early Bird Tickets will SELL OUT in 24hrs!
Saver Tickets £14+BF
Standard Tickets will be £17+BF
More on the door.
Ticket Outlets:
24 Hour Credit/ Debit Card Hotline: Call 08700 600 100 or book online at www.ticketweb.co.uk
Cash Sales with a Group Discount of 1 FREE for Every 5 You Buy: NeverEnough Tickets Call Maria 07813 684 399
Credit/ Debit Card Hotline with a Group Discount of 1 FREE for Every 5 You Buy: Clubtickets: Call 0870 246 1840 or book online at www.clubtickets.co.uk
Cyberdog Camden Market: 020 7482 2842
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Isn’t it time Hard House had its very own Festival?!
We think so and what better time to start than by celebrating Frantic's 9th Birthday at the venue Frantic is pioneering to be the new Camden Palace!
This is The HardFest!
Frantic 9 is making the Renaissance Rooms into a FESTIVAL! The Renaissance Rooms will have 5 Rave Arenas AND not 1 but 2 gigantic outdoor Arenas! This is London's biggest outdoor Rave Experience since the glory days of the 1990's!
Frantic 9's HardFest has an even bigger line up than Supernova or Tranzmission! As always OUR MUSIC MAKES US STRONGER! Where else can you see the NuChampions, the NuHeroes? As well as breaking new venues and creating the first Hard House Festival Frantic is leading the way in promoting new DJs! Where else will you see DJs doing something different, breaking the mould and rebuilding Hard House before your eyes?!
Official PreParty: Summit on Sundays @ Inigo in Clapham with Cally Gage and many more/ 1pm to 9pm!
MASSIVE FREE AFTERPARTY AT HIDDEN with Andy Whitby vs Kevin Energy and much, much more! Go to www.hiddenclub.co.uk for more details!
Don’t forget Frantic 9 has ONE BIG SECRET!
Can you guess the Secret?
Email willfrantic@yahoo.co.uk if you think you know the secret and you could win FREE Entry for you and 5 Friends and a chance to join Andy Whitby on his Ministry of Sound Radio Show for a live mix!
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Flyer:
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