Telling the whole story
Published: MEA
LEBANON: When an A/V system is required to tell a story it needs to have much more than high SPLs and good resolution. This is what was required at the Mandaloun club, as James Ling discovers
For many nightclubs, when it comes to the sound system all that is required is an installation capable of producing the high SPLs and low bass rumble that goes hand-in-hand with dance music. At Beirut’s Mandaloun club, however, this was not the case. Rather than the prescribed norm, the owner has opted to put on a running narrative every night embracing multiple styles of music as well as visual effects.
Mandaloun is more than just a nightclub; it is also a high-end restaurant. It prides itself on presentation so it should come as no surprise that it was looking to provide its customers with an experience rather than just a night out.
The range of the show is certainly something to behold. While DJs and dance music make up part of its offering – with R&B and hard trance to be danced to – there is also live music from Arabic per formers, bands and percussionists as well as opera singers. The crescendo is raised with every new act as a scenario is played out through the night. It is more of a theatrical performance than a concert and throughout, it is the extensive A/V and lighting systems that are used to tell the story.
To turn his dream of a nightclub into a reality, Charif Doumit, the owner of the 300-seat Mandaloun Club – as well as the al Mandaloun restaurants and cafés – was looking for a full A/V system including audio, lighting, LED screens and effects. To add to this, he wanted all the equipment to be supplied and installed by a single company.
The system was required to provide audio and visuals for both DJs and live bands. On the audio side, not only would it need to provide the high SPLs desired for clubbing, it would also have to meet the needs of the diverse range of live acts – all within the same show. Unsurprisingly, a number of companies submitted proposals for the installation, but for Mr Doumit one stood out as offering the best deal.
The company chosen to meet these needs was Triangle Sound and Image. Triangle has been involved with club installations for a number of years and has a wealth of high profile reference sites in the country, such as La Villa and The L Bar. It was this experience and technical knowhow that Triangle owner and CEO, Zahid Elian, believes was crucial for winning the contract. The project also drew on Mr Elian’s skills as he filled the role of sound and lighting designer for the installation.
Sound
The multiple uses of the club were key factors in selecting the right sound system, and with so much emphasis placed on the nuances of performance, Mr Doumit had conducted deep research into finding the right equipment for the job. He admits that it was very hard to find a system that could meet the needs of both live acts and a DJ. Ultimately, his research led him to d&b audiotechnik, a brand he describes as ‘perfect for this kind of club’.
For the main sound system, rather than opting for distributed speaker cabinets around the room, Triangle decided to use two main line arrays hung either side of the stage. These arrays succeed in covering more than 90 per cent of the premises, including the Mezzanine with its four main VVIP tables.
The arrays consist of two d&b Q-subs plus five Q1s and a single Q7 per side. The Q7s were used to cover the corners on either side of the stage, where seating areas are reserved for VIP tables. A total of 12 Q-subs were installed within the venue to meet its particular low-end needs. For monitors, again Triangle turned to d&b. For the DJ booth Mr Elian opted for d&b E12s, with onstage foldback catered for by Ci80s. All of the speakers are driven by D6 and D12 amplifiers along with the R60 control, and equalisation is per formed through the Rane DEQ60L.
To cope with the demands of live performances, the club also required a mixing console. For this, Mr Elian recommended the DiGiCo SD8-24 console, citing the desk’s combination of sound quality and functionality as the reason.
But if the unusual combination of live performance and DJ sets made the project more interesting for Triangle, then the venue itself provided just as much of a challenge. The building that houses Mandaloun was formerly a cinema, and while it is a spectacular space with an 11m ceiling, the architecture created made the installation of the new audio system all the more difficult. The key challenge was with hollow steel structures, which were used to form arcade seating areas for diners, and which were exceptionally reverberant. To combat this, the structures were filled with foam to provide acoustic dampening.
One of the most important spaces within the Mandaloun club is the performance area, and with the range of talent that uses the stage, getting the right equipment was essential. All the wired microphones employed for the project are by Audix, with the venue boasting a combination of models from the American brand including the OM series, D-series and i-5s.
When it came to wireless mics, Mr Elian decided to select the latest digital series from Taiwanese manufacturer Mipro, the Encrypted Digital ACT82 series. Dubbing the system the best wireless mic he has heard, Mr Elian is quick to praise the ACT82’s performance.
Meanwhile, one of the most challenging components of the audio design was the onstage sound. Stage monitors are an essential part of any live performance, particularly when that performance consists of as many different elements as that offered by the Mandaloun club. However, the challenge faced by Triangle was that there was no room on the stage for floor monitors as Mr Doumit and the project architect and civil engineer, Ramy Fawaz, were looking to maximise the available space on stage so the club would be able to accommodate bands and their backlines. To meet this challenge, Mr Elian once again turned to Mipro, finding a neat solution – a custom-ordered rack for an in-ear monitoring system that provides 16 channels of stereo monitoring.
Visuals
Elsewhere, the vaulted ceiling of the club meant that there was a large blank space framed by wooden beams behind the stage. This was to become the perfect spot for a large LED screen – a vital part of the installation as it was designed to produce the visual link to the musical performance. Mr Doumit wanted this to be a giant screen with a very high resolution in order to complement the show. Mr Fawaz suggested a circular screen to be installed in this space. This provided its own challenge for the Triangle team. Almost 16 sq-m of LED screen in 7.62mm pitch were custom manufactured for the project. Getting the screen into place was not the only factor that needed to be considered by the project team, who also needed to ensure it was possible to get access to the screen for ongoing servicing and maintenance.
The lighting was also an important factor for the club. According to Mr Doumit, the light show which accompanies every evening’s performance is a vital tool in grabbing the attention of audience members and dramatically forwarding the narrative of the show. One example is the way in which moving heads are used during opera performances, projecting onto the 7m high paintings adorning Mandaloun’s walls to create a powerful counterpoint to the music.
To create exactly this kind of effect, Mr Elian suggested specifying six units of the latest DTS XR300 moving head beams – the first time that the particular model has been installed in a club in Lebanon, meaning Mr Doumit was unable to see the lights in situ before their arrival. Nevertheless he trusted Mr Elias’ judgement and was pleased with the result.
Besides these main moving head beams, nine DTS XR8 575W moving heads were installed for further lighting effects. The initial arrangement saw three lights installed per side with a further three at the back of the club facing the stage. Subsequently a further XR8 was added on each side to enhance the setup. Stage lighting and dimming is covered by five profile projectors and a combination of 12 Fresnel spots.
Further lighting was required for the six steel arcades that had been installed within the venue. Triangle suggested using custom-designed LED lights – programmed via a custom-made controller – within each of these spaces, employing them firstly as normal lights for dining before the show, then later as effects during the performance. It took less than a week for Triangle to install them.
The final result of Mr Elian and Triangle’s work is, reports Mr Doumit, ‘an excellent end product’, proving itself capable of meeting the high expectations of the Mandaloun club experience on a nightly basis. Although the venue has only been open since early May, it has already received rave reviews and is fast becoming one of the hottest nightspots in Beirut.