"Farringdon combines the best elements of previous sites we’ve worked on, with visuals becoming an ever-increasing part of the landscape. For instance, we’ve now upgraded to the superior quality of plasma displays," said Brown, adding: "It was clear that they wanted the best technology available and the key element is that since the entire trading area in Yo! Below is a performance stage, we needed to achieve even sound coverage."
The components of the system, therefore, had to be carefully selected for their effect on the soundscape. Sennheiser radio microphones are supplied to the performers who strut down catwalks between diners, while Sabine feedback exterminators ensure a clear signal, and a combination of QSC amplification and six tried and trusted RCF Monitor 8s handle the delivery, sourced either from the Technics SL1210 decks, minidsic or Numark CD players at the DJ station, or from the live performance.
The DJ is served by a pair of JBL monitors, but nevertheless, with the highly reverberant surfaces of the interior fabrication, much complex equalisation was called for when it came to tuning the sound system. The PA is split into four zones - three in Yo! Below and one on in Yo! Sushi, where the full-on RCF Monitor 8s have made way for two clusters of four Monitor 5s, providing a more mid-ground sound. Switching between the different areas is done via a Cloud Electronics Z4 zoner.
On the AV side of things, a pair of 42" Fujitsu plasma screens are complemented by a mixture of Hantarex monitors showing the semi-pornographic Japanese Manga cartoons, cut with live activity (non-pornographic, we assume) from two fixed camera positions, encoded onto DVD. Promotional information is stored and played back from a digital video disk, custom-supplied by Marquee Installations.
Yo! operations director, Robin Rowland, said: "Marquee Installations took a loose brief for Farringdon, and using lessons learned from the first Below, radically improved the design and performance of the system. Their installation was innovative and swift; they’ve used good kit which works well."
