EVENT FOCUS
SUBFRANTIC: NEW REHEARSAL FACILITY The turnkey rental house opens its doors to the industry to officially launch its new rehearsal facility. TPi’s Stew Hume reports...
Since last year, we have seen many rental houses turn their warehouses and buildings into multiuse performance spaces as the demand for streaming studios rose sharply. One company that has taken this idea a step further is Subfrantic, which this month officially opened its brand new rehearsal facility, situated right next to its Bromley warehouse. According to MD Stephen Davies, the idea to move into the rehearsal studio market dates back further than COVID-19. “Even when I was in a band years ago, I had this idea of owning a rehearsal facility,” he stated. “But without a way of making it financially viable, the concept has been on the backburner for decades.” Over the years, the Subfrantic team has toyed with the idea of inviting bands to its Bromley HQ, even setting up a black box in the entrance to the warehouse for bands to rehearse and take promo photos at one point. Of
course, with the facility hindering access to the warehouse, it was hardly a long-term solution. However, when the building next door to Subfrantic suddenly became available, the idea of a high-end rehearsal facility became a much more realistic proposition. With work starting in 2019, progression on this new arm of the business inevitably hit a stumbling block from March 2020. However by July 2021 the team was finally ready to open its doors. The new space comes complete with a recording studio, two mixing control rooms, a large practice room, spacious green room, a streaming hub and a large rehearsal room. “Although COVID-19 slowed down the opening and created a more challenging project with a lot of our income slowing due to the lack of shows, it presented an advantage that our whole team were able to throw themselves into this space,” stated Davies. “We’ve had friends and family 12
