11 minute read
On the side of clubs: the cas
On the side of clubs: the case After Caposile
Raffaele Pavoni
An Italian unicum or the sign of a changing market?
How is the world of clubbing evolving? What are the most suitable audio solutions, the problems still to be solved, the reference markets? The staff of After Caposile, a club born in 2015 a few kilometres from Jesolo and that in a few years a few years has become a national reference point for the panorama of contemporary underground electronic music, has no doubts: the focus is and must be quality, both in the artistic and a technological sense
After Caposile is a club that consists of two spaces, the summer garden and the winter inside room. To understand the importance of this case study, we believe it is necessary to relate its success, and the success of clubbing in general, with the crisis in the club sector, due in part to the current economic situation and in part, perhaps, to a morality change in the post-pandemic era, which we still must deal with. On the part of the managers, the choice to open a club involves a lower volume of expenses and receipts, of course, but also - explains Mattia Ganni Cuenca, organizer of the club - less urgency to reach a general public, and greater sectoralisation: “In clubs, the public can spend less and have a more exclusive feeling, within a more defined musical genre.” Looking at it from our side, if this trend is confirmed, the producers and distributors of audio systems, and of technologies in general, will have to adapt to a rapidly growing market. In this sense, the After Caposile project gives shape and substance to these new trends: the connection within a club between artists, clubbers and technologies must give life to a unique whole. In this sense, as Mattia states, "audio technology plays a key role, and the sectorisation of the clubbing market is certainly a strong stimulus for a general rethinking of the offer". Let's now go into more detail.
The technological renewal
The recruitment of sound engineer Andrea Giannelli, with years of experience in the field of live events, is not accidental. The road to the leap in quality was quickly drawn: progressively replaced the old sound system, reinvesting the initial profits in new speakers and controllers. After various tests both inside the venue and at the suppliers' sites, the choice fell on d&b audiotechnik, through the Verona Musical Box Rent sales partner (also chosen for its proximity to the venue, essential in case of interventions of the last minute). There are two parameters that convinced the After Caposile staff: the quality and uniformity of the sound. The scarcity of club space, in fact, unlike what happens for discos or live events, not only prevents the speakers from being arranged in vertical line arrays, but also configures an audience that often finds itself dancing one metre away from the speaker, compared to the 10-15 metres at live events. Furthermore, mounted horizontally, the cabinets allow a uniform diffusion making the music distinctly audible from any listening point; to this is added the need for limited overall dimensions, and aesthetically suitable diffusers for a dance floor of similar dimensions. Ultimately, the club space dictates the type of product, in terms of both volume and audience use. From a qualitative point of view, however, the choice of sound was made by partly supporting the genres played inside the venue (house, deep-house, tech-house), and partly by the taste of Gianelli himself who, with the 13 years of clubbing experience (especially on tour with names of the calibre of Gabry Ponte), he turned towards a soft sound, especially in the medium-high tones. As Andrea points out, "in a context where noise pollution is increasingly problematic, we have two alternatives: lower volume or greater control of dispersion. And from this point of view, d&b audiotechnik has perhaps developed the most advanced technologies.” The choice of After Caposile is aimed at obtaining a round, non-aggressive sound that focuses on the tone of the speakers and their ability to reach the audience in a uniform and engaging way. The fact that parties of up to 18 hours are held in the club, with the consequent need for an emotional, “concert” sound approach, seems to confirm the goodness of the choice.
Installation: problems and solutions
In the summer garden, the track (10x7 m) is in the middle of two flower beds positioned in front of the console. The speakers were installed to the left and right of the DJ, horizontally with respect to the mixer. Five metres ahead there is a structure that covers the track, and which serves to support the lights, while in the structures to the right and left there are two delays. In this specific case, in the garden the tops (Vi10p) close to the DJ are very close to the audience, while 5 metres ahead the delay (Vi7p) covers the track. As for the d & b products, two Vi7Ps and two Vi10Ps were used, six ViG-SUBs as subwoofers and two D80s as amplifiers. The V Series is composed of passive three-way point source loudspeakers to be used stand alone, i.e. individually, but also in combination with the line array modules of the same series, in the most varied cases and installations. Everything was coordinated with a Xilica Solaro fr1 open architecture matrix, with analogue I / O and AES / EBU. To protect the network, access point and processor, the organizers opted for a double conversion EAST power UPS, while a d&b C6 with D12 power amplifier was used for monitoring, all controlled by a single remote PC. Managers , can independently control some basic parameters and monitor processor activity through a device connected to the closed control network (and with filtered IPs),
d&b audiotechnik Vi-GSUB
d&b audiotechnik Vi-GSUB è un subwoofer cardioide installation-specific ad alte prestazioni, pilotato da un singolo canale dell'amplificatore. Il Vi-GSUB è pensato per il solo posizionamento a terra. Condivide lo stesso design acustico ed estetico del Vi-SUB, che invece dispone di rigging integrato. Ospita due driver al neodimio, uno da 18" con un design bass-reflex rivolto verso la parte anteriore e uno da 12" con un design bandpass a due vie che irradia verso il retro. Il pattern di dispersione cardioide risultante da questa disposizione evita l'energia indesiderata dietro il sistema, riduce il campo riverberante alle basse frequenze e fornisce la massima precisione nella riproduzione delle stesse. Il cabinet è realizzato in compensato marino e ha una finitura in vernice resistente agli urti. La parte anteriore dell'altoparlante è protetta da una griglia metallica rigida accoppiata ad una spugna acusticamente trasparente. Il cabinet è disponibile anche nelle opzioni Colore speciale (SC) e resistente agli agenti atmosferici (WR). L'opzione resistente agli agenti atmosferici fornisce un grado di protezione IP55 e consente il funzionamento degli altoparlanti in condizioni ambientali variabili.
d&b audiotechnik Vi-GSUB is a high-performance installation-specific cardioid subwoofer driven by a single amplifier channel. The Vi-GSUB is designed for ground positioning only. It shares the same acoustic and aesthetic design as the Vi-SUB, which instead features integrated rigging. It houses two neodymium drivers, one 18" with a front-facing bassreflex design and one 12" with a two-way bandpass design radiating to the rear. The resulting cardioid dispersion pattern avoids unwanted energy behind the system, reduces the reverberant field at low frequencies, and provides maximum precision in their reproduction. The cabinet is made from marine plywood and has an impact resistant paint finish. The front of the loudspeaker is protected by a rigid metal grille coupled with an acoustically transparent sponge. The cabinet is also available in Special Color (SC) and Weather Resistant (WR) options. The weatherproof option provides an IP55 rating and allows the speakers to operate in varying environmental conditions.
through the Xilica XTouch application. As far as the exterior is concerned, the sound system was designed in such a way as to limit the dispersion of energy outside the area concerned, trying to reduce the sound pressure in the areas of the bar as much as possible, to allow staff to work quietly. A simple setup, and still in progress: as Andrea explains, "the six subwoofers from d&b audiotechnik are still missing: four will be used as the main diffusion, with a slight arc, and two as a delay". The project, in principle, is to have two setups, one for winter and one for summer; in the first, the old system will be set up outside and the new d&b system, with the incoming divers, inside. Mattia clarifies the issue: "We had to postpone the purchase of the subwoofers: at first we only installed the other speakers and amplifiers, calibrating them and modifying the wiring, and aligning our old subwoofers to the new system. Andrea managed to do everything possible, but it was still a temporary solution.” Hence the choice, which proved successful, to try the new subwoofers not in the retailer's location, but directly inside the club, seizing the opportunity of a party with David Morales as a guest. “Morales himself”, declares Mattia, “he clearly told us that he wanted to play with us at a low price, as long as he had an excellent system. It went very well.” The final arrangement of the system includes the Vi7Ps as main speakers and the Vi10Ps used for the delay line, although it is a very limited delay, given the spaces, while outside we have the opposite.. At that point, the old system will be put out, and the console itself will be repositioned. The six divers will all be placed to the right of the space, a 15x10
m rectangle, at a distance of 30 cm from each other. Considering the soundproofing panels in the interior room, the bet is that the end result will be something very close to a music studio.
Remote control
In short, a different concept compared to the clubbing of twenty years ago, in which all the boxes were oriented towards the centre of the track. It is a choice devoted to sound quality, which however involves compromises in terms of the maximum pressure obtainable. The different set ups are controlled remotely via a Xilica Solaro processor, which allows you to simultaneously manage the top, subwoofer and monitor, both indoors and outdoors, regardless of how they are wired.
An evolving market
At present, these solutions seem to be niche, especially in the national context; but what, then, is the breaking factor? Andrea has no doubts: one of the problems is the mentality of the organisers. In Italy we experience a lack of listening culture, and it happens that audio is taken into consideration at the end after lighting effects etc.. While quality of sound and uniformity are especially important, focusing on the 'right system', ithat is the solution for that specific room, partly respecting the pre-existing balances, partly questioning them. Yet, finally, now the wind is changing, and club managers are increasingly making choices dictated not so much by having the maximum possible volume, but by the tonal quality and uniformity of coverage. In the specific case of study, the subwoofers with garden delay, positioned outside, perform precisely for this purpose: to standardise the sound that inevitably tends to degrade over distance. From the point of view of audio technology, Andrea concludes, “It is important to be able to update the way of thinking of some club managers, then rethink the targets of work and the focus of individual projects.” In this sense, the After Caposile case study is not only significant of an ongoing trend: it represents a virtuous and replicable example, which looks at the niche without giving up important investments, and indeed, finding in these investments a glue between the musical offer, the target audience and the artists. Yes, the artists: they are often the ones who are attracted to a certain sound system, and who prefer certain types of venues. “If the difference between a disco and a club is quality”, Mattia argues, “in the case of clubs, the quality of the facilities, the artists and the public counts. The guests are mostly DJs, who come here from all over the world also for the quality of our audio. For example, unlike discos we work a lot with vinyl, and even in digital we strictly require files in WAV, or AIFF, while more commercial discos with a more radio taste often use mp3.” In short, the choice of a similar system represents a step forward by After Caposile to try to satisfy not only the general public, but also the ear of any person involved in the work: niche, yes, but not intended as a limit, but as a quality standard. This is the gauntlet that clubs throw. Will the market be able to pick it up?
