Chicago's place in club history is assured thanks to its pivotal role in the birth of House music well over two decades ago. Today the city remains a hotbed for music and clubbing of all types and the new kid on the clubbing block - sound-bar - has upped the anti with a mixture of laid back luxury and high energy atmosphere.

Set in a 20,000 square foot multi-level environment, sound-bar is a fusion of high tech, high quality lighting, sound and interior design - all of which has created a club with real visual as well as audible impact. A maze of rooms, lounges and bar areas each with its own unique personality and atmosphere, sound-bar has been designed to bring something genuinely fresh to the Midwest.

The venue is the latest creation of Rocco Laudizio and his interior design team at Slick Design. Having already completed other Chicago club projects at Ghost Bar, Limelight and The Drink, Slick have placed the emphasis firmly on sensory perception here at sound-bar. "We wanted to fashion a nightclub similar to those found in Europe by taking the design and style inherent in those clubs a step further and creating something unique and original in a club here," explains Laudizio. "I think people are going to be surprised by what they see. Most have not experienced this type of sound and visual fusion in an elegant club environment like this before."

Lighting and visuals play a key role at sound-bar, particularly in defining the personality and ambience of the venue's numerous rooms. Whilst two giant video walls overlook the dancefloor and an LED 'waterfall' pours down the club's main staircase, acrylic columns extended from floor to ceiling project light and colour that morphs to the beat of the music. The dancefloor (all 4,000 square feet of it) features a range of intelligent effects from the likes of High End, Coemar, Martin Professional, Antari and Elation - all of which were chosen individually for both their optics and projection ability.

In order to make the most of the range of effects on offer, sound-bar features a custom designed, motorized and moveable black screen projection system which acts as a semi transparent surface above the dancefloor. By allowing light to pass through to hit other screens, projected images appear floating in mid air above the dancefloor. The screens can then be moved and manipulated to alter the effect at will.

Adding to this is an intelligent LED package from Color Kinetics which makes an immediate impression by washing the industrial exterior of the club in vibrant hues that constantly change over the course of an evening. This ColorBlast system washes glass panels on the clubs exterior with a rich palette of colour that sees the club change from bright red to exotic green throughout the night.

Inside the club, Color Kinetics' LED based systems internally light four acrylic columns to create an architectural element that 'animates the space in sync with the music, moving heads and gobo projectors'.

Audio wise sound-bar maintains the cutting edge feel via a sound system which more than matches the venue's visuals. The club's main dancefloor sees the first installation of EAW loudspeakers in Chicago and comes complete with processing and amplification from XTA, Crown and QSC. Everything about sound-bar's audio install is geared towards the big name DJs at which the venue is aimed. As a result, a purpose built DJ booth sits in the middle of the dancefloor creating an instant connection between DJ and dancers. Products from Pioneer, Technics and Allen & Heath with their much heralded Xone V6 rotary mixer complete the overall technical package.

With new venues emerging of the quality of sound-bar, catering perfectly for both DJ and dance aficionado alike, the 'Windy City' is likely to continue to play its role in dance music evolution well into the future.

technical information

light
8 x Elation Vision 575; 8 x Coemar i Spot 150; 4 x Martin Wizard; 2 x High End Systems X-Spot; 4 x High End Systems Emulator; 1 x High End Systems Emulator Controller; 1 x 8 channel Windmiller A/V Custom Motorized Scrim System; 16 x Elation Snapshot/DMX Dimmable Stobe System; 1 x Elation SS/Matrix 16 channel Strobe Controller; 2 x Antari Z-300 Fazer Machine; 1 x Antari 3 channel DMX converter; 1 x Martin Light Jockey Lighting Software - USB Version; 2 x Elation DMX Branch 4 dmx splitter; 1 x Midiman 2x2 midi interface; 16 x ADJ Topaz; 5 x Elation ELD-DMX20L Dimmer Pack; 4 x Elation Opti pars; 1 x Midiman midi keyboard for lighting/video control

sound
4 x EAW Avalon DC1 mid-high array; 2 x EAW Avalon DC2 centre fill mid-high array; 4 x EAW Avalon DCT- 4 tweeter array; 2 x Crown CTs 3000 power amplifier; 4 x EAW CR58 (15Ó biamped DJ monitor system); 1 x Pioneer EFX-500; 3 x Technics SL1200MKIII Turntables 1 x Allen & Heath Xone V6 Rotary Mixer

links: www.sound-bar.com