“Fabric 2” to open “within weeks”

“Fabric 2” to open “within weeks”

12 August, 2008 | 6.37AM

• Written by: The Last Real DJ Alive
• Filed under: Music News: dome, fabric 2, millennium dome, o2

In Tokyo you have Womb and in London you have Fabric - the undisputed two “best clubs in the world”.

Say hello to the third.

It’s called Matter - the second venture by the masterminds behind Fabric - and the product of a carte blanche bankrolled by keen investors cackling in the face of the credit crunch.

Beatportal was shown around its inner shell on a press trip last week.

This venue has the potential to be, at least on paper, the global epicenter of nightlife.


Based in the O2 Dome, Matter might not be the easiest place to get to at 1:00 AM (what with it being the “wrong” side of the river Thames), which is why its promoters are flogging the notion that they have struck up a deal with a Thames Clipper service.


This means that you get on a boat which takes you across the river, pumping out funky music whilst providing smoking and drinking facilities.


But why the Dome?


Before you hate on the Dome ... it’s actually really impressive inside.


It’s a weird arcology of restaurants, bars, pretty lights and colours - everything you need to survive the claws of boredom.


Beatportal - peeping into the guts of the Dome “behind the walls” - was amazed to see how much space remained for commercial businesses.


Matter is one of them.


“It’s impossibly rare to get this kind of space smack-bang in the middle of London”, says Will Harold - promotions manager of club Matter.


“If we wanted to start another venue in London it would be in some dingy basement somewhere,” he continues. “We’re lucky here, in that we have a blank canvas with practically unlimited space to completely design a club from the ground up.”


Imagine: you’re told that you can build a club in the middle of London; any size you want with whatever you want in it.


It’s the kind of dream that typically never leaves the confines of the Monopoly board.


And this is the philosophy behind Matter, the product of three years of deliberation and planning.

The Facts

Matter’s outer shell was constructed some nine months ago, and the venue is opening on the 18th September 2008, but only for those with a special press invite.

With an Oyster card, revelers can venture to Matter on Thames Clippers (that, according to the promoter, have “no speed limits") for around £4, and go all googly-eyed as they watch plasma screens in the back of the boat.

The main entrance to Matter is separate from the O2 entrance, although the club can be reached from inside the Dome itself.

Two gargantuan plasma screens are currently being erected outside the main entrance, which will probably be quite a sight to party-goers bobbing along the River Thames.

Whilst Fabric has a regimented dance policy, Matter is more live-orientated.

Described by its promoters as a “chameleon-like venue”, it has been designed to change shape analogous to the music inside it.

Stages can be removed or placed, ceilings and floors opened and closed ... don’t even get us started on the huge bridge that arcs across the echelons of the VIP room.

Expect house, techno, breaks and, importantly, live music from cutting-edge bands at Matter.

Anyone and everyone from Deadmau5 to Carl Cox are expected, and for this reason Matter will be competing with the famed Koko club in Camden on the mid-week event stakes.

There will be a smoking garden swathed in plants and trees, and a heated entrance swaddled in dome skin, shielding queuers from wind and foul feather.

The coat queueing system is interesting, based upon barcodes that you scan inside the venue, so when you arrive at the cloakroom your coat is ready for you.

At least, that’s how it should work in theory, according to “Q” in James Bond.

Remember how Fabric pioneered the “body sonic floor” - the “moving” dance floor?

Well, Matter has the next generation of this, called the “body kinetic floor”.

This new technology uses a physical process to transfer energy to those standing on top of it.

80 pistons underneath one’s feet transmit energy through their skeletal system, which dissipates in their chest [Mariah Carey beware], effectively turning your body into an organic speaker.

The sound system in Matter is a step up from Fabric’s - a new-generation Martin Audio system.

It has never been used before.

The venue is also laden with beastly subwoofers surrounding the ankles of those on the dance floor.

All the sound is mapped in 3D via the club’s reciprocal design, where the subs are complemented by floating speakers dolling out mids and highs.

The sound system allegedly allows the DJ to create 3D soundscapes.

For example, a DJ can put a sound anywhere in the venue.


So in theory, a DJ could take a bassline, and have it wash around the venue in a circular motion, recreating the feeling of being inside a tornado.


Matter’s visuals will probably be the most advanced of any venue in the world, matching its sound system.


Eight cinema-quality projectors suspended on yokes in the main room can project solid bands of colour onto minute targets down to the nearest millimeter, so that there will be no spill whatsoever.


Because of the modular style of the venue, when a ceiling/floor is shut, visuals projected onto the floor above come through the ceiling below.


The promoter highlighted an example of going to the extremes of setting up vertical cameras, filming toy cars being dropped from cranes onto them, which the audience below will see as they turn their heads towards the ceiling.


Matters floors and ceilings, basically, formate into giant TV screens.


Highlighting the chameleon-like aspect of Matter, the advanced lighting means that on a Kylie Minogue night, for example, everything can look candy-sweet in pink and baby blue, whereas on a Pendulum night people can expect dark visuals.


In all, the main rooms of Matter are designed to create an immersive 360° experience, like some sort of futuristic amphitheater.


The entire venue has a 2,600 capacity [license pending], with 1,600 in the main room.


The top floor is VIP, where Beatport noticed holes in the wall behind the bar.


”If you ask for a cocktail, we have staff busily making them behind those windows that you can see, which eliminates all the mess and fuss at the main bar,” Matter’s promoter explained.


Matter could and should be a mojito-heaven, then.


Not in time for launch but during “phase 2”, Matter’s VIP tables (which will set you back a few dollars) will have raised blocks in their middles covered in touch-screen plasmas, enabling one to to order drinks directly to their table with an index finger.


Getting blind drunk and mistaking these for video games would be financially bad.


There are also sunken ice wells in the VIP booths to keep your drinks frosty.


Promoters are currently reserving their nights at Matter and its first ever line up is available below, hot off the press.


There will be no drum & bass in 2008; maybe early next year.


Whilst Matter is related to Fabric in that it’s from the same family, it’s not “Fabric 2” as some are suggesting, and is being marketed as something unique.


Countdown to launch starts now.

Matter Line Up

September

19th – Live Launch Night – UNKLE Live, Late Of The Pier Live , Iglu & Hartley Live, Huw Stephens (Radio 1) (£20)
20th – Club Launch Night – Carl Cox, Kissy Sell Out, Yousef & More TBA (£18)
26th – Mylo, Reverend and The Makers Live, Casino Royale Live, Riotous Rockers more TBA (£15)
27th – Renaissance – Sasha, Marcus James. Room 2: CR2 Live & Direct - Mark Brown, Micky Slim, Steve Mac, Arno Cost (£16)

October

2nd – Mousetrap Party: Deadmau5 Live, Chris Lake (£12.50)
3rd – This is Not London – Simian Mobile Disco (£15 Early Bird, £20 Door)
10th – BedRock 10th Anniversary – John Digweed (All night) (Limited £10 tickets)
17th – This Is Not London – Southern Fried Records, Armand Van Helden
(£15 Early Bird, £20 Door)
18th – This Is Not London - Moshi Moshi Records Label Party
(£15 Early Bird, £20 Door)
24th – This Is Not London – James Murphy (£15 Early Bird, £20 Door)
31st – This Is Not London – details TBA (£15 Early Bird, £20 Door)

Tickets for matter promoted events go on sale 14th August and are available from www.matterlondon.com

Transport

Located at The O2 in North Greenwich, matter is easily accessible by boat, tube, bus and road. You can take a boat trip with Thames Clippers from any of six piers; Embankment, Waterloo, London Bridge, Blackfriars, Tower Pier and Canary Wharf.

The service runs every 30 minutes and delivers you directly to The O2. In addition there will be a new all night boat service back into town every night we are open.

For all of your transport needs, go to: www.matterlondon.com

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