Created as a space to “celebrate artistry and indulge the senses’, Spiritland’s world-
class, bespoke sound system makes it one of London’s most exciting new venues.
Combining cafe, bar and radio station with an in-depth musical programme seven
days a week (already featuring the likes of guest DJs Jarvis Cocker, Andrew
Weatherall and La Roux), Spiritland has quickly established itself as a paradise for
lovers of music, from the aficionado to the curious.
A recent collaboration between Spiritland and Audio-Technica UK has seen a variety
of the company’s brand product portfolio installed in the venue to help deliver the
diverse offering of interviews, Q&A sessions, DJ sets, album playbacks and radio
output.
The heart, and it could be said “soul’, of Spiritland is its remarkable sound system,
featuring a unique pair of Living Voice loudspeakers, valve amplification from
Italian manufacturer Atelier du Triode and a towering Kuzma turntable. At the very
beginning of the audio chain is Audio-Technica’ s hand-crafted ART1000 direct power
moving coil cartridge which is employed to provide perfect audio reproduction from
the turntable onwards. The ART1000 was released by Audio-Technica Japan in 2016
and is the culmination of many years of research and development in direct power
cartridge technology, where mounting the coils directly on top of the stylus tip
allows the cartridge to vividly render the most subtle sonic details with an
unsurpassed transient response. Additional cartridges selected from Audio-
Technica’s new VM moving magnet range are used for vinyl playback from the
separate twin decks at the DJ booth.
Five pairs of Audio-Technica’ s flagship M-Series headphone, the award-winning
ATH-M70x, and five BP40 large-diaphragm dynamic microphones are the foundation
of the radio studio set-up (with limited edition matte grey ATH-M50xMG headphones
available for visiting artists at the DJ booth); while U853R condenser hanging
microphones are also installed from the ceiling for ambient sound pickup of the
audience in the main seating area. The brand’s hard-working ATM610a
hypercardioid dynamic and BP892 subminiature condenser headworn microphones
also feature for live panel and interview sessions.
Audio-Technica UK were also able to provide a solution for the spoken word and
background audio with six Apart Audio Mask 6T two-way speakers mounted above
the cafe/bar area, powered by Apart’s four-channel REVAMP4120T bridgeable power
amplifier. The Mask 6T’s sleek, curved cabinet design fits well with Spiritland’s
considered design aesthetic, while an additional REVAMP4120T powers different
pairs of vintage bookshelf speakers which are located in each of the venue’s four
restrooms.
Overall the Audio-Technica microphones, headphones and cartridges employed in
Spiritland’s signal chain help complete an enviable mix of original analogue
equipment, while also playing a part towards the output generated from the venue’s
cutting-edge editing and streaming facilities.
