The St. James Power Station, destined to be the leisure destination of Singapore
Situated in the old business sector of teeming downtown Singapore, the St James Power Station sits within view of the harbour. Originally a coal fired power station opened in 1927, this venerable old building has now swapped coal for cola, extracting the furnaces and turbines, and replacing them with a very contemporary form of fusion energy. In short, the Power Station is destined to become the leisure destination of Singapore.
The high ceiling chambers of the furnace and turbine rooms, in total some sixty thousand sq ft, have been extensively remodelled and now host nine separate entertainment venues, each with its own distinctive theme. But this is not just an exercise in style, these themes embrace more than passing fads, they carefully target demographic groups; they don't want you to grow old at the Power Station, but they certainly want you to grow up.
For example; Movida, a four hundred capacity live music room and bar, is already building a reputation as the place for World Music. Bellini is a more discreet location, a place to enjoy a Martini and music from big bands, swing, and jazz. Of the nine venues that comprise The Power Station seven have d&b audio systems installed, the other two being in hiatus only because, at the time of writing, the Power Station had just opened and is still tailoring it to their customers needs. The question being, do the Alfresco patio and The Restaurant need concert level audio? This remains to be seen.
In some ways this leisure complex is like a major shopping mall, imagine promenading through the Gallery Bar situated on the second floor, and being able to look down and across to the various venues. Yet even here there is music and it is not for faint hearts, a system of d&b Ci90, Ci-SUB and B2s, all driven off D12 amplifiers makes for a potent cocktail.
Renowned club owner Dennis Foo is the motive force behind this spectacular redevelopment. Breaking with convention Foo and his in house technical team have specified and installed much of the lighting and sound technology themselves. That has not prevented Foo from calling upon the services of Sebastian Song at d&b Singapore to consult, advise, and to provide system design support as well as supply the equipment. Foo seems to have hit the sweet spot with all the multiplicity of venues, several leading Singapore DJs have already commented on the "awesome" nature of the sound systems.
Further venues include, Dragonfly, home to live Mandarin Pop and dancers and featuring integrated sumptuous VIP rooms; The Boiler Room, as the name implies, a live music venue dedicated to Rock and R'n'B; and the ten thousand sq ft Power House itself, a 21st Century dance venue of ecstatic proportions.
