Situated in Cologne, Germany, Bootshaus is the world’s number five-ranked club in the world. Its booths have been graced by some of the biggest and most influential dance acts on the planet, from the likes of Skrillex and David Guetta, to Diplo and Avicii to name but a few. But while its glittering array of performers, as well as the laser and pyrotechnic shows that regularly delight fans may help to illustrate its world class status, it is, says the club’s CEO Tom Thomas, the sound system that remains its beating heart. Here, he explains how and why its new L-Acoustics A Series system is set to take this legendary location to greater heights than ever before.
For 20 years, Bootshaus has been serving up a potent blend of electro-house, dubstep, and drum’n’bass for clubgoers. As one of the country’s first techno-culture hubs, it has built a formidable reputation inside Germany, where it consistently ranks #1 in the nation and #5 on the world stage.
However, the 1,900-cap space, which includes three dance floors, each with its own DJ booth, and a large outdoor area overlooking the Rhine, hasn’t achieved its iconic status by standing still. And with a focus on ensuring that its sonic capabilities continue to be world-beating, Bootshaus CEO Tom Thomas decided the time was right for a significant overhaul of its sound system.
“After our old system had brought Bootshaus to the fifth place in the world over 12 years, it was time for an upgrade, especially since some issues had started to arise,” Thomas told Headliner. “We always strive to keep up with the times, and currently, L-Acoustics is the way to go. So, we explored their offerings and ultimately decided to go with them!”
One of those issues was getting sound to each of the dance floors, with the previous system, installed over a decade ago, failing to reach the entirety of the space. “This new system promises to fill the Bootshaus with an unprecedented sound experience and offer our guests a completely new musical experience," Thomas continued. “Bootshaus has a very unique layout and needs to work for many different event concepts. We consider not only our needs but also those of our long-term partners who host their events here, where the DJ might perform from different locations within the club. Additionally, Bootshaus also hosts concerts where the stage in the club is used, so the system needs to be adaptable to everything.”
L-Acoustics Certified Provider Distributor Babbel & Haeger was tasked with specifying the perfect system for the venue in consultation with production company Laserframe, whose relationship with Bootshaus extends over almost two decades.
According to Babbel & Haeger’s application delegate Tobias Hemmersbach, L-Acoustics mapping software Soundvision was crucial in helping the team arrive at the perfect solution.
“We only had 20-year-old, 2D files, but things have changed a lot there in that time,” he explains. “Because of all the different areas and heights of the venue – the dancefloor being the lowest point and the VIP decks being on the roof of the building - Soundvision was very crucial to simulating all the various heights of the different venue spaces and to achieving Bootshaus’ audio objectives for each one.”
