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Located in Phoenix, AZ, Barter & Shake sets the bar for creating one of a kind immersive entertainment experience with world-class cocktails. After much success at their Phoenix concept Century Grand, the team of Barter & Shake are bringing the UnderTow concept to Gilbert, AZ.
This is the first expansion of the tiki-inspired cocktail bar that puts its patrons onboard a turn-of-the-century clipper ship, immersing them in their voyage through custom decor, lighting and Spatial audio that enhance interactive moments like thunderstorms and sword fights.
UnderTow is an award-winning, exotic cocktail bar from the team at Barter & Shake Cocktail Entertainment. UnderTow offers a tropical yet innovative cocktail experience. The environment whisks guests away on a worldly journey in the belly of a spice trader’s turn-of-the-century Clipper ship, which follows the adventures of our revered Captain John Mallory and Crew. UnderTow’s signature décor and special effects have been custom created by various commissioned artists. This fully immersive, world-class cocktail experience also features rare rums from around the world.
UnderTow was the right bar to expand because it allows the concept to remain in a smaller space – creating the feeling of being onboard a ship. The new location was in Gilbert’s urban living concept Epicenter, a new building with opportunistically embedded Spatial audio and state of the art lighting and decor, that will transport visitors on a 90-minute experience in October 2022.
Spatial worked with Barter & Shake and AEVIO to sonically design the space. UnderTow is completely decked out to resemble the inside of a ship, complete with portholes looking out over the sea, therefore masking the speaker locations was paramount to the aesthetic of the space yet still provide a deeper fuller sound experience that would surprise and delight guests as they hear the bustle of ship start to come to life.
We’re thrilled to be working with the team at UnderTow to launch their latest immersive nautical themed experience with Spatial audio. Bars and restaurants looking to differentiate their designs know that immersive audio is a key factor in building compelling memories and enjoyment that encourages guests to recommend and return to their venue on an ongoing basis. - Calin Pacurariu | Co-Founder CEO Spatial
Spatial believes sound is a powerful tool for creating a sense of escape, and reinforcing the magic of transporting to a special destination. Through the use of immersive sound; we are able to stimulate the senses and create an engaging guest experience.
Spatial worked with Barter & Shake owner, Rich Furnari who designed the soundscape visitors will get to experience. The soundscape was created using Spatial Studio, which allowed for an unprecedented amount of flexibility to achieve UnderTow's auditory experience goals.
Through leveraging the range of features Spatial offers, Furnari was able to develop a dynamic soundscape that was ever-evolving and could be played in the background continuously without repeating.
The journey takes visitors under the hull of the ship where they can feel the subtle rocking back and forth as they travel across the seas, with the addition of overlaid music that one would expect from a Tiki themed experience. To make the experience truly immersive, Spatial soundscapes incorporated realistic sounds such as the gentle creaks and usual tunes fade away as a dangerous storm rolls in.
From a design perspective; [Spatial Studio] has given me the ability to logically move sound around a space. Spatial is one of the most intuitive programs I have ever worked with. We’re [UnderTow] happy to be on the ground floor and working with Spatial to create the scenes that we want to create. We are trying to build in layers of sound to sell the story. - Rich Furnari | Co-Founder & Director of Operations, Barter & Shake
Spatial and AEVIO worked together with the visual designers at LINE LAB to develop a sequence triggered by Crestron which transforms the bar from its generally cheerful tone to a dark and menacing environment. Behind the portholes of the ship, the gentle ocean is replaced with big waves, rain and lightning. Under the hood, Crestron is sending a single output to Spatial to the lighting controller and video rendering machine which activates the sequence. In Spatial, a sound object controlling the whole storm sequence is linked to an input event so that Crestron is able to activate it via one OSC command over the local network. Similar sequences are programmed into the lighting and video machines.
Overall, Spatial’s flexibility allows this sequence to actually be one of many, and UnderTow has big plans to continue enriching their experience with elements like a crew singing shanties above deck and intense quarrels above the hull that would temporarily create a creepy ambience with dynamic visuals and terrifying sounds.
Spatial is powered by an off the shelf MacMini and has the ability to integrate with other show controls that makes for a seamless integration and offers more opportunity to layer in interactions like lighting and sound objects that react to guests in the space.
Aevio suggested designing an AV system built around Spatial/Crestron/Episode products to provide a high quality audio experience necessary to meet UnderTow's needs. Aevio configured Apple iPads and Crestron controllers to provide ease-of-use for the entire audio system.
Our focus at Aevio is to always make the end user experience as easy and intuitive as possible no matter how complex the technology may be behind the scenes. Working with Spatial and the creative team at the Line Lab, we are proud that the entire system is turned on or off with the press of a single button! - Brian Wasilefsky | CEO AEVIO
Total channels of audio: 37
Audio
Amplifiers: (2) Two Episode EA-RSP-16D-100 (16 Channel amplifier)
DAC: Tascam-ML-32D
Compute: Apple MacMini
Barter & Shake Cocktail Entertainment was founded with a commitment to push traditional boundaries and create unparalleled guest experiences through world-class cocktail programs. Known for curating captivating and imaginative environments, Barter & Shake combines riveting aesthetics with exotic ingredients and unique flavors to deliver a memorable adventure for its guests. Barter & Shake aspires to set a new standard in hospitality in both the local and international cocktail entertainment industry.
Barter & Shake Cocktail Entertainment is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and includes award-winning cocktail bar concepts, Century Grand and UnderTow. Serving over 89k visitors annually.
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