Pikes

Pikes Hotel is Ibiza’s original boutique rock and roll hotel, renowned for its famous guests and wild parties, and now owned by lifestyle brand Ibiza Rocks. A converted 15th century stone mansion, the 25-room hotel is best known as the setting for Wham!’s Club Tropicana video and Freddie Mercury’s legendary 41st birthday party in 1987.

Since being taken over by Ibiza Rocks, Pikes is the home of exclusive events and after-parties. As Ibiza Rocks founder and CEO Andy McKay explains: “All our headline acts stay here and all our after- parties happen here. About 30 per cent of the guests are famous, so it’s a great mix, and very music-led.”

Central to the Pikes experience is Freddie’s Room, the location of the Queen frontman’s 41st birthday party. The room consists of five small areas – including club spaces, Freddie’s Bed and Freddie’s Fireplace bar – and has been left decorated as a suite to create an intimate party atmosphere. Resident DJs include Colin Peters, Andy Carroll, and actor Idris Elba, while Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye and Dizzie Rascal have recently performed.

However, the sound system in Freddie’s Room was not designed to deliver high volumes for eight hours a day, every day, and therefore kept blowing.

“We just didn’t have the right system for the space,” explains McKay. “The talent wants world-class equipment and, with so many guests who know their stuff, bad sound quality just isn’t an option. DJs wouldn’t play here.”

The new sound system would need to overcome a few challenges. It was vital to create an even, comfortable sound throughout Freddie’s Room’s five spaces.

As Mike Darling, Director of live events at Ibiza Rocks, comments: “We needed to create a nice journey through the whole area. So we wanted a sound system that would fill the whole space with a quality, deep, full sound – but create a good ambience and not blow your head off.”

In addition, a variety of musical genres is played in the room, including house, rock, R&B, and Drum & Bass as well as MCing. And the suite’s combination of a bed, mirrored surfaces and low ceilings meant the room EQ must be carefully balanced.

The state-of-art Pioneer Pro Audio sound system has made an enormous difference to the ambience, sound quality and power in Freddie’s Room.

Owner Andy McKay describes his reaction to hearing the system for the first time: “The difference was enormous, like a proper nightclub rather than Freddie’s Room with his hi-fi turned up loud. It feels potent: clean, clear and incredibly powerful – which was the best surprise, as the boxes aren’t massive.”

Darling concludes that the system is exactly what he’d hoped for: “Now that we have a suitable system installed, the sound is crisper and more detailed, but also deeper. It creates a nice ambience and does the DJs justice.”

The first event to put the system to the test was Idris Elba’s 7 Wallace night, which saw guests partying until 6am. The improved sound system attracted a number of impromptu performances from internationally renowned artists, including a set from Doorly and MCing from Example.

Elba comments: “It sounds 200 times better; more bass, more tops and mids…it just sounds fuller. And it carries all the way around the alcoves in the room, so it really works. 7 Wallace at Pikes has been great thanks to the Pioneer set up. I’ve been very happy here.”