fabric upgrades vibrating Room 1 dancefloor for first time in 25 years

London's fabric nightclub has upgraded its famed Room 1 BodyKinetic dancefloor for the first time since the venue opened in 1999.

The Farringdon-based nightspot confirmed that it had reached the "final stage" in its Room 1 soundsystem renovation on Friday (January 30), which began last year ahead of the venue's 25th birthday celebrations, fabric25.

Having upgraded its soundsystem in August 2024, fabric has continued to work with Martin Audio on renovating Room 1, collaborating with Powersoft to install advanced "Movers" - or Moving Magnet linear transducers - in order to deliver a more "powerful and immersive tactile experience."

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Installed "immediately" following fabric's New Year's Day party, the new dancefloor features enhanced haptic feedback that, according to fabric, "makes the sensation of sound more pronounced and engaging."

“The original sound design for Room 1 featured a groundbreaking and advanced dance floor, incorporating Bodysonic transducers. These transducers resonated the floor with silent subharmonics that travelled through the body," says fabric's Technical Manager Matt Smith.

"Combined with a quadraphonic speaker setup and impeccable audio processing from the DJ booth, the system was ahead of its time," he continues. "Keith Reilly and Dave Parry established themselves with the forward-thinking club design they introduced 25 years ago. Staying true to our heritage, we chose to retrofit and refine the original system rather than replace it entirely."

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The new dancefloor was funded partly by the National Lottery via Arts Council England, and promises to provide a more "inclusive experience" for dancers – with fabric consulting with Deaf Rave to "to fine tune the floor for the optimal experience for members of the Deaf community"

fabric claim that the new dancefloor also opens up opportunities to utilise Room 1 as a space to conduct sound meditation events, with the team behind the storied venue having already hosted events under its Quantum Sound series — including a live ambient set from Daniel Avery, where attendees were invited to "lie down" to feel the vibrations.

The venue is also set to launch a Quantum Sound sound meditation residency in Room 1 from this month until June, you can sign-up to attend these sessions here and check out fabric's announcement below.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter