Totally Stockholm 1
I guess to draw people out here, you have to put
on a full-night-concept? You can’t really just drop in for one band or one show? Yes, we aim to make every event something special to get people to come here. I guess at least you have the tunnelbana, which you didn’t have at Nobelberget? It’s easier than getting the bus back from Sickla at 03:00? Absolutely, it’s such a luxury! [laughs] But I also think when you are a little outside the city, you can be more creative with the spaces you have. Fållan Park is a great example of something we couldn’t have done inside the city area, there’s not enough space there. Once you’re a little bit outside, you can have more space to play with. And you don’t have to worry about noise as much? Every bar in the inner city is terrified of noise complaints. We hope so. We do have neighbours at the backside of the building, so we’re hoping that we can work together to find ways moving forward that works for all parties. When you take over a building like this, I guess you have a lot of freedom to mould it into the shape you want. So how has that come into play here? What kind of atmosphere and shape are you trying to mould this into? This building is a former food processing space basically. So what is now four rooms with bars, stages, toilets and wardrobe used to be about 15 smaller rooms, walk-in freezers, cooling rooms, salting rooms and so on. Not super funky in other words. So we’ve pretty much redone the whole space, with the aim to make Stora Fållan as big and open as possible, and to create an intimate, punky space at Lilla Fållan. When we started we had a pretty clear image of what we wanted to do, and then halfway in we were like “hmm, maybe let’s put the toilets here instead, or the entrance here”, and so on. All of the bigger renovations are out of the way now, but I think we’ll continue to work on the atmosphere and feel of the place almost up until the day that we have to leave. Fållan Park is also a big part of that creative process, that’s still developing. When you’re making a concert space from scratch, what are your priorities? A big priority is to maximize the stage view, so that as many people as possible can comfortably see the show. The sound is obviously very important, as well as the logistics around the stage and comfortable guest facilities. It’s also very important to consider the flow and guest patterns of the space, and try to eliminate potential bottlenecks in the areas that will be under high pressure people wise. Lighting is also a big part, not just the stage lights, but also the lighting around the venue to make it feel nice and safe for guests. And the balance of building sturdy instalments but at the same time keeping a flexibility around the venue to be able to cater for all kinds of gigs and events. It’s going to be super interesting to see the place in action for the first time, and to see the space with people in it, how they’re going to be moving around the space and their reactions. You have a picture of it in your head, but once you open the doors it rarely turns out the way you expect it to. What kind of range of events do you want to have here, especially pushing into 2020? I think the live music scene in Stockholm is really hungry for a new stage so a lot of live gigs. Also all kinds of clubs, music wise. Additionally, we’ll have a big focus on food and beverages, so food and beverage markets and festivals. Some collaborations with already established food and beverage festivals, and some completely new concepts that we’re working on. Fållan Stockholm, Slakthusområdet, www.fallan.nu 11