New 23m music venue to open in Hackney

ONLY days after the Hackney Empire was saved, the capital's newest music venue opens tomorrow right across the road.

Eighties favourites Soft Cell are first to play Ocean, followed in the first fortnight by the Fun Lovin' Criminals, Sizzla and the Brand New Heavies.

The former Methodist hall in Mare Street has been converted to a 23 million venue with a capacity of 2,100 and two smaller performance spaces. More than five years in the planning, it has been built and equipped with 12 million of Lottery money, plus help from the London Arts Board and Hackney council, as part of a plan to regenerate the heart of Hackney.

Ocean is run by a charitable trust of the same name and profits will be ploughed into a music education project on the premises. The education wing will also house the Rising Tide project for encouraging musical appreciation - and participation - in Hackney.

Executive director Mark Higham hopes the scheme will produce stars of the future. "Someone could see a show here and be inspired to pick up an instrument and learn about the business," he said. "Then they could start performing in one of our smaller spaces, get a support slot in the main hall and complete the circle by headlining there."

He said: "Hackney could not be a more perfect place for Ocean: there are so many different cultures here with an interest in music. And music is a language that crosses all cultural boundaries."

Ocean's design features include art installations - among them a 40ft wall studded with marbles, another of lava lamp-style oil lights, and a giant video wall. There are numerous bars and a street- level caf bar called Aqua, with DJs and pavement tables. Aqua will be open to midnight six days a week.

While major concerts will be staged in the main auditorium, smaller shows can be put on at the more intimate Ocean 2, with a capacity of 300, with more experimental events in the 100-capacity Ocean 3.

Ocean has already struck a deal with MTV to host a series of live shows. A musical work called Storm has been commissioned to mark tomorrow's official opening, which is by invitation only. It is followed on Friday and Saturday by the Soft Cell gigs.

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