UK - London-based lighting and visual rental company Colour Sound Experiment supplied video, including LED screens, cameras, PPU and crew, to Madness’s most recent tour.
The Sound of Madness arena tour was production managed and designed by ‘Luton’ Pete Hosier, who was also the LD, with the video elements co-ordinated by Toby Vogel, who has worked with Madness since 2010.
Video has been a massive part of their live show, especially for the last three of these biennial arena tours, and the screens were in use for most of the band’s lively, up-beat set.
Utilising over 175sq.m of Colour Sound’s BT-6 and BT-7 mm LED product, the main screens comprised a 10m-wide by 5m-high upstage centre surface, flanked either side by two 5 x 5m ‘return’ screens p

UK - Following the sale of its ArcSystem, BlueSystem and CueSystem lighting products to ETC, Bristol-based GDS has announced it is launching a number of new product lines in the coming months.
No timeline has yet been specified, although the company has expanded and restructured its operations to support the new releases and meet the anticipated market demand. The new products will target the entertainment market and the broader architectural sector.
To ensure a smooth transition, GDS will also continue to manufacture the ArcSystem, BluesSystem and Cue-System ranges until 31 July, with ETC taking over the global manufacturing and distribution responsibilities for the lines in August.
Managing director Richard Cuthbert comments: “GDS is immensely proud to have developed and introduced many cutting-edge technologies over the years. We brought ArcSystem through f

Brazil - Five-time Grammy-winner Dan Carvalho is as adept in the live arena as he is in the studio. During his recent time out on the road mixing FOH for Brazilian super-group, Tribalistas, he needed a flexible console that could not only deliver studio quality sound to the stage, but record the shows to the highest possible standard. After discovering the SSL L500 Plus, he got hold of two for this tour - one for FOH, one for monitors - courtesy of Brazilian rental house Gabisom.
Carvalho's relationship with Tribalistas goes back to when he was just starting out in the industry: at only 24, he helped the band with their first album recording; and 15 years later, got the call once more to record and co-produce album number two. That record is now released, and the fresh material has inspired Tribalistas to tour the first album for the first time ever.
“Because I'm a

UK - Universal Pixels supplied a flexible video package for British synth pop stars Years & Years’ Palo Santo live campaign, including festival dates, UK arena shows and European performances
Years & Years landed back in the UK charts last summer with their critically acclaimed second album, Palo Santo, and a production befitting of the band’s standing in alternative pop culture. A number of festival dates coincided with Palo Santo’s highly anticipated release before a UK arena tour and subsequent European concert hall dates were met with sold out crowds last winter.
Universal Pixels worked closely with production designers, Cassius Creative, taking on the design and supply of the video elements, as well as the indoor venue IMAG requirements. The versatile design peaked in size at the London O2 Arena, with the show featuring a 195sq.m ROE CB5 scre

Belgium - Traditionally, the opening of an automobile showroom involves a few signs, along with some balloons and inflatables. When the new BMW Mini Dejonckheere opened its doors, however, it called on Belgian design firm Présence to help it treat customers to an altogether different, more exciting and more contemporary experience that included an EDM afterparty.
Along with enjoying the evening’s festivities, the 1,700 guests in attendance were dazzled by the sleek, contemporary permanent features of the showroom itself, which like the party, were accented by a stunning lighting design. Created by Présence, working with designer Dieter Ducoulombier and project manager Ozzy Vandevoorde from its technical partner Solico, the lighting design was anchored by an impressive collection of Chauvet Professional WELL Fit, Rogue and EPIX fixtures.
A 10,000sq.m venue with expa

South Korea - Psy, famous for the 2012 mega-hit Gangnam Style, embarked on a multi-stadium tour of his home country over the summer. Amid record high temperatures, supersized venues and a pumping EDM playlist, the team needed a hardy and technologically advanced solution. They turned to the d&b GSL System, along with ArrayProcessing, to cope with climate changes, climactic K-pop dynamics and challenging acoustics.
Psy’s 2018 dates were the fourth incarnation of his Soaking Wet Show series of concerts, so called due to the amount of water sprayed onto the audience to entertain and beat the sweltering summer heat.
They are big-business events, drawing in thousands of eager fans from across South Korea and overseas. The 2018 tour played no less than six stadiums: Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Taegu Auxiliary Stadium, Seoul Jamsil Auxiliary Stadium, DaeJeon

France - Active Audio has appointed Eric Grandmougin as its new marketing and customer support director.
As part of his new role, Grandmougin will provide Active Audio's senior management and strategic committee with insight into market trends and technologies. He will also oversee customer requests and assist with the development and promotion of existing products.
Active Audio’s CEO, Régis Cazin, comments: “Eric has a very strong reputation in the world of pro audio and acoustics in France. He brings a wealth of experience as an acoustic consultant, deep knowledge of markets, technologies and future trends, which will benefit both the APG and Active Audio brand, as well as our partners and end users worldwide.
“Eric’s recent arrival has already benefited several of our distributors to choose the best products for their projects and it won’t take lon

The Netherlands - Next-proaudio has announced the launch of LA26, a compact modular line source with a long throw capability.
The LA26 is a two-way, full range passive line array cabinet housing two 6.5" neodymium flat diaphragm drivers located in the side walls of the HF Oblate Spheroidal Waveguide, a 2" diaphragm HF neodymium driver and a passive network crossover presenting a nominal input impedance of 16Ω. A fast and easy three-point auto-locking rigging mechanism is integrated for easy build of ground stacked or flown systems.
The new technology waveguide and co-planar transducer configuration, generates precisely coherent wavefronts uniformly spread in the horizontal plane (105°) and precisely coupled in the vertical plane without sacrificing HF presence in the far field, further eliminating the low-mid lobbing normally associated with two-way line source syst
featured content

The Many Looks of Zeo

Delivering ultimate brightness and unique looks, Zeo’s distinct face design is defined by a central LED monolith and four reflectors, backed by four RGBW engines. As a blinder or strobe, Zeo promises powerful impact with 30,000+ lumens. With its sheer brilliance and playful effects, Zeo is ready to amplify the energy on any stage.

USA - At last week’s NAMM show, PK Sound demonstrated Trinity 10, a mid-size, 3D controlled sound system. The company offered daily demonstrations of both the Trinity 10 and its Gravity series of subwoofers within its demo room.
PK Sound’s demo room featured a cast of special guests at the FOH position, each mixing a diverse selection of tracks featuring various artists through the Trinity 10 and Gravity loudspeakers.
The Trinity 10 features the identical voicing as the full-size Trinity module. Like the larger version, the Trinity 10 is configured remotely, providing advanced users with a completely new set of tools and unparalleled control over the vertical and horizontal polar directivity of the entire array, while bringing world class sound field control to mid-size class line arrays.
In addition, Trinity 10 is powered by a 3000W Class D amplifier to max

The Netherlands - Audinate has announced Dante AV, an integrated audio and video-over-IP solution for manufacturers.
Dante AV promises to bring all the benefits of the audio over IP solution to video, including discovery, ease-of-use and integrated control. Dante AV enables complete interoperability with more than 1600 Dante-enabled audio products already on the market.
Dante AV reportedly resolves syncronisation problems of networked video and audio by utilising a single network clock for sub-microsecond accuracy. With Dante AV, audio and video signals are independently routable in a single interface using the Dante Controller software. Manufacturers can also take advantage of Dante API to customise their management user interface. Dante AV solves time alignment issues and eliminates the need for audio de-embedders in applications such as sports bars, live events and

World - Australian pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) made their name as somewhat of a YouTube sensation, but rose to international stardom after touring with One Direction in 2012.
5SOS have since released three studio albums and headlined three world tours. Their current Meet You There tour supports their 2017 hit record, Youngblood, and at stage left position, Pavan Grewall is working from his trusted DiGiCo SD10 console.
Grewall is adept at both FOH and monitor roles. He has flown faders at FOH for a number of well-known artists including Meghan Trainor, Nick Jonas, and Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, with whom he spent five years touring the world.
His current role as monitor engineer with 5SOS is one he is enjoying: he has been working with both the band and the DiGiCo SD10, supplied by Adlib, for 18 months. He says it is

South Africa - DWR Distribution is holding a Waves training course in Johannesburg on 18 February and in Cape Town on 21 February.
Presented by Eran Ben Zur, a live product specialist at Waves Audio and an experienced FOH engineer, the sessions will feature discussions on Waves Live, Sound Grid Network, V9 vs V10, Multi Rack, Plugins, eMotion LV1, Tips and Tricks and Q&A.
The course will be hosted at the DWR premises in Johannesburg and Cape Town. For more information, visit the DWR website.
(Jim Evans)

Australia - The Burdekin Theatre is the home for arts and entertainment in Burdekin, playing host to a diverse range of live performances including musicals, plays and rock concerts. The venue also hosts conferences and seminars, plus local events such as dance recitals, school award nights, and more.
The theatre features a 473-seat auditorium with proscenium arch and orchestra pit, supported by a professional technical staff. When it came time to upgrade its sound system, Clair Brothers topped the list after a competitive review of major loudspeaker brands.
David Luscombe, theatre technician, at Burdekin Theatre, explains: “As time went on, I knew our old system was reaching the end of its life expectancy. It just wasn’t keeping up with our ever-rising standards. I saw it as an opportunity to upgrade, so I took a listen to several top brands before I got the oppo

Europe - Sound designer Gareth Owen has selected Luminex GigaCore 12 switches to provide networked audio for his immersive sound designs on all-new productions of international hit musicals, Starlight Express, Bat Out of Hell and Come From Away.
Utilising d&b audiotechnik's Soundscape object-based sound design mixing platform, the technically demanding shows - which range from 180º up to full 360º implementation - feature a large number of data channels running over Dante. With no analogue backup for the audio systems, the network distribution has to be 100% reliable.
Working together with d&b and equipment suppliers to the shows, Stage Sound Services and Orbital Sound, the Luminex GigaCore network switches were rigorously tested in a Soundscape-based setup and left everyone impressed.
Owen comments: "We wanted to get a Dante-appro

Russia - Since being founded 2012, the Moscow Musical Theatre has earned a considerable reputation for its original productions and unusual approaches to classic stories.
Just in time for the 2018/19 season, the Musical Theatre has made a new home for itself in the remodelled and refurbished Rossiya Theatre on Moscow's Pushkinskaya Square - one of the most frequented squares in the world. This new venue has an opportunity for the sound department to push the creative potential of the theatre to a new level by installing the first permanent theatrical installation of L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology.
The theatre’s repertoire ranges from a rock opera production of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment to a fusion of circus performance with operetta and musical genres in The Circus Princess, and a re-telling of Cinderella.
The new sound installat

SE Asia - Nexo has announced the appointment of Joe White to its international sales team. He will be taking up the role of business development manager with responsibility for Nexo’s activities in South-East Asia, India and Oceania.
White is a familiar face to Nexo customers, having spent four years with the company as Global Marketing Manager. Since 2011, he has been running his own business in Indonesia, but, in his words, “I really miss the audio industry and all the co-workers and colleagues in Nexo’s international orbit.”
Reporting to sales director Denis Baudier, White will shoulder the responsibility for managing Nexo’s distribution network in the Far East.
“Over the last seven years, I have had a ringside seat to watch the cultural and economic evolution in this territory,” says White. “New government policies and investments into infrast

The Netherlands - Avnu Alliance has announced new members and ecosystem tools, while manufacturer members plan to demonstrate and showcase new Milan-ready products at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2019.
Milan is a standards-based, user-driven deterministic network protocol for professional media, that assures devices will work together at new levels of convenience, reliability and functionality. Created and maintained by members of the Avnu Alliance, Milan is billed as the first tangible solution for promising deterministic, reliable, and future-proof delivery of networked media. Milan combines the technical benefits of the AVB standard with pro AV market-defined device requirements at both the network and the application layer for media streams, formats, clocking and redundancy.
“Members of Milan have been diligently working behind the scenes for the last six mont

The Netherlands - Writing about electronic music star San Holo’s stop at New York’s Terminal 5 on his current tour in support of his latest album, a critic wrote, “San Holo acts like he is a part of the crowd, which makes us a part of him”.
This sense of connectivity has been repeated time and again around the world, as the Dutch artist, whose real name is Sander van Dijck, pours out his feelings in a deeply personal performance that seamlessly blends musical elements from the heaviest basses and trance beats to soft vocals and live guitar melodies.
Reflecting this sound in light and video is a 13-universe Manuel Rodrigues-designed show, powered by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 desk and video server.
Rodrigues, who worked with the tour’s creative director Thorwald van den Akker, comments. “In my designs I always try to go to the essence of the looks I want

Japan - When Clean Bandit elected to launch their What Is Love album in a temple in Kyoto with a live TV broadcast, they brought in Really Creative Media to supply their live visual content.
The band has developed an affinity with fans in the region, and following successful shows in Tokyo and Osaka earlier in the year they were keen to return to the East to launch their new album in Kyoto.
The temple’s ambience was accentuated with architectural lighting providing a stunning backdrop for the six-song performance. In addition, a raised two-level LED stage provided a visual centrepiece for the band’s live broadcast.
Really Creative Media’s creative director Jack James had previously worked with Clean Bandit’s show designer Rob Sinclair (fresh from Kylie’s Golden tour) and lighting designer Liam Griffiths on the band’s tour content, reuniting wi

World - Pink continues her Beautiful Trauma World Tour with Claypaky Scenius Unico and Mythos 2 fixtures shining a light on the American singer’s performances.
The tour is Pink’s seventh concert tour and supports her eponymous seventh studio album. The tour began in Phoenix in March 2018 and is scheduled to conclude in Rio in October 2019. Pink’s critically acclaimed show includes the now expected mix of singing, interpretive dancing and high-flying aerials.
“As with all Pink shows the lighting design needs to be versatile,” says Baz Halpin of Burbank’s silentHOUSE who is the lighting designer/production designer and director of the show. “Pink is equal parts rock show, theatre show and aerial cirque show. With so many facets to the treatment of each of the songs the lighting design and the fixtures chosen need to have enough flexibility to meet

USA - Orlando-headquartered Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) has expanded operations to Nashville. The announcement was made by general manager Jim Van Winkle.
“We have experienced tremendous growth and success out of our Orlando office with customers located across the country,” explains Van Winkle. “Considering the number of current customers and partners we have in the Nashville area we thought it was time to have a dedicated team in the area for product support and services.”
The Nashville office will be headed up by RF technicians Ryan Stotts and Cody Heimann. Stotts began working in professional audio in 2001 at Sound Great Enterprises, Inc. in Ohio providing audio, communication and wireless equipment for the Magic of David Copperfield. In 2006 he was out with the U.S. tour of Stomp as FOH engineer. From there he worked with Spectrum Sound and

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