Japan - Zouk Tokyo is within Granbell Hotel Ginza’s new commercial complex, the latest luxury hospitality launch from Granbell Hotel Group. A Void Acoustics sound system has been installed across Zouk Tokyo’s two basement floors, one of which has a lounge space, premium bar and VIP seating, while the floor beneath contains an impressive dance hall and stage. Altogether, the space offers a 600m2 capacity, capable of holding 1,000 people. Black and gold interior design contrasts with a distinct lack of pillars, the sprawling atrium, and a giant 5m wide lighting system called the Mothership, custom-built by a specialist lighting team in Barcelona, Spain. The audio installation is by eastaudio, a Tokyo Sound System Laboratory member, a sound system production team responsible for many of Japan’s famous nightclubs. Satoru Tocci Tochibori explained: “Yea
Gibraltar - Fresh Entertainment, Gibraltar's sole professional audiovisual company has an impressive track record dating back to 2005, Fresh Entertainment CEO Jonathan Collado has turned to Elation fixtures since 2012 to elevate a diverse range of projects in Gibraltar, from conferences to major music festivals. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, Fresh Entertainment successfully maintained its staff and used the time to lay the groundwork for new festivals. Identifying an opportunity in the local market, Jonathan, a former DJ, launched. The festival marked a significant milestone as the first European EDM music festival to make a post-pandemic return in 2021, attracting attendees from Europe and beyond. Held annually in July, and with a Christmas edition added to the lineup, Jonathan emphasises that Elation lighting has been integral to the festival's
Italy - AtlasIED has announced a partnership with Leading Technologies to be the exclusive distributor for AtlasIED products and solutions in Italy. As part of the agreement, Leading Technologies will sell and distribute AtlasIED's entire portfolio of products, including audio, security, and mass notification technologies, for use across a wide range of markets. Based in Monza, Leading Technologies will coordinate sales efforts between AtlasIED's U.S. headquarters, integrators, and end users in Italy. Leading Technologies will represent AtlasIED's entire product portfolio, including the award-winning Atmosphere digital audio platform for hospitality, retail, and educational facilities. The company will also sell the AtlasIED GLOBALCOM enterprise-wide communications platform, used in transportation hubs worldwide, including over 300 airports and multiple train and bus
Mexico - Genelec has strengthened its distribution in Mexico by appointing Representaciones de Audio to develop the brand's presence in the MI retail, AV and Home Audio markets. Representaciones de Audio will work alongside existing distributor Video Audio Representaciones e Ingeniería (VARI), who will continue to supply Genelec solutions to Mexico’s professional audio community. This new partnership will complement Genelec’s long standing relationship with pro audio distributor VARI, who will continue to serve Genelec’s professional customers in Mexico, particularly those in the important music recording and broadcast segments. “It is a pleasure to begin our business relationship with Genelec,” declares Jaime Celis, general manager of Representaciones de Audio. “Both companies share family values that strengthen our way of working together. This collabora
Japan - The Adam Hall Group is further expanding its global sales network. With H. Ito & Co from Tokyo, the event technology provider has gained a new partner who will take over the exclusive distribution of Adam Hall Group brand Cameo lighting technology solutions in Japan with immediate effect. H. Ito & Co was founded in Tokyo in 1979. In more than 40 years, the company has been able to build up an extensive network of partners and customers as well as constantly expanding its range of services. "We are excited about the new distribution partnership with the Adam Hall Group," comments Akihiko Sato, president of H. Ito & Co. "Cameo's solutions cover all professional lighting requirements and give us the opportunity to offer new, innovative products to the Japanese lighting industry." Glenn Lin, business development Manager, Asia Pacific, adds: "Japan
Ticket To Ride - Taylor Swift's concert tour brought in about $1.04bn (£829m) in gross sales across its first 60 shows, a new record, trade publication Pollstar said. Swift’s success came during a bumper year for a concert business. Overall, the top 100 global tours brought in more than $9bn (£7.17bn) this year in gross sales, up 46% from 2022, which had itself seen record-setting spending, Pollstar said. Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen rounded out the top three concerts of the year. However, Swift, whose tour started in Arizona in March, did not just bring in more money than anyone else. She also did it faster, Pollstar said, and her mass popularity meant she played exclusively to stadiums - which seat bigger crowds. By contrast, it took previous record-setter Elton John 328 shows to bring in $939m (£749m) during his five-year farewell tour, which spanned the pan
UK - Hayden Borgars says that he’s always tended to view the lighting fixtures in his rig as musical instruments, not merely illuminating with them, but also “playing” them in ways that flow with the sound of his clients. On the just-completed Sacred Blasphemy UK tour by Creeper, Borgars demonstrated his virtuosity on the Chauvet Professional Color Strike M by using the motorised fixture to follow the hauntingly evocative notes played by the band’s keyboardist Hannah Greenwood, and powerful beats by drummer Jack Fogarty. “Aside from the silhouette looks I got from the Color Strikes, I also used a lot of the fixture’s pixel effects to go along with the key notes from Hannah,” he said. “I also used the clap out effect on both the beam and plate pixels to accent some of the drum hits and whip effects. It’s part of how I treat light as an instrumen
USA - Texas Motor Speedway’s (TMS) new Big Hoss TV debuted in September for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Playoff weekend. Sited on the backstretch of the track, it is made up of digiLED Vision Ultra panels, measures 23,000sq.ft, stands 11 storeys high and, with over 8.2m pixels, it is the equivalent of 4,331 42” TVs. All of this makes it one of the largest screens in the world. Committed to TMS and partner and installer for the project, GoVision, digiLED custom engineered Vision Ultra, which features specially designed cabinets to enable a 1:1 replacement of the old display. A key criterion for the replacement screen was to reuse all of the existing steel structure, which in turn removed the need for TMS to repurchase about 15 tons of steel - the existing layout meant that the original power supplies could also be repurposed, all thanks to digiLED
Vietnam - Located in Rạch Giá, the capital city of Kiên Giang province in southwestern Vietnam, the Kiên Giang Music Theatre plays a significant role as a cultural and artistic hub - not only within the province but also throughout the wider region. In addition to presenting contemporary programme material, the venue has gained recognition for its commitment to preserving and promoting the revered folk-art form of ‘cải lương’ - a complex artistic genre that blends traditional melodies with various musical instruments. The theatre therefore serves as a prominent focal point for national cultural exchange and enrichment, and audiences can expect performances and production values of the utmost artistic quality. When the time came to modernise the sound system at the large theatre, many considerations came into play. Beyond the seamless coverage and sonic f
USA - Pittsburgh Penguins fans are enjoying an even more dynamic game experience this season with the installation of Ayrton Zonda 9 FX LED moving head washes beneath the new scoreboard at the PPG Paints Arena. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. Kevin Hogan, the lighting designer and programmer for the NHL team since 2005 and the owner of Pittsburgh-based Process of Illumination LLC, chose eight Zonda 9 FX fixtures for the new scoreboard, which is part of an arena upgrade by the Fenway Sports Group (owners of the team since late 2021). Designed and built by Mitsubishi Electric, the much larger, four-sided scoreboard features 50ft LED panels around a hollow central core with two Zonda 9 FX positioned on the lower mounting rail of each panel. It was Ayrton’s promotional video for the fixtures that sparked Hogan’s inter
Belgium - The historic Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles has upgraded its digital communications to a Green-GO system as part of a wider investment in its AV and IP infrastructure. Green-GO distributor Luc Buytaert, manager of the technical department at Audio Visual Lighting bv was approached by the theatre and Riva Audio AudioVisual Solutions to design and specify a new IP-based digital system, to replace an older setup that was no longer supported or fit for purpose. It was part of the second phase of the theatre’s complete AV upgrade. “The brief was to provide the users and technicians a more flexible and integrated communication solution, replacing the old system which was limited to a single line party extension,” says Frederic Vard, managing director at Riva. “We analysed a range of possible technologies and found that Green-GO products met all the r
UK - Every year in the latter part of July, York Racecourse stages the Live After Racing concert series. This event results from a collaborative effort between EnTEEtainment and Music Plus Sport, offering attendees a blend of daytime horse racing and evening live music. Since 2021, Adlib has orchestrated the audio environment for this event. Adlib's account manager, Richy Nicholson, notes that this is the third year that Adlib has supported York Racecourse and Music Plus Sport: “Dick Tee from EnTEEtainment brought us onboard, and I think York Racecourse may have been one of the first shows we looked after in 2021 post-COVID," he says. “The primary objective for York Racecourse in hosting these gigs was to provide a concert-grade experience to audience members across the 300 metres, and the lawn within the track, as well as to additional VIP areas,” Billy Bryson,
UK - The Christmas season traditionally brings with it magical and immersive eco-trails, with lighting and imaginative soundtracks replacing the more natural effects. Among these is Eden Project’s Music & Lights after dark experience, which runs during the month of December. Based nearby in Cornwall, technology specialists (and Martin Audio partners) TruCru were brought in to provide a seamless audio experience. According to project manager, Toby Bodman, after much deliberation this was achieved by deploying Martin Audio’s weatherised CDD6-WR in a flown configuration to create seamless transitions and ensure maximum intelligibility of both the narrative and a soundtrack that varied from orchestral to ambient music. This year, the sales and rental company turned its attention to the Rainforest Biome after having also helped stage events previously in different a
France - Audio network specialist and equipment manufacturer AuviTran celebrated its 20th anniversary during the JTSE (Journées Techniques du Spectacle et de l'Événement) show held in 29-30 November 2023. The celebration was an appropriate occasion for the AuviTran team to gather their long-time partners, clients and integrators, and raise their glasses to ‘past projects and future endeavours’. Founded in 2003 by Yves Ansade, Jérémie Weber, Wlodek Sielski and Robert Morgan-Males, Grenoble-based AuviTran has built and developed its expertise on audio networking solutions. In its early days, AuviTran focused on developing and deploying EtherSound-based solutions to serve OEM and integrator customers worldwide. The company rapidly extended its expertise to designing its own hardware solutions and was soon able to address a broader issue: bridging the gap between
UK - Multi award-winning Scarisbrick Hall School in Ormskirk, Lancashire has just opened Oak Theatre & Studios, where an Audient ASP8024-HE has been installed, along with 33 iD4 audio interfaces in a dedicated music programming Mac lab. The opening of the newly built theatre and arts buildings heralds the beginning of a new era for the school. It not only puts music technology firmly on the curriculum, but also provides a high-end studio for hire with a gothic-style backdrop. Oak Theatre & Studios was designed from the ground up with recording flexibility in mind. The fact that it is available for commercial use as well as teaching is something technical manager Ross Krige was careful to consider when specifying the Audient console. “Overall I’ve tried to keep the studio very simple for learning but still accessible for external hire,” he explains.
UK - Global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, with over 6,000 employees across 70 offices in 30 countries, has recently revamped its UK head office on Baker Street, London. Seeking audio-visual solutions for the second and third floors, Oliver Wyman partnered with AV experts Insight Visual Systems. The ambitious project aimed to outfit over 60 spaces of varying sizes and functions, ranging from expansive meeting rooms to more intricate and flexible audio solutions for smaller spaces. With a substantial £1m budget, Insight proposed a solution featuring industry-leading brands to align with global standards and seamlessly integrate with the office's fresh decor. On agreement of the proposal, Insight engaged distributor Audiologic to help facilitate and source equipment for the project. According to Matthew McGill, managing director, at Insight, "The Audiologic te
USA - Drawing on a deep repertoire of chart-topping songs, John Mayer is one of the rare artists able to fill ‘A level’ arenas as a true solo act. The success of his recently concluded Solo Acoustic Tour relied on an intimate connection with his audience, accomplished aurally via a reinforcement system of Meyer Sound Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers provided by UltraSound. The spring leg of the tour kicked off on March 11 at New Jersey’s Prudential Centre and wrapped at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum before Mayer embarked on a summer tour with Dead & Company - also supported by a Panther-based system from UltraSound. The fall leg was another east-to-west marathon, launching at Madison Square Garden with the November finale again at the Kia Forum. The FOH engineer for both the solo legs and the triumphant final tour by Dead & Company was Dere
USA - Blowing away crowds with his blasts of dubstep beats and trashing techno shreds at one turn, then picking up a guitar the next to venture forth into dreamy dance tunes, Gryffin is a one-person ensemble of diverse sounds. This was evident during the artist’s recent performance at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Taking the stage in his trademark baseball jersey, Gryffin treated fans to a dynamic, EDM-infused set, as he performed on the stage and an exposed-scaffold riser. Keeping pace with him and reflecting his energy with colours and motion was a compelling stage production by lighting designer Julie Reux, content creator/VJ Eddie Perez, and TM Jonny Stiegler. Like the artist’s performance on stage, the looks supporting him were multi-faceted, while still being perfectly harmonious. “Everything about any show I do begins with balanc
South Africa - Atlantic Studios, Cape Town is a multi-stage film and television production facility and hub of creative activity serving the Western Cape and far beyond. One of its current productions (produced by HBC Broadcasting Solutions) is the South African edition of Deal or No Deal (DoND), the popular risk-taking gameshow where contestants make seat-edge decisions on whether to accept a cash offer from 'the banker' in exchange for what might - or might not - be contained in a series of unassuming boxes. Lighting designer Daniel Louw is using some new Robe Esprites which were purchased by HBC for this show and delivered by Robe’s South African distributor, DWR at the start of the recording period in February. Dan is a freelance lighting designer / director and has worked on several projects at the studios which also has other Robe moving li
Germany - Wacken fans don't let the weather stop them. It's not for nothing that ‘rain or shine’ is the rallying cry of party-loving metal fans who travel to northern Germany from all corners of the world for Wacken Open Air (WOA). This year, metalheads had to be particularly strong. Days of constant rain had so softened the ‘Holy Ground’ of the festival site that a travel stop had to be imposed for the first time in the festival’s history. Anyone who made it onto the grounds though still got the full Wacken experience, including knee-deep mud. Lighting designer Jerry Appelt, who has been associated with the massive metal festival for 20 years, has also experienced a lot in Wacken. “I am emotionally attached to the festival,” he said. “It was remarkable how the organisers dealt with the very difficult situation this year.” More than ever, Elati
USA - At times it seemed that everything that could go wrong would go wrong at the one-day Desert Sky Music Festival in Chandler, AZ. Not only did rain delay the 2pm start of the first act by over 30 minutes, but once the music started playing, bumps in the road kept threatening to derail the best-laid plans. “The event gods were not smiling on us,” said John Garberson of Creative BackStage, who set up production for Desert Sky. “It rained off and on for eight hours, creating a lot of mud. There was a power outage, a medical emergency, though fortunately that turned out ok, and networking issues that disrupted the sound and lighting.” Still, no one in the sold-out crowd of 15,000 was thinking about any of these snafus when the curtain went down on the festival late that night. They were too busy savouring the good times, and the rollicking music they just enjoy
USA - Front-of-house engineer Joe Vegna (Loreen, Peter Jöback, Stefan Sundström, Lolita Pop, Pernilla Andersson) has chosen the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer and Waves plugins for the 2023 tour of Swedish ensemble Stonemountain Orchestra. Describing his choice of the Waves eMotion LV1 for this tour, Vegna comments: “In two words: sound quality. The LV1’s sound is exceptional. I was looking for a console that sounds amazing and is also small enough to actually tour with when going into smaller venues. “My good friend Rompa (FOH, Ronny Bernstein), who tours with the rock band Europe, has been using the eMotion LV1 for years and always raves about how good it sounds. So I thought I’d give it a go for an earlier tour I did this spring with Peter Jöback. And wow, it did not disappoint. That tour was very challenging, but with the LV1 I could do things that no othe
USA - We Came As Romans recently wrapped the fall leg of their Darkbloom II headlining tour, a 30-date run with a lighting system from Bandit Lites. The metalcore band kicked off on 10 October in Indianapolis and made its way throughout the country, culminating in Nashville, Tennessee on 19 November. Lighting designer Corbin Alvae worked with guitarist Lou Cotton and bassist Andy Glass who sought to recreate a ‘black hole’ style stage design and update it with a space feel. A 10ft diameter circle truss was outlined with Elation ACL 360i fixtures as well as Elation DTW Blinder IP 65 fixtures. “The band played around with different ideas and concepts, but the final look that was seen on this tour was absolutely solid looking and how everything panned out at the end looked wild,” said Alvae. The large circle truss required them to adjust depending on
New Zealand - JPRO is celebrating 35 years of success and dedication to excellence. Since its inception in 1988, JPRO has been at the forefront of the AV distribution industry, supplying world leading brands, providing local support and customer satisfaction. Established in 1988, JPRO began as the demand for JBL Professional products increased in New Zealand. Over the past three and a half decades, the company has evolved into a powerhouse, with a diverse portfolio of brands, customised solutions, technical expertise and consistently exceeding customer expectations. JPRO's success story is not just about its products and services but also about the enduring partnerships it has forged with suppliers and customers over the years. The company takes pride in collaborating with a diverse range of clients, from the small one-man integrator to multinational corporations, fos
