USA - Built nearly seven decades ago, Miami Beach's Variety Theatre - later known as the Paris Theatre - achieved a certain amount of fame in the '80s when Big Time Productions used the space as a photo/film studio to shoot album covers and music videos for top artists like Madonna and U2.

Today, world-renowned musicians and celebrities are once again pouring into the South Beach hotspot - now dubbed 'Bamboo Miami' - but this time for its swanky nightlife. Bucharest-based Bamboo Group, a successful European club owner and promoter, took over the landmark venue last year and renovated it into a lavish nightclub that both faithfully preserves its classic Art Deco ornamentation and dresses it up with a mega-dose of modern ambience.

As part of the renovation, Bamboo Group brought in Audio Formula of Miami to supply a full L-Acoustics loudspeaker system to sonically reinforce the s

Panama - One of Latin America's hottest destinations just got even hotter. In the heart of Panama, the new Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis rises up to a spectacular 66 stories, promising to deliver rock star service in an environment of urban chic design - all infused with the passion and irreverence of rock 'n' roll.

Some of the millions of investment dollars have been spent on a fabulous discotheque on the 11th floor, complete with a sound system worthy of the Hard Rock's reputation. Designed and installed by Grupo Eska Panama, the system features Nexo products throughout: Geo S12 line array modules and RS18 sub bass for the main system, and lots of PS cabinets throughout the venue.

The principal dance floor system uses four horizontal arrays of three Geo S1230s, and four RS18 subs running in cardioid mode. The rest of the club audio system is managed in six zones, using in

Greece - Nikos Vertis is one of Greece's most popular performers and when he decided to invest in an audio and lighting rig for his performances, DiGiCo's SD5 digital mixing console was top of his wish list.

"Nikos and his Front of House engineer, Akis Eleftheriadis, first saw the SD5 at its ProLight+Sound launch last year," explains Pandelis Kariotis, general manager of Kariotis Audio & Lighting, DiGiCo's Greek distributor.

"Nikos was fascinated by the flexibility and capability of the console. He wanted to buy a product that is world-class, but he's very demanding and wanted to test the desk out in live conditions so that he could prove to himself that it was everything we were claiming."

Pandelis arranged with DiGiCo for a demo console to be made available for one of Nikos's performances in Athens, so that it could be tested under like conditions.

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UK - Due to the phenomenal success enjoyed by multi-award winning singer/songwriter Emeli Sandé, the consequently high ticket demand meant that her seven date UK tour had to be swiftly doubled in number. Promoting a Special Edition release of her debut album Our Version of Events, Sennheiser equipment is key to Sandé's performance.

All shows on the tour rapidly sold out, including three nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo and two homecoming shows at Aberdeen Music Hall. Sennheiser UK has supported Sandé and her band since the 2012 show recorded for the Live At The Royal Albert Hall album and DVD. The current tour features an SKM 5200-II with MD 5235 head for the lead vocal, plus e604s, e904s and an MD 409 featuring on the backline and a package of ew 300 G3 in-ear monitors for all the performers.

Front-of-house engineer Darren Connor has be

The Netherlands - Roermond-based Easy Touch and Live Music (Arnhem) report a complete AV installation at the ECI cultuur fabriek in Roermond. The cultural centre is located at a former electrochemical factory that has been abandoned since 1974. The site has now been transformed into a temple of culture over the past two years. Having opened in September 2012, it now comprises a concert hall, a theatre, two cinema halls, an exposition room and a bar/restaurant.

It was made clear to Bart Smits of Live Music that the installation would have to be without compromises and ready for the future. The ECI technical team was closely involved in the decision making from the start. "If we wanted to meet the high demands of the ECI we could only go for our selection of high-end AV suppliers."

Although the historic building was never intended for acoustical purposes a set of measu

Croatia - All hours night clubs, warm summer evenings, and long Adriatic beaches are a potent combination, throw in high octane musical entertainment and the cake is baked. The Noa Beach Club at Zr?e on the island of Pag is just such a place; owners Ivan Joki? and Zlatko Balaško have worked hard to make the club stand out amongst the many others clamouring for attention along the northern Croatian coastline. "Noa is quite young, 2013 is our third year. What we have learned is that there is no substitute for good sound when you're trying to attract international status DJs."

Joki? and Balaško approached Tomislav Koran (informally known as Kuki) from Sunflower, a well known audio dealer based in Rijeka, one hundred kilometres west of Zagreb, on the coast, "They had taken advice from several sources and had a good idea of what they needed to achieve. This is a typi

Mexico - The first Nexo STM Series modular line array system has arrived in Mexico, the property of Tecno Son Espectaculos, the well-known rental company based in Mexico City, and its CEO Sergio Zenteno. The substantial inventory includes 36 sets of STM cabinets; a total of 108x Main M46, Bass B112 and Sub S118 cabinets, together with the NUAR NEXO Universal Amp Rack power and management system.

Zenteno has a long association with Nexo, introducing the brand into Mexico in 2003. Over the years, Tecno Son has acquired 24x Geo S and 32x Geo D10 line array cabinets, 24x CD18 Sub and 8x Alpha eM/B118. With the support of Nexo's Mexican distributor Representaciones de Audio (REPSA), he has built Nexo into one of the two dominant loudspeaker brands in Mexico, with Tecno Son itself becoming one of the largest sound rental providers in the country.

With 30 years' experience in the ind

UAE - Melody House, distributors of Primacoustics have recently supplied Mizany with 16 Control columns, 24 Scatter blocks and four Broadband panels. All of which form two sets of the industry known London 12 Kit. The Kit contains Broadway panels that tackle problems affecting any room, such as primary reflections, flutter echo, standing waves and excessive bass.

Mizany is the first compare and review site based in the MENA region to offer comprehensive coverage for the latest technology and consumer gadgets in both Arabic and English through videos and originally written content.

Commenting on the acoustic solution, Ramin Qadir of the Mizany team said, "We wanted a quick acoustic solution that not only made the room well treated but look aesthetically pleasing as well. Everything was put up within a few hours and we were ready to record by evening."

Grayson Soares

UAE - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distributors of Roland Professional in the Middle East have recently supplied four V-800HD vision mixers to Dubai based Production Technology (Protec). Production Technology works on a number of high profile events in the region. Production Technology purchased the Roland V-800HD after a demonstration by NMK's Roland specialist Moswain Antao.

"The V-800HD is the new Live video switcher from Roland. It accepts high-end 3G/SD/HD-SDI DVI-A/DVI-D/HDMI, RGB, component, and composite formats video sources making it the ideal choice for any live video production," commented Moswain Antao, Roland product specialist at NMK.

He adds, "The mixer also features 4:4:4/10-bit processing on outputs up to 1080/60p resolution. Operating two V-800HD units in tandem makes it possible to perform switching for 3D Video split into left

UK - The congregation of Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Kilwee, in the suburbs of Belfast, has been presented with something of a phenomenon.

Through the unusual omega-shaped sculpture - suspended from the ultra-high vaulted ceiling and hovering over the sanctuary - four JBL CBT70J column loudspeaker arrays now appear to float, as if defying the laws of gravity.

Not the miracle they were perhaps hoping for since these are hung on near imperceptible steel wire pairs - an ingenious solution conceived by Martin Grainger, of Co. Tyrone based Grainger Communication Ltd to give extra design swagger to a modern church which was only built at the turn of the millennium.

The acoustician has been involved with the unusual conical-shaped church, with its extraordinarily high ceiling for many years and is entirely familiar with its acoustic quirks and reverberant interior.

"

Norway - Amas Produksjon is the latest distributor to join the Adamson team. They announced their new partnership while at Prolight and Sound this year. The Norwegian company started as a booking agent in the early 90's but quickly grew to include equipment rental, and in 2004 they began sales and distribution of top brands in the pro audio world. Amas specializes in turn-key pro audio solutions in both the sales and rental markets. These services include everything from rental to full sound design, installation and 24hr service to their clients in installation and live touring markets.

CEO, Morten Paulsen says, "Our main focus is always to create good complete, turn-key solutions for our customers, combining different products to suit each customer's specific need." The addition of Adamson products to their 'line card' paired with Powersoft Audio amplifiers will give

India - Martin Audio has appointed Integrated Entertainment Solutions (IES) as its new exclusive distributor for India. The agreement was formalised at this month's Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt.

The Mumbai-based sound and lighting company had previously been operating as a dealer, and has been working with the Martin Audio brand since 2006, both in a rental and installation capacity. During that time it has fitted out many auditoriums and specified a vast range of systems, from Blackline+ and AQ series, up to the W8L Longbow, W8LC Compact and W8LM Mini line arrays.

IES set out primarily as a distributor/dealer for multinational companies, manufacturing intelligent lighting, control and sound equipment, and has been steadily growing its distribution portfolio, adding lighting brands such as Robe.

Said director Kekul Sheth, "We are delighted to be handling the Martin

UK - Interspace Industries will be presenting a number of new products at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013.

The USB Bal Box provides high quality balanced audio on XLR. The unit requires no drivers for current USB devices and ensures clean audio from your system with selectable Stereo/Mono and Ground lift switching.

The USB AiO has an output stage similar to the Bal Box but includes an output level control and an input consisting of 2x XLRs with Mic/Line selection and a level control on each input. A Clip LED provides visual indication to the technician if the level is too high.

The SoundConnect is a passive audio balancing unit designed to fit in to a standard XLR fixing; ideal for wall & lecterns and has a simple connection for computers and iPads alike.

(Jim Evans)

UK - The London-based audio consulting firm, RH Consulting, has recently welcomed two new members to the team. Stuart Gillan is an audio professional with over 30 years' experience in live touring, location music recording, location tv/film and broadcast post-production. He will be focusing mainly on system design, while Henny Schuett, a native German speaker, will be joining RH Consulting on a part-time basis, concentrating mainly on projects in the German market.

Gillan has an impressive CV demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the industry and a flexible approach to his work. Since 1997 he has moved gradually towards consulting and audio design work, focusing exclusively on those activities for the last few years. His past experience in outside broadcast, audio engineering and sound recording combines an understanding of operational requirements and logistics with technical k

Germany - Martin Audio can reflect on its most successful trade show appearance ever following its participation at this year's Frankfurt Prolight+Sound Show.

Sharing its stand with German distributor Atlantic Audio the centrepiece was the global premier of the keenly-anticipated MLA Mini loudspeaker array. Partners and customers from around the world flooded the booth - all wanting to be among the first to witness this third generation deployment of Martin Audio's unique and award-winning Multi-cellular technology, following the successful launch of the original platform at the same show three years earlier.

Stated Martin Audio marketing director, James King, "The introduction of MLA in 2010, MLA Compact in 2012, and now MLA Mini at this show, represented to customers a complete offering of venue solutions. Not surprisingly, interest was overwhelming with all our distrib

UK - The Bodyguard, the hit musical from producers Michael Harrison and David Ian, has already won Best New Musical in the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards. Richard Brooker, no stranger to such mammoth productions having worked on some of the industry's biggest theatrical productions, including Jesus Christ Superstar, The Sound of Music, Chess and Cabaret, took on the challenge of the show's sound design. He has once again deployed a DiGiCo SD7T digital mixing console at Front of House, with an SD824 at the monitor position, to help him meet some new challenges.

Playing at the West End's Adelphi theatre and based on the 1990s Oscar nominated film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, the stage adaptation of The Bodyguard is directed by Thea Sharrock and sees Heather Headley take Houston's role alongside Lloyd Owen, who plays Costner's

Germany - The combination of new products, expanding networks and record attendances at this year's Prolight + Sound ensured Funktion-One had an extremely busy and very positive show. Attendees flocked to the stand in Hall 8 to see the new products and to chat with the team, and to the demo room, which saw a constant rotation of enthusiastic audiences over the four days.

The BR (Bass Reflex) Range made its global debut, while the MST (Modular Stadium Technology) Horn made its second tradeshow appearance, after landing at ISE in January. As well as the official launches, the show offered Funktion-One the chance to whet appetites with previews of products that are due for release later this year. The Funktion-One demo room hosted the first public showing of the company's new flagship PSM318 DJ Monitors.

Reflecting on the show, Ann Andrews said, "Frankfurt is always a really

UK - POLARaudio recently invited leading systems integrators and members of the press to attend two events organised to present the Behringer Eurocom range of products. The first of the events took place at the Music Group Research and Development Centre in Manchester. Set up by Music Group as a UK Centre of Excellence for developing cutting edge digital audio technology, the facility occupies 24,000 square feet and is home to many of the group's 300 UK employees. Two days later, Mercedes-Benz World at Weybridge provided a fitting backdrop for the presentation, in a similarly high-calibre environment of merit and quality.

Anchoring the proceedings was Music Group senior VP marketing, Costa Lakoumentas, whose infectious and engaging delivery was matched by his obvious genuine conviction that here was a range of products to seriously challenge the status quo. Although now operatin

UK -Stage Electrics have recently supplied the Baglan Community Church with a Roland M-300 Digital Live Mixing Console and two S-1608 Digital Snake Stage Boxes as part of a full audio, visual and lighting installation for their recently renovated multi-purpose venue in Port Talbot.

The renovation of the venue, previously a social club, which was started in August last year and is due to be completed later this month, took the building back to 'bare bones' allowing the audio installation to be designed utilising newly fitted Cat5e points. The venue is currently used primarily to host church services for the 220+ church members, but once the renovation is complete, the intention is to hire out the building to the community to use as a conference centre or hall. The audio solution therefore needed to be digital with a flexible setup to cater for a number of uses from varying live b

UK - Traction Sound has announced that it will be once again running its demo room in the Arthur Conference Suite at the Holiday Inn during PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013. As the Holiday Inn is adjacent to the entrance to the event's Main Hall 2 it give's visitors the easy option of coming to hear their PLASA Innovation Award nominated SDS Range of loud speakers.

The company will also be showcasing its new BP18 Atlas sub alongside their new portable front of

house stack that wowed the PA Experience at last years' BPM show in Birmingham, says Traction.

Traction Sound's Business Development Director Jonny Goodwillie comments: "We're very much looking forward to visiting PLASA Focus 2013 as it was here two years ago that we first announced our company and technology to the world. Having the demo room is extremely important to us as we always say that our speakers should do the ta

China / Vietnam - The Portuguese audio manufacturer brand Next -proaudio has announced the appointment of new distributors for China, Hong-Kong, Macau and Vietnam.

Real Music Acoustics & Lighting Technology has been awarded full brand representation by the Portuguese manufacturer for China, Hong-Kong and Macau and the Newstar Music and Technology Joint Stock Company for the distribution in all the market of Vietnam.

Real Music Acoustics and Newstar Music and Technology new status were confirmed during Prolight+Sound 2013 in Frankfurt by Next-proaudio CEO - Antonio Correia.

"These two distributors will be highly important for Next-proaudio and it builds on the idea of growing in the Asian professional audio market and this is a truly exciting progression that will further strengthen our support of the Next and NSound brands in these markets. it will ensures a professiona

Indonesia - The New Wine International church in Jakarta, Indonesia, has the unusual distinction of being located on the third floor of a large shopping arcade. It is nevertheless extremely well equipped and places a big emphasis on music. Indeed, the church had planned a major Easter celebration concert which they wished to record. As a result, they turned to Innovason distributor La Mesa, who provided an Innovason Eclipse digital console equipped with the integrated M.A.R.S. 64-track digital recorder especially for the event.

"The church already has an analogue console," explained La Mesa's Didi Kartanegara, "but they felt that they would achieve better results using an Eclipse as FoH console and recorder rather than bringing in an external recorder and having to patch it to their existing console. I have to say, I agreed with them."

New Wine's FoH engine

UAE - Mario Bentley has joined Bosch Communications Systems as sales manager ProSound effective 15 April, 2013. In the future, Bentley will hold responsibility for Electro-Voice and Dynacord sales in the Middle East and Africa.

In the past, Bentley has successfully held various positions with Middle Eastern companies, including as project manager for Electro-Voice partner ALMOE AV Systems. "I have always been drawn to the commitment and professionalism that both Electro-Voice and its sister company Dynacord profess," explains Bentley. "This is evident from the commitment shown in the product and the faith customers have. I am excited to get involved with the two brands that I love from personal experiences and look forward to getting involved with growing the business in the Middle East and Africa."

"Mario has been residing in the UAE for more than 15

Argentina - Allen & Heath has appointed ARS as its exclusive distributor in Argentina. Established for 12 years, the company already distributes leading brands, such as Turbosound, Sennheiser and TC Electronic.

"ARS is a profitable and healthy business operating in a tough financial climate. The company has great sales and support networks in place, and are technically very proficient. ARS complements the A&H brand well and we are looking forward to working with the team," explains A&H sales and marketing manager, Debbie Maxted.

To mark their appointment, ARS are planning to host various workshops, seminars and training events in all of the major cities in Argentina throughout the year.

"We are very pleased to represent Allen & Heath, one of the most prestigious British sound console manufacturers. It is a great honour to have been selected because Allen & Hea

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