Italy - After captivating the Stade De France in Paris and the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Rockin’1000 brought their That’s Live - No Borders, On Board tour to Italy, landing in Milan and hosting two special guests, Manuel Agnelli from Afterhours (joined by Rodrigo D’Erasmo), and Subsonica. The band originally found fame on 26 July 2015 at the Ippodromo Park in Cesena, where the 1,000-piece band played Learn to Fly in an effort to convince Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl to perform live in Italy (which happened the following November). Since then, the Thousand have been organising concerts around the world. The band’s latest appearance - an outdoor show at newly renovated Milano-Linate airport - required the combined audio firepower of Outline’s GTO system and Powersoft’s K and X Series amplifiers to match up to the sheer the size of the
USA - After three sold-out performances at Amsterdam's Eye Filmmuseum, which saw Cosmos Within Us win a VR Days Halo award, the Future of StoryTelling will present the theatrical preview of Tupac Martir’s mixed reality performance piece at New York Live Arts on 2 December (Monday). A co-production between Satore Studio, a_BAHN, and Satore Tech, Cosmos Within Us ‘turns the solitary experience of virtual reality into a multisensory performance piece for an audience of 100-150 people, creating an entirely new artform’. It features 13 live performers, including five musicians, voiceover artists, live digital animations, two dancers, a conductor, and one ‘interactor’. Director Tupac Martir comments: “Performing at the Eye was very special. Being able to take our piece outside of the film festival circuit and show it to over 100 people per screenin
Germany - A live concert featuring the stars of German TV show Sing meinen Song was recently mixed with two Allen & Heath dLive systems at FOH and monitors. Sing meinen Song - das Tauschkonzert, produced by German broadcaster Vox, is one of the most successful TV formats in recent years and has just completed its sixth season, with the accompanying album releases always hitting the top of the German album charts. For the first time ever, the 2019 season closed with a live concert in Berlin where all the artists involved reunited for one big final live show. The venue chosen for the event, Berlin’s Waldbühne amphitheatre, is one of Germany’s biggest open-air stages with a unique architecture and atmosphere. The concert was mixed by Daniel Lauer (FOH) and Sascha Kohl (monitors), who have been working with dLive systems for several years. “The
Europe - Digital Projection has announced the appointment of three key sales employees across the EMEA region. The new hires - Christoph Hellmuth, Artur Kita and Nizar Nasser - will serve Digital Projection’s interests in DACH, Poland and the Middle East, respectively. Hellmuth, who has been hired as regional sales manager for the DACH region, brings decades of experience in the pro AV market. After serving as an audio engineer for major musicals, Hellmuth worked as a senior marketing manager for Shure in EMEA, before becoming the CEO and founder of VividAudio Media. As the new regional sales manager for Poland, Artur Kita joins Digital Projection with a wealth of experience in the Polish AV market, where he has been responsible for the sale of screen mounting solutions, projectors and other AV equipment. Joining Digital Projection’s Dubai team as the new reg
China - Grace is a national chain of bar/restaurants with live entertainment. The latest venue is in Yangjiang city, Guangdong province, where an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system has overcome architectural challenges to serve up an appetising audio menu. Grace in Yangjiang has a 400sq.m main area and a 100sq.m mezzanine, with internal architecture that created significant acoustic challenges. Its classical Chinese style features a tiled roof decoration with varying heights, producing multiple reflections. Additionally, a tall decorative column was likely to cause issues with sound coverage from one side of the stage. The live performances feature vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, drums and have a wide dynamic range. Guangzhou-based EAD was asked to design and install a sound reinforcement system that would make sure diners throughout the venue enjoyed high quality sound.
UK/Jordan - On Friday, 22 November, Coldplay performed two Sunrise and Sunset sets at Amman’s Citadel, Jordan, both of which were streamed live on YouTube to celebrate the release of the band’s new album, Everyday Life. Following Coldplay’s decision not to tour Everyday Life for environmental reasons, the band came up with an alternative for achieving maximum impact: “We wanted to pick somewhere in the middle of the world where we normally don’t get to play,” Chris Martin, Coldplay’s frontman, told the BBC. A few days before the Amman performances, Coldplay’s management announced the addition of a one-off live show on 25 November at London’s Natural History Museum. Selected songs of this performance will be available on radio and social media, and the proceeds will be donated to an environmental charity. As always, wh
Spain - Since 1997, Britannia Row has deployed audio requirements to MTV’s Europe Music Awards. This year’s winners included Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish, who were honoured in a live televised ceremony staged in the Andalusian capital of Seville. MTV has trusted Brit Row to supply the event for over two decades, creating a strong level of trust and reassurance during planning, pre-production and the live show. Supplying an L-Acoustics PA rig, Sennheiser mics and IEMs, and a plethora of DiGiCo SD7s (monitors), SD5s (FOH) and SD12s for presentations, the 14-strong Brit Row crew delivered once again. “They’re the best in the business; a lot of artists feel comforted when they come to perform and see they’re in the hands of Brit Row. For 22 years, they’ve never let us down,” comments Andy Derbyshire, production executive, MTV EMAs. “This is MTV’s bigg
Brazil - Gobos do Brasil has been appointed as the Brazil distributor for Martin Audio. Gobos has been in business since 2002 and distributes to a variety of customers in the live event, installation and rental markets. Located in Sao Paulo, Gobos distributes a range of leading brands including Audix, Clear-Com, Sunlite and Cambridge Sound Management, to name a few. Esteban Risso, Gobos commercial director, comments: “It’s a great time for us to join in this new partnership with Martin Audio in Brazil with some of our key partners like Gabisom already using their products such as MLA at Rock in Rio, one of the biggest festivals in the country. We look forward to a great journey with Martin Audio based on the new era of products such as Wavefront Precision loudspeakers, not only for touring but also for Installations and retail establishments.” Berenice Gut
USA - Waves Audio has appointed Greg Kopchinski as live and install product manager, further developing Waves’ live and commercial AV products. Kopchinski began his career in professional audio as an FOH and monitor engineer for several regional sound companies and churches in California. Prior to joining Waves, Greg served in product management and marketing roles at Bivio Networks and as a principal product manager at Avid Technology. As Waves live and install product manager, Greg will be responsible for driving the product vision and strategy for Waves Live and commercial AV products, from concept and definition, through launch and full lifecycle. (Jim Evans)
UK - Xerocon London 2019 returned to ExCel London on 13-14 November, bringing together accountants, bookkeepers, ecosystem partners and industry leaders. Over 3,500 delegates gathered to find out the latest news and updates from cloud-based accounting software company Xero. Creative technical production expert Hawthorn was chosen by agency Taylor Bennett Partners to deliver the full technical design and production for the two-day event. Led by Pete Harding, Hawthorn’s head of creative technical, the company was tasked to bring Taylor Bennett’s vision to life, delivering full technical production for the main conference plenary, exhibition space, break-out sessions and evening party. The event featured a mammoth LED screen, an impressive lightbox installation and a village green complete with a cricket pitch and projection-mapped pond. The main stage played hos
Europe - Skunk Anansie have recently wrapped up their 25th anniversary tour along with an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system at FOH. With a string of European festival and headline shows, the milestone tour followed the release of Skunk Anansie’s new live album, 25live@25 and finished with a run of UK performances. Long-time Allen & Heath user and FOH engineer Ben Hammond comments: “dLive is just the perfect console for me. I’m able to lay out each show file the same way so the shows are always consistent, whether it’s an outdoor amphitheatre or large indoor arena.” The full set-up (owned by Hammond) features a dLive DM64 MixRack and dLive S5000 surface fitted with a Dante card for virtual soundcheck and multi-track recording, and an AES 10 out card, which feeds Hammond’s speaker management processor. Rather than using external ha
South Africa - The popularity of d&b audiotechnik systems for live events has been highlighted by the number of rental companies that won business supplying a pair of major festivals in South Africa. Rocking the Daisies in Cape Town and In the City in Johannesburg both called on the skills of Bad Weather, which opted for an all d&b solution. The music festivals saw the likes of The 1975, Russ and Tash Sultana deliver crowd-pleasing performances with the same sonic signature on every stage. This was thanks to the popularity that the German manufacturer’s solutions have found in South Africa through the support of its local distributor, Stage Audio Works. This was highlighted by the number of companies involved in the festivals. Eastern Acoustics, Ampere and ULTRA all supplied d&b equipment for Rocking the Daisies, while Blue Array did the same for In the City.
UK - SSE Audio Group and its parent company Solotech have announced a new unified UK organisational structure aligned with Solotech’s global structure. As of 1 January 2020, SSE Audio, Wigwam, Capital Sound and BCS Audio will be collectively known as Solotech UK, under the new joint leadership of managing directors Alex Penn and Spencer Beard. Alex Penn, SSE Audio’s former sales director, will lead the sales and systems integration (sales and installations) operations of Solotech UK. Spencer Beard, formerly managing director of Manchester-based Wigwam, will lead the live productions (hire) operations of the UK group. The move will see both Penn and Beard integrated into Solotech’s global senior management team. Meanwhile, SSE Audio founder John Penn remains within the new Solotech UK structure as strategic advisor. John Penn comments: “After all these yea
UK - Peerless-AV has announced that Karl Ingham has joined the UK professional sales team as area sales manager for the North of England and Scotland. “Karl is a great character and valuable addition to our successful UK and EMEA sales team,” comments Keith Dutch, managing director, EMEA, Peerless-AV. “He’s already made a great impression on our Northern and Scottish customer base and his technical skills and product knowledge will be vital for broadening the business opportunities in alignment with our global strategy.” Based in Burnley, Karl will be responsible for implementing the company’s business and growth strategy, driving new leads and supporting the reseller and distributor network in the region through sales promotions, marketing initiatives, training and events. He joins from a global manufacturer of education technologies where he was cha
France - APG will preview its new iX range at the JTSE trade show in Paris this week. Comprising a full line of fixed installation speakers, and based on the successful coaxial concept, the new iX range is characterised by a combination of ‘uncompromising drivers and a non-diffraction acoustic baffling that allows pure point source directivity’. For some of the iX models, APG has created coaxial devices that strike a perfect physical alignment between low and hi transducers. The iX line is made up of five coaxial speaker models: iX5, iX6, iX8, iX12 and iX15; all of which are two acoustic way speakers loaded in bass-reflex for low-frequency extension. APG will also announce at the show a future extension of the range with two unique models of pseudo-coaxial speakers – the iX2.5 and IX2.6 – which will be optimised for vocal applications. From an acoustic point of
USA - Event production company Genetic Productions is out with Morgan Wallen as the rising country music star opens as direct support on Luke Combs’ Beer Never Broke My Heart tour, a North American stretch that wraps in mid-December with shows at the 20,000-capacity Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Genetic has again supplied an Elation rig for the singer after having supplied Wallen’s inaugural headlining tour, Up Down, last year. Genetic serves as the lighting and video vendor for the outing, working closely with designer Zac Coren. The lighting rig includes 3° beams from Elation DARTZ 360 LED moving heads energizing the atmosphere while immersing the stage and crowd in colour and effect. Zac Coren, who serves as lead LD, says the DARTZ are the main focal point of his design. “They provide a lot of dynamic looks and have a great feature set to accomplish
Australia - Two ARX MSX-32 Mic/Line Splitters were specified by Melbourne based audio contractor Intavent to provide reliable and agile broadcast mic splits for the broadcast box at the Flemington Racecourse. The ARX MSX-32’s were required to be installed in time for the annual Spring Racing Carnival - of which the Melbourne Cup is the jewel in the crown - and where the eyes and ears of the horse racing world would be focussed. Australians refer to the Melbourne Cup as the race that stops a nation. In fact, its reach extends well beyond Australian shores to Europe, USA, South Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and beyond. The first link of the audio signal chain is a vital one and the Victoria Racing Club (owners and operators of Flemington racecourse) chose the two ARX MSX-32 to provide the primary feeds to send Hills race call around the racetrack, around
Switzerland - For nearly four weeks this past summer, the Swiss town of Vevey on Lake Geneva came alive when one million visitors participated in the 12th Winegrowers’ Festival. The Fête des Vignerons takes place once in a generation and pays homage to century old traditions of wine-growing. Recognised by UNESCO on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the celebration unites an entire region of winegrowers with the local community. The highlight of the festival is Le Spectacle, a three-hour show performed in a temporary arena featuring 5,500 amateur actors in costume, 1,000 choral singers, and hundreds of musicians. To ensure a flawless performance, the audio team selected the Shure Axient Digital wireless system and PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring system to power the 20,000-seat venue. A total of 324 channels of Axient Digital and 40 channels of
Europe - Björk has kicked off the European portion of her critically-acclaimed Cornucopia tour deploying a d&b Soundscape Immersive sound system as the show scales up dramatically from its debut in New York’s new arts centre, The Shed, to a run of largescale arena dates including London’s O2 arena. Cornucopia is Björk’s most elaborate stage production to date, incorporating stunning visuals, intricate stage movements and a fully integrated immersive sound design. Cornucopia’s sound was designed by Björk and FOH sound engineer John Gale, supported by Southby Productions, and Steve Jones from d&b, utilising the d&b En-Scene object-based mixing and En-Space room emulation software, running on the DS100 system processor and a comprehensive d&b KSL speaker system as an integral part of the concert performance design. “Bjö
Mexico - Atlona, a Panduit company, has appointed Grupo ABSA as its commercial AV distribution partner across a broad swath of Mexico, covering 14 major metropolitan regions including Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Juarez, Mexico City, Monterrey and Tijuana. Grupo ABSA will focus on growing Atlona’s brand recognition and market share with a large community of IT and networking consultants and integrators that increasingly require networked AV solutions for end user projects. “There is a unification of many different platforms on IP networks that is taking shape, and Atlona will play a fundamental role in how our customers transition AV operations to the network,” says Carlos Garcia Ramirez, commercial director for Grupo ABSA. “With solutions like OmniStream for audio and video distribution and Velocity for networked control, Atlona brings in the systems intelligence a
UK - PLASA has launched an audio mixing competition, with pro audio prizes at stake. The contest, which runs until 13 January 2020, is open to sound mixing enthusiasts and professionals alike. It is a continuation of the Stage to Studio initiative held at the PLASA Show 2019 that saw emerging artist VC Pines perform live while being recorded by sound engineer Jamie McEvoy. There are two categories - Best Original Mix and Best Alternative Mix - with the winners set to receive prizes provided by Genelec and Shure. To obtain the original multi-track files, participants need to complete a short form on the PLASA Show website and email their final mix to info@plasashow.com. Each entry will be judged by representatives from Headliner and Sound on Sound magazines, Genelec, Shure, Miloco Studios, PLASA and VC Pines himself. To find out more
APAC - B-Tech AV Mounts, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of AV mounting solutions, has appointed Jenny Li as its new director of operations for APAC with immediate effect. Based in B-Tech’s office in Ningbo, China, Li first joined the business in 2013 as a salesperson, whilst also providing valuable input into the manufacturing, supply chain and logistical procedures of the business. Excelling in her role, she went on to become sales manager for APAC, working closely with B-Tech teams and customers across East and Southeast Asia, playing a crucial role in establishing the company as a leading brand in the region. In her new role as director of operations (APAC), Li will be responsible for all operational procedures across B-Tech’s existing China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam facilities as well as continuing to oversee sales throughout the re
USA - Brompton Technology’s Dynamic Calibration is a new technology that enables LED panels to achieve a higher brightness and wider colour gamut than is possible with legacy calibration techniques, while maintaining uniformity. Dynamic Calibration is the enabling technology for Brompton HDR, as well as new, performance-enhancing features such as PureTone and ThermaCal. “Commonly used calibration methods achieve uniformity by sacrificing both brightness and colour gamut, forcing every LED to match the dimmest and palest LEDs in the entire screen. Once calibrated, this is used for all content over the entire life of the panel,” explains Brompton’s CTO Chris Deighton. “However, with ever-increasing demand for better image quality without increased cost, such sacrifices in performance can no longer be justified.” Brompton’s Dynamic Calibration takes ‘a re
The Netherlandds - For over 25 years, Story Event Engineering has been a reliable reference point for event and location organisers in the Netherlands, with a portfolio ranging from large outdoor festivals through corporate events, to theatre tours and intimate classical concerts. The company recently invested in Outline’s Newton multi-source audio processor which combines ‘WFIR’ filtering technology, multi-format audio signal routing, simultaneous multiple standard conversion and digital signal synchronisation in a single 1RU chassis. Martin van Kouwen, sales specialist at Ampco Flashlight Sales, Outline Newton distributor for Benelux, comments: "Outline’s recently-developed Newton is a ground-breaking product for advanced audio processing, which, due to its characteristics and quality, is ideally suited to audio professionals who place great importance in qua
