Croatia - HUST has completed the design and installation of sound systems throughout the new Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, using a combination of Community and Apart loudspeakers with Biamp control. This five-star 209-room hotel enjoys a stunning setting on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, with views of the old town, islands and sea. With over 40 separate zones, the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj’s audiovisual systems can be controlled and monitored via an intuitive GUI on any computer within the hotel network, or via separate wall-mounted digital OLED controllers located strategically throughout the complex. Twelve choices of music genre are available in any zone via the streaming service. A central feature of the hotel is its grand ballroom with stunning views of the city of Rovinj. The hotel also has three multifunctional/lecture halls, which can be divided or joined in various
USA - Each year since 1979, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! festival takes place at the Prospect Park Bandshell. This year, the largely free event delivered 29 shows over 10 weeks, from June through August, to an estimated 175,000-plus people, featuring artists including Patti LaBelle, Liz Phair, Iron & Wine, Salif Keita and Bomba Estereo (free concerts), as well as The National and Courtney Barnett, and Father John Misty and Jason Isbell (ticketed double-bills). What was different this year was the sound: an L-Acoustics PA system was acquired and will now be an integral part of the event going forward into its fifth decade. “This was a big year for the event, its forty-first year,” says Brendon Boyd, of Boyd Design, the event’s production manager who was celebrating his 20th year with the festival, where he began as a lighting apprentice in 2000. “It took us a cou
Hungary - Szeged Sabadteri opera and music festival takes place annually across the city of Szeged, with a major feature being the diverse programme of lavish productions ranging from rock musicals to opera being staged in the vast central Dóm Square. This year’s futuristic treatment of Aida, where love is set against the backdrop of war, marked the 80th anniversary since the eponymous opera’s first 1939 staging at this striking venue. Complementing director Gergely Kesselyak’s use of high-tech LED and multimedia scenography, TiMax SoundHub with HARDCore FPGA spatial processing added a new level of vocal and orchestral sonic immersion to an audience of 8000 over two nights. Hungarian TiMax specialists Votec have managed the event’s audio for several years, but Votec international business manager, Otari Tsereteli, revealed, “For the first time we wer
UAE - Dubai-based AVenger Electronics has been appointed RCF distributor for UAE/Oman. “Since RCF had the entire range of professional audio products in its portfolio, catering for the installation, touring, MI and Evacuation segments, we considered them as our preferred choice for servicing the markets in the UAE and Oman,” stated AVenger sales manager, Joseph Ninel Rebero. “This would range from small portable PA to large stadium installations. We knew it was well established in both the touring and MI market.” Rebero will lead a team that will be focused on brand promotion throughout the UAE and Oman. “Our mission will be to focus more on the integration market to bring RCF up to the next level in this segment,” he says, forecasting that initial impact is likely to be created through the Live & Pro Series as well as the new business music solution pr
The doors of PLASA Show 2019 open in just a few days from 15-17 September at Olympia London, where thousands of visitors will experience the leading edge of live entertainment technology. With 220+ brands, 55+ educational sessions and a plethora of immersive features, this year’s show is ready to serve industry professionals from all sectors. PLASA’s Managing Director Peter Heath comments: “Last year’s edition of PLASA Show was heralded for its high footfall and vibrant atmosphere. We have worked hard to build upon this by offering more brands and new features for a show that is both enjoyable and productive. Of course, we couldn’t do it without the exhibitors and their technology which has developed at a dizzying rate over the years – PLASA is proud to provide a platform for such innovation, and we can’t wait to share what’s in store.”
UK - Southwest London venue Under the Bridge has benefited from the installation of a new LED wall as well as lighting and audio upgrades at its premises. “Since Under the Bridge launched in 2011, we’ve taken great pride being one of the UK’s most unique and technically-advanced, mid-sized, multi-purpose venues for hire,” says creative manager, Alan Tenenbaum. “With approximately 100 confirmed events scheduled to host for the remainder of 2019, we’re excited to share this production upgrade with our clients and audiences. The upgrade puts our intimate venue in a class of its own, beyond comparison.” The 3.9mm pixel-pitch LED screen from Absen supports a video resolution higher than Full HD (1080p), making it ideal for presentations, image projections and video content. The venue also has a new LED lighting rig, expanding the existing stock to offe
Russia - The Sound Line Agency received its first Clair Brothers speakers in the form of the 1.5AM stage monitors. For its production needs, Sound Line purchased several Clair Brothers components, including the kiTCurve12 system, 8CX front-fills, 1.5AM stage monitors, i218-Ms and CS218-Ms. “This was my company’s first experience working with Clair Brothers gear, but I had heard such positive feedback from musicians who’d had direct experience with the American brand that I already had high expectations,” explains Andrey Kabanov, owner of Sound Line Agency. “Back in 2005 I had the pleasure of seeing a Sting concert in Moscow where Clair Brothers loudspeakers were used. Since then, I’ve never heard another system of equal quality. The problem in those days was this incredible equipment was exclusive and not readily available to companies like mine.”
USA - Harman Professional Solutions celebrated the grand opening of The Reach at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. The opening of The Reach marks the first new construction at The Kennedy Centre since its opening in 1971, and is comprised of three contiguous pavilions creating 72,000sq.ft of interior space, 4.6 acres of green space and gardens, and a pedestrian bridge over Rock Creek Parkway that connects the Kennedy Centre to Washington, DC’s other memorials. The centre describes The Reach as “a home for non-traditional programming with an emphasis on active participation and access. The open, informal spaces of the new expansion draw visitors directly into the creative process and inspire new connections and collaborations between creators of multiple genres and disciplines.” “We are very proud of our decades-old rela
UK/USA - Pink’s Beautiful Trauma world tour started in North America in March 2018 and is set to conclude this November on the same continent. The tour, in support of the singer’s seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma, will have taken in 157 dates across 18 countries in North and South America, Europe and Australasia. This included a weekend of sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium, where 150,000 fans gathered to see the rock/pop starlet dazzle with her vocals and gymnastic skills. Working in conjunction with its family of partners Clair Global and JPJ Audio, Britannia Row successfully delivered a worldwide audio feat. Britannia Row’s Dave Compton says: “Once again, we’ve really enjoyed working with Pink’s team. It’s been an amazingly popular worldwide tour where the artist and engineers have given it their all across a multit
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will exclusively show over 20 brands from across its dedicated lighting, rigging, audio and video sales divisions on stand E30 at PLASA 2019 (15-17 September, London Olympia). The stand will feature at least six products that have been nominated for the PLASA Awards for Innovation 2019, including the Prolights PixieWash XB, a single source RGB+WW LED wash light with extensive zoom and high CRI. Also nominated from Prolights is Mosaico XL, a long-throw IP66 LED fixture for projecting gobos and textures onto buildings and landscapes with colour mixing, animation wheel and framing shutters. LumenRadio’s TimoTwo module, which brings concurrent CRMX (wireless DMX/RDM) and Bluetooth to a single chip, and BroadWeigh’s Bluetooth system that sends data straight to a smart device, have also been nominated. Other nominees include
India - AM Integrated and Crescendo AV recently outfitted The Piano Man Jazz Club in Gurugram with a complete Harman Professional Solutions sound reinforcement system. The Piano Man Jazz Club is a full-service restaurant, bar and music venue founded in 2015 by classically-trained pianist and entrepreneur Arjun Sagar Gupta. The first location in Delhi was so successful, Gupta decided to open a second location in the bustling city of Gurugram. In addition to being one of the few venues in India that showcases live jazz music, The Piano Man Jazz Club also features diverse acts from young singer-songwriters to international brass bands. The venue hired AM Integrated and Crescendo AV to design and integrate end-to-end Harman Professional audio and lighting systems, including solutions by JBL, AKG, Soundcraft and Martin Professional. “We wanted premium audio soluti
UK - More d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers than ever before delivered the strums, beats and vocals of Glastonbury this year, as KSL made its debut on The Other Stage and Y- and V-Series graced The Acoustic Stage. Glastonbury veteran, Skan - which has been providing PA systems for the festival’s second stage since 1989 - supplied the d&b KSL System for The Other Stage, where headliners included Tame Impala, Chemical Brothers and Christine and the Queens. “The stage size and technical demands increase every year, and we have increased the spec and system requirements alongside this growth,” says Skan senior designer Matt Vickers. “We beta-tested the GSL System at Glastonbury in 2017 and that experience has contributed to the stunning results we can get from both GSL and KSL Systems. “‘Punchy, tight and so clean’ were words thrown around by vario
UK - Brompton Technology has announced the expansion of its customer facing team with the additions of Dries Vermeulen as business development manager (Europe), and Chris Grandin as technical support manager. Vermeulen, a familiar face in the LED industry from his days at Barco, VER and ROE Visual, brings a wealth of experience in a technical and commercial capacity. He will be based in Belgium, positioning him to be in close contact with Brompton customers throughout Europe. Grandin, who has relocated from South Africa, has most recently held the positions of group technical advisor for the Gearhouse Group of companies and technical services supervisor at Christie Digital Systems. He brings over two decades of expertise in the field of live entertainment and events, providing technical solutions and backup for creative staging ideas at events reaching audiences from u
UK - Audio Evolution has announced the appointment of Peter Russell to the position of audio project manager. The recently launched sister-company to global video specialists pixl evolution will benefit from Russell’s experience of the corporate and theatre markets. During a 20-year career with another major supplier, he has worked on a host of high-profile musical theatre tours, as well project managing major events across the UK, European and the US. Company director Guy Vellacott comments: “Peter is exactly the right person to take on the project management role at audio evolution. We’ve made significant investments in high quality hardware, including d&b, Shure, Denon, Yamaha and Clear-Com and we couldn’t be placing it in safer hands. Peter has an impressive track record managing all aspects of audio in high-profile, high pressure environments and his skills
USA - Audinate has announced version 1.1 of Dante Domain Manager. This update to Dante Domain Manager brings key improvements and new features to users and integrators: new flexible installation options, improved email alerts and notifications, support for SMPTE 2110 devices and secure access to LDAP and SMTP servers, says the company. Dante Domain Manager is software that gives integrators, AV specialists and IT managers the ability to better manage Dante AV networks by creating groupings of Dante devices called ‘domains’ - which are zones of products. It enables administrators to secure their systems with user level authentication by domain and to scale their installations by supporting Dante audio across routed IP networks with multiple subnets. Administrators looking to route audio between studios, buildings or even across entire campuses may now do so regardless of
Hungary - This year’s annual seven-day-long Sziget Festival on Hajógyári Island, north of Budapest, was the event’s biggest yet, breaking attendance records on the day that Ed Sheeran appeared. Capital Sound, the event’s long-standing main stage sound reinforcement supplier, now has the logistics down to a fine art, hauling Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker array family across Europe in a two-truck arrangement and ‘topping up’ with assistance from Hungarian-based MLA partner, BG Event. The latter, in turn, provided its own Martin Audio inventory for two dedicated EDM dance stages. Both partners were equal to the demands of this event which last year alone saw an aggregated 565,000 visit the picturesque location on the Danube. Capital account manager Robin Conway comments: “This year, we made changes to the field delays on main stage and upgraded the
Belgium - Throughout the summer Pioneer Pro Audio XY-Series systems have appeared at a host of festivals across Europe. For the most part the systems have been used at leading electronic music events but from time to time, XY Series has stepped outside the traditional festival model into something completely different. As well as an immersive three-day arts and music event, the Horst Festival extends to a two-month long exhibition which features in-situ art installations in public spaces. This year the exhibition was based on the ASIAT site in Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, a former military base complete with six hectares of urban space, 20 warehouses within a maze of corridors and two huge cooling towers. It was inside one of these towers that artist Emeka Ogboh placed his renowned installation The Way Earthly Things Are Going and KAGE Audio deployed Pioneer Pro Audi
Canada - Hit reality TV Show Big Brother Canada wrapped up its seventh season in early May, with an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system handling audio for the live studio audience segments. For this season, the production team turned to AV and entertainment technology company, Solotech, to assist in upgrading the audio console. Working with Allen & Heath’s Canadian partners Erikson Pro, Solotech’s full set-up featured a dLive S5000 surface, paired with a DM64 MixRack, fitted with superMADI and Dante networking cards. “For the past few years, we’d been using an older model console that had a larger footprint and less features, so this year provided a good opportunity to upgrade to dLive,” adds Phil Hornung (audio technical advisor - live productions at Solotech). “Erikson Pro, a division of Jam Industries, provided support that exceeded expect
UK - Carnival UK has selected Point Source Audio microphones as their new fleet-wide standard for all their onboard productions, supplied by Point Source Audio’s UK distributor, Autograph Sales & Installations. The decision to standardise on Point Source Audio (PSA) was led by Dave Cowell, lead sound designer and programmer for Carnival UK. Point Source Audio’s body-worn microphones will support the fleet’s performance venues which are in use a standard 15-hours a day, 365 days a year. Carnival UK (which incorporates Cunard Cruise Line and P&O Cruises UK) is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company, with a cruise fleet of 102 ships operating in North America, England, Europe and Australia. “The cruising industry is one of the harshest environments for product delivery I have worked in. When microphones
UK - The historic headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has completed a full AV system upgrade, with 10 channels of Shure’s ULX-D Digital Wireless installed and deployed, along with a selection of Shure’s high-end headset, lapel and gooseneck microphones. This first phase is part of an ambitious four-year plan to improve the overall audio at RIBA, commenced with the expandable 284-400-seat auditorium and took three months to complete. Established in 1834, RIBA is situated at 66 Portland Place, Marylebone, London, which is a Grade II listed building. The organisation is the professional body for UK architects, founded for the advancement of architecture, supporting its members and introducing new people to the world of creative architectural design. Work on the project began with consultation between RIBA’s in-house AV team, AV sp
UK - Having long relied on a HK Audio sound system in Record Junkee, a bustling vinyl heaven and gig venue situated above his Music Junkee equipment shop in the heart of Sheffield, HK Audio was once again the go to brand when Martin Leverton was looking for a rig for his new venture, a second and substantially larger city centre venue. With its home on the first floor of the DINA Arts Centre complex on Cambridge Street, Martin’s new venture, Network, is a fully rigged venue that caters for both local and touring acts. Leverton explains: "Our venue in Earl Street has seen us bring some great national and international acts including IDLES, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Fat White Family and Viagra Boys. However, with capacity of only 150 it restricted our ambitions to continue attracting big names. Our collaboration with DINA Arts Centre is delivering a new li
Mongolia - ITC Solutions recently installed a Harman Professional Solutions system including JBL Professional and AKG at the Fat Cat Jazz Club to deliver clear, detailed sound for live music performances, special events and more. The Fat Cat Jazz Club is an intimate, underground jazz club located in the heart of Ulaanbaatar. Founded in August 2018, the Fat Cat hosts nightly live music performances and poetry readings by local and visiting talent. In order to deliver world-class sound throughout the entire venue, the Fat Cat hired ITC Solutions, Mongolia's leading distributor, to install a custom JBL Professional audio system with AKG microphones. “The client requested a compact, powerful audio system that could evenly distribute even and consistent sound coverage throughout the venue so that everyone in the audience can experience the true acoustic depth of the perfo
South Korea - Amadeus installed over 200 of its speakers in the Paradise Fun City entertainment complex in Incheon. The installation was part of a wider multi-media infrastructure overhaul overseen by C2 Artechnolozy. C2 was involved in the design phase of the newly-opened Paradise-City phase 1-2 project which includes Chroma, the largest club in East Asia which encompasses three separate nightclubs, Wonder Box - a carnival-inspired indoor amusement park - and boutique hotel Art Paradiso. The complex also features the Art Garden and the Paradise Walk areas. C2 was responsible for designing and supervising the resort's audio, video, and lighting systems; it also designed, developed and supervised the EBGM System (Enhanced Background Music), and was responsible for the design and construction of both the Chroma staging system and the audio, video, and lighting systems fo
UK - Martin Audio has confirmed that its new WPS, the fourth model in the Wavefront Precision optimised line array series, will be shipping with effect from early September. Dom Harter, managing director, states: “We were delighted with the response we received from the market when WPS was first announced and are pleased to have been able to bring it to market on time.” The latest addition to the Wavefront Precision range can achieve a peak SPL of 133dB and is perfect for applications that require a high output array with reduced weight and footprint. This makes it ideal for live sound reinforcement and installations in theatres, concert halls and Houses of Worship, while rental companies will see scope in deploying WPS arrays as front-fill, delay or side-hang support for larger Wavefront Precision systems. For extended low frequency performance, WPS is de
