UK - London-born singer-songwriter and composer Ben Howard released his debut EP 10 years ago. Since then, he has won two BRIT Awards, been nominated for both the Ivor Novello Award and the Mercury Prize and had a number one album. His third album, Noonday Dream, was released in June 2018 to much critical acclaim. Now, Howard is on the road touring it, with FOH engineer Andy Magee and monitor engineer Niccolo Antonietti both working from DiGiCo SD5 consoles. “It's very much art: Seventy minutes of non-stop music, which is never the same twice,” Magee explains. “We're all on our toes, watching each other do something a bit different every day.” He and Antonietti work hard to recreate Howard's album with as much authenticity as possible, night after night. “We have over 85 guitar pedals on stage, which means so many inputs, as numerous players hav
Nigeria - Seven hundred thousand people attended The Experience, an interdenominational gospel concert. With an audience estimated at close to three quarters of a million people, The Experience is an interdenominational gospel concert held annually in Lagos. Convened and hosted by Pastor Paul Adefarasin, the colossal event debuted in December 2006 and is now the largest concert in Africa. The Experience’s 13th edition - streamed live on the House on The Rock YouTube channel to viewers around the world - featured an impressive line-up of artistes. Renowned national and international gospel artistes, who included Don Moen, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Timi Dakolo, Travis Greene, Nathaniel Bassey, Vicki Yohe, Chioma Jesus, Tope Alabi, Eben, Tim Godfrey, Mike Aremu, Glowreeyah, ONOS, Eno Michael, the Lagos Metropolitan Gospel Choir, Chee, JJ Hairston,
Italy - K-array has appointed Pablo Manoukian as area sales manager for the Latin America region, effective from 1 February. No stranger to the K-family, Pablo has been working with the Italian manufacturer as account executive - LATAM and the Caribbean since 2015, where he has accumulated several years of field experience overseeing important K-array projects such as the Kayros Temple in Spain, the Gran Teatro del Habana in Cuba and the Gran Carpa Cathedral in Puerto Rico. Pablo has also expanded K-array’s reach in the region by determining new distribution channels in Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador. “Given his previous success with us, his extensive work experience in event productions and profound studies in the technical aspects of pro audio, we were confident that Pablo would excel even more as area sales manager," says Alessandro Tatini, president of K-array. "
South Africa - Vectorworks training, presented by Francois van der Merwe, will be hosted in March at DWR Distribution in Johannesburg. Delegates can choose to attend the basic, intermediate or advanced training session while some individuals may prefer to be at all three. The basic course, priced at R750, is held on 25 March and will cover fundamentals, layouts, palettes, basic tools, classes and layers. The intermediate course, held from 26-27 March, will focus on preferences, basic Spolight, basic Renderworks and Intermediate Tools. The cost is R1 600. The advanced training, held from 28-29 March, will cover working planes, advanced modelling and advanced Renderworks. The cost is R1 600. Delegates are requested to supply their own desktop or laptop with Vectorworks installed and a valid ID. (Jim Evans)
UK - January and early February saw Britannia Row Productions start the year in robust, if slightly inverted fashion. “Within two weeks of the Christmas break we had three arena tours out and one of the UK’s most exciting acts, Jorja Smith playing festivals,” explains sales director Lez Dwight. “The clue is in the word ‘festivals’, no-one is playing festivals in the frosty Northern hemisphere right now, but along with Jorja at the festivals, Mumford & Sons and Phil Collins have all visited arenas in Australia and New Zealand.” While the balmy reaches of the Antipodes are seeing most of the action, Brit Row is not neglecting the UK market. “We are supplying system and support for Cirque du Soleil’s annual visit to the Royal Albert Hall and we are already gearing up for the Brit Awards which has quite a fundamental new look this year.” But it’s
UK - Adamson’s new S7 line array system, which has just been officially launched, was deployed during Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations at McEwan Hall. Underbelly, producers of Edinburgh’s 2018/19 Hogmanay events, curated a three-day spectacular to celebrate Europe, and Scotland’s ties to Europe. The 19th century McEwan Hall became a new venue for Hogmanay and hosted three major concerts - Symphonic Ibiza on 30 December and Capercaillie and Carlos Nunez with special guests on the 1 January, which also marked the start of a new collaboration between Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. The Warehouse Sound Services worked directly with Underbelly to provide an advanced audio set-up for the McEwan Hall events. The Warehouse used Adamson’s new S7 line array system for the events. The system in McEwan Hall consis
Sweden - Melodic death-metallers, Soilwork have kick-started 2019 with a bang - in the form of a co-headline tour with Finnish metal giants, Amorphis. Performing 31 shows in 35 days across mainland Europe, Soilwork were supported by an Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixer running FOH and monitors. The band’s full set-up includes an SQ-5 at FOH, with two DX168 I/O Expanders positioned on stage. Monitors are controlled from FOH, with an iPad placed on stage for the backline tech to make minor adjustments. Tommy B (FOH & monitor engineer for Soilwork) purchased the SQ system, commenting, “Having mixed on most compact consoles, the Allen & Heath SQ series is by far the best. In the past, other manufacturers had set the standard for price friendly consoles, but the SQ just blows everything out of the water. With the SQ-5 I get great preamps, sharp EQ, super FX
UK - Bacchus Bar & Club in Bishop’s Stortford’s recently brought in XS Audio Visual to design and install an extensive sound system, powered by just two amplifiers from Linea Research. The entire project had to be completed to a tight deadline. “We had only four days to completely rip out the existing sound and lighting systems and commission a whole new nightclub sound, lighting, and video install, including relocating the DJ booth and existing TV video feeds,” recalls XSAV managing director Lee Michael. Michael describes the Bacchus Bar as “a perfectly sized, rectangular-shaped venue that can accommodate 500 people comfortably.” On weekends, the well-established hot spot is often busy enough to reach full capacity, with DJs energizing the crowd. During the week, the club’s entertainment systems are used for karaoke and sports events. XSAV ins
UK - Ministry of Sound The Annual Classical is an orchestral tour that recently received its world premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The event sets out to celebrate the famous club’s legendary dance music compilation The Annual dance compilation. Martin Audio has itself enjoyed a decade-long relationship with the south London club and tasked with faithfully reproducing the newly imagined sound on the road was RG Jones Sound Engineering, and their Martin Audio MLA compact PA. Although the concept was new, reproducing major classical music events for promoters like Raymond Gubbay is familiar territory for RG Jones Sound Engineering, who have been specialising in this genre for many years. The system designer for the RFH show was system tech Mark Edwards, while the production itself was a joint project between Coalition Agency (MoS Tour
Poland/UK - LED display manufacturer Unilumin has announced a new stock centre relationship with Poland’s Visualsupport to service the Eastern Europe AV market. Kraków-based Visualsupport will now hold increased Unilumin stock, supplying equipment and support for corporate events, festivals, exhibitions and concerts. The Eastern Europe stock centre operator Visualsupport boasts an experienced team of producers and multimedia technicians and supplies a range of leading technology solutions. With the agreement, Visualsupport now stocks over 500m² of the Unilumin UpdadIII 2.6 LED panel, which benefits from a modular design and quick assembly. "The Unilumin Upad III P2.6 is well designed and very reliable product that Visualsupport has been using for over three years for a range of projects,” comments Michał Płocienniak, CEO of Visualsupport. “We are delighted
UK - KV2 Audio systems are currently on tour in the UK with a number of major productions, including Kinky Boots and Motown: The Musical, both supplied by Autograph Sound, as well as Tim Firth’s musical, The Band based on the music of Take That and Matthew Bourne’s convention-busting production of Swan Lake. These and many more productions are currently gracing stages throughout the UK using a variety of KV2 Audio point source systems. According to Andy Sharman, head of sound on the current UK tour of Kinky Boots, the real advantage of using a point source rig, especially on tour, is its adaptability. “Every theatre is different,” he says. “Using this design of loudspeaker allows us to adjust the configuration from place to place really easily, while staying within the designer’s original vision. It may be a bit old-school
UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio and London’s SW19 Studios are joining forces in mid-March to host a two-day Welcome to the World of Rivage event. Taking place on 7-8 March at SW19 Studios in Wimbledon, it comprises a free series of technical training seminars which offer professional and aspiring sound engineers an opportunity to get up close and personal with Yamaha’s Rivage PM7 and PM10 digital mixing systems. Day 1 will focus on showcasing Rivage PM7 as the solution for reliable sound for live venue and festival engineers, sculpting audio for today’s touring bands. Yamaha product specialists and SW19 staff will be on hand to deliver an overview of the system, highlighting key features and demonstrating its applications in a rehearsal environment. Day 2 offers opportunities for those with some experience of Rivage and/or those who want to delve deep into t
UK - Midas Consoles has agreed a sponsorship deal to provide mixing desks to Backstage Academy. The equipment, understood to be a pair of M32 consoles and DL32 stage boxes, will be used for training purposes at the Wakefield-based college, which introduced a live engineering pathway to its Live Events Production BA (Hons) degree course last September. Miles Marsden, Backstage Academy’s industry partnerships director, comments: “Everyone knows that Midas produces state-of-the-art mixing desks in the analogue world, setting standards on major tours worldwide throughout the 1990s. They have extended this product format into the digital world, with the M32 console. We are delighted they have loaned us a pair of these desks and DL32 I/O boxes for our students to learn on.” Joel Perry, artist relations for Midas, has known Marsden for 20 years. “We are pleased
The Netherlands - ELC Lighting has appointed ZAP Audio as the exclusive representative for the Green-GO digital intercom system in Switzerland. Headquartered in Geneva, with a second branch at Winterthur, ZAP Audio has a 25-year history as one of Switzerland’s best-known providers of pro audio equipment and solutions. The company also has brands including Nexo, Luminex, Auvitran, Yamaha and Shure in its sales portfolio. ZAP Audio director Frédéric Walder comments: “Green-GO is an innovative intercom system that goes beyond traditional production intercoms. Based on standard Ethernet technology, it can be integrated almost anywhere; it brings great flexibility for production companies, without the limitations of standard partyline intercoms. It is a true Network.” He adds: “We are very happy and proud to act as official distributor for Green-GO in Switz
China - OutBoard has appointed L-Supply Ltd as its new TiMax distributor for Hong Kong and China. Following the appointment, L-Supply has procured a 64-channel version of the new FPGA TiMax SoundHub spatial audio matrix for demo and support purposes. The team is headed up by directors Ching Lui and Omega Lam, both veterans of the pro-audio industry with a wide range of premium specifier, integrator and operator contacts plus considerable experience in the professional live performance and AV installation marketplaces. Ching Lui comments: "We are very pleased to be working with TiMax. As the most advanced and intuitive spatialisation and audio showcontrol automation system it cannot really be compared to anything else. At L-Supply, we understand TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker, and how it will bring the best sound arrangements for our customers across Hong Kong and Chi
USA - Business development specialist Jeff Meyer has joined AV solutions integrator OSA International (OSA). An industry veteran, Meyer has 35 years of experience in live sound and video for corporate events. Based at OSA’s Las Vegas office, he will be responsible for developing new business relationships and expanding sales of LED technology. Meyer joins from Video Equipment Rentals (VER), where he worked business development and account management since 2010. Prior to that, he spent over 23 years at Creative Technology (formerly Media Control). Meyer joined Media Control as a sound engineer and warehouse technician in 1987. He then became a project manager in 1990 and went on to take up the roles of operations manager and subsequently, general manager. (Jim Evans)
USA - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons and host of this year’s Super Bowl between the victorious New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, features a challenging upper bowl devoid of acoustic treatments. Nevertheless, a total of 58 Danley Sound Labs’ point-source SH96 Synergy Horn loudspeakers rocked the upper bowl with Danley’s characteristic fidelity and cliff-edge pattern control. In addition, VIPs enjoyed the musicality of 60 Danley GO-2-8CX loudspeakers installed in the luxury suites overlooking the game. For the 20-second year running, national AV integration and production firm ATK Audiotek handled all of the sound for this annual event. “We’ve been doing this for so many years that we are very comfortable with how our on-field carts and temporary loudspeakers will perform,” explains Kirk Powell, sound designer with ATK Audiot
USA - Leisure World Seal Beach (LWSB) offers all the amenities of a small town in a resort-style setting for people aged 55 and over. A short freeway ride to Los Angeles and Orange County, LWSB spans 542 acres and boasts a nine-hole golf course, swimming facilities, fitness and exercise rooms and six club houses. An impressive feature of LWSB is its 2,500-seat outdoor amphitheatre, where the Clair Brothers kiTCurve12 loudspeaker system was recently installed by Tim Metzger of TMAV Consulting & Integration and Ben Frederick of Production Access Group. Frederick explains: “Tim and I chose the kiTCurve12 because we had both heard them before and knew what they could do sonically for the size of box. Based on existing lifts at the venue, we had a set horizontal position that was quite wide, but after placing them in EASE Focus, we were pleasantly surprised at the eve
South Africa - It’s all about the training for the South African State Theatre in Pretoria. Having invested in a DiGiCo SD12 at the end of last year, technicians from the theatre received a practical training course presented by DWR Distribution’s Kyle Robson in January. This was followed by dot2 training and a theatre lighting workshop. The DiGiCo SD12 is currently being used in the 1,300-seat opera theatre, the largest venue at the State Theatre. The console has already been set to work for the 11th annual Mzansi Fela Community Arts Festival starring artists such as Thandiswa Mazwai, Dr Tumi, Ringo Madlingozi, Kwesta, Sjava, and Lebo Sekgobela. “We initially decided on the SD12 as we wanted a mixer that could handle large productions without having to compromise on channels and Aux/Group busses,” explains Tshiamo Mokgadi, an audio technician at the Stat
Europe - Work Pro Audio, the installation and pro audio division of Equipson, unveiled an array of sound reinforcement products at ISE 2019, including two new outdoor projector speakers and a new multichannel amplifier. For external applications such as theme parks, aquaparks, shopping malls, stadium and train stations, Work Pro Audio showed the WSF 500 CX and WSF 10 CX PLUS passive two-way, full range projector speakers, which offer the ultimate in voice intelligibility and musical clarity. The WFS 500 CX and 10 CX PLUS (1000W and 300W respectively), both incorporate horn-loaded 10” diameter transducers and 2.5” voice coils in a bass reflex enclosure. The high frequencies are reproduced by a 1” exit compression driver, a 1.75” voice coil and an 80° horizontal x 60° vertical horn, which delivers consistent coverage across the entire vocal range. Desig
USA - One of the most elegant fixed sound system installations now graces the 400-seat sanctuary of the Valley Life Centre in Dallas. Nexo’s compact Geo M6 line array has been delivered by local audio specialists Alpha Sound, as the front end of a digital system featuring a Yamaha QL5 mixing console, and personal in-ear monitoring facilities. “The 400-seat, intergenerational congregation sanctuary previously had a mono centre cluster of horns enclosed in a fabric cloud and a simple analogue console with a few wedges for monitors,” says Devin Sheets, head engineer at Alpha Sound. Now, two Nexo M6 line arrays cover the 180° room evenly with added localisation from low profile out-fills. Along with the subwoofers, the speaker system naturally delivers a "modern" sound that is fitting for contemporary worship styles. “The new system will serve this church communit
UK - Hot on the heels of their latest studio release Holy Hell, British metalcore act, Architects, have recently completed their UK and European tour accompanied by an Allen & Heath dLive system. The tour included some of the band’s biggest headline shows to date - finishing off at the SSE Arena in Wembley, London to an audience of 12,500 fans. “After touring with a variety of consoles over the last few years I decided to make the switch to dLive after having them recommended to me by fellow users Ben Hammond and Jared Daly”, comments FOH engineer, Jonny Burgan. “I am a big fan of how modular the dLive systems are, being able to scale down surface size without sacrificing audio quality and compromising on processing power is something that not enough manufacturers have tried to address, yet Allen & Heath have managed to perfect it.” Supplied by
UK - The heady mix of highly tuned bikes, screaming engines, screeching tyres and brakes and supernatural speed races meshed with the breath-taking daring of motorcycle stunt acrobatics… indoor Motocross racing and Freestyle MX all rolled into a single adrenaline fuelled night of seat-edge action complete with pumping soundscape . . . and you have the heartbeat of Producers and organisers Arena Sports Live presented Arenacross (AX in three of the UK’s leading arena venues – Belfast, Birmingham and Sheffield – for their 2019 AX tour, with HSL supplying a full production package – lighting, video and rigging – plus sound in partnership with Nitelites. Additional venue ‘sports lighting’ was also provided by HSL for the two Birmingham shows at the Resorts World Arena (NEC). HSL’s project manager was Ben Perrin. He and the team were delighted to be
UK - Technical theatre students at the Guildford School of Acting recently benefitted from hands-on experience creating dynamic soundscapes and source-oriented vocal localisation for their stage musical production of 9 to 5. Cambridge-based immersive audio pioneers, Out Board, provided the school with a TiMax spatial delay-matrix, complete with TiMax Tracker, for students to experience the creation of a sound design pushed beyond the usual boundaries of intelligibility, balance and audience immersion. After the student production, course tutor Sam Digny and guest mentor sound designer Justin Teasdale held a seminar insight day showcasing their experience and success with the advanced immersive TiMax technology. A wider audience of invited industry professionals comprised local hire companies, production managers, sound engineers and students old and new. O