USA - From its early 1990s origins as a touring festival to its 2005 revival in Chicago, Lollapalooza has blossomed into a global festival phenomenon. The Chicago edition of Lollapalooza, annually held in Grant Park between the city’s striking skyline and shoreline, draws more than 400,000 music fans over four days each August to experience approximately 180 artists performing on eight stages. This year, crowds gathering at Lollapalooza’s two largest stages - the Grant Park Stage and Bud Light Stage - heard their favourite songs through L-Acoustics K1/K2 loudspeaker systems. The two L-Acoustics systems - used by Arctic Monkeys, Bruno Mars, The Weekend, Jack White, Portugal. The Man, The National, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Vampire Weekend, ODESZA, and scores of others - were supplied and deployed by Houston-based L-Acoustics certified provider LD Systems, which is
USA - Spitfire Creative Technologies has completed the acquisition of Green Hippo. Spitfire also owns tvONE and Magenta Research, manufacturers of premium video processing and signal distribution products. Green Hippo will continue to go to market with sales, branding, and distribution independently as further growth synergies materialize over the next few quarters, says a statement. Emma Marlow, CEO of Green Hippo, comments: “For 18 years Green Hippo and Hippotizer have been part of live events around the world. We have grown well and want to continue growing. Becoming a member of the Spitfire family allows Green Hippo to focus on growing further and faster. We look forward to their strong organisational support so we can do more to help our customers and users around the world deliver the best live video experiences.” Denise Nemchev, president and C
Switzerland - Audio over IP pioneer Barix thas announced that the company has promoted Reto Brader to CEO, following a successful tenure as vice president of sales and marketing. The change in company leadership correlates with the availability of new products that Barix introduced in 2018, including its award-winning RetailPlayer platform for background music distribution. The remaining Barix management team, which has worked together effectively for the past several years, will continue in their established roles with full support from Brader. This includes company founder Johannes Rietschel as CTO, Joan Parrilla as VP Engineering, and Mario Almeida as VP Production. Before joining Barix, Brader held key business and technical roles at Hewlett Packard, Pixelmetrix, Utah Scientific and Alcatel. He has a degree in Electronical Engineering and an MBA. Rietschel
UK/USA - In response to increased global demand and expanding research activities at its Berkeley HQ, Meyer Sound has added three new hires and announced a key promotion. Roland Morcom has been named UK sales manager. Based in Cambridge, Morcom will direct sales efforts throughout the UK and work closely with both Andy Davies, head of UK technical support, and Roger Harpum, who takes on a continuing role in developing business relationships and hospitality. Morcom’s prior experience includes top-level sales and management posts at Nokia Technologies, Martin Audio and Meridian Audio. David Leuschner has been appointed sales manager, Southeastern United States. He will be responsible for sales from the Ohio Valley and Carolinas through the Deep South and Florida. His previous positions include IT, media production and technical management responsibilities at broadcast
Germany - Late last year, with the announcement of the Route66 Redundancy Manager, German network fibre giant BroaMan introduced the capability of full automatic redundancy switchover between devices, by harnessing the power of Optocore. This would enable switching between Route66 Video Router and Mux22 nodes - using smart mechanism to detect when one of the fiber links between the nodes is broken. Now the same technology has been enabled in a very popular point-to-point system - between a pair of Mux22 devices. Mux22, which combines 3G SDI I/O and video sync, with Optocore and SANE digital audio networks, now also features full automatic redundancy. Thus, should one of the links fail, the system would automatically switch to the redundant path, enabling all video, audio and data channels to remain working. The switchover time is near instantaneous - implemented in just one
South Korea - Bethel Church in IllSan has invested in a new SSL L500 Plus live console and SSL stageboxes for FOH duties. The system was supplied and installed by South Korean SSL distributor HANSEO Broadcast & Music Tech Inc. Bethel Christian Church has two chapels, one in Ilsan and one in Paju, NorthWest Seoul. The Bethel Church Pastor travels between the two, delivering a sermon from one, which is transmitted live to the other. Daily attendance at the Church is 8,000 - 10,000 people, with six services on a Sunday and a total congregation of around 20,000 people. The input channel count on a typical service at Bethel Church is 64, with drum kit, bass, two guitars, keyboards, piano, orchestra, choir, soloist, and Pastor from stage. These go from SSL SuperAnalogue stageboxes, through the SSL BL II.D Blacklight II MADI Concentrator, and to FOH via a redundant opti
Switzerland - Every 10 years, the municipality of Echallens stages Fête du Blé et du Pain (The Festival of Wheat and Bread), a 12-day cultural event which celebrates the traditions and history of the region. This year, the centrepiece was Solstices, an open air musical production performed by 8,000 volunteers that attracts 40,000 spectators and using five Yamaha digital mixing consoles. Fête du Blé et du Pain took place from 15-28 August, with the 10, two-hour performances of Solstices transforming what is normally a large parking area into a giant theatre set, complete with scenery village, windmills, fields and a large temporary grandstand for the audience. Drawing inspiration from real events, the epic production celebrated the strong historic bond between the people and the land of the region. The scale and complexity of Solstices
UK - Originally built in 1772, the imposing red brick Georgian chapel in Halifax is one of only a handful of square churches ever built. Now reincarnated as the Square Chapel Arts Centre, the venue has undergone a £6.6m renovation. This has upgraded the existing 220-seat multi-purpose auditorium and added a versatile cinema/studio theatre space, plus a light and airy café bar, reception space and offices. Huddersfield-based systems integrator, Sound and Light Concepts, won the tender to supply, install and commission the audio and lighting equipment for the two performance spaces, both of which were equipped with sound systems from British loudspeaker manufacturer, EM Acoustics. Tony Bottomley of Sound and Light Concepts explains that both rooms were to double as performance spaces and cinemas, both being equipped with a fully DCI-compliant (Digital Cinema In
USA - DPA microphones is embarking on a ‘house of worship tour’ to share practical tips on how to achieve good sound in any sanctuary. Company representatives will visit Washington (9 October) and Charlotte (23 October) in a bid to educate attendees on the best practices on mic’ing drums and vocals, and teach them how to solve any microphone challenge. DPA’s entire line of microphones, including its sub-miniature line of d:screet and d:fine lavalier and headset microphones, will also be on display. Christopher Spahr, VP of sales and marketing, comments: “DPA is an ideal solution for mic’ing worship leaders, speakers, singers and instrumentalists as well as live streaming or broadcasting sermons. The first leg of the tour allows us to travel to regional churches to educate how professionals about our solutions and how our mics can help worship services deliv
Germany - When Kraftklub performed before a sell-out 17,000 crowd at the Parkbühne open air venue in Berlin’s Wuhlheide, they did so once again through local PA company, Complete Audio’s Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker array. The show formed part of the band’s festival tour, where they carry only FOH and monitor control in the truck, tasking local companies, such as Complete Audio, with providing the PA and lighting. At the Parkbühne, Complete Audio rigged 12 x MLA elements and an MLD Downfill enclosure per side as the main PA, with two side-fill hangs, each comprising eight MLA Compact. Low frequency extension was provided by 20 x MLX subwoofers, set two wide and three high, stacked on stage underneath the main PA, and a further four stacks of two alongside the stage at floor level. Whilst the venue is geared up for flying such systems, with adequate
Europe - Harman Professional Solutions is extending its distribution agreement with Fairlight to include tour audio solutions in Benelux. Fairlight was initially appointed to distribute lighting brand Martin by Harman in the region. Under the new agreement, the Dutch company will also distribute Harman’s full range of tour audio products, including JBL, Crown, Soundcraft, dbx and BSS. Scott Aslett, regional director at Harman Professional Solutions (Northwest Europe), comments: “We are delighted to extend Fairlight’s distribution rights to Harman audio brands. We already have a strong established partnership with Fairlight, and given their prominence in the touring industry, this expansion of our partnership will support the great demand for Harman solutions and yield improved service to our customers in the Benelux region.” Michael Arntz, general manage
Germany - Green Hippo has named technology supplier Cast as its distribution partner in Germany. Effective 1 October, Hagen-based Cast will manage the exclusive distribution of the Green Hippo’s product line throughout the country. Heinz Siller, CEO of Cast, comments: “Green Hippo is going to be a perfect round up to our mission to offer professional products to the creative cloud in our markets.” James Roth, head of sales and marketing at Green Hippo, adds: "The rate of growth that the company is experiencing as a whole, but particularly in Germany, necessitates our appointing the very best commercial partner in the territory, Cast. Hippotizer is being specified on so many new shows and events and we look forward to working with Cast to maximise the opportunities that are being placed before us." (Jim Evans)
Italy - Since its launch last year, production sound company Soundfish has been involved in productions ranging from Italia's Got Talent and The Apprentice to The Great Italian Bake Off and MasterChef Italy. The company’s team work on both studio and ENG programs, using a vast array of Wisycom professional RF solutions to achieve an ideal sound. Chosen by Soundfish's trio of principals, Matteo Olivari, Giacomo Avanza and Daniele Turi, who each worked as freelancers for more than 15 years, Wisycom has been the company's go-to option for RF on all of its productions. So much so that the team has a Wisycom arsenal that includes nearly every solution, with transmitters, receivers, antennas and more. "We always plan out our productions around our RF, and Wisycom is the backbone of our system," says Olivari. "The MCR42 is modular with both sta
Australia - Staged annually for the last 14 years, Queensland’s Creative Generation (CGEN) event was the biggest yet, with almost 2,000 schoolchildren being given the opportunity to perform in a professional environment on an enormous arena stage measuring 20mx 18m, with a 38m x 6m rear projection screen behind it. Content delivery and projection mapping specialists IKONIX - who are based on Australia’s Gold Coast - were asked to help deliver the desired wow factor for the fifth successive year. At the heart of the solution they created were two Avolites RX8 Ai media servers to deliver images to the rear screen, and two additional units controlling projection onto the stage. Equally central to their vision of the production were Notch real time content generation and BlackTrax real time tracking system, the latter provided by Atlanta-based Visional Productions, an
Philippines - Intellismart Technology recently upgraded Seda’s Vertis North hotel with a flexible networked audio system by Harman Professional Solutions. Operating nine hotels throughout the Philippines, Seda Hotels are designed to offer quality accommodations in a high-energy central location within an Ayala Land master-planned mixed-used development. A fusion of function and art, each hotel provides modern comforts and conveniences combined with the best of Filipino hospitality. Located in the up and coming lifestyle and business hub in Quezon City and a few steps away from two major malls in the city, Seda Vertis North boasts 438 guest rooms, a 450-capacity ballroom, five meeting rooms, extensive lunch and dinner buffets, a roofdeck bar, pool bar, spa, fully-equipped fitness centre, swimming pool and a Presidential Suite. The hotel’s public address sys
UK - The BBC Proms is one of the most British of musical institutions. Founded over a century ago, it is an eight-week summer season of concerts, predominantly held at the Royal Albert Hall (RAH), with Cadogan Hall hosting chamber music, and Proms in the Park events held across the UK on The Last Night of the Proms. For this year’s series, Delta Live deployed L-ISA Hyperreal Sound, giving the system its Proms debut and audiences an intensely real audio experience. Delta Live’s association with The Proms stretches back nearly two decades with Sound by Design, now incorporated into the Delta group, first working on the events in 2000. Delta account director Stephen Hughes has worked on every season since 2004, has an intimate knowledge of the Royal Albert Hall, and has deployed many a standard stereo system there. This is not the first time L-ISA has been dep
Hungary - The Lamantin Jazz Fest draws over 3,000 jazz fans and musicians to the city of Szombathely near Hungary’s western border with Austria. For the past seven years, Penna-Poor, a Budapest-based distributor and integrator has provided sound reinforcement equipment for the festival. “The Lamantin Jazz Festival celebrated its nineteenth year in June 2018,” explained Peter Danko CEO and owner of Penna-Poor. “As in the past, we were invited to provide the PA systems for the event through our partner, Mr. Laszlo Valik, who served as the chief sound engineer. The organsiers’ mission is to get the people in and around Szombathely to know and love jazz and to make the genre accessible. Now nineteen years on, Lamantin has grown into a prestigious week-long festival complemented by the annual Lamantin Improvisation Camp. It's the most complex jazz event in Hungary and
UK - Equipment hire software companies Current RMS and InspHire have been acquired by integrated ERP solutions provider Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS). The deals will allow KCS to strengthen its presence within the rental industry. InspHire and Current RMS will operate as independent business units within KCS, under their existing management teams. Current RMS will remain tailored to the needs of the AV, production and events industries. InspHire, which supplies software to companies that rent heavy plant and construction vehicles, will be backed to expand into the US market. Chris Branson, managing director of Current RMS, comments: “I’m delighted that a company as prestigious and well regarded as KCS Group has chosen to invest in Current RMS. We’ve achieved so much in the four years since we launched and through this acquisition we’ve now got th
China - Hanyuan Lake, a new venue in the Shaanxi Province, has recently invested in an Allen & Heath dLive mixing system for their performances, including their regular production (organised by the Beijing FengShangShiJi Culture Media Company) of The Legend of Han Dynasty. Purchased through local distributors, EZPro Intl, the set-up comprises a dLive S5000 paired with a DM64 MixRack and Dante card for virtual soundcheck. Zhao Yangyang (main sound engineer at Hanyuan), comments: “dLive has an incredibly intuitive interface and its simple operation makes it easy and quick to learn. The integrated redundancy in dLive S Class hardware brings high reliability and safety to the system.” Yangyang adds: “dLive processing is extremely powerful, the system is very flexible and supports Dante, Waves and other audio network option cards. The integrated FX and pres
Mexico - Community Professional Loudspeakers and its Mexican distributor Ampere Manufacturas Electrónicas sa de CV held a product training event and evening party to celebrate 25 years of business partnership. Attended by dealers from across the country, the event was also the official launch of Community’s IV6 modular vertical array in Mexico and was attended by the company’s president and founder Bruce Howze, Christine Howze, CEO Steve Johnson, director of technical services Dave Howden and Latin America sales manager Steve Goodwin. Jaime Celis, director general, Ampere Manufacturas Electrónicas, comments: “We are very proud to represent Community in Mexico, a brand that combines genuine engineering and innovation. Community continuously sets new standards in loudspeaker technology and the reliability of their products is outstanding. We have thoroughly enjoy
Chile - Novotic has recently completed the design and installation of a public address and voice evacuation system for Nido de Aguilas International School in Lo Barnechea, Santiago de Chile, based around Community W Series loudspeakers. Nido de Aguilas was founded in 1934 as a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, non-profit day school. Today, the school has over 1,770 students from more than 50 countries, and offers a comprehensive liberal arts, college preparatory educational programme from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. Nido de Aguilas serves the international business and diplomatic community of Santiago, as well as local students seeking an English-language, U.S.-style education. The school’s campus is located on a spacious 130-acre, park-like setting in the foothills of the Andes mountain range, just 20 minutes from downtown Santiago. As part of its secu
Portugal - With a well-received live set at the inaugural RPMM Festival in the Portuguese city of Porto, Francesca Lombardo – famous for her individual electronic sound – gave rise to a thrilling fusion of live and pre-programmed music. At front of house was live engineer Mattia Sartori, who captured the set on one of his two JoeCo BBR1B Blackbox multi-track recorders. London-based Sartori has held senior audio engineering and project management posts across the world and regularly takes his Blackbox recorders out on the road, enjoying “a totally robust and reliable recording solution with no worries about software and compatibility issues”. He acquired his first Blackbox recorder in 2016 and since then has recorded a variety of artists, from classical singer Carly Paoli at London’s Cadogan Hall, to the percussion driven, electronic quartet Penya. With perfor
Tunisia - For this event’s thirteenth iteration, the organizers of Jazz at Carthage festival decided that the time was long overdue to upgrade the monitors on both its stages. And for that, the Clair Brothers 1AM and 1.5AM were the unanimous choices for the job. The festival theme this year revolved around the joy of celebrating springtime with music and enthusiastic artists for happiness bolstered by the notion of bunking off school and pursuing the path of musical creation. The idea being that if jazz is the underpinning of all modern music, then Jazz at Carthage brings with it a breath of fresh air alongside familiar genres and current music to crowds of youthful Tunisian fans. Mourad Mathari from Scoop Productions says, “Achieving this important vision for Tunisia and its music scene is something special and requires the best production to get t
USA - With eight locations spread across south-eastern Florida, Christ Fellowship Church is a vibrant faith community that has installed L-Acoustics sound reinforcement systems in number of its worship spaces over the years. However, when systems integrator Mankin Media was recently brought onboard to design and implement a PA at the campus in Port St. Lucie - a rapidly growing area north of Palm Beach - the approach was different at the most foundational level: it started with the specification of an L-Acoustics K2 system, which then influenced how the room would be designed. “Anyone who designs and installs audio systems for enclosed spaces knows that there are always going to be acoustic challenges that go along with the room; it’s just the nature of live audio,” says Christ Fellowship audio director Danny Dagher. “Mankin helped us turn the typical house of
