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UK - In the seven years since the split of post-hardcore band Million Dead, the band's lead vocalist Frank Turner has built a large following for his brand of folk/punk. April saw him reach a career high with a sold-out show at London's Wembley Arena, where Sennheiser equipment was much in evidence.

With 12,500 fans barely seeming to notice that Turner and his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, weren't in one of their more usual theatre-sized venues, the one-off show required a large Sennheiser presence.

Regular sound and lighting supplier Nitelites provided most of the audio system at the show, just asking Adlib Audio to supply an L-Acoustics V-DOSC system. Nitelites supplied a large amount of Sennheiser equipment, including e 840 vocal microphones and e 901, 902, 904s, 905 and MK4s on the drum kit.

"I like the robustness of the 840s," says FOH engineer and tour ma

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Egypt - At its grand opening in February, Club 35 Alexandria wowed its clientele with the sonic clarity and power provided by a Meyer Sound UltraSeries loudspeaker system. The night was a packed, memorable experience featuring a set from DJ Jean, who was flown in from Beirut for the occasion.

"I give a lot of attention to detail, and I wanted to create the trendiest nightspot in Alexandria," says Club 35 Manager David Boulouys. "That meant that all the elements had to be top-notch, and that is why I chose Meyer Sound."

Located at the five-star Maritim Jolie Ville Hotel in Alexandria, Egypt, Club 35 is the first franchise to branch out from Cairo's 35 Restaurant & Lounge Bar (aka Club 35 Cairo).

Cairo-based events company Modern Touch Entertainment - one of Egypt's top entertainment companies and the country's exclusive distributor of Meyer Sound since 199

Doughty - Banner - from 4 July 2025

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Puerto Rico - For a spectacular three-day performance, lighting designer Eduardo 'Wady' Rodriguez chose 80-plus Chauvet Professional fixtures as part of the concert rig for Puerto Rican pop-rock singer Ednita Nazario. Musique Xpress lighting company of Puerto Rico provided the lights.

"I addressed each element of the show separately, but also looked at the overall picture, looking for harmony," Rodriguez said. "The combination of music and lights reflected Ednita's personality - her fragility, passion and great talent."

Rodriguez lit a textured wall at the back of the stage with six COLORado Ridge IP high-powered luminaires, placed equidistantly while projecting intense red, blue, purple or green hues. The wall was a static element in the design, drenched in colour for most of the looks and serving as a base for a complex rig, featuring large video walls, n

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Mexico - Wireless Solution Sweden AB Mexican OEM partner Hermes Music, S.A. de C.V. recently brightened the skyline in Villahermosa, Mexico at the Liverpool Flagship store using PR Lighting with W-DMX. Hermes supplied 22 W-DMX transmitters and 64 of PR Lighting's PR-8800 architectural fixtures to light the façade.

Mexico City-based architectural firm Inaki Echeverria constructed the façade from 20m long segments of precast concrete slabs joined together that rotate at 180° angles. To create a dynamic colour wash and highlight the architectural features, lighting designer Joseph Charles Vargas Rubenak used PR-8800 fixtures with built in W-DMX.

The PR-8800, which has been newly launched by PR lighting, features the design of the W-DMX signal transmission, a true outdoor IP67 waterproof rating, RGB colour mixing system and the environment brightness automatic adjustment

T

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USA - Over his 20 years of mixing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Rat of Rat Sound has had to deal with a wide range of audio issues. During the current multi-year tour in support of the album I'm with You, the band encountered severe interference issues with its IEM system, which Rat addressed with a switch to the Shure PSM 1000 system and its diversity reception design.

"The troubles we were having with our existing in-ear systems were primarily due to the LED stage we have on this tour," explains Rat. "We experienced a whole new level of interference issues. When you have the artists actually standing on an LED surface, it means the beltpack is only three feet away from the RF noise, while the transmitting antenna is maybe 30 feet away. The result was a lot of dropouts from a system that had previously been very stable. We couldn't even do frequency scan

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UK - An Audient ASP8024 has been the mixing console of choice in the recording studio at Nottinghamshire County Council The Old Library Arts' Centre for over six years, which last year alone saw over 2000 young people pass through its doors.

"There are also the commercial bookings on top of that," explains technical manager Jonathon Spittlehouse, who originally specified the 36-channel desk back in 2006 when the studio moved to its present location and was brought fully under local authority control. As part of the broader Arts' Centre, Spittlehouse and his colleagues are tasked with engaging 13 - 19 year olds in projects of a variety of disciplines, which can mean the studio - and therefore the desk - is really put through its paces.

"The desk is bullet proof. We've been running it full on for six years and never had a problem. We've worn the decal on the talkb

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USA - On the last day of his April visit to California, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama spoke about 'Peace of Mind in Troubled Times' to an audience of more than 10,000 at the Long Beach Arena. To maintain precise intelligibility in the challenging arena acoustics, PRG Audio of Sun Valley, Calif. deployed a Meyer Sound system comprised largely of MICA and M2D line array loudspeakers.

Providing intelligibility in the arena environment was a key requirement for Bill Daly of PRG Audio's design and engineering team. Working in consultation with Meyer Sound Tech Support, Daly plotted a mono system with front-hangs of 11 M2D line array loudspeakers each and 10 M2D loudspeakers at center. Filling the vast rear portion of the oval arena were three delay hangs of eight MICA line array loudspeakers each, augmented by two CQ-2 loudspeakers for spot coverage.

Seven MINAline array loudspe

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UK - Greg Barker, the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, was given an illuminating illustration of the power of LED lighting when he visited Dartford last week.

During a visit to Suscon, the sustainable construction training and research centre at The Bridge, the Minister viewed the range of products offered by 8point3 LED, which has recently moved into offices at the centre.

"The Minister's visit was a great opportunity to demonstrate the quality of light produced by LED lighting and outline the dramatic energy savings it brings when compared to traditional systems," said Ashley Bateup, managing director of 8point3, which designs and manufactures bespoke fittings for its public and private sector clients at a plant in Belvedere.

"The Minister showed genuine interest in our products and seemed impressed by their environmental credentials, stating

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USA - Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), the multimedia art cabaret founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler, recently carried out its latest upgrade - boosting the technical infrastructure with GLP's impression Spot One LED and G-LEC Solaris video curtain.

Located on the site of the historic Village Gate in New York's Greenwich Village, when the new owners took over the interior was completely redrawn, and John Storyk (of Walters-Storyk Design Group), the designer behind Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland Studios, helped design the room sonically.

The venue has since undergone various technical upgrades, including remotely controlled HD cameras, culminating in this latest investment, with the acquisition of 12 automated Spot One LED fixtures from 4Wall Entertainment Lighting, who have been providing LPR with high-level service for the past three years.

Said the club's director

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UK - Orbital Sound has embarked on an apprenticeship scheme, reflecting its passion for training and encouraging new talent into the industry. Orbital has taken on two apprentices, working with the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural, which comprises a membership network of over 230 theatre and live music employers, as well as 20 colleges across England. Becky Felton is the first to start - joining Orbital in May - with Jay Dodds already scheduled to start work when he finishes his exams in June.

The Skills Academy is all about nurturing talent and building a skilled technical workforce for the future. Orbital's initiative is being managed by Adam Thorneycroft, head of engineering, who explains why the scheme has strong appeal:

"Given the current climate, we wanted to take some positive steps to keep people interested in working in the entertainment industry.

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Australia - Elite Sound and Lighting, one of Canberra and the ACT's premier audiovisual production and installation suppliers, has a wide variety of clients from dry-hire to rock'n'roll to corporate and conferencing. Consequently whenever they purchase new equipment the key element is versatility.

"We always spend a lot of time researching products which is exactly what we did when we recently decided to invest in some compact digital audio consoles," commented Darren Russell, Elite's managing director. "We looked at what all the manufacturers in the market had to offer but in terms of versatility and features, we felt that Soundcraft consoles had the edge over the competition."

For Russell, one of the main selling points with the Soundcraft consoles is their ability to either take analogue inputs and outputs on the back of the console or use Cat 5 digital

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UK - SES were chosen to supply 11th Hour Events distribution package for their main fleet within a very short timescale. Being successful in gaining several high profile projects, 11th hour realised they were in need of heavy duty mains and having previously purchased the Power-Pro range of Power Distribution manufactured by the UK's leading manufacturer SES, placed a large order for a wide range of product.

Gordon Cooper from SES commented, "When we took the call from Andy, we knew due to the time scale this order would be a challenge due to our current commitments on other high profile projects, but we are used to working under pressure and did not want to let an important client down, we were very pleased to be able to gain the order and more importantly delivered 2 days early.

" It is always a great feeling when you get the call from the customer saying how pleas

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UK - "When one of the UK's biggest TV shows sets up in your back yard and say they need to equip the largest lighting rig that's ever been seen on prime time TV....it would be rude not to help them out." Says ELP project manager Barry Denison with a wry smile on his face.

He continues. "It's been brilliant having The Voice based here at Elstree as we've been able to instantly provide LD Mark Kenyon and his head rigger Dave Morrell with all the gear they need right from our Elstree office. We worked closely with them on-site throughout the whole process, from creating technical drawings during the planning process right through to supplying extra components on actual show days."

ELP were involved even before The Voice UK came to Elstree. The show was broadcast in three stages. The first stage involved blind auditions from BBC TV centre where co

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South Africa - A new d&b Audiotechnik system was installed into the Sun City Superbowl in 2010, and this year it was given legs during the 18th South African Music Awards to the praise and admiration of various important figures in South Africa's ever-burgeoning music scene. Various South African Music celebrities present at the recent ceremony were blown away by the d&b Audiotechnik J-Series and Q-Series installed in the venue.

SAMA CEO and Idols judge Randall Abrahams enthused that the "sound quality was outstanding" and was quick to note that the "sound management of the various performances was handled extremely professionally which led to a final product that was of a very high standard."

It was a large scale event that was watched live and broadcast to millions of South African's around the country. Randall reminded us that the "sound qual

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Japan - Okinawa, the most southerly isle of the Japanese archipelago, is home to the Ryukyu Golden Kings (RGK) one of the leading basketball teams on the island and a member of the of Basketball Japan. While they might not yet be the LA Lakers, their aspirations are high. In a Western Conference effort to increase income that has already born fruit, the team sought to expand its audience by upping the excitement level at matches with the application of some 21st century sporting show business.

"What is different about the RGK is that they don't have a home arena, all 26 matches in their season are played on tour," explained Osamu Koki from Staging Okinawa. "They came to see us for ideas on how to liven up the excitement at each game; they wanted lighting and sound but with one critical proviso: everything had to fit in a two ton truck."

The fact is Okinawa

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UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light is enjoying a busy spring-to-summer season supplying new theatrical productions, as the West End defies the predictions that it would suffer in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

Recent openings include Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Apollo Theatre, starring David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf with lighting by Mark Henderson; two acclaimed transfers from the Chichester Festival Theatre, Sweeney Todd also lit by Mark Henderson and the double bill of South Downs and The Browning Version lit by Neil Austin; the Neil Simon comedy The Sunshine Boys starring Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths at the Savoy Theatre, also lit by Neil Austin, and The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic, lit by James Farncombe.

The Old Vic's production of Noises Off has transferred to the Novello, lit by Paul

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) will use the opportunity of its forthcoming Theatre Show (13-14 June), to present a seminar discussion on the future of industry training, at London's Old Truman Brewery, on Wednesday 13 June, 12:45pm-2pm, in the venue's Seminar Room. Speakers include: Robin Auld, operations director, National Skills Academy Creative & Cultural; Chris Parry-Jones, head of Gallowglass Training; and, Bryan Raven, managing director, White Light.

Throughout the last year, the Association has continued to develop and promote its Technical Access Passport (TAP) - launched at the ABTT 2011 Theatre Show - a scheme that creates an online repository for verified training, skills, insurance and other professional information.

Now, with TAP gaining weight within the industry, the second phase of the scheme is ready to start. Industry trainers will

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At The Cinema - The farewell concert by Irish pop band Westlife is to be screened live to cinemas in the UK and Ireland and across Europe. The group, who announced last October they were splitting after 14 years, are set to bow out with a final concert at Dublin's Croke Park on 23 June. The event will be screened at more than 200 cinemas in nine countries including Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Norway. There are also plans to screen the gig in Australia and South Africa. The band, whose 14 UK number ones include 1999 hit Flying Without Wings, have sold more than 44 million records worldwide. Organisers said tickets for the 23 June concert sold out in minutes, leading them to schedule another date at the Dublin venue on 22 June.

No Show - Lady Gaga has cancelled a concert in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, citing security concerns after protests by religious groups. The s

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Australia - Lots of Watts Central Coast has recently installed a new lighting bar and an LSC dimming system into the auditorium of a local High School, replacing their aging 1980's dimming and patching system.

Two new LSC Redback wallmount dimmers, which sport a number of impressive features including optional relay channels, RDM, various output connector configurations, external wall-plate control and a 'slim figure', have been successfully installed.

A 48way Redback patch bay was chosen to cater for the 36 points as well as future needs and a Redback 6 way remote wall plate has also been installed to give simple control of the lights without the need of an operator or lighting console.

Jeff Morgan from Lots of Watts Central Coast said, "We have been able to give the school a safe easy dimming and control option. The Redback wallmount are perfect for this application i

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UK - Last week permanent show hosts Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden kicked off the annual Soccer AM sporting event which included a host of special guests and performers, including Professor Green, to ensure the lucky football fans in attendance had a fun filled day.

Malcolm Reed designed the show which was supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML). The almost festival rig consisted of LC2140 panels, VL3000 Spots, Chroma Floods, GLP Impressions and Sharpys.

Reed opted for a very patriotic colour scheme in places with strong emphasis on red and white, while the music numbers were packed full of colour, graphics and brightness.

(Jim Evans)

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Croatia - This past March Zagreb played host to an exhibit entitled Bruketa&Žini? om: Exhibit held in the central Barrel Gallery of the hall of the Croatian Associations of Artists. European advertising agency Bruketa&Žini? OM created the installation where High End Systems, a Barco company, Axon Media Servers were used to deploy content on the 360 degree projection space.

On entry into the gallery, each visitor was photographed and the photographs were projected in real time circularly on gallery walls, on the LED screen on Croatian capital Zagreb's Main Square and on the web. The gallery functioned as a generator for the content that was then presented in places where there was a much larger audience than in the cultural institutions.

Local Zagreb system integrator company LMT (Laboratory of Multimedia Technology) specified and provided five Axon Media Servers to en

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Spain - D.A.S. professional sound systems took centre stage during the recent remodelling of the Buesa Arena pavilion in the Basque city of Vitoria. The multi-use venue currently seats over 15,000 spectators and is home to Vitoria's basketball team Baskonia, which has taken Europe by storm after making it to either the Euroleague's semi or quarter finals for seven years running.

The audio visual equipment - which includes an impressive new scoreboard and a super-charged professional D.A.S. sound system - played a particularly important role in this large-scale remodel. The installation was carried out by Grupo Ingevision (Ekintza) in collaboration with the D.A.S. Sound Projects Department, led by Eva Argandoña. Víctor Catalá from the D.A.S. Audio Engineering Department was on hand for system adjustments and set up, and the project was coordinated by the northern zone manager,

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UK - Flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has donated some of its Arena 600 cases to The Rig Scout Active Support Unit which is based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK, for their day-to-day use.

'The Rig' is a charitable organisation currently managed by Jason Robbins. It was originally set up in 2000 by parents of a local scout involved in the lighting and sound industry to help his group weather financial difficulties, and started off running local discos with some scouts on the crew.

Since then things have grown considerably. A team of 10 regular volunteers and others enable The Rig Scout Active Support Unit to provide a full range of technical production services for stage shows and events, in the process helping to support all scouting activities in the Huddersfield North District.

Robbins approached 5 Star's Keith Sykes - initially at the PLASA 2011 exhibition - aski

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France - Dataton reports that its WATCHOUT multi-display and show-management software has been used as a core technolog yat a major new art installation in the south of France.

A collaboration between the town of Les Baux de Provence and the specialist French venue management company Culture spaces, Carrières de Lumières'('Quarries of Light') is a hi-tech re-purposing of the Carrières du Val d'Enfer- a network of abandoned chalk-mining tunnels close to the historic Provençal village.

With a subterranean feel, the Carrières de Lumières is a labyrinth almost 200m long that varies in height between 10 and 15m. In its newly re-invented form, the space provides the perfect backdrop for large-scale video projection- a place where visitors can view images close to or from a greater distance away, while the texture of the chalk surfaces adds further visual interest to whatever a

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  3. SD8 rocks at Miami's Ultra Music Festival
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  5. DWR to distribute Clay Paky in South Africa
  6. In the Footsteps of Giants with Martin
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