South Africa - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) recently returned to the stage on a Greatest Hits Live World Tour, which saw the return of the band to South Africa for the first time in 12 years. The first performance took place at Cape Town’s Greenpoint A-Track, with another following event in Johannesburg two nights later.
The South African tour, organised by Breakout Events with the Cape Town leg managed by Rogue Entertainment, required a sound system that would do justice to the band’s electronic anthems. Ultra Events were responsible for supplying and implementing the technical solutions for this much-anticipated show, including a V-Series sound system from d&b audiotechnik.
“The A-Track comes with challenges that need to be navigated with care when setting up a concert system,” explains Patrick Dudgeon, audio HOD at Ultra Events. “Not only are set-up times restricted due to the venue being a functioning cricket club, but the A-Track is also very close to a residential area, a public hospital and a hotel. Therefore, we need to be conscious of the surroundings regarding noise levels whilst delivering impactful audio to the concert audience.”
With these requirements in mind, the team at Ultra Events designed and deployed an audio system that would deliver OMD’s familiar hits with clarity and impact, without causing a nuisance to neighbouring residents.
Two 10-element line arrays consisting of V8s at the top and V12s at the bottom were flown on either side of the stage, with low frequencies taken care of by B22 subwoofers, ground stacked in cardioid mode. Four AL90 loudspeakers took care of front fills whilst M4 monitors provided clear playback for onstage artists. Additionally, Array software from d&b allowed the team to accurately simulate audio coverage and tweak it accordingly to the needs of the venue and its residential neighbours.
“OMD’s FOH engineer commented on the consistency of the d&b solution,” remarks Dudgeon. “As an experienced engineer who has been travelling and working with the band for years across various venues, his comments around knowing exactly what he’s working with when d&b is on the rider reinforces our belief that d&b, and specifically the V-Series, are the ideal choice for professional live event audio.”
Following a successful set-up and sound check, the event itself was full of energy and nostalgia. “The support acts and OMD were bringing out massive hits when we were youngsters,” recalls Dudgeon. “Getting the opportunity to work with them on this event was quite a thrill and it was fantastic to see they haven’t lost a single bit of energy in their performance after all these years.”
