Rüfüs Du Sol turns up the heat with KV2
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The group has enjoyed huge success in their native Australia and has since relocated to Los Angeles to further their international reputation - clearly now well established as the band has just received a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for Alive, the lead single from their fourth studio album, Surrender.
As part of their European tour, the trio recently played a sold-out gig in Prague at the 3,000-capacity Forum Karlin using KV2’s flagship VHD5 system.
Rüfüs Du Sol’s relationship with KV2 began in earnest in early 2021 when KV2’s technical support director for the APAC region, Angus Davidson met Cam Trewin, a Melbourne-based studio and live sound engineer. “Cam had recorded a live set with Rüfüs Du Sol at The Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert which had been mixed in Dolby Atmos for the video in Los Angeles,” explains Davidson. “I told him about Red Road Immersive, the Dolby Atmos studio I had built during lockdown. He then talked to the band and they decided to remix the live set at Red Road for release on Apple Music.”
The studio is based around 14 x KV2 EX Series speakers and is one of the first studios in APAC to be certified by Dolby. Trewin was impressed with the sound of the KV2 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos system, as was Dale Becker from Becker Mastering in LA, who commented, “Wow, friend, you do quite the incredible work. This translates to my room perfectly. I'm so impressed!” The live set made it to Number 3 on the Apple Spatial Hits playlist and is still up there over a year later.
In Prague, in conjunction with UK-based production company, Production Value, who was responsible for the European leg of the tour, KV2 supplied a VHD5 system for main left and right, plus 16 x VHD4.0 subwoofers combined with four VHD218J subwoofers in a cardioid configuration. Four EX26 provided front-fill. “It was great to hear the VHD5 system stretch its legs on the Rüfüs Du Sol gig – for me it really confirmed its standing as the best large format point source system on the planet,” says Davidson.
Cam Trewin adds, “I was very impressed with the power output of the VHD5 system and the even coverage and clarity in the top-end. The subs had great low information and response, especially for a show like Rüfüs Du Sol which demands clean undistorted sound with powerful bottom-end.”
