Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
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Sound

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The Netherlands - Opened in first quarter 2016, the Vue cinema in the Dutch city of Alkmaar has been voted the best new-built cinema in Europe by the International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA). The quality of its three Alcons Audio-based Dolby Atmos systems has played an important role in the accolade.

Taken over by Vue Nederland in August 2015, the Dutch JT Bioscopen cinema chain was one of the first global adopters of Dolby Atmos immersive surround sound and already had several existing Alcons-equipped cinemas. Vue Nederland worked with cinema services specialists CinemaNext on the new installation, who have worked on projects with Alcons since the introduction of the company's C-series cinema systems. CinemaNext's first Atmos installation using Alcons products was completed in early 2013.

"Alcons products are very well suited to Atmos installations," says Cinema

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Estonia - One of Tallinn's most progressive performing arts centres, Kanuti Gildi SAAL, recently installed a new sound reinforcement infrastructure, with Powersoft's X series amplification at its core.

Situated in the Estonian capital's historic Old Town, the 150-seat theatre is the first privately-run venue in the country devoted to the genre of contemporary performing arts.

However, according to Priit Kivim

Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

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Luxembourg - A popular addition to the rider of live classical concerts in 2016, Yamaha's flagship RIVAGE PM10 digital mixing console has recently seen its first permanent European installation at a classical concert venue, in Luxembourg.

Opened 11 years ago in Luxembourg City, Philharmonie Luxembourg is a thoroughly modern concert complex. Home to the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, on average it is visited by around 180,000 people every year.

The 1328-capacity Grand Auditorium combines the acoustics of classic 'shoe-box' concert halls with the atmosphere of a Shakespearean theatre. The auditorium features raked stalls and four 'towers' on each side, with a stage area that can be adjusted between 256 and 305m². The smaller Salle de Musique de Chambre features curved walls and can host 313 people, while the venue's four foyers can also be used for performances. Th

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Diplomatic Spat - South Korean pop stars appear to have become pawns in an escalating diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of an American missile defence system.

Entertainers from the colourful Korean music scene, K-pop, have been mysteriously barred from entering China to perform, Korean TV shows and films have been blocked, and actors replaced by Chinese stars in advertising campaigns, say local press reports.

Wembley Bound - Adele has added two further dates at Wembley Stadium next year, after the initial concerts sold out. Dubbed The Finale, the four shows will see her play to more than 300,000 fans as she wraps up her world tour. The new shows will be on 28 June and 2 July, 2017, with tickets on sale from 7 December to members of her fan club.

Take That hold the record for playing the most dates at Wembley, having staged eight night

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USA - EAW has announced the availability of the Radius RSX12M stage monitor. The RSX12M adds to the Radius line of loudspeakers, which was introduced mid-2016.

"The RSX12M brings even more value to the Radius family," explains Adam Shulman, director of marketing and application engineering. "The addition of a dedicated floor monitor model takes the family even further in terms of delivering an integrated, complete solution. Now customers can deploy a comprehensive system comprised entirely of Radius components, including mains, fills, subwoofers and monitors."

The RSX12M is equipped with onboard bi-amplified electronics (500W per channel) featuring technologies such as Focusing and DynO for a pristine impulse response at any output level. A 12-inch vented cone with 2.5-inch voice coil drives the low end while a 1 x 1-inch exit, 1.77-inch voice coil compression driver handl

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South Africa - Aardklop National Arts Festival 2016, held at Potchefestroom, saw freelancer Jaco Beukes from SJ Audio trying out the DiGiCo S21 on a show for the first time. Jaco was based in the Sanlam Auditorium where he was the main sound engineer for the venue and helped guest engineers for artists like Karen Zoid and Elvis Blue. The S21 was based in this venue for the entire festival.

"This was my first gig on the S21 but I'm a big DiGiCo fan so it was awesome," said Jaco. "Other than the label, it's great that the console fires up in 96khz by default but for my show I kept it in 48khz. I really enjoyed the audio enhancer effects and for Charl du Plessis' Boogie Woogie Big Band used them on kick drum and base. I used them on toms as well. The graphic EQ's are awesome and easy to use - I inserted them on input channels and output channels which was useful. I had them on vo

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UK - When newly opened Design Museum in Kensington, London played host to the Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award on Wednesday 30 November, technical production expert OneBigStar was on-hand to deliver lighting and sound for the prestigious event.

Interesting elements of the project included a tight window for loading in equipment and it being the first commercial event for the brand-new venue. With just one hour to install all the equipment required [the venue closed to the public at 6pm and the award guests began arriving at 7.15pm] stringent pre-planning was essential to the effective delivery of the event. Several site visits, careful kit selection and a well briefed and experienced team of technicians ensured the awards began on time.

The OneBigStar kit list for the project included a wide range of lighting and audio equipment, cabling and

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China - A spectacular concert, directed by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, was performed for world leaders on 4 September in China for the G20 Summit. Enduring Memories of Hangzhou later made its public debut in October, attracting huge audiences to the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The upgraded show maintains 80% of the original programme content and benefits from a new audio system which has been installed to delight audiences from all over the world.

This cultural fusion performance of East and West, featuring a symphony orchestra and gala on water, is a unique outdoor concert in a natural setting. Through a significant feat of engineering, the stage platform lies centimeters below the West Lake's surface.

To the audience, the actors appear to be performing on the surface of the water, which also creates a stunning reflection of the performance an

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South Africa - DWR is setting up a charity organization aimed at freelancers. When freelancers fall ill, injure themselves or sometimes even pass away, it puts their family under immense pressure.

This charity will hopefully help a few people, on a merit basis, with basic assistance. This can either be in the form of helping to pay for school fees for a few months, maybe cover the rent, or providing grocery hampers. Each case will be submitted to the charity where a board will decide who we can assist and how.

Says DWR, "At the end of each year, DWR Distribution usually take pleasure in giving our clients gifts. This year, instead, we will use the money we would have used to buy presents to kick start the charity. It's something we believe will make a difference to someone who may find themselves in trouble when times are low. DWR will initiate the charity by donating R150

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Singapore - Midas partner, Consolidated Audio Networks Pte (CAN), recently hosted its first introductory Midas M32 training course at its headquarters' training facility, and has been deemed a remarkable success.

The Fundamentals of Mixing training course has been designed and delivered by CAN audio engineers, Chad Batchelor and Colin Oliveiro. The first course of its kind for CAN, was attended by 10 audio professionals, providing them with practical information and knowledge on applications of the Midas M32 console, with discussions and Q&A embedded into the session.

Hands-on training is also part of the course and allows trainees the opportunity to record their own mixes, which for some attendees, is their first time mixing on the Midas M32 desk. During this module of the course, users are familiarized with all M32 board functions i.e. buses, VCA, matrixing and multitrac

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Brazil - Rock band, Raimundos, recently recorded their first acoustic DVD using Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing system, supplied by Sao Paulo PA company, WR Sonoriza

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Germany - Founded and headed by Rolf Feldmann, APG distributor aha-audio is shaking the professional audio landscape in Germany. A few months only after its creation, aha-audio has already been trusted by stagers for major concerts and festivals across the country.

When distribution of APG came to an end in 2015 in Germany, Rolf was adamant to keep the APG brand in the German market. Taking a leap of faith, he created aha-audio in January 2016 and became the exclusive distributor of the French manufacturer in Germany. "This can be seen by some as a big risk to take, but when you hear the sound that comes out of these boxes, you know that the brand is bound to success in this highly demanding market.

"Plus, APG was already a recognised brand in Germany", he recalls. Several rental companies including Tonwerk and Sound Light & Design Wesel (SLD) were already using APG at the

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USA - SanFrancisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB) is not your average festival. In fact, there is nothing "hardly" or "strictly" about the event in any way, be it the artists booked, the location, or the mix of tech that Bay-Area-based Sound On Stage (SOS) uses to make it all happen.

This year, SOS - which has supplied sound for each iteration of the festival since its debut in 2001 - extended its run of leaning on L-Acoustics to provide the PA for all seven of the festival's stages.

HSB is a free, non-commercial festival staged in an area of Golden Gate Park once called Speedway Meadow and renamed Hellman Hollow to honour the late Warren Hellman, the investment magnate that conceived, founded and funded the three-day event, and whose family has continued to financially support it since his death in 2011. "Golden Gate Park is an amazing location," said SOS general manag

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UK - The Church of St Anne in Aigburth, Liverpool, dates back to 1837 and is a National Heritage Grade II Listed building. Still a growing church, St Anne's sits at the heart of its community offering not only a contemporary place of worship but also a space for a wide range of activities and musical performances.

Modern day churches are often multi-purpose venues that require the best in AV provision - where new-builds can take this into account during the design process, listed Victorian buildings regularly present all manner of interesting challenges.

POLARaudio customer, Dan Orange of integrators Electric Orange, was invited by this forward-looking church to modernise its AV facilities. St Anne's wanted a system that could be used to present slides for notes, hymn lyrics and visual content to accompany sermons but that could also offer video facilities to be used in se

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USA - Based on its recent analysis of the professional and commercial microphone market, Frost & Sullivan has recognized Shure Incorporated with the 2016 North America Company of the Year Award.

"Shure has launched numerous innovative wired and wireless microphone products, conferencing systems, audio processors, earphones, headphones, and software systems, expanding its footprint both nationally and globally over the decades," said Frost & Sullivan industry principal Alaa Saayed. "Significantly, it is the most purchased brand among institutions, enterprises, houses of worship, live events' sound contractors, as well as theatres, broadcast, and studios."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologie

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UK - HSL enjoyed the thrills and hi-energy exhilaration of supplying lighting and rigging for the Endemol produced DanTDM UK tour, for a lighting design crafted by Sam Wright. Sean McGlone and John Slevin project managed for the Blackburn UK based company, with technicals on the road co-ordinated by production manager, Jason Culverwell.

DanTDM is a professional gamer and You Tube star with around 13m subscribers enjoying his TheDiamondMinecart, making it a top UK You Tube channel which has so far received a staggering 8.4 billion views. Needleless to say, the tour which ran from June to November sold out everywhere it visited.

The producers commissioned award winning theatre, film and TV director Ben Woolf to develop a live show which could tour, putting DanTDM in front of thousands of fans, interacting, and entertaining them with a series of special games.

His core au

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UK - Utopium built and supplied a custom floor package and flown fixtures to illuminate Jake Bugg's UK and European tour, November 2016.

Following the release of his third album, On My One, Jake Bugg embarked on a promotional tour which saw him visit a host of different venues throughout the UK and Europe, including Manchester's O2 Apollo, London's O2 Academy Brixton and The Great Hall at Cardiff University Student's Union.

Utopium was entrusted to build and supply a custom floor package which included Martin MAC Quantum Profiles, new Martin MAC Aura XB washes to offer additional brightness and tighter beams, Martin Atomic 3K strobes, Thomas 4 Lite Molefays, SGM P-5 LED Floods, Antari HZ500 hazers, Antari AF-3 Fans, 8ft Black Truss Towers and a Road Hog 4 Control Desk.

The team also supplied a flown package which incorporated Martin MAC Aura XB washes, 40ft Trus

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USA - Paul Litchfield is no Thomas Edison, but the Massachusetts resident will go down in history as a great inventor, at least as far as the athletic shoe industry is concerned. In 1989, Litchfield created the Reebok PUMP!, an inflatable running shoe that redefined footwear aesthetics, was embraced by athletes from virtually every sport, and became one of the most prominent urban fashion icons of the '90s.

Now, some quarter of a century later, Reebok is relaunching the legendary running shoe with glitzy events, such as the one that took place in October at an Insta Fury Pop Up Shop space in Midtown Manhattan. The event featured an appearance by rap powerhouse and Reebok endorsee Future, portraits by world renowned sneaker artist Steph Morris from the UK, and a massive collection of new PUMP! shoes.

Accenting the proceedings with vivid colors, sharp beams and crisp gobos w

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USA - CAST wysiwyg was a guest star at the recent Kaaboo festival held at the historic Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, just north of San Diego on the Southern California coast.

Kaaboo is a new concept, describing itself as a "mix-perience" that blends headline music acts, top comedians, and a world-class food selection from celebrity chefs, with the underlying benefit of the three-day event being its reprieve from the porta-potties, muddy grounds and confused millennials. The event appeals to the more mature, more affluent festivalgoer willing to pay a little extra for atypical festival VIP amenities.

Chris Lisle of Chris Lisle Lighting Design of Nashville, Tennessee was lighting designer for the main Sunset Cliffs stage, hosting headline acts including Jimmy Buffett, Aerosmith, Fall Out Boy, Lenny Kravitz, Flo Rida and Collective Soul to name just a few. In all, almost

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Europe -Leading Croatian artists Gibonni & Oliver are on an extensive European tour campaign supporting their collaborative new album Familija (Family) with a brand new lighting design by Gibonni's long term LD Sven Ku?ni? based around 88 x Robe moving lights - a combination of Pointes, MMX Spots and MMX WashBeams.

Sven's design is adaptable to be able to fit into the wide variety of different venue sizes on the itinerary. He was given a 'blank canvas' by the artists, both of whom he knowns well. Gibonni and he are in tune when it comes to ideas about presenting his music live, and he trusts Sven implicitly to imagine and deliver all the visual aspects which include video.

Sven has been a keen Robe user for some years. One of his philosophies is that "darkness is the best lighting effect available" so on this one, video screens are used in moderation so they augment

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South Africa - Over R2m was raised in aid of youth development at the fourth annual Chefs Who Share - the Art of Giving Back. Since its inception, CCPP Group have supplied the full technical for the black-tie gala event which is usually hosted in the Cape Town, but this year was brought to the Johannesburg City Hall. The set was designed by cNic and built by Dream Sets.

This annual charity event saw top international chefs arrive in Johannesburg to cook alongside South Africa's finest talent, ending the experience at a fundraising gala dinner. "The client is very particular," commented Clint Cawood, who established CCPP in George in 2006. "While they never give us free rein, they provide detailed guidelines which at the end of the day is great for everyone."

Clint invested in a DiGiCo S21 prior to the event. On the lighting side, Lans Pepler from CCPP programmed on a grand

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UK - As a production supplier for prestigious clients at equally prestigious London venues, Production Plus cannot afford to take any chances with equipment. One of the most recent events supported by the company was the annual charity ball for the DM Thomas Foundation at the London Hilton on Park Lane, where Yamaha and Nexo once again proved their worth.

Dedicated to helping disadvantaged and vulnerable young people transform their lives, the DM Thomas Foundation's annual ball is a chance for the charity to highlight it's work to an audience of invited guests, while also giving them an enjoyable evening of entertainment.

Letchworth-based Production Plus has been using Nexo loudspeakers for over 15 years and brought Yamaha digital mixers into the company's portfolio nine years ago.

"We don't want a lot of different brands in our rental inventory. We want equipment that

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UK - Birmingham Repertory Theatre's production of The Snowman is playing to packed houses at the Peacock Theatre this Christmas, with Hawthorn supplying lighting equipment for the production.

Working closely with Andy Fidgeon, head of lighting at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Hawthorn has drawn from its extensive range of hire stock to supply lighting equipment to specification.

Wanting to upgrade this year's rig to feature more efficient and reliable fixtures whilst also still maintaining the look of the show, Hawthorn replaced the older Vari*Lite VL1000's units previously used with a mixture of Martin MAC Viper Performances & Wash DX fixtures. A selection of MAC 700 profiles also formed part of this season's rig.

"This year we wanted to upgrade and enhance the lighting of the production," says Fidgeon, who has been associated with the show for 20 years. "Using

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UK - Set between the fateful years of 1974 and 1979, which saw huge economic crisis and a hung parliament, This House takes place in the engine rooms of Westminster, where fist fights took place and votes were won or lost by one. Following a brief run at the Chichester Minerva Theatre in October, the show has now arrived in the West End, playing at the Garrick Theatre, London. White Light has been called upon to provide the lighting equipment.

This House is written by James Graham and was initially staged at the National's Cottesloe Theatre (now the Dorfman) back in 2012. After lighting the original production, Paule Constable is once again designing the West End revival. She comments, "This House is a brilliant show and I am delighted to be working on it once again.

"What's great is that I've reunited with director Jeremy Herrin and designer Rae Smith who bo

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