USA - A Martin Audio MLA Compact loudspeaker array system was chosen by partners, North Carolina-based RMB Audio, when locally based Duke University’s Spring and Fall 2020 graduation was postponed until a time of greater health safety. That time was determined to be 26 September 2021 - when undergraduates, graduates and professional school class members (and their families) were invited to participate in the delayed celebration. The stage was set up with the imposing Duke Chapel - an English Gothic 210ft-tall structure in the centre of campus - as the backdrop. Student seating started downstage and extended back 300 ft. Large trees, with low branches 13ft above the ground, occupied the corners of the audience seating, making it necessary to project sound in a slice to pass beneath the foliage to focus on the audience. “MLA Compact is capable of providing focused sound to
Spain - Artists touring to Spain will no longer need visas for short-term engagements in a dramatic change to the current onerous rules. The change follows months of work from LIVE and the Association for British Orchestras (ABO), working alongside Spanish counterparts Asociación Promotores Musicales. The development represents a significant boost for the sector which has, as a result of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, seen European touring become more expensive, more complicated, and more difficult to execute. Visas have been a significant issue for Spain which, despite representing the fifth largest live music market in the world, posed the most costly and complicated visa application process across the bloc for artists looking to travel for short-term work. Until now, artists and their promoters have had to make applications for short-term vi
UK - Ministry of Sound Classical (MoS Classical) is a celebration of 30 years of Ministry of Sound’s favourite dance classics performed by the London Concert Orchestra. As this spectacular show prepared to take to the stage for a highly anticipated return to the live arena, its audio team turned their attention to giving the 50-piece orchestra a new and different kind of in-ear monitoring by choosing KLANG’s 3D personal monitor mixing system. KLANG was not unfamiliar to the head of sound and sound designer for the show since 2018, Phil Wright, as he has become increasingly familiar with it in recent months. “I’m involved with the 5G Festival, an R&D project that’s working on finding ways to allow musicians to play together with insignificant latency over the 5G network,” explains Wright. “We’ve been using KLANG on that to great effect, finding that
UK - A month after collaborating on the Team GB Olympics Homecoming, Transition Video was back at London’s SSE Wembley Arena to help deliver another hybrid event, using Green Hippo’s Boreal+ Media Server for The National Lottery's Paralympics GB Homecoming (see more on the homecoming concerts in LSi November 2021). Great Britain’s Paralympic stars claimed a total of 124 podium places and were welcomed home from Tokyo with a line-up of artists that included Jamie Cullum, Birdy and Raymond Antrobus. In the live audience, NHS workers gathered for the spectacular, which ran video highlights of the Paralympians’ performances as part of a Channel 4 broadcast. Transition Video’s Kate Perring wor
UK - AV and entertainment technology company Anna Valley has announced a restructure of the corporate group, changes to the leadership team, and the appointment of new staff in key positions. The restructure will see subsidiary company Matrix UK Solutions become part of Anna Valley and the creation of new senior roles, including that of commercial director and director of events. Anna Valley board member, Nick Hart, has taken on the position of commercial director and will assume responsibility for sales across both the event and venue markets, whilst Matrix UK Solutions MD Jamie Gaskins (pictured) has been made director of events at Anna Valley. Matrix was acquired by Anna Valley in 2018 but has continued to operate as a separate business within the group under Gaskin’s leadership until now. Anna Valley’s Robin Evans and Matrix’s Ben O'Shea will now both report
Italy - Outline has announced a new strategic sales partnership with World Marketing Associates (WMA). With offices in the UK, France and Russia, WMA will be Outline's sales representatives for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. WMA’s Julian Young comments: “WMA are excited to be working with Outline. Over the years we have followed them and been extremely impressed with the groundbreaking technologies they have introduced. “We will provide support and advice to the Outline distribution network as the world gradually reopens following the COVID pandemic, offering help to the distributors with their sales and marketing programmes. WMA will be an additional member of the Outline team, helping to grow and strengthen the business and relationships with the office in Flero.” Outline CEO Giorgio Biffi remarks: “Our product range is the most comprehensive it
World - JBL Professional has introduced the EON700 Series portable PA loudspeakers and subwoofer with Bluetooth. With four models available, including the 10-inch EON710, the 12-inch EON712 and the 15-inch EON715 powered PA speakers and the 18-inch EON718S subwoofer, EON700 systems cover the needs of today’s working musicians and sound providers, says JBL. These flexible systems are designed to “effortlessly scale with customers’ needs, from DJ performances and full bands to solo singer/songwriter gigs, presentations and worship events”. “The EON700 Series truly represents the next generation of portable PA systems,” says Brandon Knudsen, Harman Professional product manager, portable PA loudspeakers. “When we started designing these new PAs, we looked at our best-selling EON Series and made that core technology even better by upgrading drivers and
UK - At the end of October London’s Hackney Empire theatre was the setting for the world premiere of Vanara The Musical, a timely tale of environmental disaster and tribal conflict with a message of hope and unity. Sound operator Ollie Dudman mixed Olly Steel’s sound design on a Yamaha Rivage PM3 digital mixing system. Olly Steel first used Yamaha digital mixers in 2008, as sound #2 on the High School Musical UK tour, with a system designed by Rick Clarke. “I used Yamaha digital systems on various productions after that, especially when I was doing sound design in my own right and was able to specify the system,” he says. “When the Rivage PM10 system came out in 2014, I was sold! It had everything I wanted and I knew that, with some extra development and tailoring, it could be a very powerful system for theatre. I said that if it could potentially do m
UAE - Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is up and running. The event has registered more than three million visits with attendees from 185 nationalities – a figure that almost equals the 192 countries with a dedicated pavilion at the event. As official projection and display partner for the Expo 2020 Dubai, Christie technology is used to display content and provide experiences across the event site. Creative Technology Middle East was the AV integrator for the centrepiece Al Wasl Plaza dome. A worldwide audience of millions tuned into the opening ceremony to be thrilled by some extraordinary and technologically advanced performances from a 1,000-strong cast and crew. The 90-minute immersive spectacular showcased Al Wasl Plaza’s dome – the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface which
UK - HireHop, the company behind the cloud equipment rental software of the same name, has opened agent offices in Australia and South Africa. Due to the ever-increasing number of HireHop users in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, it was felt as a necessity for HireHop to better serve their users by opening local offices to provide support, implementation and training, says the company. Since its release, HireHop has grown in popularity, with not just large rental companies moving to HireHop, but also smaller ones, as HireHop also offers a free for life version, designed for small start-ups to help them grow their business. HireHop was originally launched in 2016 in the UK to offer “future proof, powerful and affordable equipment rental software to hire companies all over the world”, and in that short space of time, it has attracted numerous large and
Lithuania - Optocore has appointed Sonus Exsertus as its new Lithuanian distributor. Founded in 2013, Sonus had approached the German fibre network specialists when they were looking for new solutions regarding signal distribution. “We immediately saw the potential in this partner, since fibre, in our opinion, is the future of signal distribution,” said head of business development, Ramūnas Alenskas. With many premier global sound and lighting brands in its distribution portfolio, SONUS is a total stage technology supplier, with a customer base covering theatres, cultural houses, concert halls, conference centres, and many other applications throughout Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia. The addition of Optocore to its portfolio was an obvious next step. “We could see the unlimited possibilities in transferring any signal from point A to any other poi
UK - Back in April this year, Martin Audio was honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for its Wavefront Precision optimised line arrays. Upon the announcement, Martin Audio MD, Dom Harter, had eagerly acknowledged the prestige of winning, fittingly during the company’s 50th year. He also revealed that Wavefront Precision arrays had become the company’s fastest ever selling line array format suitable for both installation and live sound applications. Six months later Martin Audio was formally presented with the award, at a special reception held at their High Wycombe HQ, by Countess Howe, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. Also in attendance were Councillor Zahir Mohammed, chairman of Buckinghamshire Council, as well as Phil Dudderidge, executive chairman and founder of Martin Audio parent company, Focusrite - and all the staff
Singapore - L-Acoustics has appointed industry veteran Timothy Zhou as CEO of L-Acoustics Asia Pacific. The company will this month also inaugurate a new regional office in Singapore. In addition to the creation of a new APAC hub, Zhou will also manage a growing team that is dedicated to serving local partners as well as building awareness of the brand’s innovative technologies in key vertical markets, including those in residential and architectural applications. To accompany Zhou in his mission, L-Acoustics has named two key team members to director roles. Alvin Koh has been named director of application project, APAC supporting clients and projects across the region while David Cooper takes on the director of sales, APAC role and will relocate to Singapore to provide elevated support to clients. “In the coming years, we aim to serve customers and partners
USA - On Friday, 5 November, the Wayne State Warriors officially opened their university’s new basketball arena with an inaugural game against the Michigan Wolverines. The new $25m, 3,000-seat venue is also home to the NBA Detroit Pistons’ G League franchise, the Motor City Cruise, who begin their first season there this fall. All of those teams and the fans who come to see them will experience quality sound, courtesy of a new L-Acoustics A Series PA system designed and specified by consultancy Idibri and installed by AV integrator Ametek. Key to the sonic success of this project was keeping sound on the seats and off of the highly reflective hardwood basketball court and venue walls. To accomplish that, the AV design team at Idibri chose L-Acoustics A Series; specifically, eight main arrays aimed at the seating area, each consisting of four A15i (two A15i Wide plu
UK - Entourage Pro is an initiative in production industry crew resources. This free-to-join global networking platform “bridges the gap between artists and the production world and is set to revolutionise how production personnel are sourced, accredited and availed to the wider production and music industries”. The scheme has the backing of industry names including Avolites, d&b audiotechnik, ChainMaster, MDG, Neutrik, Robe and Yamaha. Entourage Pro draws on director Joel Perry’s 20 year-plus association with live music production, as well as its partnership with Showcase Music, which has 52 years of industry heritage to add to the platform’s offering. “With the global events sector starting to re-emerge, we knew the time was right to launch a service that has real relevance for the live music industry,” says Perry. “It’s an idea that has been in t
UK - Audiologic has announced that from 1 October 2021 they become K-array’s exclusive specialist trade partner, as part of the brand’s continued and evolving growth strategy for the UK market. 2B Heard, K-array’s UK distributor, has been operating in the market for six years, and as part of an acceleration of growth, is now focussing specifically on the commercial and residential markets for the K-array portfolio. 2B Heard is working with Audiologic as a specialist trade partner, seeing them focus on and take an active role in the promotion of the product range for markets in which they specialise. Sam Nankivell, 2B Heard co-founder, comments: “Our ever-changing marketplace means that at 2B Heard, we are focussing more on architectural and commercial installations for K-array, and we are keen that in line with that focus, we continue to service other markets
France - APG has announced its new iS range of three subwoofers, as well as the UC118i, a new subwoofer from the Uniline Compact range. All four loudspeakers will be presented on the Arbane Groupe stand at the 25th edition of the JTSE (Paris, 23–24 November 2021). The French manufacturer will also take this opportunity to unveil a new visual signature, inspired by the blue border dear to the brand since its creation in 1978, which will now act as an integrated logo on the products' grilles. New round perforated grilles that are perfectly integrated into the enclosure also complete the new visual appearance of APG loudspeakers. This new signature accompanies the launch of a new range of subwoofers: the APG iS series. Consisting of three models with a 10”, 12” and 15” driver respectively, the iS series replaces the SB series, bringing a wider bandwidth of bass th
Germany - Voice-Acoustic has introduced the Venia compact column loudspeaker series. The new series consists of two full-range models: the passive Venia-6 (4x 6.5" and 3x 1") and the bi-amped high-performance column array Venia-8 (4x 8" and 4x 1"), which offers with 140dB sound pressure at only 35kg weight. The high-frequency drivers are each coupled to a line array waveguide and produce a dispersion angle of 100° horizontally and 0°/-20° vertically via a large horn. The HF section of the Venia series provides a vertically asymmetrical sound pressure coverage with a plane wavefront. The principle of larger line arrays is transferred to the Venia loudspeakers in a compact column format: the high-frequency energy is bundled to cover longer distances and the near filed is covered by curving with a lower energy content distributed to a larger area. The result is a balan
UK - Monarchy on Chalk Farm Road in North London has re-opened its doors with a new name and a complete venue refurbishment including a total upgrade of the audio to a Void Acoustics system. Formerly known as The Monarch, and where Amy Winehouse once DJ’ed, this popular bar/pub is a stone’s throw from The Roundhouse – the noted music venue. And whilst it may have new owner operators (AB-InBev), and a fresh new look, the venue remains committed, and connected to, its music heritage. A full audio upgrade with a high-end Void Acoustics audio system was central to the re-fit. It’s not the first time that Void Acoustics has partnered with London based integrator AT&C Professional Systems to specify and install a fully integrated Void system. Alan Smith, business development manager for AT&C takes up the story. “The brief we were given was to creat
UK - Anna Valley subsidiary, Matrix UK Solutions is providing dynamic LED backdrops and innovative IMAG services for Genesis’ The Last Domino? Tour. Having sold an estimated 100m albums, Genesis is among the biggest selling recording artists of all time and has played to sold-out stadiums and arenas all over the world for decades. The Last Domino Tour marks over 13 years since Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford have performed together and it is expected to be the group’s last live tour. The tour kicked off in September 2021 with 37 shows planned at venues across the UK and North America between 20 September and 16 December 2021. However, the final four performances in the UK were cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests within the band and are now planned for March 2022. The US leg of the tour will commence on 15 November 2021. With Phil Collins remaini
Egypt - Green Hippo’s Taiga and Karst+ were the media servers of choice for Egyptian artist Mohamed Ramadan, whose recent outdoor performance on Egypt’s North Coast saw 85,000 fans gather for what the singer described as “the largest audience attendance in 2021”. To entertain the masses, the region’s largest ever scaffolding stage was erected, measuring 45m wide and 20m high, for a concert that commanded serious attention to detail, with the visuals quite literally taking centre stage among 800 lighting fixtures, pyrotechnics and special effects. The structure was built by event rental partner Hi-Lights Group, which also supplied the 900sq.m of LED video wall that displayed bespoke graphics on a 4K video display with a total of 230,400 pixels. Hi-Lights Group utilised two Hippotizer V4 Taiga and four Hippotizer V4 Karst+ Media Servers, with an output sp
South Africa - The Norwegian Settler’s Church (NSC) has a rich history; inheriting its namesake from the group of Norwegians who originally settled in Southern Natal in 1882. Since, the church has undergone various transformations, but remains the longest serving church in the region. Construction on a new auditorium kicked off in 2008, and has slowly progressed through to the current day, developing to accommodate the church’s growing congregation. Recently, Stage Audio Works (SAW) were brought in to implement the finishing touches; handling the integration of the audio aspect of the church, which, in the words of Phillip Kloppers, media and technical director at NSC, really “makes the building work”. SAW used the expertise they’ve acquired across many House of Worship projects to deliver the entire solution over the course of two weeks. Significantly, this was a
Austria - The Bregenz Festival attracts more than 200.000 visitors every year. In the months of July and August culture lovers from all over the world can enjoy more than 80 performances. Due to COVID-19 no shows could take place. The festival returned this year for its75th anniversary and to experience the revival of Guiseppe Verdi's Rigoletto on the lake stage. For many years, the Bregenz Festival has placed emphasis on the latest technologies, on the one hand to meet the high technical and structural requirements, and on the other hand to provide its audience with a unique experience through maximum system stability and quality. Just in time for the start of the new season, key components of the existing audio system were completely renewed and extended for average monitoring. Two Prodigy.MP from DirectOut, configured in MirrorMode (redundantly to each other
UK - DJs from around the globe assembled at Chelmsford City Racecourse recently for the second edition of Clockstock Festival. Staged by Clockwork Orange (Danny Gould and Andy Manston), the 12-hour dance party was designed to recreate the spirit of the nationwide recognised names in the 90s clubbing scene, complete with VJ’s, special effect flame throwers, CO2 jets and dancers. The event attracted an audience of 15,000 ‘old school ravers’, who had cut their teeth on the dance genre of the mid-90s. Paul Galley, who runs locally based Event Sound & Light Ltd (ESL), deployed his front-line Martin Audio MLA Compact PA to equip the two main stages, with a Wavefront Precision (WPC and WPS) occupying the ‘Olds Kool’ big top, where there was also an early outing for Martin Audio’s latest baby, Torus. This stage was supported by Martin Audio product support engi
