Italy - Reggae and bass music specialists, Mungo's Hi Fi, has become the latest company to invest in Powersoft's K Series and X Series technology. Based in Glasgow, they made the short journey over the River Clyde to the home of the manufacturer's UK and Ireland distributor, CUK Audio to place the order - and CUK Audio general manager Stuart Cunningham confirmed that the sale of two X8s had represented the first of this product in the UK.

"This powerful 8-channel switching mode amplifier (with PFC) innovates the concept of amplifier platform: it implements a new system of channel routing, new worldwide universally compatible single phase, bi-phase, or three phase power supply and a revolutionary full featured DSP," says Powersoft. "X Series also supports AES3, two r

UK - The lighting rig for the Take That Live Tour 2015 is not small. Working alongside creative director, Kim Gavin and production designer, Misty Buckley is lighting designer Tim Routledge. Out of Routledge's design, well over half of the fixtures are from the Ambersphere Solutions family of brands. Ayrton's new MagicPanel-R and MagicBlade-R fixtures augment a whole host of Clay Paky moving lights while Robert Juliat followspots are the order of the day. And for control, MA Lighting's grandMA2 consoles are in command.

Over 50 of Ayrton's MagicPanel-R units are used to create a wall on the central stage, where their versatility makes them ideal as audience blinders as well as using their continuous double rotation and effects capabilities to create a myriad of visual feasts. Routledge first spied the Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures at PLASA last year where they were a major feature

France - Robe officially launched its latest subsidiary operation, Robe Lighting France, in style in Paris last week, unveiling the new offices with a party attended by around 150 people including major rental players and lighting designers from all sectors of the French production industry.

Robe Lighting France is headed by CEO Bruno Garros and CFO Elie Battah.

The company is fully operational and hits-the-ground-running with seven staff in place including executive assistant Messaouda Belarbi, after sales and technical support manager Jerome Lambeau and communications specialist Jonathan Grimaux.

They are joined by two technical sales engineers, Kevin Migeon, covering northern France and Franck Huyhn who is taking care of the south of the country.

Robe Lighting France has eye-catching new offices at Paris Nord 2 which are well located in a leafy green area just 10 minute

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

UK - Monday 15 June marked a historic day as royalty, members of Parliament and other dignitaries all gathered to celebrate 800 years of the Magna Carta. Taking place at Runnymede, now a National Trust Park, the event consisted of the unveiling of a new sculpture by artist Hew Locke, a re-enactment of the charter's history by local schoolchildren, a performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra before culminating in several flypasts by a group of Red Arrows.

The arena for the celebrations was built by Apollo Event Consultants and, due to the magnitude and historic relevance of the occasion, they wanted to create a setting which was unforgettable. As a result, they approached White Light to provide the lighting, having previously worked with the complete production solution specialist on other events.

Tim Hanbury, managing director at Apollo Event Consultants, comments, &quo

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New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story

When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage.
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UK - Event communications company Show Hire made use of a QSC Q-Sys audio networking system at this year's Badminton Horse Trials, sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors. Based around a Core 500i processor, a PS-1600 paging station, and several I/O Frames, the Q-Sys installation, supplied by UK distributor Shure Distribution UK, was used to route and control public-address audio around the 1500-acre site.

"We've handled the public address at Badminton for a few years," explains Show Hire events manager Ross Slaughter, "and, until this year, we've always used analogue equipment, distributing audio signals using copper cable. Following our successful installation of Q-Sys at last year's Farnborough International Airshow, we thought we could bring the audio at Badminton into the digital age as well."

Show Hire were aided in this endeavour by the organisers of the Badm

Bahrain - Lighting designer Sonu A.B used a wide array of Clay Paky fixtures to deliver vibrant festival-size looks for the Formula One Gulf Air Grand Prix weekend in Bahrain.

Taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, the two day event saw Showtech Bahrain hire Sonu as head of lighting for the event, supplying 30 x Clay Paky Mythos, 48 x A.leda B-EYE K10 and K20, 30 x Alpha Spot HPE 700, 40 x Sharpy, 12 x Alpha Beam 1500 and six Alpha Profile 1500 for his versatile and bold design. On the first day there were Arabic music performances from such artists as Abdull Rowaishaid and Amar Zain whilst Brazilian pop sensation Pitbull headlined the whole weekend.

"My brief was to design a rig that worked for each of the bands' requirements and that would make a massive impact," explains Sonu. "It was an international event showcase with the aim of reall

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AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head

Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.

AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.

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USA - A musical and cultural landmark featured in Richard Linklater's acclaimed film Boyhood and named one of the top 10 clubs in America by Rolling Stone, the Continental Club in Austin, Tex. has recently upgraded its house and monitor systems to new Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Audiences and artists alike immediately noticed the change in audio quality.

"As soon as we flew the new Meyer Sound PA, we could tell the difference immediately," says Jamie Wellwarth, head of audio for the 300-capacity club and touring FOH engineer for bands Jane's Addiction and Social Distortion. "It has clarity, punch, and you can get it nice and loud without that harsh sound that hurts your ears. It fills the room without overwhelming people up front. The difference really is night and day."

The new house system comprises four UPQ-2P loudspeakers, two 700-HP subwoof

USA - With festivals on five continents, the Ultra Music Fest is the world's most recognized electronic music festival today, and this year Ultra Miami offered a one-of-a-kind experience at the outdoor festival that featured over 150 DJ's on seven stages at Bayfront Park.

Working with creative director Richard Millstein and production manager Ray Steinman, it was lighting designer Stephen Lieberman who needed to create a lighting design that could stand up to the intensity of the three-day festival and he did so using Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot and VL3500 Wash FX luminaires provided by Solotech.

"I've been involved with the Ultra Music Festival since 2000, and when I start putting the designs together, I first look at where the stage is located and what the size of the performance area will be to give me a foundation to build upon," began Lieberman. "Next I l

USA - Bandit Lites is continuing its summer of music festivals by providing the lighting for the CounterPoint Music Festival, where more than 60 artists including Widespread Panic, Zedd, Umphrey's McGee, Knife Party and The Roots performed on one of the events five stages across Georgia's Kingston's Down 5,000 acres.

The lighting coordination for the three-day event was managed by 3srCreative, with Seth Jackson working with Bandit to create looks that would be visible both during the day and evening. "The main stage had a much larger rig with the MAC Vipers," said crew chief Shawn Worlow. "All of the stages used a 4 ZR foggers and Base Hazers. We used a lot of fog and haze for the day time performances with open white and less saturated colors to make it all pop more during the daytime."

CounterPoint's mainstage consisted of three 42' trusses, backdrop and

UK - Well-known European beer brand Peroni Nastro Azzurro has brought Italy to London with The House of Peroni residency; a month-long celebration of the very best of Italian culture. The multi-sensory cultural and gastronomic event was enhanced by one of Nexo's newest line array sound systems, the Geo M6, provided by Presentation Design Services.

Staged in The House, an extension of the Old Truman Brewery in London's fashionable Shoreditch district, The House of Peroni 'pop-up' is a festival-type event, created by agency M&C Saatchi PR.

Inspired by the Italian piazza, experiences in The House include a six-course tasting menu by a Michelin-starred chef Accursio Craparo, and a drinks menu designed by an award-winning molecular mixologist. Italian artists Luminarie De Cagna have brought their multi-coloured light installations into the space, and, outside in the garden, there i

UK - When 25 industry companies came together at Sandown Park on 17th June to raise money for industry charity, Behind the Scenes UK, at their annual karting day, leading crewing company Showforce was only too happy to submit a team and lend their support. Other companies competing included: White Light, Stage Electrics, Wonder Works, Brilliant Stages, DiGiCo and Crewsaders.

The karting day saw 25 teams of up to 6 drivers race for 3 hours on an open air course with organisers promoting a competitive atmosphere of skulduggery, out-manoeuvring and general all out 'race to win' attitude. There was also a Formula One style pit stop challenge where the team quickest to change their tyres could claim bragging rights off the track as well as on it! With a BBQ and lots of opportunities to network with clients, catch up with old friends and take part in raffles and stalls to assist with

Barco has announced the launch of its XPR range of high-end 4K media servers. Together with the XHD range launched last February, these complete the Barco Media Servers range. The new offering adds 4K capabilities, "unparalleled user-friendliness and elaborate preview functionalities" to Barco's impressive list of end-to-end visualization solutions.

The Barco Media Servers range will be available in three versions: the XHD-200, XHD-400, and the brand-new XPR-600. The XHD series are shipping now, whereas the XPR series will ship from end of September 2015 onwards.

"Media servers play a pivotal role in creating mesmerizing visuals for a live band, spectacular 3D projection mapping, thrilling theme park rides or showstoppers at an event or exhibition", explains Peter Pauwels, director strategic marketing V&H and entertainment at Barco. "With the addition of the

Canada/USA - Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens are being rigged in an inspired fashion to spell out the word HIP for Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip's current 2015 tour.

The group, which have had nine No.1 albums in Canada, recently embarked on the Fully Completely Tour, playing their album of the same name in its entirety to their legion of fans.

Brent Clark is production designer for the North American tour, which kicked off in Toronto in January and to date has visited other major cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, and Montreal.

"The concept behind the staging and lighting was to make it look a bit 'throwback'," says Brent. "The grid with the Color Force 72s on is meant to look like an old fashioned digital clock. Spelling out the word 'HIP' was my idea, as the band are affectionately known as The Hip - and using the

USA - InfoComm 2015 saw Yamaha launching its ProVisionaire Touch app for iPad. Developed in response to user requests, the versatile app allows wireless remote control of MTX and MRX series signal processors via easily designed custom control panels.

A key component of Yamaha's Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) series, the MTX and MRX processors can be managed via Wi-Fi, which has led to requests for a straightforward, but highly customisable, control app. The result is ProVisionaire Touch, which allows installers to meet the bespoke needs of individual commercial spaces such as conference rooms, retail stores, restaurants, banquet halls, houses of worship and many more.

ProVisionaire Touch makes it easy to arrange faders, switches, graphics and other widgets via its intuitive interface, to create original touch control panels that perfectly match individual installation

UK - Doughty Engineering's award winning Modular Rigging System will be making its first official appearance at this year's ABTT show. The range which is riding high on a wave of success, was first introduced as a prototype at last year's show to such acclaim that it was awarded the ABTT Award for Engineering. Since then, the product has gone global and Doughty will be exhibiting a new range of additional items, both on the stand and in the new viewing area at the show.

Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty explained, "Such is the success of the range, we are continually developing add on items in response to feedback from lighting designers who, for the first time are experiencing the freedom to run wild with their ideas. The latest items to join the range are the half connector with eye and half connector with cable holders which allow for the H-Frames to be flown at d

USA - Although the Chauvet Professional team arrived at InfoComm with great enthusiasm about the products they would be exhibiting, even the most optimistic among them didn't anticipate the size of the crowds that would stream into their booth - nor the overwhelming praise that attendees would lavish on the company's latest innovations in lighting and video.

"We knew we were bringing some very special products to InfoComm," said Ford Sellers, senior product manager for Chauvet Professional. "But we were amazed by the turnout at our booth, which remained packed throughout the show, and quite thrilled and honoured to hear all the positive things people were saying about our products.

"A lot of thought, research and development goes into every product we bring to market," added Sellers, "so this terrific response at InfoComm reaffirms our belief that

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd. is hosting a two-day charity cycle ride between its High Wycombe and Leeds sales offices on 18th - 19th July 2015, to raise money in remembrance of a beloved colleague, the late Kevin Fitz-Simons.

Kevin held an important senior role as Northern Lighting Sales Manager in AC-ET's Leeds office. He was an extremely well liked and respected colleague, and a larger than life character. During his diverse career spanning over 30 years, Kevin built up an incredible number of customer relationships and friendships. He sadly passed away on 31st December 2013, aged 53.

This event - known as the 'Fitz-Simons Challenge' - is being organised by Stuart Burdett, Technical Sales Executive for AC-ET's Video product division. It will raise funds for two great charities which would have met with Kevin's approval, and aims to secure a minimum of &p

UK - Following KV2 Audio's successful return to the ABTT Show in 2014 the company will be returning to this year's event, taking place next week 24-25 June at Alexandra Palace, London.

KV2 will be exhibiting on Stand E-21 and showing a range of products currently being used in theatres worldwide.

KV2 will also be presenting an hour-long seminar including audio demonstrations in The Studio Theatre, Londesborough Room. This will centre on the recently released ESD 5 - The Latest Revolution in Theatre Delay Speakers - as well as other exciting products currently being used in several West End and touring productions.

The seminar takes place at 14:00 on the first show day - Wednesday 24 June, The Studio Theatre, Londesborough Room.

(Jim Evans)

Fiji - Working closely with gaffer James Tinsley and his team, Aurora have sent out a full location package to the latest series of Love Island.

The team have been working round the clock to get things ready for the latest batch of islanders. To support the installation, Aurora has provided everything from Tungsten to tape, distro to desks, plus site power and a range of bespoke electronic installations and LED set pieces.

Commenting on the project, Aurora MD Nick Edwards said, "preparing the gear and taking care of the logistical challenge of transporting a full location package to the Island in the sun was the easy part - thankfully James and his team are on board to make sure the 12 islanders are viewed in the best possible light during their six weeks excursion to paradise!" Love Island runs on ITV2.

(Jim Evans)

India - Hyderabad based Namdhari impex has been awarded full brand representation by the Portuguese manufacturer, NEXT- proaudio for India.

The news follows discussions between the manufacturer and the distributor which started just after the Get Show in Guangzhou.

"For NEXT- proaudio it will be good to be distributed by Namdhari impex because they are a very professional company growing in India, and it is another big step ahead to continue growing in the Asian professional audio market," said Andre Correia, NEXT- proaudio's assistant manager.

"This is our honour and privilege to be associated with NEXT- proaudio. We have accepted the responsibility to market and promote their products to the best of our abilities. This is our brand and we are going to rock the Indian market. Our passion combined with these fantastic products will definitely yield the desired

USA - Each year Caravan Stage take their mobile venue - the 30m tall ship Amara Zee - on tour to a selection of coastal cities - with a stunning and provocative production, and the 2015 season kicked off with a continuation of their successful experimental musical Hacked: The Treasure of the Empire in Brooklyn, New York, where the Amara Zee wintered.

Lighting designer Lutz Gock and assistant LD Katie Davies used their new Robe LED fixtures - four DLX Spot moving lights and six LEDForce 18 PARs rig - on what Lutz describes as the "almost upside down" lighting plot.

When it comes to lighting Caravan Stage performances, there are several very specific requirements.

With no stage roof, the kit is exposed to the elements during the set-up, rehearsal and show periods. Lighting, sound and video equipment are all powered by an on-board generator so it is limited, wh

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