Europe - Onboard reliability is key for Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Marie Ulven Ringheim’s indie pop project, Girl in Red. The latest tour has seen the band grow, not only in size, but venue capacity. Larger venues meant higher complexity and production values, and sound engineers Kris Derry and Matt Wickens knew they needed the most stable equipment available, that also sounded great and could withstand the rigours of worldwide touring. For them, only DiGiCo could fit that bill, and the two Quantum 338s, KLANG:DMI, and Fourier Audio transform.engine, all provided by Entec Sound and Light, have been working for Girl in Red across the world in arenas and at festivals ever since.
Derry mixes at the front of house position. He has been with the band since 2019, and has witnessed a huge change in the way they tour.
"When I started, we were in a splitter van and I just brought a Peli-case of mics and no desk,” he recalls. “Returning in 2021 for Reading and Leeds festival, Matt and I made a push to take an audio package. The gig had grown and we needed that reliability and consistency. So, at the start of that year’s album campaign, we spec'd DiGiCo and we haven't looked back.”
The team, headed by production manager Eric Wade, started with the SD Range, but requirements continued to expand and so did the consoles. Having tried most of what DiGiCo has to offer, both engineers are now using a Quantum 338, supplied by Entec Live, at the front of house and monitor positions. Derry and monitor engineer Wickens are making use of the Spice Rack, with Wickens really appreciating the Nodal processing.
“The Quantum 338 is great, the functionality is unbelievable,” he says. “We've got an extremely dynamic drummer, so being able to send all the drum channels to him pre-compression, pre-dynamics, but post-gated compression to everyone else without having to duplicate channels is great.”
Joining in 2021, Wickens introduced the band to KLANG for their in-ear monitoring needs. Accessed via the Quantum 338 console at the mix position, KLANG:DMI integrates seamlessly, allowing everything to be within easy reach, requiring less screens, creating fewer distractions, and allowing Wickens to focus on what is important.
“As soon as I introduced KLANG:DMI I was instantly able to lower the listening volume for my artist mix, which was great,” he says. “Then I could simply place instruments, vocals and track in a 3D landscape. I can push mix objects up and down, as well as left and right to create more space in the mix. It means that I can have every element of the band audible whilst keeping a lot of space for that all-important vocal.”
Support is something that DiGiCo is renowned for, and the relationship with people like Mark Saunders and Dave Bigg, who have supported the engineers with setups and programming, has been invaluable throughout the band’s many tour dates.
