Europe - An early adopter of KLANG, David McEwan, front of house engineer for Nitin Sawhney, had been waiting for the opportunity to upgrade the band’s monitoring solution with a KLANG:vokal system. When Sawhney announced the Identity Tour for 2024, McEwan knew that the right moment had finally arrived. Streamlined workflows are integral to the way Sawhney works and utilising KLANG:vokal has improved efficiency across the whole sound system.
The Identity Tour was a paired back celebration of the album by the same name, featuring collaborations with some of Sawhney’s favourite international friends and artists, described as ‘a love letter to who we all are’. The tour completed dates across the United Kingdom and Portugal, including a set at Glastonbury.
McEwan chose KLANG for the tour because band members had loved it in the past, and he was keen to recreate the easy-going vibes that they all remembered from a previous tour.
“We first used KLANG a few years ago. We were definitely early adopters,” McEwan enthuses. “We remember that first tour with KLANG as a halcyon experience, it was just one of those where everything went right and using KLANG was a contributing factor.”
In October 2023, the band performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of Journeys, a festival recognising diverse journeys and identities through music. “When we heard that the RAH was keen for us to use KLANG, we were excited. It coincided with the start of our next tour, so the stars were aligned,” McEwan continues. “Andy Huffer at HD Pro Audio was able to supply a :vokal system and we knew that incorporating it would reduce our hire costs, meaning the purchase would pay for itself over the course of that one tour, making it very cost-efficient.”
By using KLANG, the band have been able to reduce their touring equipment and their sound check time, which is now down to under half an hour. Using a Yamaha DM7 at the front of house position means that the :vokal unit can take audio directly from the RIO, with reverbs provided by the playback laptop, eliminating the requirement for a separate monitor console. Monitor engineers can oversee mixes, responding if needed using the KLANG:app. Personal control of their mixes is also possible for musicians, meaning they have complete autonomy.
