Projects

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26 July 2024

Germany - Bremen-based Folk band Versengold have recently enjoyed their biggest tour ever. With a string of sold-out performances ahead of them, they knew their current sound set up would need upgrading. A more transparent monitor mix solution was required to allow them to re-engage with their larger audiences, plus a mix that would offer space to hear the bigger crowds, but not allow them to over-power the acoustic instruments which are key to their six-piece ensemble.

KLANG was their solution and the man behind implementing it successfully was Tjado de Vries. Choosing KLANG:konductor meant the band could enjoy effectively spaced monitor mixes while still maintaining the clarity they need to communicate with each other as they perform.

Since 2018, Versengold have been on a steep trajectory, both in terms of venue size and recognition. Going from a s

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26 July 2024

UK - Plymouth Argyle FC recently hosted its first two-day concert weekend at its Home Park stadium. Run in conjunction with the local Depo nightclub, who also hosted the after parties, day one was EDM-oriented, and dubbed ALIVE at Argyle, followed by the more family-focused RELIVE at Argyle on the Sunday.

The two days were quite distinct in that while house music and drum and bass dominated the first day, with a Becky Hill DJ set, Bru-C, Ben Nicky and others, the following day saw heritage acts and radio DJ’s (including Gareth Gates, Five, Liberty X, Chris Moyles and Craig Charles).

Local production company, and Martin Audio partner, Nub Sound were brought in to provide technical infrastructure. Having worked with the promoters on various events at their nightclub, in addition to the PA, they also provided the stage structure and upstage video elem

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25 July 2024

UK - Following a near two-year break from touring, Elbow are taking their new album Audio Vertigo on the road with a Skan PA Hire audio package.

Operated by the band’s long-standing engineers, Danny Evans (FOH) and Julien Helme (monitors), the system features Avid VENUE S6L 24Cs at both ends, and a d&b audiotechnik GSL Series PA system design by Skan’s Scott Essen.

Tour and production manager, Tom Piper, comments: “We have a very long-standing relationship with Skan, who are the long term and very much preferred audio supplier for Elbow tours. They provide state-of-the-art systems and are super-efficient operationally, a pleasure to work with.”

Danny is both the band’s FOH and studio engineer. He comments: “There’s generally a lot more time pressure when working live. I don’t mix particularly loud, but I think tha

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25 July 2024

UK - Shangri-La - a festival within a festival that is entirely dedicated to creativity, arts, and underground and independent culture - has been a special area at Glastonbury for many years now. It is where the NowHere stage is located and where fans of electronic music feel like they’re in a club. For the lighting set-up, designer James R. Dickson from Elixir Lighting opted to use the Cameo OTOS H5 and ZENIT W600 SMD.

“The NowHere stage is very different from the festival’s other stages. Everything here revolves around electronic music and creativity,” acknowledges James R. Dickson, who – together with his company Elixir Lighting - is responsible for the lighting design, operation, and provision of lighting technology on the medium-sized stage. “Our job was to create a nightclub in the middle of a green field. To do this, we put the lights on t

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25 July 2024

USA - At its Spring 2024 opening, Flyover in Chicago became the newest of Flyover Attractions’ immersive indoor flying rides, joining existing installations in Las Vegas; Vancouver, Canada; and Reykjavik, Iceland.

Located within Chicago’s landmark waterfront Navy Pier, the multi-sensory experience, which incorporates leading drone technologies along with impressive aerial shots and first-person narratives, showcases the city from perspectives never seen before. Flyover’s signature Chicago journey is shown on an impressive 65ft spherical screen with flight motion seats engineered to swoop, dip and turn, giving guests the feeling of flight. The attraction transports 61 guests at a time, with complete sensory immersion using wind, mist and scents, as fliers hang suspended.

The ride employs a massive number of audio sources, which are controlled an

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25 July 2024

Germany - Prolights products illuminate the Church of the Holy Spirit in Bielefeld, a modern octagonal structure with slender columns and coloured stained-glass windows, which has undergone a significant technological renovation.

This project aimed to improve and expand the media usage possibilities within the church, with a particular focus on the lighting setup. The new lighting, designed by the Schröder & Partner design studio under the guidance of project manager Jan Wöhning, introduced a versatile and innovative lighting system that enhances the architectural beauty and liturgical symbolism of the church.

“The church mainly had obsolete lighting technology, which we replaced with more modern LED technology, promoting energy efficiency. The church also asked us to emphasise the colours of the liturgical year (green, red, purple) through c

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24 July 2024

UK - Currently running at the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End, Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder! is an award-winning musical comedy which follows Kathy & Stella - hosts of Hull’s least successful true crime podcast. However, when their favourite author is killed, the pair find themselves thrust into a thrilling whodunnit of their own.

The show features a lighting design by Peter Small who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his rig, having previously done so for the show’s Bristol and Manchester run. For the London production, an addition to the rig included the Macula remote follow-spot System - distributed in the UK by Sound Technology - making the show the first in West End history to use this new technology.

Kathy & Stella arrives in London following its previous sell-out r

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24 July 2024

USA - In late 2016, Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) of Arlington Heights, Illinois, made a pivotal investment in Elation's first-generation Proteus series of IP-rated lighting. The acquisition of the IP65 Proteus Beam marked the beginning of a transformative journey.

Scott Falbe, who founded ILC over 30 years ago, recalls the early days when outdoor lighting meant wrapping indoor fixtures in rain gear. “Initially, it was all about covering indoor fixtures in domes or plastic so we could use them outdoors,” he says. “Eventually we invested in some of the early IP-rated fixtures like the Elation Level Q7IP PAR light. Then, when Proteus hit the market, it fundamentally changed the way we do outdoor shows.”

ILC became a shop known for its outdoor accoutrement and was the first to embrace the Proteus line, debuting it on the Lightswitch proje

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24 July 2024

Indonesia - Melodia Productions deployed 1 Sound systems for the exclusive Ferrari Roma Spider launch event in Surabaya. Ferrari’s vision for an elegant, all-white venue required sound quality with aesthetic appeal, a challenge that Melodia met with precision.

Ferrari expected great sound with an elegant and aesthetic look to fit into the launch event. Melodia used 1 Sound’s Tower LCC84, cardioid column, paired on top of the CSUB610, a cardioid subwoofer. Melodia chose to go with this fully cardioid system based off the cavernous hall where the event took place. The goal was to keep the sound narrow and have minimal reflections to support background music and a chamber orchestra performance. This was accomplished using four stacks of the Tower LCC84 and CSUB610 system.

“This exclusive event for the Ferrari brand launched a new world class sport

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24 July 2024

France - A celebration of Mediterranean cuisine and culture in the heart of Nice, Mediterraneo is housed within the walls of the old Gare du Sud railway station. The space, a long hall with high, vaulted ceilings with iron arches, consists of a ground floor and a mezzanine.

The installation of an audio system at Mediterraneo has been a two-part journey due to the evolution of the space, with KGEAR loudspeakers at the centre of the story.

Local integrator, EnvySoul, was contracted to handle the design and integration of the audio system, provided by local distributor, AEITECH. In the first instance, the system would be used only for background audio. “Having deployed KGEAR products on previous projects, we knew the GH4 as a small and versatile solution,” explains Rudy Rodenas at Envy Soul. “The power and audio quality are fantastic, and the form

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24 July 2024

UK - People arrived at the Bethel Convention Centre in Birmingham early for Zimbabwe-born gospel worshipper Eleana Makombe’s Grateful Concert in June.  Coming from across the UK, they waited outside in line for over two hours. For them, patience was a virtue, something that would make the time pass easier.

Blessing Bero, production and lighting designer for the African star’s widely anticipated show, was still sourcing gear just two days before load-in due to circumstances beyond his control.

Bero, who is a Zimbabwean based lighting designer with Events Evolution, responded to this pressure-packed situation with calm. Working his industry contacts, he was hooked up with SJ Grevett of DMX Productions.

“DMX Productions did an amazing job under pressure,” said Bero. “Their people were extremely helpful, as was the crew at the conventi

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24 July 2024

UK - Audio specialist tube uk has supplied a distributed sound system comprising d&b, Outline, Tannoy and Martin Audio speakers with a Yamaha MRX7-D audio matrix router at its heart for the new Chews Yard social, creative and entertainment space in Preston.

Chews Yard has seen the reimagination of a derelict former industrial premises, transforming it into a lively community hub. It is the brainchild of Ben Casey, of Chase Developments in Manchester and Christine Cort of CC&Friends, a founder of Manchester International Festival (MIF).

This first phase of development includes a 150-capacity food hall and bar area with offerings from different traders, an entertainment space, a series of industrial workshops for independent businesses and start-ups plus a large outdoor space, all with plenty of potential for staging a diversity of events.

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23 July 2024

UK - Originally only seen on sets of large-scale Hollywood productions like The Mandalorian and most recently in Barbie and Dune blockbusters, virtual production (VP) is becoming an important element of the modern-day education. Leading institutions like Sunderland University, University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and Solent University Southampton have embraced Brompton LED processing as part of their VP offering, providing their students and teaching staff with the real-world experience, allowing them to creatively utilise this innovative solution in their work.

CJP Broadcast Service Solutions has been offering a wide range of services in the broadcast, corporate, education and sports sectors, leveraging partner technologies like Brompton’s Tessera LED processors to enable organisations, businesses, and community groups to maxi

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23 July 2024

Hungary - Two hundred and sixty Martin Audio loudspeakers were on duty for a series of concerts at the Puskas Arena in Budapest recently. Spread across three weekends, with three sets of artists, BG Event staged one of their biggest productions ever in the 67,000-cap multi-purpose stadium.

The first weekend saw 22-year-old singer songwriter Azahriah, the latest Hungarian sensation, playing three shows, such was the demand for tickets, to a total of 120,000 people. This was followed by long-serving band Hungaria with their 1950s rock and roll style, and the final band was Halott Pénz (Dead Money), celebrating their 20th anniversary with this show.

It was the first time the production company had worked at this venue. Closed from 2002-2019 for a complete rebuild, according to BG Event’s Gábor ‘Mazsi’ Bácskay, “The team of architects failed t

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23 July 2024

UK - Manchester Printworks is a hospitality hub in the heart of the north of the UK. Comprising bars, restaurants, leisure spaces and a cinema, the venue recently received a £27m refurbishment which included the integration of the largest digital ceiling in Europe – measuring a total of 1,000m². The screen utilises augmented reality technology to display CGI content day and night, and a sound system from Renkus-Heinz envelopes guests in a world of entertainment.    

CUK Group supported the project as technical distributor, working alongside integrators PAS Sound Engineering. The new PA system was required to support the video wall content, as well as events held in the centre, which range from yoga classes to festivals and parties. Renkus-Heinz’s beam-steered IC Live Gen5 Series and UBX Series loudspeakers delivered the appropriate audio solution.

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23 July 2024

Ukraine - Popular rock band Karta Svitu launched their new album The Space of Important Things with a high-profile, hi-energy showcase gig at the Bel Etage venue in Kyiv, which was recorded for subsequent broadcast.

The show was directed by Mari Pogrebynska and Pavlo Zakrevskyi and included eye-catching lighting designed by Anton Semeniuk who utilised 32 x Robe Spikie moving lights, six ColorWash 575s and a BMFL Follow Spot controlled via a RoboSpot system among other lights, all supplied by lighting rental company, Alight.

Like everything in Ukraine, the show, production and entertainment industry has adapted to the realities of wartime, and while Alight has moved much of its equipment inventory to Poland for the moment – for obvious reasons – Anton explained that he was still very keen to use whatever Robe kit was available at the time

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23 July 2024

Portugal - Europalco staged the 2024 sales convention for the Super Bock Group, the largest Portuguese beverage company. Agency No More organised this event, bringing together 800 attendees at the Sala Tejo in Lisbon.

The 2024 sales convention sought to celebrate and inspire the Super Bock sales team, and No More chose Europalco to bring this vision to life. The preparation for this event took approximately two months and involved a team of 40 Europalco professionals.

The event’s theme, ‘Explorers’, aimed to transport the audience through various exploration scenarios, such as mountains, oceans, and space. The main challenge was to design a screen capable of immersing the audience in these dynamic environments. The solution was an impressive 180-degree screen design that enveloped more than half of the audience, measuring approximately 60 linea

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22 July 2024

Spain - Estopa is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a tour that is making a mark in every city they visit. One of the highlights of the duo’s celebration is the impressive stage production, featuring lighting designed by Juanjo Beloqui and a team supplied by Fluge Audiovisuales. Stonex, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Spain, is also represented during the tour through the presence of Ayrton Eurus and Perseo fixtures.

Having toured the United States and Latin America, they are currently visiting Spanish cities including Valencia, Seville, Madrid, and Bilbao, filling stadiums and creating an unforgettable show with lighting tailored to each of the venues. From Civitas Metropolitano to Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia, this 25th-anniversary tour has reached new heights.

Included in the tour’s lighting fixture selection are 60

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22 July 2024

USA - Dave Matthews Band (DMB) brings its fusion of rock, jazz, and folk to sheds and festivals across the US this summer, carrying a Meyer Sound Panther system provided by UltraSound, LLC. The 32-date tour marks nearly three decades of collaboration between DMB, Meyer Sound, and UltraSound, a relationship that began with the band’s first headline tour in 1995.

DMB is out with a Panther system for the third time; the current configuration is anchored by 16 Panther large-format linear array loudspeakers per side, supported by 14 Lyon out-fills per side, eight Leopard front-fills on the downstage edge, and CQ-1 and JM1-P loudspeaker-fills as needed, with 10 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements per side hung behind mains in a gradient array.

Panther offers numerous advantages, says UltraSound senior systems engineer Tom Lyon, who has been working w

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22 July 2024

USA/Europe - Icelandic singer Daði Freyr, has completed three tours using KLANG:vokal immersive technology. Used as a standalone unit, KLANG:vokal integrates into the monitor system to offer the artists an improved in-ear experience, allowing monitor engineer Sigri Hovde, to optimise her workflow and deliver superior results for the whole band.

Representing Iceland in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest catapulted Daði Freyr to international fame, subsequently garnering over 200m streams and global tours. As well as recording and self-producing his debut album, the simply titled I Made an Album, Freyr is now looking forward to a summer of worldwide dates, having just completed a North American tour.

Hovde, has worked with many globally renowned artists over her career and is about to embark on a massive international tour with Norwegian star,

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22 July 2024

UK - When Vine Christian Centre in Bridgend decided to upgrade the audio system in their main venue, they turned to local integrator Spartan AV, who installed a high-quality solution in conjunction with technical distributor, CUK Audio.

The previous audio system had been in use for over 20 years, with recent temporary repairs made to prolong its life. Fundamentally, though, the system did not provide adequate coverage in a venue three times as wide as it is deep. Stand-mounted speakers had been added to improve coverage, at the expense of blocking site lines.

Sean Hales, Spartan AV operations director, reports: “The client was initially fairly set on a flown line-array system; however, after my initial site visit, I deemed that a correctly designed point-source system was the right way to tackle this project. Another consideration was loading on st

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22 July 2024

USA - AY Productions, a specialist in audio and intercoms, provides television networks with a team of communication engineers for the setup and operation of intercoms for a range of major sporting events.

Since AY Productions first started using Pliant Technologies’ CrewCom Wireless Intercom System, the company hasn’t looked back, deploying CrewCom for a range of live productions on major networks, such as the AFC Championships, the Super Bowl and the NFL Combine, among many other large-scale live sporting events.

As these types of productions have become more complex and technical, AY has expanded its CrewCom inventory, now carrying a total of 42 CrewCom CRP-44 Radio Packs (RPs) in addition to several CrewCom Radio Transceivers (RT), Control Units (CU) and SmartBoom headsets from Pliant Technologies.

Long-time Pliant users and AY Produc

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19 July 2024

Europe - AC/DC kicked off their Power Up tour on 17 May in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Patrick Woodroffe and Terry Cook of Woodroffe Bassett Design worked on the production design for this widely anticipated tour.

“We wanted the stage lighting and video to work together and feel as one,” said Cook, who is the lighting designer for the tour, whilst Woodroffe serves as its creative director. “We knew from the start that we would have screens that opened to allow the look of the show to grow. The show concept was to start with a video intro, something the AC/DC fans love and want. We want to make it feel personal to them, so we localize the video at each venue.

“When the show starts, our first camera shots are of the fans, as this tour is all about the music and the fans. As the show continues, we want the stage to grow, which why the video

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19 July 2024

USA - AJR - Adam, Jack & Ryan Met’s current Maybe Man campaign which started at the end of 2023 and continues throughout this year. For the tour, Ezra Donellan of Moon Bolt Designs specified over 200 Robe moving lights, including 83 x Fortes, 88 x Tetra2s, 44 x Tetra1s and 32 x Spiiders, all delivered by Gateway Studios & Production Services (GSPS).

AJR comes with a fully realised visual concept and production design created by Mitchell Schellinger of Station Six, which is a combination of his and the band’s ideas. “It’s a very invigorating way to work,” comments Ezra on the collaborative nature of the design process. “There are challenges, and we all enjoy dealing with these and finding the best solutions.”

On tour, there’s a prominent curved video screen upstage, and a downstage ‘vanish’ screen divided into six sections,