Germany - Astera will showcase a full range of its powerful and flexible wireless LED lighting solutions on stand B30 in Hall 12.1 at the PL+S next week, including the award-winning PlutoFresnel and LeoFresnel fixtures and the new ProjectionLens for PlutoFresnel.
The contemporary stand design will enable sales director Sebastian Buckle and the team to welcome visitors and highlight numerous current Astera innovations like the HydraPanel, PixelBrick, AX9 PowerPAR and AX2 PixelBar, the smart and neat NYX Bulb and, naturally, the flagship TitanTube family – Titan, Helios, and Hyperion – which are popular and ubiquitous in show and event lighting worldwide.
It is important for Astera to have a significant presence at PL+S which is always a busy and productive show and a crucial platform for engaging with industry professionals from many sectors on multiple levels.
As well as for networking, it’s also seen as a key forum for staying abreast of trends and general innovations in the worlds of professional lighting and visual technology.
Targeted product demonstrations will highlight the versatility, performance, and invention for which the brand is known, and the show is also an opportunity to gather valuable industry feedback from experts and end-users that can be fed into ongoing product development and planning.
The Astera booth will feature eye-catching 4-sided LED screens at the top. The space has subtly been expanded with more room for products, while the overall style is consistent with other Astera booth designs. The HydraPanel
UAE - When the UR&E team received a job enquiry back in July 2022, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary about it. Little would they know that 18 months later, they would be involved with one of the biggest box office successes of the year on the set of Dune: Part 2.
The epic science fiction film, produced by Legendary Pictures, directed by Denis Villenueve and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures, is the sequel to Dune (2021). It follows Paul Atriedes as he unites with the Fremen people of the desert planet Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen. So far this year it has grossed over $197m making it the fifth highest grossing film of 2024.
The UR&E team was asked to supply a rental of almost 2000rm of truss in 30cm, 40cm and 52cm, that required delivery as far as the Liwa Area of Abu Dhabi. Unlike other projects in theatres or arena shows where the requirements are known well in advance, the movie set experience couldn’t have been more different.
Denis Bramhall, managing owner together with Joie Salar, project coordinator at UR&E said: “The greatest challenge on this job was the increasing and changing requirements day by day with the rental period overlapping from one LX Rigging Truss requirement to another Grip Truss, and having to make sure that all truss requirements were supplied on time. This was all happening between October to December – our busiest season of the year. Fortunately, we have a warehouse resembling Aladdin’s Cave and so their wish was our command – but it really stretched us to
USA - ETC has announced the release of Hog 4 version 4.0 software. Enhancements include significant improvements to colour handling and Hog 4’s Color Picker, a new Record Defaults function, and Fixture Builder upgrades.
Senior product manager Sarah Clausen comments, “Ultimately, the new colour system relieves programmers and designers from the challenges in controlling rigs with multiple colour engines. By providing multiple colour input languages through the colour pickers, virtual colour functions and the gels library, and full ‘physical’ function controls linked to the virtual controls at all times, colour control becomes seamless.”
For colour handling, v4.0. represents a major overhaul of the colour mixing system used in Hog 4 OS. Substantial changes have been made to the fixture library, colour picker, gels, palettes, effects, plots, pixel mapping, and the playback of colour. All colour mixing systems including native HS, xyY, CMY, and all additive colour engines are now fully integrated and supported by the colour system.
Additionally, Hog 4 OS v4.0 features a new Colour Picker window with a tabbed interface that features a wide variety of controls for quickly and seamlessly mixing colour across all fixture types. A new Colour Mix preview column has been added to the output window and editor windows, indicating the colour being output by colour mixing fixtures.
Version 4.0 is compatible with all generations of Hog 4 hardware. This major release introduces significant improvements to the OS, resulting in a show file compatib
USA - EAW has announced the promotion of James Bamlett to sr. director of APAC and EMEA sales. In his previous role as director of APAC sales, Bamlett managed EAW’s current distributors and helped increase sales throughout the Asia Pacific region from his base in Southeast Asia.
In his new role, Bamlett is responsible for adding new distributors and managing the existing sales channel in the APAC (Asia Pacific) and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) regions.
“James has a proven track record of managing existing distributors and expanding sales, and we are confident that he will continue to excel in this new position,” says T.J. Smith, president of Eastern Acoustic Works.
Bamlett has many years of experience in the pro audio industry, including working as a technical support consultant and touring system engineer. He joined EAW almost 25 years ago, starting in a product specialist role before transitioning to sales. His technical background together with his sales skills have enabled him to expand EAW’s presence in the APAC market.
“I look forward to this opportunity to work more closely with our partners in EMEA and help expand EAW’s footprint in both the APAC and EMEA regions,” says Bamlett. “With the impressive growth EAW has seen in recent years and the continuous addition of innovative products to our portfolio, it’s an exciting time to be part of the company’s journey.”
Belgium - The Belgium Jazz Orchestra prides itself on doing things differently. Collaboration is at its heart and by composing original music and creating unique arrangements they ensure that their shows are anything but standard.
Performed in six different venues, BJO30 was a celebration of the orchestra’s achievements over the last 30 years. Support for these inventive artists came from Belgium based concert and touring sound specialists MONO. The team decided that the best option to provide a dedicated, robust, well-designed in-ear monitoring solution would be KLANG, combined with a DiGiCo SD12-96 and two D2-Racks.
Enabling the core orchestra of 17 and the additional 13 visiting musicians to perform at their best over the almost three-hour concert required a spacious and calm monitor mix. Something that MONO sound engineer Bart Lebegge decided could not be done with a standard stereo mix.
“We consciously chose to provide a mix with carefully considered elements so that we had more channels available to really allow the space required by the musicians.” He says, “By going for 40 channels in KLANG, we were able to create an open and detailed, but also calm and spacious balance of this busy program.”
Taking this approach meant that Lebegge was able to keep channel processing to a minimum, providing five different IEM mixes with 40 channels of audio in each. Delivering the details and accents that the BJO musicians needed to hear, but with a level of clarity that he thought would quickly be lost in a standard stereo mix.
Moni
Italy - Russell Crowe is known for his acting talents, but on the third night of The Sanremo Music Festival he took to the stage as a crooner and sang Let Your Light Shine. Another American, actor, John Travolta, also tried his hand at singing a couple of nights earlier. Such is the musical pull of this five-day event, which celebrated its 74th year this February.
Capturing the flavour of the festival up close was Radio Italia's popular Fuori Sanremo, a programme that featured all of the artists from the festival with interviews and live performances recorded in a studio specially set up in this Mediterranean costal city’s Grand Hotel Londra.
Lighting designer Ivan Lavezzoli created an elegantly engaging atmosphere for Fuori Sanremo with a setup that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures imported by Zalight.
“We organised the setup to best manage, with a single stage, two distinct moments: the afternoon interviews, and immediately after the evening live show,” explained Lavezzoli. “Therefore, I chose very versatile products, to have the possibility of setting up a mini live set in just over an hour.”
To accomplish this, Lavezzoli positioned seven COLORado PXL12 Curve motorised LED bars on the ground along two sides of the stage and interspersed them with seven Rogue Outcast BeamWash moving heads. He also placed four WELL STXZX 360 tubes in the centre of the stage, to create a dimensional relationship between the singers, the surrounding space, and the background LED Wall. For the USA acts he added 10 COLORdash A
USA - Scott Chmielewski of DMDS7UDIOS is employing a large rig of Dartz 360 narrow-beam luminaires from Elation to support the mesmerising performances of renowned magician Mat Franco at The LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Chmielewski addressed an initial refresh of the show in 2021 before undertaking a complete redesign of the entire show, stage and theatre in early 2023, collaborating with director Brian Burke, art director Joe Oneill and Mat Franco himself.
Since headlining at The LINQ in 2015, Mat Franco's Magic Reinvented Nightly has garnered accolades and captivated audiences. Performing to 600 guests for 90 minutes, the show features Franco’s signature tricks, yet leaves enough room for improvisation, making each night a different experience.
Although a magician could choose to rely on lighting as an important aid in a magic show, Chmielewski says that Franco was more concerned with using lighting to raise the overall aesthetic of the show. “Mat is an amazing magician and doesn’t rely very heavily on lighting effects to hide or create the magic. His goal and intention was to have a very theatrical show and utilize the latest lighting and video technologies to bring his show up to and past the calibre of a Las Vegas residency.”
According to Scott, Franco is deeply involved in every step of the process but also trusts his team and believes in the art of organic creation. Once a final design concept was decided upon, the magician let the creative team run with the ideas. “He of course had some creative opinions through t
Namibia - Etosha National Park in Namibia sprawls across a landscape of golden sunsets, sheltering endangered species and the Etosha Pan – Africa’s largest salt pan that attracts over 250,000 nature enthusiasts and adventurers every year.
The park’s luxurious Mokuti Etosha lodge, owned by the O&L Group, has recently undergone an extensive audio-visual transformation, designed and installed by Stage Audio Works (SAW) Namibia. As a long-standing client of SAW Namibia, the O&L Group entrusted them to completely re-imagine Mokuti Etosha’s conference space while also enhancing the surrounding pool and bar areas with an easy-to-use audio and lighting control solution. The outcome is truly remarkable and has elevated the overall experience for guests and visitors.
“O&L Leisure is a loyal client of ours and we wanted to assist them in offering their guests the highest level of audio and visual services,” advises Johadrie de Villiers, general manager at Stage Audio Works Namibia. “Whether there is great sound quality when guests are shopping for souvenirs in the gift shop, lounging next to the pool, dining in the restaurant, attending an event or when they need to conduct a video conference call whilst on holiday, Mokuti Etosha now has the technical infrastructure to offer its guests all of this and more.”
SAW Namibia devised a conferencing solution leveraging cutting-edge technology from Crestron, Sennheiser, Xilica, and Audac, crafting a distinctive experience tailored to the lodge's needs, while enabling seamless connectivit
Italy - K-array, has announced the extension of its control plug-in portfolio to include a new integration with Kramer Control. Kramer Control is an enterprise-class cloud-based control and management solution providing IT and AV managers an easy way to control, monitor and support AV systems, infrastructures, and any third-party devices.
Utilising the full API of Kramer Control, the new driver will enable greater integration possibilities for K-array’s flagship Kommander range of amplifiers.
“Through Kramer’s intuitive control platform, our Kommander amplifiers can now be implemented seamlessly into a Kramer-based control system,” explains Matteo Barbaro, software product manager at K-array. “This is an exciting step as integrators now have fewer barriers when it comes to integrating our professional audio solutions into a range of spaces, such as corporate, government or education environments.
“The technical partnership with Kramer follows our trend of being as compatible as possible with all the control system manufacturers,” continues Barbaro. “Our goal is to improve the integration experience whilst eliminating any potential user pain points.”
The announcement of this new partnership is a continuation of K-array’s commitment to software development, following the release of plug-ins for other control platforms including Crestron, Q-Sys, AMX and Control4. Further software partnership announcements are expected throughout 2024.
“By providing consultants and integrators with all the necessary tools to intera
Switzerland - Among the highest-attended ski races in the world, the Lauberhorn Alpine World Cup was inaugurated in 1930 and has been a highlight in the Swiss winter sports calendar ever since.
Long-time technical provider for the event, Stagepro, deployed a Wharfedale Pro audio solution at the event for the first time this year. With a total of 80,000 on-site spectators and a television viewership of 1.2m, the event required a reliable and professional audio solution. A combination of Wharfedale Pro’s WLA-1 line array systems provided the quality and coverage required for an event of such high acclaim.
"The Lauberhorn Ski Race is a longstanding tradition, and we've been supporting it for around 20 years,” explains Markus Walther, owner of Stagepro. “This year was special because we integrated the Wharfedale Pro system for a significant part of the racing sound system. The decision was driven by our positive experience with Wharfedale Pro in a project in Interlaken last year and the exceptional support we received from our local distributor, Sacher Music."
The Wharfedale Pro system covered various zones for the three-day long event, including the Girmschbielspectator area with approximately 18,000 attendees, the race finish area, and a dedicated DJ zone. The Girmschbiel zone featured four arrays, flown from specially built towers. The arrays consisted of a combination of WLA-112 and WLA121SUB loudspeakers, powered by four DP-4100N and two DP-2200N Wharfedale Pro amplifiers, connected via a Dante network.
At the race finish area, audi
USA - The diversity which endows fashion with the power to build bridges across cultures was celebrated during New York Fashion Week at Runway 7, one of the renowned event’s premier attractions.
Held at the Sony Hall, Runway 7 was organised around a ‘Made In’ theme that featured designs endemic to different regions of the world. The work of a record 117 designers from 10 different nations were highlighted during the event’s four-day run.
From Anjali Phougat’s blend of Indian and western styles, to Microteje’s Chilean streetwear, Runway 7 showcased a global array of stylings. Accenting the artistry of these creations was a Myles Mangino lighting design that featured 20 Ovation E-260WW warm white ellipsoidals.
Supplied by ATD AV, the ellipsoidals were positioned primarily on each side of the runway. A smaller number of Ovation E-260WWs, generally between five and seven units, depending on the show, were arranged at the end of the runway.
Drawing on the smooth even field of light produced by the 230-watt fixture (it has the output of a 750W tungsten), and its smooth dimming curve, Mangino created a supportive lighting environment for the show. The fixtures’ selectable Pulse Width Modulation helped ensure that his looks were camera friendly for the much videoed and photographed show.
“I prefer single chip COB warm white fixtures like this for runway shows,” said Mangino. “I like their high CRI and how they more closely emulate tungsten for warm natural skin tones, as well as the correct colour rendering on the clothing.
Slovenia - Popular vocal group Perpetuum Jazzile celebrated their 40th anniversary with a series of high-profile shows at Ljubljana’s Cankarjev Dom, the country’s biggest theatre venue, asking Crt Birsa from design studio Blackout to create lighting suitable for the occasion.
With the assistance of substantial quantities of Robe moving lights, Crt created an impressive visual showcase, working closely with Mark Pirc, brought in as video content creator and co-show director with Aljaz Bastic for these special performances.
Crt has lit the group several times over the last 10 years, and specifically more regularly in the last two after as Blackout has become their permanent lighting design provider. In fact, Crt’s first proper arena design was 10 years ago with Perpetuum Jazzile for their 30th anniversary.
For this show, the basic elements of his programming from the last two years were taken as the starting point. Initial ideas for the 40th included a stage at 45% to the audience with a shallow thrust protruding in an arrow shape, and above that they wanted a circular truss, which Crt morphed into a triangular shape that more harmoniously mimics the shape of the deck below.
He then filled the 8m equilateral triangular truss above the performance space with lights rigged on sub trusses, creating a slightly Floydesque ‘monumental chandelier’ effect that provided multiple layers of lighting that could be stripped right back or fattened out, depending on the vibe of the song.
The concept dovetailed with the other visual aspects
UK - Having supported Michael McIntyre tours for many years (as Capital Sound) with Martin Audio solutions, Solotech UK has again been entrusted with providing sound reinforcement on the stand-up comedian’s current Macnificent 2023-24 arena tour.
MLA had successfully graced the last two tours, but this time Solotech switched up to the British manufacturer’s newer flagship large-format line array, WPL.
The Off The Kerb production team behind the tour remains the same, with Neil McDonald once again overseeing the tech. “It’s a pleasure to be working again with Neil and the team at Off the Kerb,” stated Solotech UK senior account manager, Robin Conway. “We discussed the tour back in late 2022 and the only thing we’ve changed is the model of PA. The design is very similar, and Wavefront Precision is a newer and more lightweight cabinet than the MLA,” he adds by way of explanation. “I was 100% confident it could achieve the same success as MLA has on the previous tours.”
Conway himself masterminded the system design that the new FOH sound team would be entrusted with, knowing it would need to be scalable. He knew it would be in safe hands with system tech Rylan Machin, who is vastly experienced in working with the Martin Audio platforms. “Once out on the road he and Tim [crew chief and monitor engineer Tim Paterson], Sam [PA tech Sam Brazier] and Jason [FOH engineer Jason Barton, mixing on a Yamaha QL5] have been fine tuning the deployment.”
The PA is scalable, depending on venue size, but in all instances is driven in the o
Italy - TT+ Audio is launching an online training and certification platform. Designed to help sound system engineers get the most out of their audio systems, TT+ Audio Academy enhances pro-audio expertise in mastering live audio technology and large-scale acoustics.
The platform offers two comprehensive courses accessible online 24/7, allowing participants to choose where they start. After viewing the video tutorials for each chapter, participants will undergo an evaluation via a questionnaire. Successful completion of these tests grants access to the practical section of the course, where the participants can apply their knowledge hands-on with a full-scale GTX System.
The practical section can be held either at the TT+Audio headquarters in Italy or at a training centre designated by international offices and partners. The System Technician Level 1 course covers the GTX system's components, including setup, safe handling, and dismantlement procedures. It introduces participants to RDNet configuration, system planning, and workspace organisation for effective system control.
Building on this foundation, the System Engineer Level 2 course further explores acoustics and audio engineering principles. A prerequisite to this advanced course is the completion of Level 1. Participants will also enhance their skills in optimising subwoofer configurations and designing extensive systems, utilising RDNet's full capabilities for detailed planning, control, and optimisation of the GTX sound system and RDNet-equipped products.
Find out more about TT+ Au
Czech Republic - With approximately 1,500 students, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague is the largest art school in the Czech Republic. The Academy is divided into three faculties which develop students in the fields of theatre, film and TV, and music and dance.
The high standards of artistic education offered by the institution are reflected by the frequent prestigious awards achieved at domestic and international festivals and events. The Academy’s technical provision is maintained to a high standard, in order to provide its students with the best possible learning environment.
Recently, the Theatre Faculty (DAMU) wished to invest in new loudspeakers to improve provision in a number of its learning spaces, and engaged Milan Úbl of established audio, lighting and AV specialists, DJ Servis to supply and install new systems for nine classrooms used for dance lessons and acting performances. DJ Servis recommended HH Audio loudspeakers as a quality, robust and competitively-priced solution.
HH Audio’s Czech distributor Music Trade supplied a total of 18 x HH Tessen Install Series TNi-W12-Pro high power, two-way, full-range units for the installation. With rotatable HH/Celestion designed waveguides, the loudspeakers can be used in either vertical or horizontal configurations depending on the requirements of the space. Flexible connection and mounting options make the TNi-W12-Pro a very versatile option for the widest range of applications where exceptional audio performance is required.
Martin Pivoňka of Music Trade comments: “The
Germany - Light artist Christopher Bauder has chosen MDG ATMe haze generators and Me2 fog machines as the foundation of his latest installation, Vektor, a personal piece loosely based on his life experiences.
Vektor, Memories in Light & Sound is Bauder’s third installation at Berlin’s Kraftwerk, an old power plant-turned-art gallery in Berlin that Bauder refers to as an ‘industrial cathedral’. The abstract work is a personal ‘memory chest’ using small audio snippets of memories from Bauder’s childhood through to present day: the sound of the sea from his childhood living on an island in the North Sea, church bells on a Sunday, laughter of loved ones, as well as samples recorded from the Kraftwerk building itself.
The recordings can be precisely targeted throughout the building, transforming the building itself into a living, breathing work through sound and illumination. “The audience doesn’t need to understand the thoughts behind it, or be aware of the massive amount of technology behind it, but I hope they will catch glimpses of the references here and there,” says Bauder.
The new artwork consists of 50 lasers mounted on 10 evenly spaced, heavy-lift winches specifically developed by Kinetic Lights which synchronise movement of all the lasers. These enable Bauder to create a sculpture in mid-air that fills the whole volume of the enormous exhibition space.
“It’s important for me to start from symmetry that allows me to break from symmetry later,” explains Bauder. “By starting with a very symmet
Mexico - Helping to extol the advantages of Optocore fibre solutions in Mexico recently, is experienced audio consultant and sound engineer Victor Baeza Evia.
He decided to purchase a set of Optocore DD32R-FX AES/EBU fibre interfaces, along with DD6NE Ethernet switches and X6R converters after originally being introduced to the platform by Dubai-based AgorA LLC, when working on an event several years ago. He returned to the Emirate last December to work with them again on the two-week long, high-profile UN COP28 UAE Climate Change Convention at Dubai’s Expo City.
Speaking of the Optocore acquisitions, he said: “The first time I saw the units I just fell in love with them - I could see they were built like a tank.”
Last month he sub-rented his devices to AV rental company, Total Pro Show, one of three production houses based in his native Mérida, Yucatán. Originally set up by Claudio Pasos, Total Show Pro has more than 20 years of experience in design, operation and audiovisual production of a vast range of events, and Victor Baeza has been working with the company for around 10 years, as both consultant and freelancer.
“Total Show has traditionally been running most of their networks on Cat 5 or XLR. They were looking to invest in a more rugged solution but it’s not always easy to get proper outdoor cable. Also, Cat 5 is no longer the primary backbone—so I proposed the idea of running fibre on their corporate and music events, where they are delivering sound from different locations or over long distances, rather than the standa
Germany - Prolight + Sound 2024 is set to be an important event for KV2 Audio and their customers. One of the highlights is the Live Sound Arena situated outside Hall 11 where KV2 holds four demos daily that invariably attract a big audience.
“We have participated in the Live Sound Arena demo area at Prolight + Sound every year for nearly 20 years (COVID years excepted),” says George Krampera, jr., KV2’s CEO. “In our experience, this demo area is the best demo setup of any trade show anywhere and it has always been hugely successful for us. In fact, it’s the main reason we’ve supported the show for so long despite its reduced size, because we still perceive enormous value in the live demos which are well set up and well run, offering extremely realistic outdoor conditions for all participants.”
KV2 will be demonstrating their powerful VHD2 system, a long-throw system designed for audiences of up to 20,000 people without the need for additional delays.
Back inside Hall 11 on the KV2 stand A07, a range of products will be showcased including the most recent addition to the EX Series of active loudspeakers, the EX28. This is a 2.5-way full-range active loudspeaker system that builds on the success of the EX26 whilst adding further low frequency extension. Its compact profile makes it suitable for ‘a multitude of FOH and in-fill applications in any environment that requires premium quality in a compact form factor including theatres, leisure venues, Houses of Worship and concert halls’.
Portugal - Next Audiogroup is introducing the new Subwoofer LAs518A, billed as ‘the ultimate complement to the LA210x Line Array System’.
With optimised port tuning and ‘exceptional peak-to-peak excursion capability’, the LAs518A ensures deep, resonant bass down to 24 Hz at -10dB. Encased in a sturdy 89 kg front-loaded bass reflex enclosure, the LAs518A is equally adept for installation and rental applications, delivering a maximum peak SPL of 143dB.
Driving the LAs518A is a lightweight, efficient two-channel class D amplifier module, capable of delivering up to 2,800W RMS with precision and detail. Equipped with an integrated universal mains power supply featuring PFC, this subwoofer offers ‘consistent performance worldwide’.
At its core is an advanced 96 kHz/40-bit SHARC DSP engine, monitored via a built-in LCD screen with a preset loading encoder. Additionally, remote monitoring and control through Ethernet connectivity allow seamless integration with a PC. The X-NET PC software enables fine-tuning of a system's sound, with the ability to control multiple devices simultaneously through a grouping facility.
UK - Disguise has announced the public launch of its new VX 3 video playback hardware solution within its flagship VX range. First revealed at ISE earlier this year, the VX 3 features three 4K video outputs suitable for both projection and LED displays and the capability to handle both pre-rendered and real-time video playback from any third-party render engine.
With live events currently undergoing an ‘IMAX-ification’ effect through larger canvases, more pixels, higher content fidelity and greater bit depth, the VX 3 was built to ‘unlock unmatched power per output for mid to upper tier live shows, corporate presentations and immersive experiences, striking the perfect balance between performance and accessibility’.
The Benefits of VX 3 include support for both pre-rendered and real-time content and the ability to scale the video output capability without adding significant rack unit density as a result. It can run in the same network with other VX or GX machines. It also supports cluster rendering when used alongside multiple RX render nodes with RenderStream.
Capital News - London has topped a ranking of Europe’s best cities for a second year in a row, with its star spot underpinned by a number one rating for culture. The UK capital pipped Paris to first place on Resonance Consultancy’s list - while Nottingham, currently reeling from council arts cuts, placed 72nd for its "visionary local leadership" and "public spaces".
The 2024 Europe’s Best Cities report ranks the overall performance of metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 residents, according to various different metrics. Ranging from rental prices and cultural attractions to visitor numbers and green space, these metrics are analysed through three key considerations - liability, lovability and prosperity, with London ranking number one for each.
Manchester jumped six places on the 100-strong list, rising to number 27 in part for a "creative rebirth" attributed to arts and culture venues including Factory International, while Edinburgh came in at 29 - with the list claiming "the city’s world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe will be bigger than ever in 2024". But it was London that topped all three of the list’s key factors as it ranked first in Europe for cities with the biggest international traveller spend in 2022, worth some €14.88 billion.
Vinyl Revival - The number of independent record shops in the UK is at a 10-year high, according to an industry group. The digital entertainment and retail association (ERA) said there are now 461 indie record shops in the UK - 122 more than 10 years ago. By contrast, the number of shops
South Korea - The Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort, located an hour from Seoul on Yeongjong Island at Incheon International Airport, is South Korea’s premier entertainment destination, featuring a five-star hotel, gaming facilities, an indoor water park, conference spaces, and an immersive “digital entertainment street” offering shopping, dining, and entertainment.
The venue aims to attract 3.5m visitors annually, tapping into the global explosion of K-pop and K-culture. Central to this ambitious plan is the 15,000-seat Inspire Arena, which features a Meyer Sound system.
The arena is built for a wide array of entertainment, from concerts to e-sports tournaments. From the outset, offering turnkey top-of-the-line AV technologies, anchored by world-class sound, was the top priority. “We have a sound system, a lighting system, and a rigging system,” explains Kevin Reilly, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment’s Corporate Director of Entertainment Technical Operations. “We designed it so a Western act can show up basically with backline and I have sound and lights and video and a stage and barricade all here.”
Reilly, a 27-year Mohegan veteran, says that this rider-friendly approach mirrors that at the organisation’s flagship Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut, which features a Meyer Sound Lyon and Leopard system. “For all of the shows that we’ve done at Mohegan Sun, we don’t hear ‘no, I don’t want to use your Lyon/Leopard rig,’” he says.
Inspire Arena’s Meyer Sound concert PA includes 50 Panther large-format linear
UK - The latest recording room to be refitted at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) has an Audient ASP4816 Heritage Edition console at its heart. More compact than the rooms in the main studio block, this studio has been designed to meet several different needs. Providing extra space for students during LIPA’S busier periods was a must, as was growing the synthesiser inventory. This latest refit also includes the upgrade of the facility’s Foley capabilities.
LIPA’s head of sound technology, Jon Thornton explains the educational facility’s history with Audient. “Our two entry level studios are both based around ASP8024-HE consoles. We’ve had ASP8024s in those rooms since the console was first released - we’re now on our third consecutive pair.
“Those rooms are used not only by our students studying sound technology, but also by music students taking a specialism in production. As a result, they can get incredibly busy at certain times of year, so we needed an overflow. So building the studio around the ASP4816-HE was an obvious choice.”
An in-line, fully analogue recording and mixing console, the Audient ASP4816-HE provides everything expected of a large format console but in a space-friendly format. “The control room space wasn’t really large enough to house another ASP8024, but the ASP4816 is so similar in layout and signal flow that students can be up to speed with it in no time.”
Most recently, this was home to the 5.1 post production studio, after the main post space was upgraded to Atmos. “Tak
Switzerland - Zernez, about an hour’s drive southeast of Davos, is home to the boutique IN LAIN Hotel Cadonau. The five-star modern, rustic hotel features 14 guest rooms, including 11 suites, and is ranked 14th in the top 20 winter holiday hotels in Switzerland in the five-star category.
Hotelier and Chef Dario Cadonau and his wife, Tamara, opened the IN LAIN in 2010, remodelling a farmhouse in the Cadonau family from 1590. The Cadonaus wanted to create a memorable guest experience, including the right balance of smells, tastes and sounds.
To support their vision, under the recommendation of Jorg Steiger, owner of Switzerland-based AV integration company avidec, Cadonau chose AtlasIED’s Atmosphere audio processing and control system to accentuate the environment with audio.
The hoteliers wanted to create a modern, authentic Swiss experience. A key element was adding various genres of Swiss-originated music to create a cohesive ambiance for guests in the various areas of the hotel. The hotel had several primary areas that needed music, and AtlasIED’s Atmosphere AZM8 digital signal processor was aptly suited to meet their needs.
Steiger chose the AZM8 paired with an AtlasIED AZA 404 amplifier to help deliver music and create different experiences to eight separate zones across the property. For instance, in the hotel’s reception, office, and Michelin Star-rated Vivanda restaurant, the hotel desired energy and chose Swiss pop music. The Cadonau selected Swiss classical music for the breakfast room, while the lounge broadcasts Swiss Jaz