Elation Professional will show the new Platinum Spot 5R Pro, an upgraded version of its Platinum Spot 5R DMX moving head, in response to what Dirk Kast, general manager for Elation Europe, describes as the "overwhelming success" of the original.

Like the original, the new Platinum Spot 5R Pro features Philips MSD Platinum 5R Lamp Technology, an innovation that allows the creation of fixtures that are brighter and more powerful with superior light quality, yet are also faster, smaller, lighter weight, draw less energy and have longer-lasting lamps, says the company. But as its name suggests, the Platinum Spot 5R Pro also goes a step beyond to offer an expanded array of professional features and effects.

Among the new features on the Platinum Spot 5R Pro are a 16-bit CMY colour

Earthquake Appeal - A group of UK rock acts are to play a benefit gig in aid of Japanese earthquake victims. Primal Scream, The Coral, and Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye are among the bands set to play a show at Brixton's O2 Academy on 3 April. The money raised at the gig will go to the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal. Ex-Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, Blur's Graham Coxon, and veteran rocker Paul Weller will also play.

Justin Bieber and U2 are among artists who have agreed to contribute songs to an album to raise funds for victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Record label Unive

USA - Visitors to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Lower Manhattan are discovering the beauty of Native American artifacts and the stories behind those stunning objects in the new permanent exhibition, Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, planned to be in place for the next decade.

Electrosonic engineered, provided and installed 20 exhibits for Infinity of Nations - 10 linear video stations and 10 interactive workstations housed in the NMAI's George Gustav Heye Centre in the Old Customs

Norway - Having purchased a Martin Audio Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array in December last year, Rubicon demonstrated the system to key technicians and concert management at Sentrum Scene in Oslo recently.

Among the audience were NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), and Live Nation, both of whom were excited about what the MLA system could do for their productions.

Roar Ånestad, Head of Sound at Rubicon, guided the audience through a technical presentation of the system. The listeners were impressed by the MLA system's smooth tonal balance throughout the venue.

To ensure th

UK/Sweden - Orbital Sound reports on a successful season with La Soirée, as it moves from the South Bank Big Top to Sweden prior to a return to London later in the year. Billed as a fusion of cabaret, new burlesque, circus sideshow and contemporary vaudeville, Orbital was responsible for the show's sound design and system supply, working with production manager Dan Watkins to overcome a number of challenges, including 23 very eclectic acts performing in a circus-style tent.

Sound design was down to Orbital's Davy Ogilvy, who explains his approach to coping with the large

Latest Issue. . .