The live shows were mixed on a DiGiCo SD7
UK - Ministry of Sound’s [MoS] orchestral tour, The Annual Classical, reimagines the Sony Music compilation, The Annual, the top-selling dance compilation, as a live production.
The live shows, mixed on a DiGiCo SD7 supplied by RG Jones, deliver mega sounds as much-loved chart toppers receive a classical reworking. Amongst the hits are The Chemical Brothers’ Hey Boy Hey Girl; Insomniaby Faithless and Moloko’s Sing It Back. At the helm of the complex live mix is sound designer, Phil Wright.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen all kinds of classical dance music shows take to the stage, but the design brief from MoS was to make this a genuinely live performance, meaning no playback,” says Phil.
With the brief in place, a collaboration between Coalition Agency and Raymond Gubby Ltd, which runs the 55-piece London Concert Orchestra, began with British composer Tom Player tasked with producing arrangements for the orchestra.
“It was always going to be me and a DiGiCo console,” Phil says. “I was thinking about an SD10, but it became obvious that I needed a bigger desk and therefore I decided on an SD7. It’s been the perfect choice and even on a console with the huge capacity of the SD7, I had only four busses and two channels not in use.”
The Annual Classical is no ordinary show, as Phil explains: “On stage, we have 55 people plus backing vocalists, guest singers and extensive effects. I’m running 12 FX racks in my SD7 and another six in Waves externally with my own DiGiGrid rig. It turned out to be the ideal way to do it.”
Phil has two SD-Racks on stage, taking inputs and sending outputs to a pair of Martin Audio DD6s. A total of 17 performers use personal mixers.
Following its successful debut in London, the tour will continue throughout the UK from May-June.
(Jim Evans)

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