UK - At the end of last year, H&M unveiled its newly redesigned flagship store on London's Regent Street, featuring generative artwork displayed on a double 4k resolution LED screen from Leyard Europe.
One of Europe’s largest indoor LED screens, it was installed by London-based LEDTek Solutions. The LED screen, which frames a set of escalators and fills the entire rear wall of the store, has been designed to showcase a series of progressive and stylish digital materials that complement the aesthetic of the brand and act as an extension of the H&M’s elevated architecture, encouraging people to enter the store when seen from afar.
Created by London-based design and technology studio Hirsch & Mann in collaboration with H&M and with the support of the Creative Coding company Variable, this system continuously evolves throughout the day by responding to

The Netherlands - Popular Dutch TV quiz show De Grote Gezondheidsquiz saw celebrities go head-to-head in a battle of health-related knowledge, playing in a specially designed set lit by warm, rich colours and sharp white contestant spotlights.
Production and lighting design company DETS Creative were tasked with delivering the studio set and lighting solution, choosing to use Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash, VL800 EventWash and VL2600 Series luminaires from Signify.
The show was recorded in Studio Baarn, in the Dutch town of the same name, produced by Medialane and broadcast live on the SBS6 channel. DETS Creative has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the TV studio, and they were asked to deliver full set design and development, including lighting, video and décor as well as all technical drawings and technical preparations. DETS Creative collaborated with Studio

Belgium - Namur Grand Manège Concert Hall recently opened its doors following a major three-year renovation project. The ambitious €20m redesign transformed a historic military riding school into a modern cultural centre featuring an intimate 800-capacity auditorium, made exceptional by its acoustics and soundproofing.
The venue’s AV team had only considered a traditional left/right sound system, but they were so impressed with L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound that the technology has become the centrepiece of the venue’s audio system.
Situated in Namur’s city centre, the renovated Concert Hall hosts two complementary cultural institutions, the Centre of Vocal Art and Ancient Music (CAV&MA) and the Conservatoire Balthasar-Florence de Namur music school. It will also serve as a home for the city’s world-renowned ensembles, including the Namu

USA - Over the last weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs again found themselves in the Super Bowl spotlight, with the team’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, earning his second career Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. For Shure, the MVPs were the veteran audio engineers and sound technicians who managed the broadcasts of Super Bowl LVII and NFL Honours with the support of Axient Digital Wireless Systems and PSM 1000 Advanced In-Ear Personal Monitoring Systems, which delivered flawless audio to a record-setting 113m viewers worldwide.
ATK Audiotek and Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) handled all wireless microphones and IEM systems for the pre-game entertainment, halftime entertainment and referees, as well as the NFL Honours broadcast. The team included broadcast mixer Tom Holmes, monitor mixer Tom Pesa, RF engineers Cameron Stuckey, Kasey Gchachu, and Gary Trenda,

USA - Michael Grabarczyk is a freelance audio technician and an early adopter of Outline’s Newton FPGA-based processor. In recent years he has handled system tech duties for US guitarist Joe Bonamassa, working with Mike Lavielle at FOH and an L-Acoustics K2 system provided by SES (Special Event Services).
Bonamassa spends a great deal of time on the road and plays a wide range of venues, from large outdoor spaces to venues such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, to ‘blues cruises’ on ships and even club dates in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, presenting a continuous range of challenges to his sound crew.
Michael reports, “The Newton has replaced multiple other units, both in my drive rack at FOH and in amp racks, to accomplish all the same processes in a 1RU rack device. The functionality and I/O in such a small package is seriously impressive
“Given the vas

The Netherlands - Today, the clang of hammers and buzz of milling machines can no longer be heard at the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM Grounds), but the site still resonates with powerful, soul-shaking sounds as the home of the Rotterdam Rave festivals.
The same characteristics that shipbuilders prized in the RDM Grounds, make them ideal for reflecting the raw, industrial power of rave music. At the recent Rotterdam Rave festival, Berend Janssen of Powerproductions drew on this heritage to transform the entire building into one immersive and very intense panorama. Helping him to do this, RF Shows supplied Berend with 42 Chauvet Professional fixtures, along with six Vesuvio foggers.
Jeroen Kwakernaak, who has designed Rotterdam Rave events in the past, knows the technical producer and lightning designer, Berend Janssen, very well. They've been working togethe

Spain - IFELOR is a large, new trade fair and conference centre recently opened in Lorca, a city in the region of Murcia in the south-east of Spain. The new building includes the Margarita Lozano auditorium, which benefits from lighting by Showtec and Infinity thanks to supplier Soniles Technology. Industrias Maquiescenic (Retom) took care of the installation.
The official opening of IFELOR took place on 30 December 2022 with a sold-out performance in the auditorium by the 70-strong, Film Symphony Orchestra who performed their show Krypton. Many important figures attended the opening including the mayor of Lorca, Diego José Mateos, who stressed the new building’s importance to the local economy.
A total of 14,823sq.m containing three exhibition halls, three conference halls, an auditorium and a large terrace make the venue suitable for all sorts of events. Fo

USA - A recent concert by Israeli trio of tenors Kol Esperanza at the Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, Florida, featured guest artists, and an orchestra, performing a far-reaching variety of songs, ranging from Disney medleys to Jewish folk classics, and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Adding to the performance was a Clifford Michael Spulock lighting design that reflected the spirit of each song with an elegantly balanced mix of colours.
Using a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Spot fixtures supplied by Nick Sallah, and the team at Steadlight, Spulock covered the stage with a rich variety of hues that complemented the lush images shown on a central projection video wall.
“Each song had its own theme and videos that went along with it,” he said. “I used the projections as a template to choose my colour palette in order to compliment or co

Australia - When Lane and Candice Place, owners of Pro AV rental house 65Thirty Events & Entertainment in Western Australia were looking to upgrade the company’s wireless intercom inventory, they contacted industry expert Steve Parkins from National Audio Systems (NAS), a distributor of professional audio and video brands. Steve recommended Pliant Technologies MicroCom 900XR wireless intercom for its ease-of-use and reliability.
65Thirty’s clients include local and touring bands, concerts, conferences, and festivals that take place in and around the picturesque coastal area. Having reliable, high-quality equipment is essential to the success of their business, as the nearest large city (Perth) is over 250 miles away.
“We had been considering upgrading our intercoms for some time and when Steve (Parkins) came out and demonstrated Pliant’s MicroCom 900 XR, we

USA - Alpha Sound’s reputation for designing and installing Nexo systems that bring clear, intelligible sound to traditional and historic liturgical spaces continues to spread as news arrives of the Salem, OR-based company’s latest work across the country in Greenville, South Carolina.
Following successful installations at St Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland and, more recently, at the Mount Angel Abbey monastery in St. Benedict, Oregon, governors of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church and School invited Alpha’s lead engineer Devin Sheets out to Greenville to evaluate a sound system that had proved unsatisfactory since being installed when the church was built back in 2016, and advise on how it could be improved.
“The existing system wasn’t performing well at all,” reports Devin. “Speech at the back of the church was completel

Finland - The Snow Queen premiered at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, an ‘ice ballet’ extravaganza produced by the Tampere Hall & Kantelinen Company.
The brainchild of Melissa A. Thompson who has worked as a creative lead for Cirque du Soleil, director / choreographer Reija Wäre, composer Tuomas Kantelinen, costume designer Erika Turunen and set, lighting and projection designer Mikki Kunttu, a talented creative team was involved in the delivery and imagineering of this production.
Prominent on Mikki’s lighting rig were 105 x Robe BMFL moving lights, a combination of BMFL Blades and Spots which he used for key lighting, specials and effects throughout this fast moving and highly visual show which finally premiered on 30 December 2022.
Postponed from the previous year due to last minute covid restrictions, the time arrived for ice fans to enjoy fiv

USA - For several decades, interdenominational campus ministry outreach Student Mobilization has hosted its StuMo Conference (SMC) at the start of each year as an opportunity for college students on winter break to deepen their faith and friendships.
For SMC 2023, held at Frisco’s Comerica Centre from 2-5 January, more than 3,000 young adults from across the country converged in Texas to sing, learn, pray, and commune. Throughout the four-day event, AVL provider Relevant Audio + Visual of Wichita, Kansas, sonically reinforced the conference with its new L-Acoustics K2 system, ensuring that those in attendance missed neither a word nor a note.
Although 2023 marked the tenth year that Relevant has provided production for SMC, it served as the company’s first opportunity to deploy its own K2 rig for the client, having invested in the loudspeakers just last year. “We

USA - Following on from a successful launch of its new EL product range last month, UK-based Ventola Projects, a provider of experiential, LED lighting, displays and technology solutions, has seen its new range come to life after the first order was shipped and installed immediately after its launch.
Installed in the Rock n’ Bowl FEC venue in Paoli, Indiana USA, the team at Ventola Projects worked to integrate the new technology into the facility, working closely with the owners and applying years of knowledge to ensure a seamless and successful plug and play in-house self-installation.
Included into this same project, Ventola Projects also developed and Beta tested its new VAvR PC-less control system, whereby the technology is controlled by a tablet, connected to the facility’s Wi-Fi and pushed through a web browser.
This was introduced to help simplify t

USA - Garrett McConchie experienced a brief moment of disorientation recently and was both confounded and excited by what he saw. The project manager of CNXN Live, a real-time in person and livestreamed corporate event that took place simultaneously at two sites, McConchie was watching a panel discussion occurring at the Armory in Manchester, New Hampshire, when, for a fleeting second, he thought he was looking at the monitor for the stage in the Palm Beach Convention Centre, 1,465 miles to the south.
It was at that point that he fully appreciated how well the team at Events United had achieved the seamless connectivity they were after for this ambitious four-day conference, which involved extensive use of broadcast and communications technology, as well as 111 F2 video tiles and 185 LED lighting fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
“Everyone at our company, from our

Poland - Historic tourist attraction, the Rzeszów Cellars, has officially re-opened after a restoration project lasting from the 70s. Transitioning the underground tourist attraction to a more modern era naturally presented challenges such as lighting, space and acoustics. Ashly Audio was able to provide the Rzeszów Cellars with an improved amplifier system so every guest could experience history brought to life.
The Rzeszów Cellars are a 396m-long route located beneath the homes in the Polish town’s central market square. This attraction consists of 25 basements and 15 corridors, reaching up to 10m deep below ground. Each room contains a different piece of history from relics of medieval wars, signs of fire, remains of iron hinges and even hidden passages.
The Tommex Company worked to integrate a complex sound system. Comprised of many different rooms, the cella

USA - Live from Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena, the 65th Grammy Awards featured heart-warming tributes, a fair share of surprise twists, and many jaw-dropping performances supported by Shure wireless audio technology.
For another year, Shure Axient Digital wireless microphones were relied on by the show’s production teams and the musicians and celebrities, including the evening’s host, Trevor Noah. Nearly every performance of the night implemented Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring systems, totalling 28 channels with 160 Shure P10R bodypacks. Overall, this year’s Grammy Awards relied on 59 channels of Shure wireless.
The entire broadcast was helmed by a team of veteran audio engineers and sound technicians, including audio producer, Michael Abbott, production mixer, Tom Holmes, and music mixers, John Harris and Eric Schilling. Front of house was overseen by produ

Finland - The Codecasa-crafted Bon Vivant superyacht accommodates up to 12 guests across its six cabins, with a Nordic-inspired interior. To round off the on-board experience, Finnish integrator 4Business Oy was brought in to install a comprehensive AV system, featuring Genelec loudspeakers
4Business was given a strict initial brief detailing the need for reliable, stand-alone AV systems which were easy for the crew to use. The team implemented a centralised matrix with automated logic controls that would serve the crew and client better.
Sonic clarity was the primary driver behind decisions, yet all technical equipment had to be hidden out of sight. "We worked closely with the interior architect to ensure that all the components were integrated properly," explains Janne Lankinen, chief operating officer at 4Business. "We’re used to this level of cross-disciplinary c

UK - Blackthorn Productions has been working with BBC radio and television in Northern Ireland for 30 years, handling many of their outside broadcasts in Belfast, as well as religious radio broadcasts for BBC NI and Radio2,3 and 4, 5 Live and various television shows. It has recently upgraded its largest OB truck, replacing a 12-year-old console that had served the company well with a DiGiCo SD12 96 and SD-Rack with 32-bit SD cards.
“Our old console had been great, but was simply at the end of its life,” says Blackthorn’s David Walker. “Working on live broadcasts means we need ultimate reliability, so we knew it was time for a new console. We started researching what would work best for us.”
The team talked to PA companies they we work with and found they have a good relationship with DiGiCo.
“DiGiCo, and the SD12 96 in particular, kept coming out on

UK - Griff Hewis is regularly seen on front of house duties for concerts and events around the UK and has worked with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and bands such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, HM Royal Marines Band, BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras. He has worked on major events such as London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, BBC Proms and BBC New Years Eve Broadcasts. Griff also owns a growing pool of equipment to support his engagements in playback/recording and sound reinforcement.
Always on the lookout for interesting new microphones, Griff discovered Austrian Audio via a webinar for the Institute of Professional Sound, where he is a director and was immediately intrigued by these new Vienna-made Austrian Audio microphones.
Griff says “Austrian Audio kindly sent me a demo pair of CC8 to try on some of my live shows. On opening the box I was i

USA - Constructed between 1806 and 1821, the Baltimore Basilica was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States. A National Historic Landmark, the 1,200-seat Basilica underwent extensive restoration between 2004-2006 to implement modern systems throughout the building while restoring the interior to the original design.
As with many houses of worship, the high ceilings and ubiquitous hard surfaces made for a challenging acoustic environment. Room reverberation measured 4.5 seconds at mid-frequencies and 6.1 seconds at low-frequencies. Digitally steerable arrays from Renkus-Heinz were the solution to improve speech intelligibility.
To improve acoustic performance, the Archdiocese of Baltimore turned to Neil Thompson Shade, FASA president and principal consultant of Acoustical Design Collaborative, for help. With experience in over 1000 projects, many d

Lithuania - Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania celebrated its 700th anniversary this year. Amongst many different events, a revival of Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation was performed at Vilnius City Hall.
The oratorio was first played at the historic Vilnius City Hall more than 200 years ago and later performed in Vienna, Austria. The premiere was made possible with the installation of a new Prolights lighting system by Sonus Exsertus, a company with extensive experience in the field, and Prolights' distributor in the region.
According to the manager of Vilnius City Hall, Perlis Vaisieta, lighting plays a significant emotional role in creating an atmosphere for professional, high-quality events. The new lighting system, which includes 46 LumiPix 12UQPRO and 24 Smart BatPlus, will bring colour and dynamics to events at the City Hall, making it more versatile a

Israel - The Israeli Opera House in Tel Aviv has invested in 27 x Robe Esprites moving lights – the first Robe products in the house – as part of a drive to invest in more LED lighting fixtures and future-based technologies, explained head of lighting Eyal Levi.
The Opera House runs an average of six or seven major productions per season, a mix of new and revivals, working with a series of leading international lighting designers and lighting directors, all known for their intricate work, critical eyes, and diligence. Opera is one of the most demanding performance genres to light.
The new investment had been on the cards for some time, and Eyal arranged various tests and shootouts with a range of different products, from which Esprite was chosen as “the best-performing fixture to meet all our needs”.
Assisting in making this choice was the venue’s lig

Denmark - The town of Kolding is home to the Sonic College. When the college built a new facility, the staff implemented Audinate’s Dante transport protocol for routing audio throughout the building.
No small undertaking, staff had to interconnect multiple stereo studios and their companion mastering suites, a foley stage, immersive recording studio, Dolby Atmos mastering suite and theatrical mix stage - even a colossal 187-channel, AVB-based Meyer Sound Spacemap Go spatial sound system located in the five-story atrium, all via Dante (with a little help from AVB-to-Dante conversion cards).
Lars Tirsbæk, a lecturer at Sonic College, was instrumental in setting up the new facility and deciding what spaces would be most beneficial to students and essential to delivering a good grounding in sound design. “[Building the new facility] was an opportunity to start from sc

USA - AKG has formally launched the AKG Stories Behind The Sessions web series on YouTube.
Hosted by radio and television personality Nic Harcourt, Stories Behind The Sessions spotlights the producers, engineers and songwriters responsible for the music that defined the sound of popular music and the culture at large. With a candid one-on-one interview format, guests talk about their creative process, what it was like to collaborate with iconic artists and their reaction to watching their work become a hit in real-time.
In the latest episode, the first one recorded in the Harman Experience Centre in Los Angeles, Harcourt sits down with musician, producer and INXS bassist, Garry Beers, to discuss the band’s album Kick, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.
The first two episodes of the series were recorded live at the NAMM Show

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