Eurovision Electro-Swing - Britain's entrant at this year's Eurovision Song Contest will be Electro Velvet, the BBC has announced. Consisting of Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas, the newly formed pop duo will perform Still in Love With You in Vienna on 23 May to an estimated global audience of more than 180m viewers, in what will be the 60th Eurovision.

Larke is currently lead singer of tribute act The Rollin' Clones. Nicholas appeared in the 1999 Johnny Depp adventure Sleepy Hollow before, at 15, deciding upon a career in music. She has since duetted with Will Young, performed

Germany - Fibre network solution specialists, Optocore, has increased the warranty cover on all devices - including those of sister company BroaMan - from three to five years.

Director, Tine Helmle comments: "Over recent years we have noticed a steadily diminishing number of returns. The proven reliability of our products has therefore given us the confidence to take this step - which will provide great reassurance for our customers.

"By extending the warranty period to five years, we're taking our mission statement - as being the pioneer in fibre network technology, and b

USA - The recently opened Adoro Lei is a sophisticated lounge, restaurant, and pizzeria in the SoHo neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. NYC foodies will recognize its veteran owners and chef, who have gone to great lengths to give Adoro Lei - which means "I adore her" in Italian - a killer combination of irresistible food and a hip, but comfortable, vibe that will have customers bursting to tell friends how great the place is.

To that end, they imported a wood-fired pizza stove from Italy and hired New Jersey-based Essential Communications to design and install a

South Africa - Second year students from the Department of Performing Arts Technology at The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) visited DWR Distribution for an introduction to product training on 14 February 2015.

With a revamped syllabus, developed by Hardus Koekemoer (lighting lecturer at Department of Entertainment) and Wandile Mogodo (technical manager at the Breytenbach Theatre, the TUT training venue) this was the first time the 36 students were taken on a field trip, particularly to a lighting supplier to see the latest technology available.

"It's a matter of getting

USA - At SoundBox, the Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system plays a keystone element in the San Francisco Symphony's radical new strategy for attracting younger audiences to diverse live music. The brainchild of symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, SoundBox has reshaped music discovery by removing the constraints of many typical classical music venues, including the acoustics.

"SoundBox is a new and experimental space for music of all kinds," Tilson Thomas explains. "Part of the experience of being in this space is to hear music of many different eras - f

Australia - Lawo's Australian partner Professional Audio & Television (PAT) has supplied, configured and commissioned a Lawo crystal system for Canberra-based community broadcaster 1CMS.

Having previously supplied a single 12-fader Lawo crystal console in 2013, PAT have now supplied further two 12-fader crystal consoles and a crystal base unit frame. The three consoles will be used in the two main on-air studios and one production studio. All three studios are connected to the main Lawo crystal base unit frame via MADI fiber for audio networkability, while the IP control network allow

UK - Martin Audio has released details of a new book, The Martin Audio Experience. A glossy hardback book featuring nearly 150 photographs, it charts the history of Martin Audio, from its humble yet highly transformative Dave Martin origins right through to the modern day era of MLA.

It has been edited by James King, director of marketing, who said of the project, "It's been a labour of love over the last four months and we've been so lucky to have some really insightful interviews and amazing photographs from our partners covering the Dave Martin era, as well as leaning o

USA - Belying its modest exterior, The Troubadour has featured prominently in the entertainment history of Los Angeles almost since the day it was opened in 1957 by the late Doug Weston.

Showing no signs of slowing down after nearly six decades, the legendary venue, which was named by Billboard in 2014 as one of the top five must-play clubs in the country and by Rolling Stone the year prior as the second best rock club in America, has just become even more attractive to touring artists with a major upgrade of its PA system to L-Acoustics components. Rat Sound Systems, In

UK - British alt.rock band Dry The River spent the second half of February on a UK tour to promote their latest album Alarms Of The Heart. With budget and space requirements at a premium, a Yamaha QL1 system was the ideal solution for engineer Lee McMahon to mix both front of house sound and monitors.

Last year, Lee and the band decided that the best way of getting consistency from show to show was to move from wedges to in-ear monitors, with touring a console making it possible for Lee to mix them as well as the house sound.

"I had to consider the logistics of carrying

Ireland - High Kirk Presbyterian Church in Ballymena has upgraded its PA system with a Martin Audio MLA Mini Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array, supplied and supported by Ireland distributors, Rea Sound.

After two years of research - visiting trade shows and suppliers, reading specifications and reviews, and listening to systems - it was going to take something special in a speaker system to please the church's technical team; and they found what they wanted in Martin Audio's award-winning MLA platform.

The requirement had been for a complete replacement of the PA system in the 600-ca

South Africa - Metric Halo, maker of high-end professional audio interfaces, plug-ins, and sound analysis software, has appointed Benjamin Pro Audio as its distributor in South Africa.

Based in the South African capital of Pretoria, Benjamin Pro Audio specializes high-end equipment for studios, acoustic consultation, and acoustic design. It will handle Metric Halo's entire product line, from its flagship eight-channel ULN-8 preamp/converter to its Production Bundle of plug-ins - and everything in between.

"Benjamin Pro Audio's extensive knowledge of the gear they sell for use i

UK / USA - Noble Audio, the California-based IEM and CIEM specialist, has unveiled its first UK demo facility. The new resource, which is based in London, makes the entire Noble Audio range of IEMS available for demonstration. Visitors can also have ear-impressions taken for Noble Audio's bespoke-fit models.

As of March 2015, Noble Audio's full product range, which starts from just £230, will be available to try from an easily accessible smart London facility. Noble Audio has partnered with a high-profile professional audiologist, Gisele Flower, to demonstrate the range and take

UK - A final few tickets are available for Rob Halliday's Computers in Entertainment talk tonight at the National Museum of Computing, Bletchley.

In his talk, Halliday will look at how computers moved into entertainment lighting, from pioneering systems such as Strand's IDM up to the remarkable Lightboard created for the National Theatre, which still has some tricks that the current generation of PC-based control systems in use today can't replicate. The common link across all of these systems: lighting's critical need for things to happen right now, right on the beat of the mu

UK - CUK Audio has announced a series of training seminars across the UK and Ireland, to coincide with the release of the new X Series amplifier platform from Powersoft.

The amplifier platform is designed with the most advanced power supply present in any power amplifier, says the company. This is combined with the most powerful DSP platform, an impressive power density of 44,000 Watts in just 2U of rack space, and Dante enabled versions. CUK Audio advises there is much more, which will be revealed during the training. The training will be centred on the X Series, but will include tra

UK - On 26 March Oran Burns of d&b Education and Application Support will present the timeless d&b Electroacoustics seminar at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, in London.

The focus of the Electroacoustics seminar is 'achieving intelligibility' and the session is pitched at anyone wishing to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the principles of electroacoustics for sound system design and engineering.

"The Electroacoustics seminar provides a comprehensive guide to the principles of acoustics. It covers the basics of sound in an accessible and fun way throug

Norway - Located 200 kilometres northwest of Oslo, the Quality Spa & Resort in Norefjell is a facility designed exclusively for relaxation and recuperation.

Opened in early 2009, the resort nestles serenely into its mountain setting 800m above sea level, taking its visual design cues from the local nature and wildlife. Including 244 hotel rooms plus a further 161 apartments, the resort offers a luxurious range of facilities including an indoor climbing wall, ice rink, ski in-out, spa, pool and restaurant. The resort also leads the way in their use of renewable and environmentally frie

USA - Northern Colorado Cowboy Church, or N3C for short, is located in a former restaurant building in Lucerne, Colorado. Although a large number of cowboy boots walk through the door every Sunday, N3C is open to everyone. The "Cowboy" in its name reflects the church's down-to-earth attitude. As one might guess, services at N3C are lively and contemporary, with high-energy music complementing colourful sermons.

Although the church originally moved into the converted restaurant with a home-grown PA-on-sticks, N3C aspired to something with much greater musical impact and intel

Germany - After the operator of the Dresden theatre Wechselbad der Gefühle (Rollercoaster of Emotions) ceased operations in May 2014, TW.O GmbH took over the business of the operation, rebamed Boulevard Theatre Dresden. After a four-month renovation, operations in the listed building started again in September 2014.

In addition to the complete redesign of the auditorium, there were also heavy investments in the modernization of the stage and the entire theatre technology. Dutch manufacturer Alcons Audio pro-ribbon solutions were chosen for sound reinforcement.

"After many advi

Czech Republic - German production house Showem is the latest company to invest in a Nexo STM M28 system, which made its inaugural appearance at the new Skoda Superb launch. Both the car and the modular line array system were unveiled at the Forum Karlin auditorium in Prague, where a stunning new symphony was premiered to 500 invited media guests.

The symphony, performed by a 50-piece orchestra, was written to symbolise a new era for the 120-year-old Czech car manufacturer, and this fresh approach extended to the choice of sound system used at the launch. Showem's technical production

UK - Baldwin Boxall reports that Professional Sound Consultancy Ltd has reached Customer Gold Status level. Working closely with Baldwin Boxall for over a decade, Professional Sound Consultancy has gained an exceptional knowledge of the company's systems and products. The Gold Status reinforces the commitment between the two companies to promote, build, install and maintain systems of high quality with exceptional service.

Professional Sound Consultancy Ltd was formed by Katie Bradford and Stephanie France in 2003. The company takes great pride in its staff and employs top quality des

UK - The new addition to Nexo's STM modular line array series, the compact M28, has been installed in La Belle Angele nightclub in Edinburgh.

Nexo has had a long history with the live music venue, which opened in 1992. For a decade, the original Nexo SI 2000 system provided sound for live acts including Oasis, The Libertines and Radiohead. Destroyed in 2002 by a fire which ravaged the Cowgate area of the city, the club's owner, Hafid Mahboubi, has fought a long and hard battle to have it rebuilt.

"After 13 years it was a great feeling to be able to return to the venue we built

The Day the Music Died - The Music Producers Guild is backing a campaign to ensure that songwriters get a larger share of royalty income generated by digital music sales. Spearheaded by the British Association of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and entitled The Day the Music Died, this initiative will focus on the role and importance of songwriters and composers in the digital music industry. It will press for three key actions - a 50/50 split of gross digital royalty income, the removal of auto-predictive search functionality in search engines, which point people to i

UK - As one of the few UK partners selected to join the new Soundcraft Vi network, Liverpool-based Adlib has been consolidating its growing fleet of VI6 and Vi3000 consoles - for rental, sales and installation.

Confirms director Dave Kay, "The Soundcraft Vi series remains our first choice of console in view of its simplicity, reliability and usability. We provide regular training for potential users, backed up by a great service and support team."

Despite making an immediate commitment to the company's new Vi3000 hybrid - investing heavily for both sales and rental stock -

Mexico - Hi Tech Audio is exhibiting at sound:check Xpo and representing d&b audiotechnik in room Salon Tarasco when the show returns to Mexico City from 26-28 April.

Hi Tech Audio sales director, Fernando Roch says, "We have been working hard to build the d&b brand in Latin America and we welcome the opportunity to meet new and existing customers. It's the most important audio event in our region, it brings together the best in our industry and d&b is at the heart of that.

"Hi Tech Audio plans to enhance d&b market visibility during the show by targeting, theatres, perman

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