UK - Undisputedly one of the most popular and critically acclaimed 'indie' artists of the moment, Florence + the Machine has enjoyed a phenomenal year with numerous highlights including her new album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful topping the charts in the UK and US and a show-stopping headline set on Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage.

Adlib provided a large and innovatively designed 'racks-and-stacks' audio package for the recent UK leg of the current world tour. Adlib has a long history with New York based Firehouse Productions, providing stacks and racks in UK & Europe on world tours supported by them. One such tour was Radiohead in 2012 with FOH engineer Jim Warren who now works with Florence. Narci Martinez (RHCP & Josh Groban production manager) is at the helm, pulling this fantastic production together, as the tour's production manager.

Marco (Marc Olivier Germain) i

UK - Artistic Director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, last week announced that he was appointing Paul Arditti as an associate director of the National Theatre. This is a post that has typically been held in the past by actors and directors, and is the first time it has been given to a sound designer.

The small team of associates have key influence over the artistic policy of the National Theatre, from the commissioning of work to the operation of the building. Paul's appointment reflects Rufus's high regard for the importance of sound and sound design for theatre. Rufus told the ASD: "Paul Arditti is a theatre-maker first and a sound designer second. His massive wealth of experience of theatre generally, and exacting pursuit of excellence in his chosen field, make him a terrific addition to our team. As with all our Associates, Paul will contribute to the philosophi

UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio has announced that Karl Christmas is moving to a position within Yamaha Corporation of Japan, with Terry Murphy stepping up to Karl's position as sales manager for Yamaha Music Europe in the UK and RoI.

Karl has been a familiar figure to Yamaha customers and the industry media for many years. He first joined the company in 1988 and has combined his extensive technical knowledge and experience with a flair for personal communication to great effect.

His new role in Yamaha's Global Pro Audio technical Marketing Group, based at the company's R&D Centre in London, will see him performing a key role in supporting the expansion of Yamaha's Commercial Installation System (CIS) business around the world.

"Karl is uniquely qualified for this new position in an important segment for Yamaha's future business growth. I would like to thank him for all he

UK - Hire company, Wigwam Acoustics, has purchased Allen & Heath's Qu-Pac ultra-compact rackmount digital mixers as the hub of new shout systems, which were used throughout the 2015 festival season.

Wigwam initially purchased two Qu-Pacs but soon purchased a further four. Installed in several new rack shout systems, the Qu-Pacs manage communications between FOH and monitor position on the main stages of many of the season's top festivals, including the Isle of Wight and the Big Church day.

Qu-Pac is a faderless mixer with built-in touchscreen, front panel soft keys, and iPad remote control. The fully customisable Qu-Control screen can be set up with 'widgets' for channel levels, mutes and assignment switches, and the 15 soft keys allow further customisation.

Wigwam set up combinations of Qu-control touch widgets and soft keys on their Qu-Pac units to handle audio routing, mu

Germany - In a special event marking the 300th anniversary of the city of Karlsruhe in Germany, organists in the twinned cities of Halle an der Saale (Germany), Nancy (France), Nottingham (England) and Timisoara (Romania) played live with four organists in Karlsruhe itself.

Performing Organum - a contemporary organ work composed by Wolfgang Mitterer especially for the occasion - the event was broadcast live via satellite to the Karlsruhe State Academy of Design (Hochschule für Gestaltung, HfG). At the academy, the live video feeds from the organists playing and the music itself were set to a technically and artistically challenging sound and image installation, with the help of two Lawo V pro8 video processor units and a Lawo mc 36 audio mixing console.

Rastatt-based Audio Broadcast Services (ABS) supplied the Lawo video and audio equipment for the event, and worked wi

The Netherlands - Studios Aalsmeer is a 65,000m2 television production complex south-west of Amsterdam, which hosts more than 30 different media companies and enterprises. Amongst these is production technology rental company Eventec, whose range of Yamaha digital mixing consoles is providing the audio backbone to a number of Dutch television programmes and other events produced on site.

Situated near Schipol airport, Studios Aalsmeer is probably best known as the place where Joop van den Ende and John de Mol merged their respective companies in 1994 - Endemol going on to become one of the most recognisable global brands in television production.

Endemol moved to new premises in 2010, since when the studio and office complex at Aalsmeer has become a home to media businesses, a dance studio, local radio station, cinema, game studios, restaurants and companies related to Schipho

UK - Proel (International) Ltd has announced their mini expo event being held at the NEC Conference Centre, Birmingham on Wednesday 28 October.

Proel on the Road is described as a hands on day of all things MI & Pro Audio aimed at retailers, installers, hire & event companies.

Sales director Danny Clarke commented, "We wanted to try a new way of getting our products in front of customers both old and new. This event will feature new products from Proel along with mini displays of our distributed lines such as Axiom, Sagitter, EAW, CORT & Randall all plugged in and ready to try out.

We will also have hourly demonstrations of the Axiom Vertical Array systems as well as the UK launch and demos of the new Redline Professional Active cabinets from EAW."

Registration for this event can be found at www.proel.co.uk. Trade customers who register and attend this event will

USA - From their home offices in Brooklyn, NY, Fool's Gold Records is an independent record label that has established itself with releases bridging the worlds of hip-hop and electronic music, introducing artists like Kid Sister, Danny Brown, Kid Cudi, and Duck Sauce. The label is best known for its annual series of Day Off concerts across the US and Canada and, just recently, the company sponsored a shindig in the greater Miami area. This concert featured hip hop recording artist Vic Mensa, DJ A-Trak, and Rap artist Mike Floss-all of whom performed through a potent sound reinforcement system drawn from the Aero Series 2 catalogue of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

Rental Stages of Hollywood, FL which specializes in a wide range of staging, lighting, sound, and supporting equipment for concerts and special events, was contracted to provide logistical support for the Day Off

USA - Goya Foods is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States. Goya's new Northeast headquarters in New Jersey, which opened in late 2014, is part of a major company expansion programme and totals nearly 900,000sq.ft including office space and a 638,000sq.ft warehouse and distribution centre.

General contractor R.C. Anderson hired AVSI of Edison, New Jersey to design and install voice paging systems in the new facility. AVSI's Mike Venditte says, "The warehouse was especially challenging with its 50ft ceilings and 3.5-second reverb time. Ambient noise was also an issue. We measured occasional peaks as high as 100 dBA from forklifts and trucks at 12 cargo bay doors."

To overcome these challenges and achieve Goya's goals of fully audible and highly intelligible voice paging, Venditte designed an audio system based on Community RMG-200AT voice-range h

UK - North London's trendy Nambucca venue recently played host to a day of eclectic live music. A mix of established acts, newly-signed artists, and emerging talent descended on the Holloway Road venue to get their live sets filmed in 4k, and recorded for broadcast, using DiGiGrid IOX units.

Luke Lockhart of production company, TF Music, is busy preparing for the show, which will see five bands play live sets over the course of the day for 360 Tune Box, an international broadcaster owned by SPI. TF is in charge of all things production, which constitutes setting up an eight-camera shoot [in 4k] and a 24-channel live recording setup. Lockhart and co. will be filming a string of different bands in various London locations over the coming weeks, before doing the same Stateside, if all goes to plan.

"360 Tune Box is kind of similar to Netflix; they have subscription channels,

Europe - With the announcement that Audinate has now delivered their AES67-enabled firmware to their OEM partners in order to offer AES67 compatibility with their Dante protocol, the Ravenna community "welcomes them to the world of interoperability they created five years ago".

Andreas Hildebrand from ALC NetworX, developers of Ravenna, states, "This is great news for users, who can now interconnect audio devices using Ravenna, Q-Lan, Livewire and finally Dante."

AES67 cannot be used on its own, it simply allows different audio protocols to talk to each other, so manufacturers who want to enjoy the interoperability of AES67 need to choose a protocol that is AES67-compliant to fit into their products.

"We always intended that many different protocols should provide AES67 compatibility in order to offer the system designer and/or end-user as wide a cho

USA - Bose Professional is now shipping four new dual-channel amplifier models from its broadened FreeSpace amplifier line. These models are optimised for premium commercial applications such as retail, restaurants and hospitality.

There are two mixer amplifiers (IZA 2120-HZ, IZA 2120-LZ) and two expansion amplifiers (ZA 2120-HZ, ZA 2120-LZ) each at 120 watts per channel. FreeSpace amplifiers can be quickly configured without the use of a PC, enabling each installation to be customised easily and intuitively. In addition, FreeSpace amplifiers offer a range of models and features to enhance any audio installation using Bose FreeSpace loudspeakers.

The IZA models include an integrated audio DSP providing Bose loudspeaker EQ, Bose Dynamic EQ, Opti-voice paging/ducking, audio mixing/routing, bass/treble adjustments, remote control options and an auto standby feature. The ZA models

UK - At the PLASA exhibition in London this week, the d&b GB team and sales partner SSE/Wigwam took the opportunity to talk to visitors and answer questions about the recently launched V-Series point sources. And there was plenty to talk about following the announcement that the new V7P and V10P had been named in the 2015 PLASA Awards for Innovation.

"The new point sources attracted a lot of attention at the stand," said Gianni Abruzzese, d&b GB commercial manager. "They're actually a really good example of the way d&b products are designed to work systematically. The three-way passive V7P and V10P provide exceptional directivity control with a high output. We had a V7P cabinet with the sides cut out on the d&b stand, exposing the hornloaded mid-range section. It's this dual chamber horn, which provides a remarkable MF performance, especially in the vocal range, t

USA - British heavy metal band, Bullet For My Valentine (BFMV), recently supported Slipknot on their latest tour, Summer's Last Standing, carrying Allen & Heath mixers to manage FOH and Monitors.

Comprising a GLD-80 at FOH, with an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-R72 rackmount Control Surface for monitors, BFMV's FOH Engineer, Dave Nutbrown, and monitor engineer, Adam Boole, connected the systems via ACE using a single Cat 5 cable.

"Adam controls the initial levels on iLive, the heartbeat of the system. I'm picking up the digital split on the GLD-80," said Nutbrown.

The Allen & Heath mixers were selected because of the excellent sound quality, reliability and compact size, which make them easy to take out on tour.

"Everything is right there in this great little package, it makes it so much easier for me. The FX are great and we are getting really good results durin

UAE - With a new look stand (number 4-G12), Baldwin Boxall looks forward to welcoming visitors at Intersec Dubai in January. This is always a busy show for the company and staff on the stand expect to see many new faces, as well as catching up with contacts already well known to them.

Visitors to the stand will see the EN54 certified VIGIL voice evacuation system and the company's Omnicare EVC system and disabled toilet alarms.

Based in East Sussex, UK, the company prides itself not only on the quality of design and build of its products, but also on its customer service and support, which directors and staff believe is paramount to their success. Customer testimonials and a long-term customer relationships prove this to be the case.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Studiomaster is now shipping the new Livesys5 portable micro -PA and stage monitor throughout Europe.

Measuring just 290x210x175mm and weighing in at a mere 3.3kg - the 150W self-powered, integrated mixer, speaker system is a highly versatile solution for all manner of "carry-on" performance, playback, presentation and public address applications. In addition the LIVESYS5 is a powerful personal stage monitor system, either floor-standing or ingenuously mountable on a microphone stand for close personal monitoring (for drummers and percussionists, keyboard players, solo instrumentalists and singers, or DJs).

The class-D powered 5-inch speaker system, provides 150W continuous and 300W peak power, and features a low noise 3-channel mixer section with 2 mic/line inputs on XLR (balanced) / TRS (unbalanced) combo connectors and a line input on stereo phono or 35mm jac

UK - Leading provider of AV equipment, Audiologic, has made a significant addition to its team by recruiting experienced Business Development Manager Paul Simpson. With a strong background in AV, Paul has worked with leading brands across the industry, specialising in the hotel, bar and restaurant sector and joins Audiologic specifically to underpin the vertical markets of hospitality and retail spaces.

Audiologic's Sales and Marketing Manager Andy Lewis expressed great satisfaction at a strong appointment: "Paul is a very personable, highly respected and well-connected AV professional who will fit perfectly into our customer-centric operation. At Audiologic we believe that we offer our customers the highest possible standards of service and Paul's unrivalled experience in this particular area will be of great value. We're delighted to add such a strong and dynamic player t

UK - Three successful days in early October saw the PLASA Show bring its three-year stay at London's ExCeL to a close, with the promise of a revamped and reinvigorated event at Olympia for 2016.

New for this year, the innovative zoned layout of PLASA Show 2015 was clearly a success, allowing show visitors to easily find the exhibitors they wanted to visit. In turn, this meant exhibitors enjoyed the attention of high quality visitors throughout the show.

"We were extremely busy all day. We changed the way our stand looks for this year and it's worked fantastically," said Koy Neminathan, Sales Director for Avolites and Avolites Media after the first day.

As in previous years, PLASA Show Platinum sponsor Robe occupied a large area and Robe CEO Josef Valchar pronounced himself very pleased.

"We had a really positive reaction to the stand, with people truly thril

Germany - A change of roles for Malte Polli-Holstein - the entertainment consulting expert has been "docked" at ASC since September 1 and is supporting managing director and company founder Ulrich Müller and his team in dealing with all the requirements of maritime and complex projects. With around 20 years of practical experience in cruise ship industry entertainment, he knows the special requirements for AV technology in this segment and will enrich the ASC team in future with his expertise in consulting, service, and support onshore and offshore, says the company.

Malte Polli-Holstein comes from Buchholz/Nordheide, near Hamburg, and studied to become an audio engineer in Hamburg and Zurich. With that degree under his belt, the 40-year-old has worked as a technical manager and sound designer for AIDA Cruises for 15 years. Since 2012, Polli-Holstein has also been kno

Japan - The latest New York style 'Living Room Cafe by e-plus' in the Tokyo ward of Shibuya is a cosy live music, art and cultural venue which promotes the concept of artists inviting their friends into the living room. It is also the province's largest live café and situated in this busy shopping and entertainment area, is just three minutes' walk from Shibuya's central station.

Divided into seven zones, surrounded by spacious antique leather sofas, fireplaces and iconic works of art, the music is played out through a combination of Martin Audio DD12, DD6 and XD12 premium loudspeakers.

The main zone is the live space, with the others being designated Main Bar, Terrace Room, Terrace, Private Rooms, Living Space, Patio and Dining Zone.

Dominating the Live zone is Martin Audio's flagship DD12 and PSX sub-bass, which have been adapted for the first time as a main system

Japan - Martin Audio Japan has announced the appointment of a new MLA partner in the form of a collaboration between Sound Office and MSS.

Based in Ehime Prefecture, Sound Office and MSS have jointly purchased MLA System 30, comprising of 18 MLA boxes, two MLD Downfill and 10 MLX subs.

President of Sound Office, Mr.Fujiwara said, "We needed to upgrade our sound system, and of course we considered several brands as part of that process. MLA was a strong contender but it's a big commitment too. Sound Office and MSS are located in a small province of Japan and we both wanted to have the newest system, so we had a meeting with the president of MSS, Mr. Miyauchi, and finally we decided to purchase the MLA system together."

President of MSS, Mr.Miyauchi concurred. "I totally agreed when Mr.Fujiwara came to us with the idea of jointly purchasing MLA because we shared

UK - The Royal Armouries is Britain's national museum of arms and armour and one of the most important museums of its type in the world, receiving nearly 2m visitors a year. The Leeds site of The Royal Armouries is a multi-million pound purpose-built museum built to house a large part of the national collection of arms and armour, displaying over 8500 objects throughout six stunning galleries.

Operating within the Leeds museum, Royal Armouries International plc is established as one of the country's leading providers of corporate hospitality and event management, helping make the venue the ideal destination for a conference, exhibition, product launch, awards dinner, fashion show or banquet, offering clients a unique opportunity to entertain amongst one of the World's greatest museum collections.

With Royal Armouries International already relying on a sizable inventory of HK A

UK - Stand-up comedy has a long association with Martin Audio flagship PA systems, and over the years has helped support artists of the calibre of Jack Dee, Lee Evans ... and more recently Kevin Bridges and Michael McIntyre.

Pro audio rental specialists, Capital Sound have featured constantly in these Off The Kerb productions, and one reason for Martin Audio being specified so repeatedly has been the patronage of FOH sound engineer, Phil Tame - who has long been a fan of their flagship line arrays.

"I initially used the W8LC with Lee Evans - and still like it a lot," he said, as the production of Michael McIntyre's Happy & Glorious tour loaded into the O2 Arena for a seven-night residency. "But MLA is something else. I first used it on a comedy gala and also with Lee Evans and was blown away. So with this tour I knew exactly what I was taking on, and it's lived

UK - The Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2014 and is currently implementing a £1.4m refurbishment programme. An integral part of the venue improvements includes the purchase of a new sound system focused on d&b audiotechnik Q-series loudspeakers, supplied by Orbital Sound.

The Assembly Hall's new sound system comprises 16 d&b audiotechnik Q1 loudspeakers, two Q7 centre-fills, six E6 units as front-fills, plus Q-subs and B2 subs, powered by d&b D12 amplifiers.

Mikey Powell, Assembly Hall technical manager, commented, "We secured funding to upgrade our existing loudspeaker system. The budget was limited, but we needed to ensure value for money whilst not compromising sound quality. Jay (James Christie) evaluated the systems available and recommended Orbital Sound as a provider."

James Christie, sound technician

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