DJ, music producer, Armin van Buuren launched his new ‘Armin Only’ spectacular at Amsterdam Ziggo Dome – Armin Only Embrace – once again uniting the hugely talented technical and creative team that delivered the ‘Armin Only – Intense’ world tour in 2014. Central to the energy, excitement and emotion of the four hour trance extravaganza in Amsterdam were 162 Robe moving lights – a megamix of Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s – among other fixtures crafted into the visual landscape. Embrace is another truly unique and imaginative immersive musical, visual and sonic experience from the ‘State of Trance’ originator. Based on the new album and…
Author: Stewart Hume
Tickets are now on sale for BPM | PRO 2016, the DJ & Studio, Sound & Lighting event which will run from 11-13 September at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. Boasting a new home inside the Genting Arena and a whole host of new feature areas the event offers even more reasons to visit in 2016. This tenth-anniversary event will play host to an incredible line-up of DJ’s and producers, performing on various stages and parting with their knowledge in the popular learning zones. With new feature areas creating unmissable moments alongside the largest number of brands seen in the…
How did you get your start within the industry? In 1967, when I was 18, I bought a van and became a roadie for Fairport Convention and other bands associated with Joe Boyd, the legendary manager and producer. While I was still working for a band called Soft Machine in early ‘70s, I happened to be visiting the WEM factory in South London and asked proprietor, Charlie Watkins, if he knew of any bands looking for crew. He mentioned Led Zeppelin and made a call to their manager Peter Grant. Before I knew it I was on my way to…
For many show designers, it can be frustrating to see countless audience members gazing at I-Mag screens for prolonged spells, rather than concentrate on what really matters: the stage action. In conjuring her set design magic for Beyoncé’s eagerly anticipated Formation world tour, however, Es Devlin has ensured that all eyes remain on the star’s performance by creating an enormous, rotating video screen box – widely referred to as the ‘Monolith’ – that relies heavily on customised equipment and R&D know-how from Stageco’s international offices. From the moment the audience enters the stadium, well before showtime, it is aware of the central, dominating Monolith. Measuring 22 metres high…
Michael Smalley and Gabe Fraboni of Twin Designs took care of superstar Pitbull’s Time Of Our Lives Tour at The Axis in Planet Hollywood. “Video panels are great, and we use them all the time,” said Fraboni. “But the opportunity to design a show for an artist of Pitbull’s caliber in Vegas requires us to do something different. He’s dynamic and the dancers are amazing, so we needed to give them an area to perform on that could convey the sleek, sexy, and sophisticated theme of the show while giving us lots of options to experiment with.” The two designers found what…
Award-winning lighting designer Fredrik Jönsson applied a vast number of Clay Paky Mythos, Sharpy, Sharpy Wash 330 and brand new Scenius to create the broadcast-ready, glittering extravaganza that was the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Now in its 61st year with theme Come Together, Eurovision was sponsored by OSRAM and hosted by last year’s victor Sweden at Stockholm’s Globe Arena and watched by millions around the world. Jönsson, who was the lighting designer for Eurovision 2013 and created the visual look of Swedish winner Måns Zelmerlöf’s performance at last year’s contest, specified 120 Mythos, 308 Sharpys, 166 Sharpy Wash 330’s and 58 Scenius to create each…
Leading UK lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment recently invested in new Barco 30K projectors which immediately went out on two tours, one being the UK’s hugely successful, chart-topping and best known reggae-pop band UB40 – featuring Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey – for which Colour Sound supplied a projection system, LED screens, lighting equipment and crew. The UB40 tour’s show design was a collaboration between Bryan Leitch and Jamie Thompson from creative practice MIRRAD. Thompson was also out on the road operating the lighting alongside Francis Clegg from MIRRAD who co-ordinated and ran the video elements live. Large format projection is an area that…
Canada’s most prestigious music awards show, recently aired live on CTV from Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome and featured performances by many of the country’s leading music artists, including Alessia Cara, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dean Brody, Jann Arden, Shawn Mendes, The Tenors and The Weeknd. But it was the performance by an L-Acoustics K1/K2 sound system—provided by another Canadian original, Solotech—that seamlessly kept the music sonically clear all night long. Solotech’s L-Acoustics system proved to be a particularly ideal solution for Scotiabank Saddledome, which is a beautiful sounding hall with a unique hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped roof (the world’s longest) offering fantastic interior…
PRG XL Video, the UK operation of Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG), is pleased to announce a new member in its Music and Touring team, Gordon Torrington. Torrington has been with PRG for several years, gaining a wealth of experience and industry contacts during his time as a Senior member of the Event Services team. He will now take up the role of Account Manager focusing on lighting and rigging, and working alongside Yvonne Donnelly Smith, Director Music Group, and Roy Hunt, Senior Account Manager. He will also collaborate closely with the Music video team led by Phil Mercer. Yvonne Donnelly Smith commented: “We’re delighted to…
As one of the most celebrated artists in recent times, global phenomenon, singer–songerwriter (and worldclass personality) Adele, is back on the road after a four-year hiatus supporting her third studio album, 25. TPi’s Kelly Murray visited the visually captivating production, complete with technically intricate sound design, to meet the crew at the helm of this highly anticipated tour. Like the rest of the world, it’s been some time since I’d seen Adele perform live. My first experience with the proud London lady’s voice was in a tiny venue at Manchester’s Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, when the only production requirements…
TPi’s Ste Durham witnessed the collaborative four section visual spectacular. When Ellie Goulding first appeared on the general public’s radar in 2009, few would have suspected that she would go on to produce the kind of elaborately scripted stage show that TPi was on hand to witness at Manchester Arena. The production value was certainly upped from previous tours, with a huge video and lighting package, bespoke staging and striking drapes to rival those of mainstream pop’s biggest names. Tour Manager Rebecca Travis first joined the Ellie Goulding camp four years ago, and has overseen performances across the world, in…
American pop punk band All Time Low recently secured a number one album in the UK with the release of their sixth studio effort, Future Hearts, which in turn dictated the demand for another UK tour. In February 2016, the band’s highly anticipated live shows proved to be another success for the baltimore quartet, when their five-date back to the Future Hearts tour allowed their talented crew to produce another stand-out arena production. TPi’s kelly murray reports… Production Manager Daniel Nickleski has worked with All Time Low for six years, having started their touring union as the band’s monitor engineer.…
After a successful first leg in North America, Madonna brought her Rebel Heart tour to Europe with the goal of maintaining consistency across the board. TPi headed down to one of the pop icon’s London dates to meet the crew and discover the intricacies involved in such a mammoth production. With today’s highest-charting artists locked in seemingly perpetual battle to concoct the most elaborate and breathtaking stage shows imaginable, gig-goers can be forgiven for setting the bar particularly high when it comes to production values. One artist that continues to push the envelope, driven by her famously exacting standards, is…
London-based event company Capital Sound has made its first investment in Powersoft’s patented advanced technology, investing in 24 of the new X8 amplifiers to power its new Outline GTO line array system. The Italian company’s game-changing X Series took the touring market by storm following its world launch in Frankfurt two years ago. Offering eight 5200W/2-ohm channels in a 2U chassis, the X8 offers unmatched levels of versatility, flexibility, power and functionality without compromising on size and efficiency. Both the Outline GTO C-12 line array and the Powersoft amplifiers were supplied by UK distributors CUK Audio, while this compelling combination also reflects…
Le Maitre provided a whole array of pyrotechnics for the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis This Unruly Mess I Made Tour in the UK, Ireland and Europe. Each night the stage was set alight with Le Maitre’s 25 Amber Comets with Tails and 25 Orange Tracer Comets with Tails. Sparkbursts projected small silver branching sparks to 15 and Silver Fizz Falling Stars provided incredibly bright stars. Part of Le Maitre’s Virtually Smokeless range, these produce extremely intense colours with virtually no smoke. Le Maitre confetti was also fired at the show. www.lemaitreltd.com
One of Ireland’s foremost sound production companies has purchased a substantial amount of Martin Audio’s MLA, MLA Compact and MLX high-powered loudspeaker arrays. In so doing Production House (NI) Ltd has become the first rental company in Ireland to invest in Martin Audio’s game-changing, and award-winning MLA platform. Production House’s (NI) Managing Director, John Willis, has announced the purchase of 48 Martin Audio MLA, 24 Martin Audio MLA Compact and 24 Martin Audio MLX sub bass loudspeakers. Asked what prompted Production House to choose Martin Audio MLA Willis replied that the decision was made after several successful listening tests and a visit to the factory to meet…
d3 Technologies is proud to announce r13, the latest release of the company’s award-winning software. r13 has a mix of new and improved features including a refreshed new look UI and new HMSF timeline which enhances the well known d3 workflow. Additionally there are improvements to matrix control, time code readout module and an upgraded web module. “Creating a revolutionary product requires a ground up approach to development. You have throw out everything you know and start from the beginning,” said Ash Nehru, d3’s Technology Director. “Taking an agile approach to development allows us to continuously develop d3 to meet…
An Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing system was used at FOH for Brazil’s annual Villa Mix festival, which takes place annually in Manaus. Supplied by PA company, Barra Som, the festival showcases ten of the country’s top country music artists, staged in the city’s huge Sambadrone. The system comprised the flagship S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack. “It was very important that we had one system to manage the whole event, to eliminate any complexities with changing over systems,” said William Souza Ribeiro, the System Engineer from Barra Som. “dLive did not disappoint. It delivers a big performance, with…
