Empire of the Sun catapulted to international stardom in 2008 with their multi-platinum hit “Walking on a Dream.” It was a very fitting title, for the song and the band. Blending an ethereal sound with stage visuals that resemble something out of a fantasy game, the Australian duo make it easy for audiences to take a temporary leave from reality and enter an uplifting world of imagination. This transcendental quality was on full display on 14th April, when Empire of the Sun appeared on the Coachella Festival’s Sahara Stage. Dressed in flowing, futuristic silky black outfits and backed by robot…
Author: Stewart Hume
Internationally renowned production manager Ola Melzig – Head of Production for Eurovision 2017 – is set to host the glamorous tenth anniversary edition of the Knight of Illumination Awards. The prestigious ceremony will be held on the 17th of September at one of London’s most iconic live entertainment venues, the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. Throughout his eclectic career, Melzig has coordinated innumerable high-profile shows around the globe, including the Commonwealth Games, the Nobel Prize Banquet, and now no fewer than 12 Eurovision productions – all of which are a long way from his first role in the industry, working as…
Internationally renowned LD and director of photography Jerry Appelt specified the new Claypaky Scenius Unico as the main stage workhorse fixture for his richly composed lighting design for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, hosted at the International Exhibition Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine. This year, 42 countries participated in the global TV phenomenon, each supported by a striking stage and light show embracing video, special effects and a procession of scenic props and costumes, all of which combined to make the lighting of this world famous event an ever more challenging proposition. Taking up that challenge for the third time, Appelt’s lighting…
Seven hundred and ninety five (795) Robe Spikies are on the road with the incredible Bruno Mars 24K Magic world tour – setting a record for the largest number to date of a single type of Robe fixture on one touring show! The Spikies are the main lighting feature of an action-packed show and are used constantly for hi-impact looks, an array of fluid effects, mesmeric chases, animated chunks of colour and magically twinkling and sparkling ‘soft’ surfaces which can totally transform the appearance of the performance space in this exciting hi-energy show. The dynamic, colourful and highly visual production…
Eight Allen & Heath dLive C Class systems, based on the ultra-compact C1500 Surface and CDM32 MixRack, have been purchased in Norway, mainly by sound engineers looking for a fly-in mixing system. Sold by Norwegian distributor, Benum, the systems were specified by several of the country’s most prolific and well-respected freelance audio engineers touring with some of Norway’s most successful pop acts. “It’s the only option on the market that offers compact mixing that you can take on a commercial airline, with the right sound quality and minimum hardware,” said Stian Sagholen (FOH for Einar Stray Orchestra and Dunderbeist, monitors…
Capital Sound, one of the largest UK-based live sound hire companies, is adding Solid State Logic L200 and L500 live consoles to its inventory, bringing SSL quality and flexibility to a growing client-base over a wide budget range. The consoles are being been supplied by UK professional audio specialist HD Pro Audio. Capital Sound initially decided to invest in L500 to support The Killers Front of House Engineer, Kenny Kaiser, on the European leg of the band’s current worldwide tour. Kaiser uses a lot of the console’s unique attributes, such as fully processed stem groups, the SSL FX Rack, AutoMix…
One man, one mic and one big mission-critical challenge to get it perfect every night – and that’s what Adlib delivered daily for the latest Russell Howard ‘in-the-round’ arena tour. Adlib, the Liverpool based company, supplied audio and lighting for the UK arena leg of the tour – the biggest to date for the highly-acclaimed award winning stand-up comedian who delights audiences worldwide with his intelligence, wit and hilarity. George Puttock who worked closely with Russell’s FOH engineer Simon Lawson led Adlib’s audio team. Puttock specified a Coda Audio AiRAY system for a number of different reasons; its unrivalled lightweight,…
Leading AV Company, Anna Valley, announced that the company is significantly expanding their existing 4K AV rental offering with the purchase of a number of new products. Recent acquisitions include the Barco Event Master E2, S3-4K, EC-50 and Ex screen management systems, 4k@60Hz display port 1.2a cards and a variety of LG 4K displays ranging from 55 to 98 inches in size. A further order for 4K fibre distribution systems, scalers and processors is in place for later in the year. “Our clients rely on Anna Valley to provide the best technology and technical support to deliver their creative vision,”…
Thierry Tranchant, Yannick Bétis and Eric Barthélemy has announced the acquisition of the French company Melpomen by B Live Group, who are a service provider to the live events industry based in France. Melpomen were formerly owned by the UK based SSE Audio Group. Melpomen has a considerable track record as a service provider of sound, lighting and video facilities for major live shows, festivals and touring, so this move further strengthens B Live’s position in this market segment. Melpomen’s extensive experience in the installation and integration market and its track record with prestigious clients such as the Stade de…
A visit to Wonderland, that is the promise of Take That’s latest tour; a phantasmagorical ride through a vividly imagined and ever changing landscape. For an in-the-round (ITR) performance this is as complex as it gets. “Data wise it is massively integrated,” said lighting designer Tim Routledge with stark precision. “The stage is based on the familiar logo of two T’s one inverted atop the other within a circle defined by LED floor panels. Above, a 20-metre diameter truss contains an all-enveloping ring of sixteen roller-drops where we present some truly dazzling video projection.” Conceived by the band’s live show…
Chris Tomlin recently wrapped his stellar national tour, Worship Night in America. Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the multi-artist event that featured performances by Phil Wickham, Zach Williams, Mosaic MSC and Big Daddy Weave and included songs from Tomlin’s eleventh studio album, Never Lose Sight. Building off the design of a five city tour from the summer of 2016, LD Christian Hahn had the opportunity to add elements he felt were missing, and by merging together Tomlin’s production design requests and the overall look and feel of the tour, Hahn created a dynamic design that featured big looks,…
Ask any rental company owner. There’s little worse than losing a gig based solely on the logo on your loudspeaker inventory. It was a situation that the team at Bauder Audio Systems found themselves in a time or three, and enough to drive them to consolidate their entire inventory around a brand that is never questioned—L-Acoustics. Having successfully carried K2 and Kara systems for three years now, Bauder recently purchased 92 new Kiva II enclosures to round out its L-Acoustics inventory. “We use them in so many ways,” said Bauder Audio Production Manager Brian Naab. “We have a couple of…
MILOS has released its second video for their three-month spotlight on MILOS LED Screen Support Structures (1st April – 30th June). This video gives an overview of the complete range of MILOS LED Screen Support Structures with their main technical specifications. Click on the link below to discover how MILOS LED screen support structures are suited for your screen support needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMNR03nkHMI www.milossystems.com
Resolution X, covering Australia with hire bases in Melbourne and Sydney, strives to provide the best quality rental equipment backed by the best people and service. Based on that goal, they have become one of the largest providers of rental lighting and rigging equipment in Australia. They are leaders in bringing new and innovative equipment to market and can boast on a dedicated team that is enthusiastic about all challenges. Tim Hall, Managing Director of Resolution X explained: “Resolution X have always prided themselves on implementing industry best practises, especially when it comes to safety. Therefore, adding chain hoists with…
Following a successful strategic alliance which has been in place since the beginning of the year, Britannia Row Productions has announced its acquisition by Clair Global. “Both companies see this as the perfect way to expand and strengthen their worldwide client base, allowing them to offer consistent service in all major territories,” said Britannia Row Directors Bryan Grant and Mike Lowe in a joint statement. “The synergies we’ve experienced with the entire Britannia Row team have been overwhelmingly positive. Culturally and professionally, we are on the same page. We are excited to bring this new level of global support to our…
Heralded for its superb acoustics, which are said to rival those of La Scala in Milan, the Hungarian State Opera House has hosted many of the greatest artists from the orchestral and operatic worlds. Gustave Mahler called this building home as the opera’s director, as did Otto Klemperer. At no time in this Budapest landmark’s history, though, did it ever ring with sounds quite like those created in Rocktopia, a wildly original mash up of classical and classic rock music. After making its global debut last year at the opera house in a PBS broadcast, Rocktopia is now bringing its…
Stay tuned for the full write up of this year’s festival in our May edition of TPi…
