Evolution Sound for BBC Radio One’s Weekend in Ibiza

BBC Radio 1 made its annual pilgrimage to Ibiza during the first weekend of August, with an extensive programme of live events and studio broadcasts. The showcase event of the weekend was two days of live TV and radio broadcasting from the Café Mambo Sunset Stage, set up on the rocky coastline and seashore directly in front of this iconic venue in San Antonio.

The event was powered by a Funktion-One Evo sound system from Cheshire Event Production. “Café Mambo asked us to supply the complete audio production,” explained Cheshire Event Production’s Olly Wayman. “This is the second time the event has taken place on the rocks and the second time we have been asked to supply. We provided everything audio, right up the BBC splits.”

The Funktion-One rental partner deployed a main system comprising six Evo 7E – three per side – and 12 F121 single 21in bass enclosures – six per side – supplemented by two Evo 7 SH skeletal speakers for side-fill and two Resolution 1 speakers for front-fill. Two Evo 7SH and two BR218 bass reflex speakers were used for delays. Power and control for the system came from seven XTA APA Dante-enabled amps and an MC2 Delta80 Dante-enabled processor.

The mix of DJs and live acts included some of the biggest names in the business. Saturday’s line-up featured Fat Boy Slim, Claptone, Danny Howard, David Guetta, Disciples PA and Rudimental, while Sunday saw Annie Mac, Disclosure, Black Coffee, Jessie Ware and Jorja Smith take to the Café Mambo Sunset Stage, which welcomed 14,000 people across the weekend.

The dramatic setting comes with some interesting challenges. “The whole event is a huge challenge, working on the rocks would be the first one,” said Wayman. “The council sets very tight sound restrictions but the directivity of the Evo 7s makes it super easy to ensure we get good SPL where it’s needed and not where it shouldn’t be. We’ve had the Evo 7s for three years now and we got our APA amplifiers at the same time. The entire system is just in a different class – we’re getting mind-blowing results every time.”

Production Manager, Tom Brown commented: “The sound was clean and tight all weekend. Every artist was very happy and impressed. Olly and his team did a superb job under some very challenging circumstances and demanding audio specifications from both myself and from the BBC.”

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