Houghton Festival in Norfolk is a magnet for electronic dance music purists. With 12 stages delivering DJ sets around the clock, it focuses on presence in the moment and quality of experience in every detail – and in that, d&b sound systems, supplied by regular rental partner Encore Pro Audio, played a major role.
Ever since its debut in 2017, Houghton Festival has maintained a core ethos of positivity, creativity, and quality. As Mixmag said, “Houghton is a festival the UK is lucky to have.”
Founded by creative director, curator, artist and DJ Craig Richards, the festival celebrates creativity in many forms. Since Houghton Festival’s inception, its team has worked closely with sound system supplier and long-standing d&b partner Encore Pro Audio to meet the quest for a high-quality sound experience. Today, all 12 performance areas at Houghton are served by d&b systems – including a KSL system for the main Derren Smart stage and an XSL system for the d&b Soundscape-equipped Warehouse stage – with the invaluable predictive power of d&b’s NoizCalc software ensuring compliance.
Discussing the importance of noise control, Richards said, “Our aim is to please the audience – but certainly not to displease the neighbours. We’ve got a great licence and landlords, and we’re in a fantastic site. We’re very respectful of it.”
The Festival’s technical manager, Matt Smith, recalled, “In our first year, we had about 10 stages. It was noise managed, but we had external complaints. Over time we’ve learned, and the designs have become more fine-tuned.”
In year three, Houghton Festival added KSL to the Derren Smart Stage, becoming exclusively d&b across the site. “Using d&b NoizCalc predictions, along with input from acoustic consultant Gareth Hance from Electric Star Live, we adjusted stage orientations among other measures, to great effect,” said Smith. “We only had one noise complaint last year, so we’re heading in the right direction!”
Apart from a few years lost to unavoidable cancellations, the enhancements have continued. More recently, Encore invited Roy Wimpenny, from d&b’s Education & Application Support team, to work with Hance on NoizCalc predictions, and it’s a tool that has continued to play an important role.
Another area in which Houghton Festival invests in ‘experience’ is with its d&b Soundscape-equipped Warehouse stage. Housed inside a draped-off barn, Warehouse gives artists the option to explore a 360˚ Soundscape system, to the delight of the aesthete audience.
For both the largest stage, and the Warehouse stage, d&b’s SL-Series systems provide what the festival needs, in terms of both quality and control. “For the Derren Smart stage we’re supplying KSL again this year,” said Encore’s Art Tonge. “This really helps us to control the noise emissions to surrounding areas.”
“I think KSL enhances the user experience. Yes, dance music should be loud, but quality is another thing, and the SL-Series benefits the audience. They get a much better experience, and there are fewer complaints about off-site noise because of it, so it’s a win-win situation,” He continued.
Also repeating from last year is the successful XSL-based Soundscape system available inside the draped barn structure, the Warehouse.
“We introduce the artists who are going to play there to d&b,” said Smith. “I’ll explain the idea of Soundscape’s ‘object-based’ mixing, and offer them the chance to do pre-production with d&b. That assistance is really helpful. It was here that Awkward Moments delved into it for the first time: they did a few sessions with d&b, and the results spoke for themselves.”
Richards and his team take seriously their responsibilities to audiences, artists and neighbours. An example: although the event’s licence allows for more, audience capacity is limited to 15,000, as Richards wants people to have room to relax and enjoy in comfort, to maintain the quality of experience in every detail.
“It’s relatively rare to get such good audio at a festival,” said Tonge. “We’re in the fortunate position that Craig puts quality at the forefront.”
“I think the greatest compliment for any sound system is if it’s in control of itself, representing the sound in an appropriate and coherent way. That’s the reason we choose d&b,” Richards concluded. “We’re really happy with what we can achieve in terms of quality and nearness to a club environment, rather than the generic festival experience. d&b is a very truthful sound system, and that works across different genres of music. That’s really important to me.”
