The last time Subfrantic featured in TPi was in 2021, as lockdown regulations were beginning to ease and the team unveiled their new rehearsal studios. The goal at the time was to answer the call for more high-quality rehearsal facilities in the UK. Throwing themselves into the project, Subfrantic expanded and renovated its Bromley HQ, creating a unique set of spaces that were not only functional but also homely for customers looking to settle in for a few days ahead of an upcoming tour – whether for band rehearsals or pre-production. More recently, however, Managing Director Steve Davies and the team have turned their focus back to the company’s 360° rental offering, setting their sights on becoming a dependable choice for the arena market.
The story of this latest chapter has not been without its struggles. In summer 2022, Davies was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer, leading to a year of treatment and recovery. Now, three years on from successfully beating the illness, his focus has been renewed, with a clear ambition to further strengthen Subfrantic’s offering to the market.
“Over a decade ago we did our first arena-sized productions, with audio coming via our Turbosound Aspect point source rig. Although that was a great rig, it didn’t take off the way we’d hoped as this was the time when the industry moved away from point source systems in favour of line arrays.”
Off the back of this, Davies felt the company needed to change course and focus on a line-array offering, which eventually led to the company’s relationship with L-Acoustics products. This meant downsizing their offerings and gradually building them up again, which led to a wholesale rethinking of how the company operated.
“About 10 years later, during COVID, I took the time to look at our rental inventory and work out where I wanted to go with it. I knew I wanted to grow but I also wanted that inventory to be as good as it could be, so I decided to overhaul absolutely everything, starting with audio. In the past, we always had great speakers, but our infrastructure wasn’t as strong,” he explained. “So this time, we started with upgrading that infrastructure first.”
Prior to the pandemic, the company invested in a Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 and has since made significant additions, including more RIVAGE and DM Series consoles, DiGiCo Quantum desks, Avid S6L surfaces, and further Allen & Heath dLive mixing systems.
“The goal was to cover all of the main professional desks on the market,” Davies stated. “We changed our monitoring and RF systems to the current top end industry standards too, integrated fibre, then upgraded and modernised how we handle power.”
The company also upgraded its existing L-Acoustics KARA to KARA II and moved from LA8 to LA12X and P1. “Bringing AVB into the mix was a game-changer for us in terms of how good our systems sound and how easy they are to manage,” enthused the Managing Director.
With everything else in place, he explained that he then needed to make a major investment in PA and, after much deliberation, chose to invest in L-Acoustics L2, via UK dealer Core Pro Audio.
“With this new chapter, we did briefly consider the idea of just offering control packages, it certainly would’ve been a lot cheaper!” mused Davies. “There are a few companies that offer that service and they do it very well. I really enjoy that side of our work, but I also love big PA systems so I knew I had to do both!” he chuckled.
“When the L2 came out, and I heard how good it was, I knew I couldn’t really consider purchasing another model or brand when there was an option out there that I loved, and that fitted in so well with our existing infrastructure and relationships.”
This decision was further cemented when Subfrantic oversaw the Gregory Porter arena tour last year, deploying a sub-hired L2 system, which Davies said performed flawlessly. The company has now taken delivery of their new L2 system and are currently implementing it into their infrastructure and workflow, with the goal of sending the offering out on the road in the second quarter of this year. After that, the team plans to turn its attention to the video department, refreshing that arm of the business.
“We’ve already done considerable amounts of work on the infrastructure, our control systems are good and we have a sizeable quantity of LED video wall, so our plan is for that to become our IMAG offering as we invest in a new product with a smaller pixel pitch to do the rear slab. As for lighting, we moved our systems over to fibre last year, and have already started reinvesting in new desks and fixtures,” commented Davies.
Speaking more broadly, Davies explained why he still believes there is strong demand for an independent 360 supplier like Subfrantic at the arena level. “We find our clients like having a single point of contact – someone who can disseminate information to the relevant departments and handle a lot of the PM responsibilities,” Davies explained. “It means clients don’t need a full understanding of each vertical, and our team can review the design with a holistic view of the show. If a client is asking for a large video setup, we can assess all of the affected elements and create a realistic package for audio and lighting too, finding the right compromise for the event where there are clashes rather than creating friction between suppliers.”
He added that providing a 360° solution allows all planning to be done in a single set of documents, keeping everyone aligned and making it easier to share resources – from crew to technical infrastructure, often with significant cost savings. He also expressed his belief that there is still space in the market for smaller independents to operate at the arena level, highlighting several one-off shows he has recently quoted for at venues such as The O2, OVO Arena Wembley, and The Royal Albert Hall.
“We’re not interested in trying to poach tours that already have established relationships with other companies, that’s not how we work,” he commented. “But there have been plenty of one-offs already and we’ve picked up several new clients just on the rumour that we were investing into L2. I believe we’ll soon pick up more regular touring work once we demonstrate our capabilities to a wider audience.”
In closing, Davies highlighted Subfrantic’s longstanding involvement at South by Southwest Festival, where the company supports the British Music Embassy stages across Austin alongside Production Park and the Academy of Live Technology – it marks a valuable opportunity to get an early look at emerging British talent. “You never know where the next job or the next big act might come from,” he concluded with a smile.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Subfrantic
