[New] ALT-J

As the English trio close out their latest European tour, TPi speaks to the band’s audio team in the Zénith Paris to learn why L-Acoustics was once again the only brand of choice for this camp.

Words: Stew Hume Photo: TPi

alt-J certainly holds a unique place within the indie-rock landscape, with a signature sound that makes them easily distinguishable from their peers. Due to their unique nature, it’s perhaps not surprising that they are a group that has always cared very much about their live sound. For example, pre-pandemic the band did numerous dates using an L-Acoustics L-ISA system, something which at the time was certainly not the norm. When TPi caught up with the band in late 2022, although not out with an immersive system, it was once again a tour where the crew and band put their faith in the brown boxes.

“M y main goal for this tour was to ensure we got an L-Acoustics PA,” said long-serving FOH Engineer, Lance Reynolds. Having worked with the band for a decade, Reynolds discussed their history with the PA brand. “A few years ago, I really sunk into L-Acoustics and made the switch after getting to use it during numerous festival dates. There’s something about the depth of the PA that really works for these guys. It feels like you can see inside the music more –almost as if you have a giant studio monitor.”

Also out on the tour with Reynolds was Monitor Engineer, Benny Masterton. Prior to jumping behind the desk, Masterton had been the tour’s System Engineer and gave his thoughts on the system. “I think it’s the fidelity of the L-Acoustics system that really works for these guys,” stated Masterton. “The band are very ‘arty’ and the whole audio spectrum is utilised in the set, so it makes sense to have a PA that can draw from a wider palette.”

The audio account was handled by Worley Sound, with the company bringing in a PA that came via Solotech. “Tom [Worley] was our system technician for several tours, so when he started his audio company, he was a natural fit as he knew our needs,” stated Reynolds, who also explained that the fact that Worley is KSE-certified means he is more experienced in dealing with L-Acoustics systems.

Walking TPi through the system that was hung in the Zénith Paris was System Technician, George Chandler. He explained how for the Paris date there were 12 K2s in the mains, with eight K3s per side for side hangs. This was a slight reduction from the rest of the tour, which had up to 16 K2s per side for main hangs and 14 K3s per side for side hangs in bigger rooms.

“K2 was a great choice for us due to the flexibility of it,” stated Chandler. “For instance, we went from Halle 622 In Zurich, which is a narrow ‘box’ venue where we only needed to fly 12 K2 mains each side, into the Forum in

Pictured above: alt-J FOH Engineer, Lance Reynolds; Monitor Engineer, Benny Masterton; PA Tech, Tim Millar; System Technician, George Chandler; PA Technician, Thomas Woolsey.

Milan, which is a full arena setup. Likewise, we went from Zénith in Paris down to the Palladium in Cologne. So, it’s been a big mix of venue shapes and sizes, where the amount of variable horizontal and vertical dispersion K2 provides has been a godsend.” For t he rest of t he r ig, six flown KS28 subs were hung per side, w ith a f urther eight KS28 subs arrayed across the front of the stage. Four stacks of three high Kiva 2 were then deployed for f ront fill, along w ith some ARCS 2 for outfills. “T hese were fed alternating left and right signals so people at the front still got good stereo sound,” explained Chandler. “This was t he first tour t hat I got to have a listen to a big line of K3,” mused Reynolds. “T hey’ve been incredible and sound just like K2s.” Chandler concurred, adding: “K3 was the ideal size side hangs for us due to the smaller physical size and smaller number of amps required to power it. If we had K2 on t he sides, our t ruck pack would be significantly tighter. Tonally, the transition between K2 and K3 has been fairly consistent. In terms of output, K2 has much more power, but for the size of venues we had, we didn’t need that, so K3 was very welcome.” Reynolds also noted the fact that there is not a single amp on stage.

“All t hree of t hem are on IEMs and t here isn’t anything on stage making any noise save the drums – and even they are not super loud as our drummer doesn’t use any cymbals apart from a high hat,” he explained. “This is always a consideration w hen we design t he PA to make sure we can get a bit of a ‘vibe’ on stage so the band can still get some feel.”

While on t he subject of IEMs, t he band was using Sennheiser 2050s with Cosmic C6Ps. The mix for the band came from a DiGiCo SD12 w ith a Waves Engine for several effects. “For me, it all comes down to giving them an atmosphere,” stated Masterton. “Waves just means I have multiple effects and reverbs at my disposal to help facilitate t hat. E xcept for the drums, there are very few mics on stage with a lot of the sounds and textures coming from the keys and Kempers. My goal is to give everything context and make everything as live as possible in the ears.”

The monitor engineer also explained that having L-Acoustics on t he r ider aided in giving some feel to t he band on stage. The off a xis sound of t he L-Acoustics system, tonally, is really good and beneficial to me as a monitor engineer – particularly t he subs and f ront fills.”

As for FOH, Reynolds was using an Avid S6L.

Unlike Masterton, he opted to try and keep effects to a minimum. “ For t he most part, I would like the sounds to come from the stage,” he said. “There are still one or two elements like some pitch shifts t hat I t rigger, but other t imes the guys are doing them from the stage.”

Reynolds produced t wo mixes during every show – one for t he PA and another for a broadcast. It’s mainly for w hen we are going into festivals,” he explained. “ I look after t hat mi x on the desk as well rather than just feeding into ProTools. This is not a normal guitar, drums and vocals mix and you really need to have a bit more of a handle on it.”

Known for their immersive light shows, timecode has been an element of the band’s live setup for a long time and something that Reynolds has also began to utilise w ith his mix. “ I used to t rigger all my snapshots manually, but I was curious how t he S6L dealt w ith timecode. The funny thing is I don’t think I’ll ever go back now. It means that when I get into every show, I ’m less worried about t he mix and spend more t ime ensuring t he PA is perfect. T he mix on t he other hand is consistent.” www.altjband.com www.worleysound.com www.solotech.com