EVENT FOCUS
UNUM FESTIVAL Loud Professional provides the audio backbone for Albania’s Unum Festival, the first unrestricted festival since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. TPi reports…
Back in early June, while the UK was introducing test events including Download Pilot, over in Albania, the first unrestricted festival opened its gates for five days of performances from some of the country’s most popular house and techno DJs. With COVID-19 cases in Albania decreasing since February, organisers of Unum Festival had been confident since early 2021 that they would be able to put on the second rendition of this event. A few weeks prior to the event, the festival received more positive news when the Albanian government resolved to ease restrictions further, meaning some foreign tourists could now enter the country to join the party. Audio supplier, Loud Professional, provided equipment for all three of the stages – the Main Stage, the Pine and the Beach – and primed each performance area with its own brand of speakers, all of which powered by a range of Powersoft amplifier platforms. Talking TPi through the setup was Loud Professional’s General Manger, Valerio Cherubini.
“We got involved with Unum Festival many months prior to the event,” stated Cherubini. “The organisers were keen to bring in Loud Professional due to the great appeal that our system is having in the industry.” The Main Stage system comprised 16 Loud Professional Formula F212s, 24 VH Sub121Hs and front fills made up of six VH Layer112Hs. The company’s speakers were also used on stage monitors for the DJs, with four VH Layer112H+EMDs as well as a pair of VH SM15s backstage. The Pine Stage PA comprised 12 VH Layer212Hs, 12 VH Sub121Hs and four VH Sub218Rs, with a front fill setup of two VH SM12Hs. Meanwhile on the Beach Stage, a speaker arrangement of four VH Layer112Hs and eight VH Sub118Rs was selected. Cherubini was keen to share the praise the company had received from the artists. “Secret47, the most important Albanian DJ, who played in the Main Stage, said after his set: ‘Loud Professional for a festival is like having your money in a Swiss bank,’” beamed Cherubini. 16
