Hozier

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NO MOMENTS SILENCE FOR ADLIB WITH HOZIER

UK rental and production specialist Adlib continued its excellent working relationship with the Irish singer-songwriter, Hozier, and the equally skilled and accomplished production team led by Sue ‘Duchess’ Iredale.

The Liverpool-based company supplied sound and lighting equipment plus crew for the band’s recent UK and European tour, with a CODA Audio sound system specified by FOH Engineer, Steve “Patto” Pattison, and the realisation of an eye-catching and inventive lighting design created by Steven Douglas.

Patto joined the Hozier team mid-way through 2018 shortly after completing the Freedom Child world tour with Irish trio, The Script. Hozier’s Nina Cried Power EP dropped almost immediately and with a new (second) studio album anticipated in the spring, the touring schedule started apace and continues worldwide throughout 2019.

Patto chose a CODA Audio AiRAY system for the UK and Europe sections, after having an “amazing” experience with it on The Script tour. As a powerful and highly versatile speaker system for its compact size, which can be flown or ground stacked in different configurations that sound equally good and bringing a continuity to the wide range of venues on the itinerary.

“It sounds great in a 1,200-seat theatre and a 15,000-capacity arena,” enthused Patto. “One box covers all applications.” The flexibility of going with CODA Audio meant the crew could use the same box and have the same rich sound with all its luscious detail dealing with the daily variations by using different quantities and rigging set ups. In the largest format the

crew used 16 boxes a-side.

For Patto, the “devil is in the detail” of the fill coverage, and to this end, he used one of his signature techniques. A small centre hang of between three and six CODA Audio TiRAYs hung from the front lighting truss to cover the area around three rows back from the front. “Those standing in that area, the little ‘D’ shaped section just back from the front, always get a raw deal. In most venues any PA system will struggle to hit them depending on rigging points, sightlines, etc. While the lip fills will only ever hit the front row. Their ticket cost the same so we should give them the same experience.”

He commented that the TiRAY speaker was “so tiny and light that it was completely unobtrusive on the truss but had a huge impact in terms of enhancing the audience experience”.

For standard stage fills Patto used CODA Audio APS (arrayable point source) speakers sat above the subs to fill out the corners, and HOPS (high output point source) as the lip fills along the front of the stage.

They toured both SC2-Fs (dual 15 inch) and SCP-F subs, with two or three of each per side in the standard set up and several variations according to the shape and size of the room. The SC2-Fs were often used when the AiRAY was ground stacked as they provided a solid and secure platform on which to rig the AiRAY cabinets at the correct height as well

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HOZIER

FOH Engineer, Steve Pattison.

as reinforcing the low end. These were not always needed in some rooms simply because the low-end response of the AiRAY is so good.

Patto is clearly loving mixing the band and with 54 channels of “real” input – 8 people onstage who all sing and play instruments and not even a whiff of a backing track coming into his Allen & Heath dLive S7000 console. In the set, the song To Be Alone starts with a guitar riff where Hozier engaged in a call-and-response routine with the audience. When the drums finally kick in, Patto sneaks in the console’s onboard sub harmonic synth, which has a shock reaction as the audience reel back by the sheer physical impact of it through the CODA Audio hitting them in the chest.

Patto quipped it “was handy for keeping within the noise restrictions of some venues where the measurements are averaged out over time. It gave me a chance to really see what I could get out of such a small box, stretching its legs while being nowhere near to pushing its limits.”

Patto has been using the dLive S7000 for the last couple of years, since it was launched, and also mixed The Script with one.

He utilised plenty of vocal FX at strategic points and reverb treatments, plus more radical effects such as Leslie cabinets and distortion - all of which are onboard the S7000 - so the nuances and subtleties are at Patto’s fingertips on the console. “It sounds great and I’m completely selfcontained,

you wouldn’t believe the number of engineers who come up to me after the show asking what outboard and plugins I’m using and then there’s the look on their face when I tell them none, it’s all onboard.”

Working alongside him on this leg of the tour were a “fantastic” Adlib crew of Alan Harrison, a veteran of many arena tours who fine-tuned the system each day, and Max Taylor, who took care of all things onstage.

Hozier’s Monitor Engineer is Darren Dunphy used a PM7D console free of external plugins.

The band were all on IEMs. Adlib supplied a Shure PSM system, with a thumper seat for the drummer with a clean stage.

Hozier switched from a wired to wireless mic half way through the American leg so he could move around more freely, migrating from a standard Beta 58 to a Shure Axient Digital, which proved to be rock solid.

“It’s one of the best radio systems I’ve heard at relaying detail, it’s all there even the small print” stated Patto, adding that he’s loving working with everyone. “A fantastic team of people – there’s a great vibe on the tour and a massive buzz surrounding it – what more can you ask for?” TPi Photos: Steven Douglas & Steve Sroka www.hozier.com www.adlib.co.uk

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