Psn live 2015 digital

2015 BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MAKERS OF PSNEUROPE www.psneurope.com

VOLUME 10

PSNEurope’s essential annual analysis of the European live sound business P26

P30

P41

BOUTIQUE IS BEST

BE CONSISTENT

STILL ON TOP

IS IT ALL OVER FOR THE TRADITIONAL BIG FESTIVAL?

THE PUNTER WANTS THE SAME SOUND IN EVERY SEAT, RIGHT?

THOSE SHARP DRESSED MEN FROM TEXAS ARE BACK!

Heard in all the right places... with all the right faces

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2015

03

Views from the top P10 The FOH engineer

2015

P12 The PA company boss

is brought to you by the makers of PSNEurope

P13

p4

The educator

Editorial A fresh approach for 2015... here’s how

P14 The festival organiser P16

p6 Sound Engineers How it looks from FOH (or monitors)

The crew boss P18

p7

The guitar technician

PA/Hire Companies Select views of the people with the kit

P20 The PR guru P22 The sound levels expert P24 The venue owner

p26

p30 Craving consistency The state of PA: is it all about ‘the same sound in every seat’?

Exquisitely proportioned The rise and rise of boutique festivals

p35 Ever closer: recording and performance Live capture is practically de rigueur

P42

p41

The festival regular

ZZ still on top The Texan rockers in Germany

2015

04

H

ello and welcome to PSNLive 2015, our annual ‘temperature-taking’ of the European live/touring sound industry.

For this, our tenth edition, we altered the look and size of the publication, in keeping with the revamp of PSNEurope a couple of months ago. But, more than this, we’ve overhauled the approach to the yearly market reports.

Previously, an independent research house spent many hours grilling engineers, PA company bosses and other live sound professionals in order to build up a complete picture of the audio landscape. And, it must be said, the data revealed has shown, for the most part, only gradual change in our industry. We don’t expect fireworks and paradigm shifts every year, of course not, but the predictability of the results have not met our expectations with regard to the time and effort involved in mining them. (Perhaps I’m being too honest here. But still...)

So, for 2015, a different, leaner method: we stripped back the surveys to a handful of key questions, posted them online and asked YOU to come to US. This passive implementation has meant, inevitably, smaller sample sizes (less than 15 respondents for each survey). However, key trends and indicators have still emerged, as you will discover on pages 6-8.

The reports are complemented by another innovation. From p10 onwards, you’ll find ten ‘Views from the top’, whereby we quizzed incumbents of key industry roles on the ups and downs of the business. Not just the engineers and hire companies either, as you will see. (Yes, we had to finish with the ‘festival regulars’ – ie, the pop stars – for the back page.) The result is a range of insights from a diverse group of individuals, all of whose careers are inextricably linked to the fabric of live sound.

Add to this a look at boutique festivals, sound coverage for large events, and the tech involved in capturing live sound – plus a quick burst of ZZ Top(!) – and PSNLive 2015 is, in short, a whole heap of great reading! Enjoy!

Dave Robinson, Editor (and keyboards)

2015

Editor Dave Robinson drobinson@nbmedia.com

Sales Executive Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com

Deputy Editor Jon Chapple jchapple@nbmedia.com

Head of Design Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com

Managing Editor Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com

Production Executive Jason Dowie jdowie@nbmedia.com

Advertising Manager Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com

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Our contributors and some of their best live experiences…

Erica Basnicki “Smashing Pumpkins at The Phoenix in Toronto; January 3, 1996. I queued for hours in –35°C weather to be at the front of the stage. They were at the height of their fame, the venue was intimate and, yes, I was right up at the front. It was beyond epic.”

Mike Hillier “My favourite festival moment has to be seeing Radiohead’s Thom Yorke come back on stage for the encore on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, 2003. The entire crowd was still singing the reprise from Karma Police. It just humbled him, and his smile reached from ear to ear. His whole stage persona completely slipped.”

Kevin Hilton “Greatest live act in terms of stature was BB King at the Royal Albert Hall in the late 1980s, a slick but soulful show made all the more memorable when I drank champagne on stage with the sound crew once everyone else had gone. For intensity of performance, Peter Gabriel at Wembley Arena, in the 80s AND in the 2000s.”

Marc Maes “The greatest act I’ve seen live was the August 1977 double bill of Carlos Santana and (flamenco virtuoso) Paco de Lucía at the Plaza de Toros in Barcelona. The best festival experience I’ve had was Stevie Ray Vaughan performing at the Northsea Jazz Festival’s Garden Pavillion in 1985 – rockin’ and bluesin’ the jazz audience. And my favourite venue? The Roma, Borgerhout, Belgium!”

Phil Ward “Kraftwerk at the Tribal Gathering Festival of 1996 was the perfect circumnavigation of a cultural globe, completing a journey that began in 1974. Then, at Glastonbury around 2003, I was at FOH with old mucker Andy Lenthall and a mutual friend just as McCartney took the stage…”

Mike Clark “The best act I’ve seen live was a gig by the Neville Brothers, plying their funky New Orleans wares under a star-studded summer sky at Umbria Jazz; this would also win the prize as my best festival experience, from the arena with the big crossover names to the jam sessions in the bars.”

David Davies “The Barbican’s imposing concrete edifice isn’t to everybody’s taste (personally, I like its Ballardian overtones) but the venue itself remains one of the greatest symbols of London’s diverse musical culture. Outstanding memories of the pplace include the force of nature that is Keith Jarrett blazing through jazz standards accompanied by Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, and satirical genius Randy Newman drawing on a songbook with few equals.”

2015

06

Market report: Sound engineers

Engineering a solid future

E1: In which of these areas of activity have you witnessed the greatest uplift in recent years?

After several years of reports revealing fluctuating levels of optimism, the 2015 PSNLive Engineers’ Survey indicates a surge of confidence about the future and emerging audio technologies, says David Davies

A

lthough the number of live events, especially during the summer, has continued to increase in recent years, the optimism of sound engineers hasn’t exactly been unwavering. Rapid turnarounds required by intensely scheduled tours, as well as insufficient back-up and support, have meant that the lot of the touring engineer hasn’t always been a happy one.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say that these concerns have disappeared from the 2015 report, but taken overall this year’s responses do point to an increased sense of momentum about live sound. Activity levels are strong, and are expected to remain so, while new technology and streamlined workflows are being embraced more fervently. However, there are longerterm concerns that should be noted carefully: for example, some fear a lack of innovation in events production, while others highlight a lack of properly skilled engineers coming into the industry.

This year, we appealed for engineers from across Europe to come forward and express their views rather than approach them directly. Since this constituted a more passive approach than in previous years, the total responses were somewhat fewer in number than we might have wished. Consequently, what we have here are more the thoughts of a very informed focus group than a comprehensive survey per se.

Nonetheless, those who did answer did so diligently, so there is still plenty of food for thought contained within the results of the 2015 Engineers’ Survey.

In a result that points to overall improved economic conditions, 40% of contributors expect their average payment per project to increase overall in 2015, with only 10% predicting a decline. This should be cheering news for anyone looking to train to enter the industry, or perhaps move across from the studio world.

It has been a tradition of previous PSNLive reports that insufficient budget and resources as well as inadequate set-up preparation time top the list of the factors most likely to impact live events negatively.

Absolutely no change there this year, and with acts looking to cram in evermore dates as their recorded income continues to dwindle to dust, it’s a situation that is unlikely to change any time soon.

Larger, 'mainstream' festivals 50% Smaller, 'boutique'-style festivals 40% General touring 1% Events NOT based around live music 9%

E2: To what extent have the type and feature-set of systems you use for live sound work changed over the last few years?

Technological transition The fact that nearly all live sound engineers have moved over to digital desks is taken for granted at this point, but the extent to which they have engaged with networking and more sophisticated onboard software and effects has been shown to be variable. However, on the evidence of this year’s report, broader technological transition is now firmly underway.

To wit, two-thirds of engineers confirmed that the type and feature-set of systems they use for live sound work has changed significantly over the last few years [E2]. Meanwhile, nearly 89% of respondents confirmed that audio networking is now supplanting traditional point-to-point connectivity in their daily working lives by either a significant or moderate margin – an emphatic result after several years of decidedly erratic responses on this topic [E3].

Significantly 66.7% Moderately 33.3% Hardly at all 0% 'Keep it analogue!' 0%

E3: To what extent is audio networking now supplanting traditional point-to-point connectivity in your daily working life?

Core data Once again, the UK constituted the largest single share of survey respondents, while The Netherlands was responsible for the second largest amount of responses.

Other respondents came from markets as far afield as Colombia and the UAE. In terms of overall activity levels, 66.6% of respondents said that their activity levels have remained the same or increased in 2015 to date when compared to 2014. Underlining the present health of the mainstream festival market, larger festivals constitute the largest increasing share of our engineers’ work, followed by smaller festivals and general touring [E1].

Future facing With nearly 89% of respondents declaring themselves to be very or moderately optimistic about the future of the live sound business in the UK and Ireland, there is certainly no sense of imminent risk. But responses to the longer-form questions do reveal some deeper concerns about the long-term outlook.

No surprise to find that noise restrictions constitute a commonly-cited challenge to live sound events [see festivals feature, page 26, for more discussion of this subject]. But even more frequently aired is a reservation about the access to training (or lack thereof)

Significantly 66.7% Moderately 22.2% Not really 11.1% 'What is audio networking?' 0%

2015

07

and standard of younger engineers coming into the profession. “There are too many people willing to push up faders and claim to be an engineer, yet who possess next to no knowledge about spec’ing or even setting up a mid-level PA system,” maintained one respondent.

There were also calls for governments and local authorities to make it easier to stage live events in response to a question about what can be done to encourage further growth of the business. “There should be more leniency with regard to SPL levels,” suggested one respondent, while another urged the Powers That Be in the UK to take a more supportive approach to the industry’s overall contribution to the economy: “The [Government’s] blinkered view is depressing at best. We have some of the best artists and technicians in the world, and we punch well above our weight.”

There has been a fair amount of talk lately about possible over-saturation of the touring and festival markets. Most respondents didn’t seem overly concerned about a theoretical decline, although diminishing opportunities for bands to get started at a grassroots level are giving cause for concern.

Whatever the future holds, the fact that an increasing number of live sound engineers now have ‘portfolio’ careers that may include studio/installation projects and educational work, among other duties, should stand them in good stead.

Conclusion The quality and availability of those personnel embarking upon their careers does represent a genuine concern, but in general engineers are continuing to enjoy the benefits of the live event explosion that began in the mid-Noughties. Time-poor and over-stressed they might be, but overall they remain very busy and – as the answers to the technology questions reveal – highly engaged with the changing demands of their profession.

Addressing the longer term Festivals and large-scale touring are keeping many PA firms busy throughout much of the year, but greater diversification looks set to be crucial to the sector’s long-term prosperity. David Davies sifts the results of the 2015 PA/Hire Companies’ Survey

D

espite fluctuations in the broader economy, the PA/Hire Companies’ Survey has generally painted a fairly upbeat picture of the sector in recent years. The explosion in the number of live events since the mid-Noughties has meant that activity levels have remained reliably solid, while diversification into other areas such as conference and theatre work has also strengthened many players’ hands.

For the 2015 survey, we appealed for PA/hire companies from across Europe to come forward and express their views. Again, like the Engineers’ Survey on the previous page, our more passive approach meant a smaller return; however, the responses outlined below should still be regarded as indicative of a business that continues to perform strongly throughout most months of the year.

Core data As in previous years, the UK constituted the largest single share of respondents. Other countries represented in this year’s responses include France, the Netherlands and Norway.

Echoing the results of the last few years, overall activity levels have stayed approximately the same for

the majority of respondents when compared to 2014 (63.6%). A reasonable percentage reported an increase (27.3%), with only 9.1% citing a decrease.

Similarly, a question about average payment per project evinces little evidence of change, with a comfortable majority (63.6%) reporting that it is generally staying the same. Only 18.1% reported a decline, which perhaps shouldn’t give too much cause for concern at this stage.

In an interesting contrast to the 2015 Engineers’ Survey, where larger festivals were said to constitute the area in which engineers have seen the greatest uplift in recent years, general touring (40%) and smaller/‘boutique’-style festivals (30%) scored best among the PA/hire firms [P1, over the page].

Time and resources In another echo of the Engineers’ Survey responses, insufficient budget/resources and inadequate set-up/ preparation time were reported to be the factors that typically have the most negative impact on live sound projects. Plus ça change there, then.

PA/hire firms also noted that the type and feature-set of systems they use for live sound work has changed substantially over the last few years. Indeed, 87.5%

DJ superstars Axwell & Ingrosso at last year’s V Festival at Weston Park, with sound by SSE Audio Group

2015

08

Market report: PA/Hire companies

said their set-ups had altered ‘significantly’ – the result, no doubt, of the transition to digital operation that has characterised the post-millennial period.

Further underlining this development, 50% of respondents observed that audio networking is now supplanting traditional point-to-point connectivity in their daily working lives by a ‘significant’ margin, with 37.5% reporting a ‘moderate’ impact. After some distinctly variable responses to networking-related questions, it is cheering to report that only 12.5% opted for ‘what is audio networking?’ by way of response [P2].

In the final specific area of enquiry, a heartening 87.5% of respondents declared ‘moderate’ optimism about the future of the live sound business in the UK/ Europe – with absolutely no one reporting themselves to be disillusioned [P3].

Digital delivery For the first of this year’s ‘open’, longer-form questions, PSNLive asked PA firms to highlight the primary ways – structurally, organisationally or in terms of personnel levels – their companies have changed over the last few years.

By far the most commonly cited response was the move towards digital systems, although there were also references to enhanced and more responsive organisational structures – as one respondent put it, “new equipment, better trained staff, better premises and infrastructure, all leading to efficiencies and greater service for our customers.”

Next, survey participants considered the extent to which diversification is now an important component of their company philosophy. A significant majority indicated that it is now crucial to achieving prosperity;

as one respondent put it, “diversification is the key to our growth. Without it we would not be where we are today.” Another simply noted, “more eggs in more baskets [is the way to go].”

Most respondents indicated that their overall project mix has changed somewhat during recent years, with greater amounts of corporate, theatre and festival work among the frequently cited developments. As one remarked, “these days we have a more stable mix of theatre and festivals, which are more or less the same year after year, and the calendar is [otherwise] filled with one-offs. Previously we tried to take anything thrown at us.”

Finally, participants were asked for their opinions about the recent debate surrounding possible oversaturation in the live touring and festival sectors.

In general, there did not seem to be a great deal of concern at present, although several respondents alluded to a long-term change in the festival scene pinpointed elsewhere in the 2015 edition of PSNLive (see page 26). As one remarks, “I see less work in large festivals [in the future], and a rise in small local festivals where things other than music are important.”

P1: In which of these areas of activity have you witnessed the greatest uplift in recent years?

Larger, 'mainstream' festivals 20% Smaller, 'boutique'-style festivals 30% General touring 40% Events NOT based around live music10%

P2: To what extent is audio networking now supplanting traditional point-to-point connectivity in your daily working life?

Summary ‘PA/hire companies holding steady’ might be a reasonable sub-title for this year’s survey report.

Activity levels are good, and there is a more than reasonable sense of optimism about the future.

But perhaps most crucially of all, the technology questions reveal that companies are pushing forward with new systems and workflows – in other words, seeking the progress that will be vital to continued competitiveness.

Out front for techno act Howling is engineer Tommy Williams with a new Allen & Heath GLD-80 Chrome digital mixer

Significantly 50% Moderately 37.5% Not really 0% 'What is audio networking?' 12.5% P3: To what extent would you say that you are optimistic about the future of the live sound business in UK/Europe?

Very optimistic 12.5% Moderately optimistic 87.5% ‘We're all doomed!’ 0%

2015

Views from the top

P10

Can a die-hard analogue man embrace digital networking? And why small clubs and festivals are changing the world Who are you?

Jon Burton, jobbing sound engineer.

What do you do?

I am primarily a live sound engineer. Over my career I have done about 50/50 FOH and monitors.

Where do you do it?

In the last few years I have primarily been a FOH engineer for, among others, The Prodigy (top left) and Bombay Bicycle Club.

About six years ago I also built a small recording complex in Sheffield with a colleague, Dave Hadley, called The Laundry Rooms. We have five control rooms sharing a central live room. I have rediscovered recording and done a few singles and albums in the last year. Primarily I use my room to mix live recordings for DVD or YouTube release. I do have a bit of a reputation as an analogue engineer and my mix room reflects that, with a big analogue desk and loads of outboard, including some of the 20 or 30 delay units that I own. I have a weird dub addiction…

Why do you do it?

I’ve always been interested in sound and have been working in music since leaving school. I played in bands but also began engineering fairly early on. I did tours in my early career where I was playing in the support band and mixing the headliner.

What’s your biggest success to date?

My biggest success to date is probably still being given the chance to do it! I love mixing and I’m lucky to have worked with some great bands. I am one of those rare people who look forward to work every day. Getting the chance to do The Prodigy has been great and it suits my style of engineering: I have a keen interest in sub bass, which the band are happy to encourage.

What’s the biggest challenge coming up?

The biggest challenge I see is fighting the corner for sound over convenience. Having spent years trying to get the best sound possible, I do feel pressurised into forsaking it for convenience.

I was an early adopter of digital. I have no problem going forward but until it sounds – actually sounds – better mixed on digital I will try and remain on the best desk for the job – which for me is grey, made of steel and wood with a leather armrest.

I’ve always seen my job as being the band’s engineer, and my role is to get the best for the band. Being my own system tech is something I find compromising. As soon as I set up my own system I feel compromised.

When faced with a difficult gig I will go for the easiest option. If you walk into a gig as a tech, you look at the most practical, easiest way to solve the problems. As an engineer I go in with a more challenging, questioning attitude. My tech will say it will be fine with eight speakers – I say why not 12? We settle on 10…

Having said that, I feel it is my responsibility to keep up to date so last year I did Martin Audio MLA and d&b training. I always try and stay up to date. However, just because I have done all the theory I should never be let anywhere near rigging and motors.

What is the ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

That’s an interesting question. Money is the most obvious thorny issue that blights any industry. Being upfront about money is always a good policy. Spell out what you expect, and what they can expect from you.

Judging that first bid is never easy, though, and it’s true you get what you negotiate. But if you agree too easily, don’t moan afterwards!

Do you care about digital audio networking?

I do care about digital networking, as I care about audio quality and I care about latency. Once a signal is in the digital domain I try and keep it there until the end of the chain. Latency, though, is the curse of the modern system. It ruins your mixes; it ruins your system! Why

aren’t we all shouting about it?

I have an issue with standards as well. Why have them if people are going to do a special ‘not compatible’ version of MADI, for example? Don’t you manufacturers ever talk to each other?

Are you finding more and more venues have their own loudspeaker systems permanently installed?

Loudspeakers in clubs are now better than ever before.

I have been in 200-capacity clubs with little line arrays that sound fantastic! [But] maintenance is another matter.

How else is the touring scene changing, from where you’re standing?

The main change for me in recent years is the number of festivals I now do. The year before last I worked all year, but I only did seven days of traditional touring. The rest was festivals. I don’t mind, but it is a different style of mixing. Festivals can be great but the factors are not all under your control.

My colleague Ray Furze summed it up nicely: for a great sound at a festival you need a good engineer, a good PA, a good band and good weather! The four very rarely come together at the same time…

What technical solutions have made your life better in the last few years?

For me the greatest advance has been the introduction of modern line arrays. I doff my cap to Christian Heil and Marcel Urban. These men – along with Paul Bauman – have done more to change my job than any others.

Looking to the future, I am starting to teach more and get involved in educating the next generation of engineers. I’ve also started at university part time so I can find out how academia works, and I continue to write for magazines and lecture online for Soulsound. Q www.laundryrooms.co.uk

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2015

Views from the top

12

35 years with Britannia Row Productions… “and I’ll probably still be here in another 35” Who are you?

This morning, I was Bryan Grant.

What do you do?

I’m managing director of Britannia Row Productions. We rent out people and equipment to the live entertainment industry. That covers gigs, tours, events, sporting events... anything that makes a noise, we do.

lots of people around us who rise to the challenge far better than what I can.

The challenge as Mike [Lowe, financial director] and I get older is to have a business that can carry on. It’s not that we’re tired of it? To respond to those challenges, we’ve got a great team of people in our middle management. I can see them looking at me sometimes thinking, “Poor old sod… go and sit in the corner somewhere!” It’s fine; it’s what should happen.

What is your biggest success to date?

Still being here, I think [laughs]. Waking up every morning with most things working, coming into work and the business is still here – and we’re having fun. I’m serious about that, I suppose.

As I said to Derek Zieba just before he died, we’ve been to places, seen things, and done things that most people wouldn’t even begin to dream of. We’re very lucky in that respect. There are people who live their whole lives in boredom. I’ve never considered what we do as work. I’ve always considered “work” to be something that you don’t want to do, but you have to get up in the morning and do it to put money on the table. I think people in our industry are lucky in that what they do affords them a living. So what they do first is what they want to do, and secondly they can make a living at it. That’s as good as it gets, isn’t it?

What is the biggest challenge that is coming up for you?

Still being here! Every morning’s a challenge [laughs].

There are different sorts of challenges. It could be the next big gig we have to do. That could be the Foo Fighters; I hope Dave Grohl is going to get better and play. I think the Rugby World Cup is going to be a real challenge; we’re doing 13 stadiums there. But we have

Could you ever retire?

I don’t know. Is retirement stopping? I have too much fun. The way this business works, your work is your life and your life is your work.

There will come a time, I guess, when someone will say: “For God’s sake, piss off!”

What about the business, if anything, do you really dislike?

I think being dictated to by people who don’t understand or respect what it is we do, and what we contribute to the business. The people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. It’s an old cliché, but the lowest price isn’t necessarily the best price.

I dislike being put into situations where I can’t deliver what I regard to be the best possible audio. I dislike being compromised in that way, and sometimes we are.

I dislike people who don’t have respect for other people.

What is the one issue that never goes away?

There is a lack of respect for audio. You can have everything else spot on; if the sound isn’t working, you don’t have a concert. It’s the most fundamental thing about performing in front of more than a few hundred people. It’s so fundamental it’s been forgotten.

I wouldn’t say I want us to be sanctified or put on a pedestal, but let’s just all respect what each other does, give each other credit for that and help each other achieve the best we can.

How do we achieve that?

It’s just education, I suppose. We in the audio industry have been our own worst enemy. Sound engineers tend to be very laid-back people. Lighting designers and set designers and choreographers tend to be people that stand up and shout and get what they want. We inflict our own wounds.

Time for engineers to stand up and be more assertive?

It’s more about other people not thinking. What would you say to a crowd of 20,000 people if there was no sound? It’s funny, isn’t it: we built this whole industry up on amplified sound. The fact that you can even play to 100,000 people isn’t because the lights are so bright, is it? It’s because they can hear you.

What adventures are you looking forward to next?

I tell you what I always look forward to: going to a gig.

It may not be the hippest thing in the world, the biggest band or the one with the most artistic merit.

But what I occasionally get is a reminder of why I got into the business: when you see a hundred, a thousand, or one hundred thousand people having the greatest time. Or somebody playing an instrument you’ve never heard before and you think: “Wow, what is that noise?

How did that happen?” When somebody sings a song that brings you to the edge of tears. That is why I keep at it. www.britanniarow.com

2015

Views from the top

13

The former owner of Tiger Hire is giving something back to the industry he loves…

Who are you?

What do you do now?

The good news is that this all means that there’s a good variety of jobs for the new generation of techsavvy technical crew in this digital age. So I suppose my goal is to inspire and train the new specialist technicians and engineers who ultimately will replace my generation.

companies is crucial to the renewal and development of the new professionalism in pro audio. In particular, manufacturer-led equipment training is essential to the successful adoption of new technology because this in turn makes the student more employable to the rental company. It’s a kind of synergy in operation.

For the last 10 years I have been running a live sound degree course.

What’s your biggest success to date?

Can they get work?

I find my role in education very rewarding. You know why? When I finished the last lesson of the academic year in May, the whole graduating class applauded.

We have good relationships with all our local sound companies and a steady trickle of students end up finding employment with them. Education is now an expensive business for any student, so I find that most of them are keen, hardworking and really want to have a career in some part of the live sound workplace.

My name is Jim Parsons. I used to own a PA company until I realised how daft that was. It took me 28 years to realise this.

Where do you do it?

Based in Plymouth, UK, dBs Music is a specialist music technology provider that allows me the freedom to design and run the course in a way which combines structured learning with plenty of practical work using cutting-edge audio technology. We have a 400-capacity working venue as the main teaching environment and we have pro gear like Midas, Avid and Martin Audio – which is not always the case with publicly-funded college courses.

Why do you do it?

I felt for a long time that the old ‘junior dogsbody’ assistant engineer pathway to learning live sound engineering was a bit random as it really depended on the senior mentor engineer being able to communicate information clearly and accurately, and, of course, it depended upon them being right in the first place.

The other thing is that the live sound industry has undergone rapid change over the last 30 years. In the past, being physically strong, having a driving licence and having a positive attitude were the main prerequisites for a budding engineer. Now you need to know, understand and remember pretty complex technical stuff, particularly since digital technology has revolutionised sound consoles, audio networks and loudspeaker control.

What’s the biggest challenge coming up?

Here at dBs Music we have a new collaborative partnership with Martin Audio, so Plymouth’s own sonic guru Simon Honywill will be instructing the new students in September in the mysteries of loudspeaker design – and particularly the principles and operation of the revolutionary MLA speaker system. This of course is the main challenge that we always face: keeping up to date with the rapidly changing technical landscape. Not so different to running a PA company, really!

What is the ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

There are some basic laws of physics which govern all audio, and understanding the principles of acoustics and the mechanics of sound transmission and reception will always be at the core of live sound education. This will never change – unlike the latest mixing desk upgrade.

What can the industry do better to encourage youngsters?

The relationship between young live sound students, equipment manufacturers and sound rental

Why are there more courses now than ever before?

Unfortunately, there are quite a few courses available now, both publicly funded and private – meaning pay to learn – and many cover a bit of everything connected with music technology. This means that the student ends up with a little bit of knowledge about lots of different subject areas, but has no proper depth of understanding about any one thing. This is what sets the dBs Music live sound degree apart from the rest: we live and breath pro audio, obsess about it and dream about how to do it better. That is what we do!

If you were 18 today, what advice would you need?

Now is a great time to be 18. Get as much education and training as you can, take every opportunity that you are offered, buy some decent ear protection and don’t restrict yourself to particular job roles or types of work. Remember: you always need to keep on learning so that you’re prepared for the future. www.dbsmusic.co.uk

2015

Views from the top

14

Bringing a little bit of Caribbean sunshine to the centre of Europe

Who are you?

What’s your biggest success to date?

My name is Lode Verschueren (top centre). I first organised the Antilliaanse Feesten (Caribbean Festival) in 1983 when I was 27. And I’ve just become a “young” grandpa…

Don’t ask me for hard facts, names or figures! I think my biggest achievement is to keep the festival fresh and inspired after all those years. And to remain independent and not be part of the big multinationals controlling the live market. To be independent, successful and medium-size – that’s what it’s about.

What do you do?

I’m a full-time festival organiser – and happy to say that I’m my own boss. I’m a free man, and that’s my biggest victory in life. Before, I worked as a surveyor…

Where do you do it?

The Antilliaanse Feesten is being staged in the tiny village of Hoogstraten, with some 20,000 inhabitants.

Indeed, Hoogstraten is the very centre of Europe, equidistant from Cologne, Amsterdam and London.

That’s why we’ve called our festival company ‘Belgium Oversees’ – a tongue-in-cheek reference to illustrate that we oversee the music we put on, better than some who actually perform it [laughs]. No, really, we claim to be the one festival bringing all of the Caribbean musical styles together. For 31 years now, we’ve staged the festival at the Blauwbossen riding school, a beautiful landscape in the woods.

What’s the biggest challenge coming up?

It’s along the lines of the previous question. The main issue is to pass on the passion – crucial when it came to setting things up – to the next generation. Continue to give the event an identity of its own, offering a fresh and innovative programme with an attractive festival site. In terms of business, we try to adapt: for instance, adding extra stages – this year’s festival has five!

What’s the issue that never seems to go away?

The fucking weather! I have a billboard in my office saying ‘Don’t mention the weather!’. Bad weather conditions do have their influence. Although all of the stages are in huge tents or marquees, the festival requires ‘Caribbean’ weather. Last year we had a heavy rainstorm just as the campsite gates opened…

Why do you do it?

I have to admit I didn’t know Caribbean music at all – but I was curious and fascinated by what I discovered – so organising the festival was a combination of coincidences and lots of passion. I started organising the festival in the punk and blues era; friends tried to talk me out of it, but they were wrong, it turns out.

Starting up wasn’t easy but I’m happy to see that, over the years, we’ve built an audience consisting of both ‘Europeans’ and also lots of expats with roots in the Caribbean living in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Is organising a niche festival an advantage?

Actually, I see no direct disadvantages – we made a clear choice as to the festival’s identity. If we should lose this typical aspect by mixing other musical styles or adding pop bands, we would loose our core audience and not be able to attract new public.

for a few years now, several thousands in the campsite the day before the festival weekend. We don’t have any exact figures on hand – the only thing we know from polling at the entrance is that 56 per cent of the audience are female. In the months prior to the festival, our audience is very involved with what we do via social media. We don’t attract festival tourists driving from the Graspop Metal Meeting to the Tomorrowland dancefest.

Many of our visitors attend only one festival: ours.

And what about the evolution in Caribbean music?

Our audience is very open to new musical trends. The most popular new bands are massive on the social media and YouTube. Bands that didn’t exist six years ago now get 100m views in Latin America. Those are the bands we want at the festival, in combination with traditional salsa and merengue orchestras. This year we have Grupo Niche, a Colombian salsa orchestra with many horns who attract a huge audience here.

The advantage of having multiple stages is to be able to have style accents throughout our programme.

Flying so many bands from Latin America must be a logistical challenge…

This could have been my ‘issue’, but it has grown on me over the years. I’m used to solving problems, like this week when a band’s booking agent is off the radar for five weeks with Schengen visa and flight tickets pending – with one month to go till the festival, this requires daily following up.

What is the festival’s future?

How loyal is the audience?

Very loyal – we see it on social media and in communications with the visitors. Every edition attracts, weather permitting, some 15,000 people per day, plus,

I believe in constant innovation as the key to its future. Caribbean and Latin American music moves on, and it’s our job to keep our finger on the pulse. www.antilliaansefeesten.be

2015

Views from the top

16

Mixing g sound fit for an Olympian y p with the other Pavarotti…

Who are you?

Angelo ‘Pavarotti’ Camporese, born in Borgoricco, the north-eastern province of Padua, Italy, and audio chief on productions by Agorà, Italy’s largest rental company.

What do you do?

In the case of particularly complex events or installations, I’m responsible for the technical/logistic coordination necessary for all members of the production team to carry out their individual jobs in the best possible way, optimising the entire operation’s time schedule and technical set-up.

Where do you do it?

Wherever the events are – more or less worldwide nowadays. I’ve worked in every country in Europe with Italian artists’ tours, plus events in Tunisia, Egypt and an entire year in the UAE, working out of Dubai.

What do you do it with?

A computer, e-mail, meetings and even more meetings, to perfectly understand events’ technical requirements, and the necessary jobs involved, form the team that meets these requirements, allocate individual jobs, train the staff in the event of technical upgrades and draw up the list of equipment required; making certain the rental company can provide it or, where necessary, finding the most appropriate alternatives.

solutions, over-tight time frames for planning.

On one hand, choosing the right staff to respond to the need for professionalism regarding the use of the technology required; on the other, paying particular attention to the ability of each member of the team to cooperate in harmony with their colleagues, since large events often involve lengthy work schedules and calm cooperation. Taking great care with the make-up of the team ensures the best results.

As well as being an audio chief, what’s your background in the live event or music world?

I began as a sound engineer in 1986, then progressed to PA management and later system designer. For years I worked on the technical aspects of the audio and lighting divisions of a rental company, which enabled me to accumulate in-depth knowledge of the ‘philosophical’ and design approach to sound reinforcement systems, with a particular focus on new technologies – devices using important technological solutions that frequently integrate audio, lighting and video in the same network. I’ve been working as a sound chief since 2000.

I also work on technical staff training, so that the use of these solutions becomes increasingly normal – at first glance they may seem difficult for their complexity, but in the end they’re they only ones that offer the flexibility necessary to meet clients’ increasingly varied requirements.

What has given you the most satisfaction?

Every event involves a challenge, hard graft and satisfaction, but having contributed to the realisation of three Olympic Games (Turin’s 2006 Winter Games, Sochi 2014 and the European Games this year in Baku, organised by the European Olympic Committees) with a world-level organisation, offering technical solutions to projects that were definitely complex and very varied, after months of commitment, dedication and intense human interaction the positive results were an enormous satisfaction.

On the sports front, I was also system manager and network manager at Hampden Park, Glasgow, for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

How did you become an audio chief?

What’s your next big challenge?

I’d say they have similar roles, even if traditions are different – from the US and northern European world in general we’ve learned a lot regarding organisation and logistics, combining this with the flexibility which distinguishes Italians’ modus operandi. This flexibility was the ‘added value’ we brought to this industry, which requires increasing flexibility and

There are similar events to those already mentioned on the agenda, as well as smaller events with the same technical complexity.

What ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

Budgets to be respected, appropriate technical

I started out in situations that were much simpler and are still the norm today, where one of the technical staff had the job of also following the events’ general organization and was the reference point per skill and knowledge, while still continuing to play an operational technical role. In more complex events, this obviously becomes a such an complicated job that all your time and energy goes into coordination, to ensure that all those involved have the necessary means for carrying out their jobs.

How would you rate the standard of Italian audio chiefs with those abroad?

rapid decisions and meets a positive reaction on the international productions we worked on.

What artists would you like to be or have been the audio chief for and why?

Names such as The Wall, Pink Floyd and U2 are without doubt examples of top-grade production in my generation’s imagination, but the Olympic Games are in fact the world’s largest “show” as far as audience numbers are concerned, and the impressive production machine that is part of the ceremonies offers great stimuli from a technical and emotional point of view.

Do you find it frustrating that other technicians involved in live event industry (sound engineers, lighting console ops) often have a higher profile than audio chiefs?

Not at all. If you consider the aim of the operation you’re working on and believe in the team you’re a member of, you realise that there are certain roles that are natural interfaces with the ‘outside world’. In our field, these are normally the people who ‘press the buttons’ – the sound engineer or the production manager, who can give overall insights on the events.

The work behind the scenes is carried out by team of highly specialised technicians working with passion, dedication and professionalism, all fundamental for achieving the end result. This is sufficient personal satisfaction for me but, obviously, having the opportunity to express your point of view is without doubt a pleasure. angelopavarotti@agoraaq.it

2015

Views from the top

18

“Too many arse-lickers and snakes in the grass”: it’s not the same as it was Who are you?

Dario Cappanera, known by everyone as ‘Kappa’ and born in Leghorn, Tuscany, in 1973.

great guitarist, Mike Scott, ex-guitarist with Prince, with whom I worked on tours and events with [Italian singer] Giorgia.

What do you do?

What’s the biggest challenge coming up?

I began playing guitar at the age of eight, and have played in numerous bands since, worked with instruments, amps and guitars and owned an [analogue] recording studio from 1993 to 2000.

I’ve worked as a guitar and bass tech since 2001, but thanks to my studio experience, I’ve a fairly comprehensive background in the audio world – cabling, keyboards, drums, mics, etc.

Changing my job! [Laughs] Seriously, I’ve been globetrotting since I was 18 and I’m 41 now. I’d like to stay at home with my family; working conditions aren’t what they used to be, plus I no longer have the passion and desire to experience music as I once did. It seems to be all business and technology now – too cold and impersonal, too many arse-lickers and snakes in the grass… it’s not the world I once knew.

Where do you do it?

What is the ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

I’ve mainly worked in Italy, but from 1990 to 1992 lived and worked as a guitarist and tech in Austin, Texas; in London in 1993; then, back in Italy, in various studios in Milan. Once on the scene, I worked mainly in Italy, above all when Diego Spagnoli ‘enrolled’ me with Vasco [Rossi] in 2003. I went back to the States, to LA, for the whole of 2009.

With Italian musicians, rather than a roadie or tech, you need to be a psychologist, as there are too many improvised artists and prima donnas, too many bigheads and a load of moaners. In short, they expect you to look after them too much.

What do you do it with?

As well as a tech, do you do any other work in the live or music world?

I have an unpretentious workcase containing the bare essentials: Boss tuners, overdrives and boosters for acoustic guitars, jack cables, soldering gear, all the tools necessary for guitars, including hex keys in millimetres and inches for all kinds of bridges, spare potentiometers and jacks… in short, all the odds and ends necessary for emergency repairs on the road.

I play in an Italian metal band, La Strana Officina. I’ve played with a lot of other artists and I also have a blues project where I sing too. I’m a songwriter, too, have acted in a film and am also a yacht skipper…

I’m always on the hunt for new challenges and crazy things to do. I’m quite eclectic, and in ‘simple’ tech this seems to annoy folk sometimes.

What’s your biggest success to date?

How did you start work as a tech?

I’ve worked as a guitar tech for a lot of musicians, but my biggest satisfactions were with Vasco Rossi – from 2003 to 2014 I was his band’s guitar and bass tech (for Maurizio Solieri and “Gallo” Golinelli) – and for another

After some session work in 2000, I realised it wasn’t the job for me: I’ve always hated pop music, which is Italy’s most successful genre. My roots are in blues and rock ’n’ roll, so, undecided on how to make a living

and having closed my studio, I decided to try my hand as a roadie with DeltaV, a band I’d already worked with as a backliner, stage manager and monitor engineer.

It was hard, crazy work, but there was friendship, esteem and a great atmosphere. Then, in 2002, I got the call from Diego Spagnoli.

How would you rate the standard of Italian techs with those abroad?

As far as professionalism, ability and know-how is concerned, Italian techs are in no way inferior to those from abroad, but there are some big differences: US and European techs deal exclusively with the backline!

On the other hand, here in Italy, we’ve always worked with everything, from cabling to snakes, mics, the risers or stage set and loads of other crap. I think that this has given us that ‘something extra’, since, in my modest opinion, I think if you’re involved in hundreds of other audio aspects you learn a lot more!

What musician would you like work with as a tech and why?

I’d have liked to have been the guitar tech with one of my icons, Gary Moore (RIP), or Zakk Wylde, whom I got to know well during the years on the road, and Joe Bonamassa.

Do you find it frustrating that other technicians involved in live events always have a higher media profile than techs?

In my career as a musician, I’ve always been involved in the promotional aspects – interviews, video and photo shooting, etc. – and I think it’s part of the job, but as far as roadie and tech work is concerned, I prefer to stay in the background, not in the spotlight. I leave that crap to the various prima donnas that populate backstage areas worldwide!

Unite Your Audience Without upsetting the neighbours.

Glastonbury Festival

MLA ensures that the audience, FOH engineer and artist have a rocking good time, without upsetting local residents.

Powerful, exciting, crystal clear sound that envelops the entire audience, but cuts off just beyond.

That’s the Martin Audio Experience.

Hyde Park

Unite your audience at www.martin-audio.com EDC, New York

2015

Views from the top

20

Getting the right publicity for concert tours and festival appearances is a skill and, despite the open internet field provided by Facebook and Twitter, some directed guidance and good old common sense remain valuable assets Who are you?

How did you end up where you are now?

Judy Totton of Judy Totton Publicity. I’m based in London and work in the UK, though I do have media contacts overseas. I promote big events, charity shows, companies and theatre, as well as artists releasing albums or touring. Some of my current clients are Bill Wyman, who has just released his first UK solo album in 33 years, Joan Armatrading on her last big world tour, Andy Fairweather Low and his band The Low Riders, Joe Brown and Paul Brady. I’ve represented many artists from all genres over the years and been involved with big festivals including Blenheim Palace and 11 years of Castle Donington Monsters of Rock.

I started out in music publicity at Magnet Records.

After two years there I joined CBS where I worked with a wide variety of artists from The Jacksons to ABBA, with John Cooper Clarke, The Only Ones, The Vibrators and many more in between. By the late 1970s Epic records was being split away from CBS and a lot of internal changes were happening. I wasn’t sure what to do, and it was artist agent Ian Flukes who suggested I set up my own company.

That was 1979. John Cooper Clarke and The Only Ones came with me and within a month I was approached by Status Quo. Toyah soon followed and then Haircut 100 and Orange Juice. From there I never looked back.

so on TV – you should be too.” But that particular artist might not fit with the programming. Or maybe it’s just that one media person out to prove themselves that crosses the line. Or the editor with an agenda.

Is the sound at live events something you have to deal with in your work?

If the sound in a concert hall is too loud the gig can get a bad review. Very loud sound will reverberate through your body and can make you sick, so however talented or wonderful an artist is they will get a bad review. I’ve also had situations where I haven’t been responsible for seating my media guests and they’ve been put in poor seats where the sound coverage hasn’t been good enough, which has drawn a negative reaction.

What do you do?

I look after the artist, handling their profile. I aim to get the best possible coverage for them and the job or project at that time. If someone is promoting a tour then the focus is to sell tickets and make sure as many people as possible know a gig is happening.

It’s basic common sense, seeing where the target audience is. This means dealing with the whole gamut: newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and selected digital outlets. I write the press releases and often the biographies.

The other side of my activities is photography. I studied photography at the Royal College of Art and initially photographed small theatre companies. After I moved into music PR I put photography to one side but later found it could be useful. I photograph a lot of live gigs and other situations, as well as my own clients.

It’s something I love doing.

What’s your biggest success to date?

I hesitate to say because it depends on how you measure success. Does it mean covering all the bases on a job or is it getting the biggest client? If it’s the latter then I’ve worked with David Bowie, the Dalai Lama and Steve Miller. I also won an industry PR Award on four occasions. But is it more successful to get someone in Time Outt or The Telegraph or on Jools Holland’s TV show? Or maybe it’s just keeping somebody out of the papers.

What is the ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

Perhaps people’s expectations. Sometimes you can work with a company that has very realistic expectations and on others an artist can be swayed by people around them saying things like “I saw so-and-

The internet and social media have changed how the music industry works. Has it affected your job and is there still a requirement for publicists in the traditional mould?

There will always be a need for human interaction. I see my role as the cement between the bricks joining journalist and artist. Good relationships count for a lot. The medium has changed in recent years but the message is the same.

And despite social media, print, TV and radio continue to be important outlets. People still read newspapers, not just the nationals but regionals as well. National TV and radio can still have a big effect while a good piece in national print can also influence the broadcast media. I think traditional PR continues to have a viable role and fulfils an essential function. www.judytotton.com

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2015

Views from the top

22

Not upsetting the neighbours is a priority for promoters. Obtaining the right level is a matter of science, but being a music fan helps too Who are you?

Edward Crofton-Martin, principal acoustic consultant at Able Acoustics. I am a Member of the Institute of Acoustics (MIOA), as well as an Accredited Associate of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (ACIEH) and an Incorporated Engineer (IEng).

What do you do?

I solve problems related to noise. More specifically, I specialise in acoustics and environmental noise control. This involves determining practical methods of noise control by applying the scientific theory of sound (acoustics). I work with events managements companies and promoters to help achieve a balance between music noise levels that are sufficiently high to make the event workable whilst at the same time minimising disturbance to nearby residents. Promoters and event managers are increasingly aware of the benefits of avoiding complaints and possible conflict with local authorities.

I am also an accredited expert witness in the field of acoustics and noise control and have prepared reports and given evidence relating to entertainment noise in the High Court.

Where do you do it?

Most of my work is UK-based although I do get asked to provide advice and assistance for events outside the country. I have worked at Glastonbury, Hyde Park Concerts, Move Festival Manchester, Homelands Dance Festival and the Brit Awards, as well as at Earls Court with artists such as Muse, Kylie Minogue and Madonna. I also got to work at the former Millennium Dome while Sir Paul McCartney was using it as a rehearsal venue.

What do you do it with?

Sound pressure levels are measured in decibels, which work on a logarithmic scale. The actual measurements are done using specialised and calibrated laboratory grade equipment capable of

measuring individual frequencies to get accurate and reliable measurement data.

as any investigate action that may have been required.

When do you get called in?

Are there different considerations for various types of gig?

It is generally a condition of the licence that a competent and experienced person is brought in at an early stage and we would start by liaising with all relevant parties, including promoters and the local authority. One of the first things that needs to be done is to check the viability of the event against recommended levels: a concert running below 95dB(A) does not tend to provide satisfactory entertainment for the audience while topography of the local environment may not be suitable if guideline limits are to be met.

Should the proposed event location be viable we would then consider elements such as the timetable, running order, stage location, speaker layout/orientation and noise from set up and derig, sound checks/PA testing, vehicle movements and installation of welfare facilities. We would also identify the nearest noise-sensitive premises and agree suitable monitoring locations.

How do you set the requirements for each project?

This typically involves calculation. We use specialist software to build a computer noise model and assist in evaluating the effectiveness of any mitigation measures. This also helps formulate a noise management plan, which would contain measures to control noise, a complaints procedure and procedures in the event something goes wrong. Prior to the event itself we would undertake sound propagation tests. This is done using pink noise played through the PA system and then measured simultaneously at both the mixer and the nearest noise-sensitive premises to determine the maximum permissible levels. During the event we take measurements at the agreed locations.

This allows us to assist the promoter in ensuring any set limits are not breached. Following the event we would report the measured levels as well

Every event is considered individually but depending on the venue type and the amount of events to be held, the limits vary for music noise levels when measured or predicted to 1m from the façade of any noise sensitive premises. For events continuing or held between 23.00h and 9.00h the music noise should not be audible within noisesensitive premises with windows open in a typical manner for ventilation. Control can be exercised in this situation by limiting the music noise so that it is just audible outside the noise sensitive premises.

What’s your biggest success to date?

Getting backstage passes to see my favourite bands and being paid for it!

What’s the biggest challenge in your work today?

Increasingly people seem prepared to resort to the courts to resolve their disputes. The expert witness work I do is always a challenge because the key is to communicate technical concepts in a manner the court can understand – and some of these and the applicable British Standards governing good practice are extremely involved.

What is the ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

There is a popular misconception that overestimates the use of foliage. That is the idea that if there are some bushes or hedgerows between the source and the receiver they are is going solve the problem by providing an acceptable amount of acoustic screening. Then there is always someone in the crowd who thinks you are the ‘noise police’ waiting to shut the event down, when the opposite is true. www.ableacoustics.com

2015

Views from the top

24

A proper restoration man. We forgot to ask what colour he likes his drapes

Who are you?

Graham Walters, Chief Operating Officer for the Academy Music Group and Live Nation Entertainment.

What’s been your biggest success?

With so many venues (14 in the AMG portfolio), it’s difficult to pinpoint just one as we have so many events, but for Academy Music Group, continuing to expand our business over the last 15 years and the opportunities that come with that, make every day interesting.

All our venues are unique and many iconic, such as the world famous O2 Academy Brixton and O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, steeped in history, and O2 Apollo Manchester and O2 Academy Leeds, renowned for their cultural influence in the respective cities.

AMG venues range from traditional theatre and cinema-style from Scotland down to the South coast, with warehouse buildings to club formats, so the live experience offered across the estate is both varied and original.

We’ve invested in scalable capacities and configurations, such as draping options for short hall formats, as well as an on-going investment plan to upgrade facilities, both front of house and back stage.

New LED screen technology features at our venues in Leeds, Leicester and Newcastle to name but three, as well as front of house facilities at O2 ABC Glasgow with our partners at O2, who we are also looking at front of house Wi-Fi solutions to enhance the customer experience across the estate, so keeping ahead is part of those challenges.

What’s a big ‘issue’ that never seems to go away?

Within our industry as a whole, there are always hot topics, for example: pricing of tickets to ticket resale in difficult economic markets; the pound vs the euro; many say lack of headline artists for bigger venues and festivals. There’s always something.

What’s the biggest challenge coming up?

According to a recent UK Music report, gig attendance is up 23 per cent since 2011.

Are you feeling the benefit? What’s your experience of the booming live market?

Maintaining old buildings with grand histories is always a challenge, and can often come with as many complications as they do charm, but that really is part of the joy.

From a technical point of view, revisiting established venues, we opened sites in Birmingham and Bristol at the start of the year 2000, so keeping up with progression and investment in lighting, sound and video technology.

Business has been good particularly over the last couple of years and we have opened up well for 2015.

We’re looking at a strong autumn, post-festival season, and this year alone Academy Music Group venues will host some 3,000 events, with up to three million customers through the doors. Live Nation venues are also performing well which host around 1,000 events a year across the four LN venues including gigs, comedy, theatre, sport, conference and exhibitions.

It’s obviously not something that’s filtered down to the smaller, independent ‘toilet circuit’ venues, with what seems like clubs and live venues closing every week. Does that have a knock-on effect on you guys?

It’s always sad to hear when small venues are closing, as we have several ourselves with O2 Academy2 rooms across the UK. It does highlight how difficult it is to have a sustainable live music business, that level (small rooms/pub circuit) is so important to the development or artists and the wider live scene.

Before those acts get to play Academy Music group venues, it’s where they learn their trade, likewise where many promoters come from, cutting their teeth.

What’s your view on the closing of The Arches in Glasgow?

It’s never good to hear of venues closing, The Arches is a much loved and established venue, home of many great club nights and gigs. It certainly complemented our two venues in Glasgow (O2 ABC and O2 Academy) very well and we worked very closely with them.

How the live music scene has changed since you started out – for better and for worse?

With any industry there are extreme highs and lows, it’s a constantly evolving machine. With advancements in technology to marketing tactics, ticketing, trends in talent, it changes all the time, but at the end of the day there is nothing quite like the feeling of watching your favourite artists. When they walk out on stage, there really is nothing quite like it. www.academy-music-group.co.uk

2015

26 XX

Boutique festivals: Small but perfectly formed

Exquisitely proportioned The last decade has witnessed an explosion in the number of smaller, niche-orientated festivals across the UK and mainland Europe. But how do these events go about offering truly unique experiences to festivalgoers facing an ever-greater panoply of options, and what is the outlook for the larger festivals driven more by headline acts? David Davies reports

O

ne quick search of The Festival Calendar website confirms the extent to which the UK summer festival sector has blossomed over the last ten years.

From Birmingham’s dance-oriented Electric Daisy, to the Bruton Reggae Fest, to the classical and jazz-driven Petworth Festival, there is quite literally an event to match every possible musical penchant.

The fact that many of the newer events belong to the sub-30,000 attendance category underlines the extent to which expansion of the sector is being driven by the smaller events. But although ‘boutique’ is a commonly-deployed buzzword, these events display a remarkable level of diversity, with some newer events zeroing in on one specific genre while others pursue a multi-disciplinary approach mixing music with literature, movie screenings and more.

What does tend to unite them, however, is the general emphasis on creating a more rounded and (whisper it) pleasant festival-going experience. Part of the strategy here has been to reconfigure events in a more family-friendly fashion as the most recent festival boom generation gets older and starts having children, but at a more basic level it has also translated to elements as seemingly straightforward as an improved quality and selection of food and – quite frankly – decent toilets and washing facilities.

Hedonism in its various forms is unlikely to disappear from the festival scene any decade soon, but at the risk of making a drastic generalisation it would be fair to say that at the newer generation of events one is more likely to find revellers perambulating with a jug of Pimm’s than reclining drugged-out in a ditch. More seriously, with new events popping up all the time, several pertinent

questions rise into view, not least: precisely how does one go about delivering a popular new small festival at this stage of market maturity? And is greater diversity of attractions the most reliable route to success? PSNLive decided to find out by talking to two of the brightest additions to the festival firmament over the last ten years.

Location, location, location For many of the more recent additions, the answer appears to be ‘accentuate the unique’ – whether that be in the form of cuisine, activities or, most likely, the location of the festival itself. That certainly seems to have worked out well for the Port Eliot Festival, which takes place just over the Cornish ‘border’ at the end of each July and has been running for 12 years now.

“Port Eliot is very much informed by its location,” confirms associate director Colin Midson, pointing to

2015

Capital Sound stands by at Wild Life in June

XX 27

the festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s setting in the grounds of an historic priory that is home to the Earl and Countess of St Germans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For example, we have activities in the walled garden and one of our stages is located in a bowling green. Down by the river we also have canoeing, so there are a lot of site-speciďŹ c activities.â&#x20AC;?

Midson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who was a long-time attendee of the festival before joining the directorial team in October 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; believes that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;steadyâ&#x20AC;? growth of the event has been a crucial ingredient of its

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success. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the second year there were only 1,000 attendees and now we are up to about 10,000, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there is any real desire to take it much larger than that,â&#x20AC;? he says.

Interestingly, Midson reveals that festival director Cathy St Germansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; original vision for the event was to focus primarily on literature.

The explosion in the number of literary events to complement the long-established likes of the Hay Festival can be explained in part by â&#x20AC;&#x153;readers connecting with authors on social media and

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2015

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Boutique festivals: Small but perfectly formed “Port Eliot Festival is very much informed by its location… we have activities in the walled garden, one of our stages revolves around a bowling green and there is canoeing down on the river” Colin Midson, Port Eliot Festival

Kendall Calling (to the faraway towns, etc.)

having the desire to see them in person. But in my experience, literary festivals can be a bit ‘one-note’ – basically authors either giving a presentation or an interview about their latest book. So ultimately Kathy took the decisions to take it broader.”

The team has certainly achieved that as the 2015 line-up – which includes writers Sarah Waters, Iain Sinclair and Simon Armitage on the literary stages, and The Unthanks, The Lilac Time and Villagers on the music stages – amply demonstrates.

‘The complete experience’ Kendal Calling in the Lake District is another event whose organic growth trajectory indicates what appears to be a common trait in this festival category.

Only 900 people attended the first event, in 2006, but this year some 23,000 are expected. Unlike Port Eliot, music has always been the core component of Kendal Calling’s offer, but co-founder Ben Robinson believes that the gradual addition of other elements over time has stood it in good stead.

“We have always looked to book great musical acts, of course, but more than anything it is about offering the complete experience,” says Robinson. “My

observation is that those festivals which are relying on the big headline names are more likely to struggle if they don’t manage to secure them. It’s quite a big commitment to spend three to four days in a field, so it has to be amazing to justify the time and expense.”

The 2015 event certainly has its fair share of major names – among them Elbow, Snoop Dogg and The Vaccines – but alongside an increasingly compelling array of dance and electronic acts, comedy and performance art. Brand-new for 2015, meanwhile, will be a woodlands area featuring sculpture and immersive arts, established with the support of the Arts Council.

“It seemed like another logical step,” says Robinson. “I think the underlying point here is that you have to keep innovating and adding new attractions while always retaining the core creative spirit [that inspired the festival in the first place]. You have to make sure you avoid stagnation.”

To which end Robinson and his team have now embarked upon the process of building a portfolio of events, having announced plans for a new festival, Forgotten Fields, to take place in Tunbridge Wells this August.

PA company prosperity By some estimates there were as many as 1,300 festivals in the UK in 2014 (although one suspects that a significant number of those might stretch the definition of ‘festival’ as we understand it beyond breaking point). Whether or not this is ultimately sustainable, the dramatic enhancement of the summer schedule can, in the short-term, only be perceived as good news for audio providers.

“We have probably seen a 30-to-50 per cent increase in our festival business between the start of May and the end of August over the last few years, and a lot of those are what would be termed smaller festivals,” says Paul Timmins, general manager of Capital Sound. “2015 is again looking very busy, and I think in part that is down to our investment in three different varieties of the system that so many events are keen to use now – the Martin Audio MLA [Multicellular Loudspeaker Array].”

The good results that Capital has achieved with the MLA in minimising noise off the British Summer Time Hyde Park festival site has been well-documented and does not require reiteration here. But Timmins is sure that its successful deployment there has helped

2015

29

Legendary promoter Harvey Goldsmith is among those to have highlighted the major acts issue and to predict in response the continued rise of mixed-arts events – and as long-term industry observers, Harvey does have the tendency of being right.

In this regard, among others, smaller events are one step ahead and already have the mentality of continued (gradual) evolution that seems fundamental to their survival. In short, small(er) might not just be beautiful – in the longer-run, it could be the only way to go.

“The underlying point is that you have to keep innovating and adding new attractions while always retaining the core creative spirit. You have to make sure you avoid stagnation” Ben Robinson, Kendal Calling/ Forgotten Fields to spread the general renown of the system, which enables control of every single cell in the array for highly directive sound coverage.

“There is a desire to achieve higher levels within the festival site compared to the off-site situation,” he says. “There have been a lot of events where they were struggling to get much beyond 96dBA at the FOH [because of noise restrictions], which isn’t really at the enjoyment level and is quite likely to prompt people coming over to the desk and asking for it to be turned up. MLA allows you to add another 3–4dBA without creating noise issues off-site.”

LIve at Chelsea, and the brand new rock and dance festival Wild Life, which took place at Shoreham Airport in June, are among the many more boutique events to which Capital Sound is applying the MLA system this summer.

G. Reaper Festival?

These examples alone point to the current rude health of the smaller festivals sector – but if anything, it could be that we are set for even greater proliferation of sub-30,000-capacity events as the larger events increasingly confront some challenging generational obstacles.

Perhaps the greatest of these – and let’s make no bones about it – is death. Although many of the heritage acts have continued to play longer than

anyone (not least themselves) expected, the nowbulging obituary pages of the rock music monthlies indicate that mortality is destined to intervene more frequently than ever during the next decade.

Meanwhile, for those who do persist in treading the boards as long as humanly possible, their continual reappearance on the circuit every year in response to plummeting recorded music income runs a serious risk of inciting customer indifference.

“There is a limit to the number of major heritage acts, and for those festivals who are more geared towards them, success at getting them will be dependent on who has the deepest pockets I guess,” says Grant. ”Hinging a festival around headline acts seems to be missing the point of festivals, anyway, I would suggest. Something like Glastonbury does have lots of major names, but more than anything it is now a rite of passage for Middle England and doesn’t rely on the names to sell tickets.

“Similarly, WOMAD doesn’t rely on big names; rather it offers a unique musical experience in a very pleasant environment and that’s why it continues to grow. To my mind, festivals were, and are, about having a temporary shared time with reasonably likeminded people. If that becomes a chore for everyone involved, including those who work them, they will decline.”

MINI GEMS: FIVE SUBLIME SMALLER EUROPEAN FESTIVALS It’s not just the UK that has witnessed a surge in the number of more compact summer events… just take a look at these five top picks from mainland Europe recommended by friends of PSNLive, industry observers and other assorted experts: • La Roche Bluegrass Festival, Roche-sur-Foron, France (29 July–2 Aug) Family-friendly roots music.

• Mysteryland, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (29–30 Aug) Electronica, interactive theatre and more.

• Flow Festival, Helsinki, Finland (14–16 Aug) Power plant setting for living art, live music and excellent food.

• Aste Nagusia, Bilbao, Spain (22–30 Aug) Basque-flavoured smorgasbord of music, dancing, sports et al.

• Soundwave, Tisno, Croatia (6–10 Aug) Rock, dance and much more on the idyllic Croatian coast.

2015

30

PA: Same sound in every seat?

German artist Peter Maffay on tour with a Meyer Sound LEO system (Photo: Ralph Larmann)

Craving consistency Is the promise of consistent sound coverage more important than ever, or is it simply easier to deliver?

Erica Basnicki takes a well-balanced look...

C “

onsistent, even coverage throughout an entire venue is not a fad or a new trend,” says Rational Acoustics’ Jamie Anderson. This is the one point on which everyone can agree. No one wants to put up with, or deliver, awful sound.

Naturally, sound quality has always been a focal point for PA manufacturers. Lately, the idea of providing “the same sound in every seat” appears to have increased in importance. Where opinions on the matter begin to diverge is in trying to establish who is driving this demand.

Anderson explains: “Audience members listen to a performance from one point in space. They generally do not know if the sound is better or worse in the next section over. What they care about is sound quality and fidelity. It’s the production companies and system engineers who care about coverage and consistency.”

Martin Audio’s marketing director, James King, agrees: “The audience tends to be able to only judge in terms of whether they can hear clearly enough from their position and whether as a whole they are moved by the concert experience. If not, they take

to social media to complain and worst case to the promoters to ask for their money back. Depending upon the scale of the issue it can also break through into mainstream media.”

Case in point: In 2013, Live Nation refused to refund Iron Maiden fans in Stockholm after widespread complaints about the gig’s sound quality: barely audible guitars and muddy vocals. According to reports, Live Nation investigated the issue with concert staff but ultimately dismissed the complaints on the grounds that “sound experience is subjective”.

Sweden’s National Board for Consumer Disputes agreed with the findings.

Prior to 2013, concerts in London’s Hyde Park were criticised for their less than optimum sound quality, marring performances by high-profile acts such as Paul Simon, Arcade Fire and Blur. The gigs just weren’t loud enough.

So far, there have been no reported complaints of sound quality variance from one seat/audience area to the next. That’s not to say that there won’t be any in the future.

“As ticket prices for seats at live events are everincreasing, the audience’s expectations are rising

proportionally,” explains Michael Creason, product manager, system applications and training, Meyer Sound.

Even the artists are becoming aware of this. For their latest tour, U2 has been “experimenting” with a new sound system comprising speaker arrays suspended from the ceiling, in order to provide equal coverage for everyone in the audience. (According to Reddit users, the sound isn’t great. Oh, well.)

One would be inclined to assume that PA houses are also pushing for the best possible coverage from their investment, naturally. King notes that “since MLA has now solved the Hyde Park conundrum and highlighted what can be possible, MLA has gone on to win more and more festivals around the world.”

Consistency may have always been important, but, as systems like the MLA have shown, technology is becoming a major factor in improving what can realistically be achieved.

Hardware or software?

Now the question is what role DSP should play – if any – within a system. Here the variances are even wider.

On one end of the spectrum is KV2. As Dave

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2015

32

PA: Same sound in every seat?

Croxton, sales director at KV2 explains: “At KV2 we have one simple and clear rule. Software will never replace hardware when it comes to sound quality.

You cannot fix poor speaker design or bad circuitry with DSP. At KV2 we focus on getting every aspect of a system’s design electronically and acoustically right so that there is no need for digital correction.

As soon as DSP is introduced into the signal path a ceiling is put on a system as far as resolution and clarity goes. Today the majority of manufacturers limit the resolution and clarity of their technology with DSP.” Eschewing the popular notion that line array technology is best, KV2 launched its VHD5.0 constant-power point-source array in Frankfurt last April. Instead of DSP, KV2 utilises ‘20MHz digital delays for time alignment, trans-coil speakers for greater control and superfast electronics for far lower non-harmonic distortion’ to provide an audience (and that’s a much bigger audience than what VHD2.0 was built for) with the best possible sound.

Croxton doesn’t see it as bucking the trend as much as an anticipation of the live sound equivalent to the current vinyl resurgence. “It will take time but, just as we have seen in the recording industry, the cycle will eventually come full circle. Artists and audiences will demand higher levels of sound quality. The most important thing is we don’t lose the emotion in the musical art form to technology.”

The counter-argument to the ‘hardware first’ approach is best explained by Jeff Rocha, president at EAW: “Fundamentally the industry has been doing things the same way and using the same basic tool (a curved line array) for about 20 years. All products in the market are variations on that theme. After launching Anya and Otto into that space it has become clear that engineers have been waiting for ‘the next thing’. The universal expectation has been that it would heavily involve digital processing and control which would yield substantial benefits in terms of performance, control and workflow.”

EAW’s Anya arrays and Otto subs rely entirely on the Resolution software control – no down-fill or long throw modules required – to deliver consistent coverage throughout a venue. The benefits are that the system itself is smaller therefore can be flown faster, uses fewer motors, etc., while also providing the same instantaneous adjustments as any system modified or controlled digitally.

A balanced approach is best “The ability to steer the shape of sound requires a combination of software and hardware to be effective,” says Rik Kirby, VP of sales and marketing at RenkusHeinz. “In fact, you can’t achieve the necessary results by only employing one without the other. Yes, a good DSP and software might allow the engineer to gain

Smaart at the Ride of Eastern Culture Festival in Białystok, Poland (Photo: Krzysztof Polesinski, Airpol Sound & Light)

Meyer Sound’s new LEOPARD system debuted at the Moers Festival (Photo: Ralph Larmann)

and frequency shade to improve the consistency of response throughout the coverage area, but a system designed with the appropriate driver spacing and alignment, the right calculations and algorithms in software and the right DSP to realise them can allow the engineer unsurpassed control, even the ability to steer beams of sound to miss hard surfaces that might cause reflections and room reverb.”

It’s what made the company’s IC2 arrays top choice for California’s Long Beach Arena’s Pacific Ballroom. “The IC2 delivers such even sound pressure level from front to back,” says Andy Batwinas of Electrosonics, the company responsible

for creating the system. “When we did the demo, it was set up at the far end of the arena and shot down the long way. You could walk the whole space, cover the floor, and keep it a solid 98dB SPL from one side to the other.”

It’s the route most manufacturers are taking: using DSP and speaker design in combination to achieve the best coverage as possible. The differences are in the technologies that drive their cabinets.

The MLA way of achieving this relies on multiple cells within an enclosure, each with its own DSP, and processed using optimisation software. It was a big

2015

MLA has “solved the Hyde Park conundrum” says Martin Audio’s James King (Photo: Erica Basnicki)

shift in line array technology and for rental houses, it did mean an initial outlay for a new system. The upside, according to King, is that it’s a solution that can be developed for a number of years to come at a minimal cost: “We have gone the route of marrying hardware with sophisticated software and we see this as the way forward in the future too. Our solution marries acoustic heritage of all horn-loaded techniques, controllable individual acoustic cells each with their own DSP, and our proprietary Display software. This allows full control over where sound needs to be and where to avoid, and allows for actual results to track extremely accurately with predicted ones. The benefit also of the software platform is that this can improve and develop over time, without the need for hardware change, so the system as a whole can actually get better over its lifetime rather than being uncompetitive.”

As reported in May (‘Good vibrations’, PSNEurope May 2015), d&b audiotechnik has also stepped up to the challenge of providing consistent sound throughout a venue in a major way. The d&b solution centres around ArrayProcessing, a major new feature included in the recent update to the company’s ArrayCalc simulation software. Using complex algorithms, ArrayProcessing redistributes peaks and troughs in both SPL and tonal balance.

Each cabinet in an array must be driven individually, and so for any large-scale system there would be an investment required for the additional amplifier channels. However, here is no new system involved; ArrayProcessing is backwards compatible with d&b’s J-, V- and Y-Series line array systems and the software itself is free of charge.

At Meyer Sound, the combination of elements that make up the LEO family – LEO-M loudspeakers, the 1100-LFC/900-LFC low-frequency control elements and the Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system – work in harmony so that “engineers can easily achieve the sonic vision they had to struggle to create with previous technology”, says product

manager for system applications and training Michael Creason. “Mixing is no longer the ‘chore’ of ‘keeping the vocal on top of the mud’. Now every subtle change the engineers make in a signal is clearly represented in the sonic picture and the system becomes more like a blank canvas than a graffiti wall.”

Creason adds: “Further to this, all the other trappings, such as streamlined rigging systems, durability, accurate prediction software and performance monitoring/reporting, all contribute to a total system solution that gives both the users and the audience a top-notch experience. A strong chain has no weak links.”

Thinking outside the box In many ways, hardware and software have worked together to improve consistency for a long time... just not necessary housed within the same physical product.

Having on-board DSP has in no way eliminated the need for these additional tools.

As early as the 1980s, software-based acoustic modelling has been helping system designers create and configure an ideal setup within a specified venue. One of the earliest to enter the market was Modeler, an acoustic design and analysis program

by Bose.

“Prior to the introduction of Modeler, and other computer-aided sound system design tools (EASE, AcoustiCAD, PHd, etc.), sound system design was performed using pencil, paper and a calculator,” says Rob Kosman, product manager for engineered sound, tools and electronics at Bose Corporation. “In many cases the selection and arrangement of components was based on an educated guess of how well the system would perform. With the introduction of the personal computer many felt it would be far more efficient for the computer to do the calculations, allowing the engineer to explore various scenarios and ‘what-if’ explorations.”

Meanwhile, modelling software in general has since been widely embraced by other PA

33

manufacturers, and continues to play an important role in system design. Among them is L-Acoustics, who recently announced an update to its Soundvision software to version 3.0. The new version is fully re-designed on a new architectural platform and is reportedly up to 40 times faster than its predecessor.

At the time of its launch in 2004, Soundvision was the first 3D sound system design package capable of operating in real time, a feat we take for granted now. In fact, it’s safe to say there aren’t many system designers who remember (or want to remember) the pen and paper calculation days. Access to modelling software is a given and, according to Florent Bernard, director of applications, touring, at L-Acoustics, it’s possibly the only software you really need.

“The reality is that good sound still relies majorly on physics – choosing the right cabinets for the job and optimising them in placement and design. Design your system well – with a tool like Soundvision – and you shouldn’t have to worry about performance issues. Its unique ability to model in 3D and in real time allows designers to account for both horizontal and vertical coverage, taking into account cluster interaction, room geometry, etc., giving them the full picture of a complex sound design.”

Of course, another player that’s been this game for awhile is Rational Acoustics’ System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-time Tool, Smaart. Now on version 7, “Smaart can help evaluate loudspeaker systems, but it cannot fix them,” says Anderson. “If you start with speakers that do not have a consistent response through their entire coverage pattern, there is almost no way you will have the same sound in every seat no matter how much technology you throw at them.

Anderson concludes: “The way to achieve the same sound in every seat is not through technology alone, nor is it solely through better box design. It’s a combination of the same things it has always been… the right products for the application, chosen and deployed correctly by competent, experienced audio professionals. The rest of it – in-box DSP, modelling and prediction software, analysis software like Smaart – are all tools to help achieve the goal.” www.bose.co.uk www.dbaudio.com www.eaw.com www.kv2audio.com www.l-acoustics.com www.martin-audio.com www.meyersound.com www.rationalacoustics.com www.renkus-heinz.com (Note: Some sections of this piece appeared in the June issue of PSNEurope)

2015

Live capture: Rise of the machines

Recordists often have to bring their own mics and set them up at classical gigs: this crossed pair is the work of BPM Recording’s Ken Blair

XX 35

Ever closer: recording and performance There was a time when a big liveried truck lurking in a back alley meant a live concert was being recorded. Now, writes Kevin Hilton, there are fewer clues due to computer-based recording straight from the front-of-house desk

O

nce a mainstay of the record and recording businesses, the live album is now almost a thing of the past.

In-concert recordings have not gone away completely, it’s just that today they’re more likely to be for B-side, bonus or ‘format’ tracks on studio albums or special downloads. This change began 20 years ago and over that time many of the big names on the mobile studio scene – RAK, Advision, the Rolling Stones Mobile, Fleetwood and Manor – have been consigned to history.

In many cases recordings are now made directly from the FOH desk, something made possible by advances in technology, digital and interconnectivity in particular. This has led both console and digital audio workstation manufacturers to build-in features to satisfy a common need. SADiE developed its LRX multitrack location recorder as a 16-track machine ten years ago, which Steve Penn, senior support engineer with SADiE owner Prism Sound, says was quite early in the development of this equipment.

“Traditionally SADiE has been used in classical recording and to begin with engineers used it in conjunction with CD duplicators from stereo

recordings,” he says. “We’ve now added a MADI card because a lot of live desks are using that. When we developed the MTR multitrack software, engineers could plug in the system and set their sources, which was quite important in getting the LRX into rental companies for dry hire.”

PA OK Derk Hagedorn, senior marketing manager for live systems at Avid Technology, observes that the use of DAWs and other long-form recording formats has enabled entire tours to be recorded, rather than selected nights, with no need for a large number of additional crew. “The technology is reliable enough that it will capture recordings night after night,” he says. “That means productions can eke out every dollar from a tour, as well as streamlining it, and offer the best performances as recordings.”

Avid has developed its Pro Tools DAW and range of VENUE digital live consoles so they can be combined for FOH recording. “When this started an engineer would need a HD TDM-based Pro Tools system to record from VENUE,” Hagedorn says. “This then came down to a number of cards to make the connection,

which was very reliable and didn’t require any conversion.”

DiGiCo’s D5, launched in 2001 and first used on Rod Stewart’s tour of that year, was initially designed to work with the Merging Technologies Pyramix over a MADI connection. “We launched the desk with a recorder–playback system using Pyramix and since then everything has escalated, with lots of ways to do this,” comments DiGiCo managing director James Gordon.

DiGiCo now connects to a range of recording software, including Reaper, Logic and Pro Tools, with a MADI router sitting at the front of the I/Os. “13–14 years ago people didn’t have many options,” says Gordon, “but now laptops are fast enough to route 56 tracks.” He adds that this year’s Stevie Wonder tour is using MADI connectivity with four streams at 96k producing 120 tracks for recording.

Chris Hollebone, sales, operations and marketing manager with Merging Technologies, comments that “more people are recording live and finding other ways of doing it”. This, he explains, could be with a DAW app on a laptop or a hard disk-based machine such as the JoeCo. “Pyramix is now also offering live

2015

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Live capture: Rise of the machines

Avid Everywhere for live FOH engineers have always had a lot to deal with during shows and that has increased with the growth in recording straight from the desk. Avid Technology has applied its interconnectivity concept to the new VENUE S6L console in a bid to address this. The S6L is designed to be the front end for the MediaCentral Platform, making it part of Avid Everywhere.

“There might be 60 to 200 tracks recorded a night and the challenge is keeping track of it all without a dedicated archivist,” says Avid’s senior marketing manager for live systems, Derk Hagedorn. “A lot of how live sound fits into Avid Everywhere is down to metadata, which is embedded in the files and saves time when the recordings are taken back to the studio for mixing.” Hagedorn adds that while

some bands might have a live engineer who would also mix any concert album release, the convention is more for a demarcation of responsibilities, so the mixer needs as much information about the sources as possible.

sound mixing in the box with recording running at the same time,” Hollebone says.

Hollebone adds that another “big difference” has been made by the use of RAVENNA audio-over-IP (AoIP) technology on Merging’s Horus networked audio interface. This, he says, is able to connect stage boxes with the main PA and any recording system on a single Cat-5 or Cat-6 cable.

RAVENNA’s rival in the AoIP stakes is Dante, which targeted live multitracking with its dedicated Virtual Soundcard. Console manufacturer Allen & Heath claims to have been the first in the market with a 64-channel interface for this, allowing 64-track recording to a laptop over Cat-5 without interfacing.

The company has also targeted live recording with its Qu-Drive multitrack recording and playback system that can run with USB media as well as SSD, HDD and SCSI drives. “At the end of the performance the USB drive or key can be delivered to the production, artist or manager, saving hassle and the time associated with file transfer or rendering,” comments A&H product manager Nicola Beretta.

A similar arrangement is available for the ICE-16 recorder, designed for use with analogue mixers.

Dave Millward: multitracking on every show of Morrissey tour

Doing it the hard way Hard-disk multitrack recorders such as the Klark Teknik DN9696 and JoeCo BlackBox Recorder have also found favour in this new world of live recording as back-ups as well as main device. “Our philosophy has always been that the FOH engineer should be able to focus primarily on mixing the live show, even when recording is required,” says JoeCo founder Joe Bull. He is of the opinion that it is not really acceptable nowadays to use the live FOH mix for release material because consumers are more demanding. “What sounds good through the PA could sound awful on headphones,” he says. “The best way of resolving this is to capture the multitrack source with a BlackBox and then remix offline.”

Paul Hurt of LX3 Live Recording agrees, observing that the pre-amps on live sound desks are of “variable quality”; while there are some he says he would be happy to take feeds from, others he would not: “I always take my own sources because of that. Also there are some FOH engineers who drive into the red, which generally doesn’t work well for recording.”

Hurt says he is usually called in when an artist is producing a full album or involved in a live TV broadcast. While there is still the argument that a fully isolated mobile studio gives the best chance of capturing the highest quality multitracks for later remixing, the trend is now for flight-cased recording packages, such as those offered by LX3, Live Here Now and Direct Recording Services.

These operations tend to concentrate on rock and contemporary music, with classical and orchestral is

2015

37

a more specialised sub-set of the market. [Live Here Now, if you’re out there, please get in touch! –Ed] Because very few orchestras and classical ensembles use amplification, the recordists in this part of the business usually have to manage their own mic set-ups and sources. Ken Blair of BPM Sound Recording says he would only share splitters with the FOH desk to take in mic feeds. Blair has moved on from quarter-inch reel-to-reel tape machines when he started out in 1989 through DAT to SADiE DAWs for full multi-track recording and CompactFlash recorders, such as the TASCAM HDP2, on simpler, stereo-only sessions and as back-up.

While saying that laptops still give him “the jitters, because you know what computers are like”, his main rig is computer-based through SADiE. “We record live on to multitrack and then mix later but usually with a stereo reference,” he says. “We take the mic feeds through a multi-core from the stage into Focusrite Saffire PRO 40 interfaces and then a FireWire connection to the SADiE. Once I started using a DAW I realised I didn’t need a mixer any more, although I still have one. I now mix on-screen.”

Some gigs are bigger than others DAWs in all forms are now used for recording alongside the FOH desk at many, if not all, gigs in rock, pop and R&B today. David Millward is multitracking every show on his current tour with Morrisset, primarily, he says, for archiving with occasional tracks used as B sides. “I am using a MacBook Pro running Logic with a bus powered SSD drive to record to,” he comments. “I then have two inexpensive USB drives, which I archive to each day. For the last few years I’ve been using an Allen & Heath iLive-80, so with the addition of an A&H Dante card, it takes just one Ethernet cable and an inexpensive Virtual Soundcard licence from Audinate to connect laptop and console. I also have a MADIFace card in case we ever need to connect to any other consoles along the way. This makes for a very compact recording system that can go anywhere and apart from having to remember to press record each night, it does not affect my workflow at all.”

Tom Odell’s regular FOH engineer, Davy Ogilvy, says recording straight from the desk to multitrack is now “a matter of course”. Ogilvy also uses MADIFace but into Reaper. “I do a stereo reference mix out of the DiGiCo SD8 so we can hear the live sound but every channel is also individually recorded,” he comments. “Tom always finishes his shows with the song Cruel, which hasn’t been recorded as a studio track. There’s a chance it will be released as a live recording, so people can hear the audience as well.”

Despite engineers using their DAW of choice, Avid Pro Tools is the still name that emerges when traditionalists bemoan the shift away from mobile

Flashback: The recording of Pink Floyd’s Pulse Masters of both studio and live sound technology, the Floyd were admired and ridiculed in equal measure for their painstaking approach to recording and performance. Pulse was originally intended to be a live record of the band’s 1973 studio album Dark Side of the Moon as performed on the 1994 world tour but was expanded to include tracks from other albums, including The Wall and the then-current The Division Bell. Thirteen nights were recorded, with six reels of multitrack tape used for each so that producer/engineer James Guthrie and singer–guitarist David Gilmour could choose the best performances and drop in sections if any fixing was necessary rather than over-dubbing. Recording was in the then-Neve VR equipped Le Voyageur II on to two pairs of Studer A80/Otari MTR90 combinations. The album was mixed at Gilmour’s Astoria houseboat studio to produce analogue stereo with QSound processing emulating the quad immersive effect as used on the original Dark Side. With the live performance the priority, Guthrie said at the time that he and the

recording team had to be “as invisible as possible” so they didn’t disrupt the established routine of the road crews. As proponents of new technology Pink Floyd would have doubtless appreciated the less intrusive benefits of digital, computer-based recording, although that might have detracted from the old-school feel of Pulse.

Oz Bagnall at Montreux: recording straight from the desk to multitrack is now “a matter of course”

2015

38

Live capture: Rise of the machines

Dave Swallow speaking at last year’s Pro Sound Awards

studios. Dave Swallow, who is about to go out on the road with UB40 (the Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue version), is using Pro Tools, which will probably record a mooted live album for the band.

“No one has ever said to me, ‘Can you record the show?’, it’s now just normal for me to take the laptop and other tools in the case with me,” he says.

Blurred lines

7T ST AR S H A J TS UM NN oeC 1S ME IVE o T R RS AU S A G ALE RY US T 20 15

The heyday of the mobile studio in the ’70s and ’80s helped reinforce the divide between recording and live engineers. “When I started off there was the idea that you could put a live engineer in the studio and get something reasonably good but if you went the

Classical sound recordist Ken Blair’s main rig is computer-based through SADiE, although laptops still give him “the jitters, because you know what computers are like”

other way – a recording engineer working live – you wouldn’t because they didn’t understand acoustics,” Swallow says. “That’s just ignorant, and the fine line between the two is now even more blurred.”

Bagnall has used Pro Tools on tours by Jackson Browne and Ellie Goulding, running in conjunction with Avid Profiles running HDX cards in the local rack. Now back on the road with Browne he is using a KT DN9696 mirrored to two 1TB FireWire 800 Glyph drives with a Midas PRO6 desk.

Browne’s regular engineer, Paul Dieter, is on the tour, with another live album in the offing. “Paul is a unique person because he has for many years

been Jackson’s live and studio engineer as well as producer,” Bagnall says. “I am always amazed that he does all of these roles so well. I am a live engineer and have no interest in going in to a studio as it is such a different way of working and probably requires a whole new set of skills. This is probably why they get such good live albums from the shows as he magically uses a gain structure at FOH that is more at home in a studio than at a gig.”

Technology has increased the crossover between live sound and concert recording, but because it allows the FOH engineer to get on with mixing the show – after remembering to press ‘record’ – the two jobs remain largely independent of each other.

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View from the audience

2015

Sharp dressed men: Dusty Hill (left) and Billy Gibbons Photo: Bosch Communications Systems

41

ZZ still on top T

here’s never any surprise as to who is going to supply the PA for ‘Bluetone – The Festival on the Danube’. Formerly ‘Jazz on the Danube’, the festival site is a stone’s throw from the EV/Dynacord factory (part of Bosch Communications Systems) in the Bavarian town of Straubing.

While the Swiss have resisted any calls to remove the somewhat misleading ‘jazz’ descriptive from their annual music festival in Montreux, the Germans have proved to be more progressive by dropping the word, as Bluetone has hosted Seal, Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan and Mousse T among other ‘pop’ acts since 2002.

The 2015 edition was arguably the biggest edition so far, in fact, for both the audience and the ElectroThe audience are ready to rock with the Top!

Voice team. Ahead of five days of Helles-swigging in the sunshine, EV deployed its brand new X-Line Advance high performance compact line array, launched at PL+S earlier this year. Flying either side of the stage were 12 pieces of X-Line Advance EV X2-212/90, with 26 X12-128 subs out front. Power and DSP came from six System Racks (comprising TG7 amps, RCM-28 processors and a distribution panel), with three N8000 NetMax digital controllers binding it altogether.

Further X2-212/90s provided delay for fans in the rear. Fills and monitors also came from the ElectroVoice and Dynacord catalogue, while freelance sound engineer Rüdiger Nürnberg, like last year, put the system together.

Twelve boxes of X2-212/90

The show’s opening night saw Lionel Richie topping the bill; star-in-the-ascendant Gregory Porter and Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club kept the international presence high the next day. But it was down to the legendary ZZ Top to headline the final day, with a scorching 90 minutes of fuzzed-up blues-rock from the fuzzy-faced Texans. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard (yes, the one without facial furniture) may have a combined age of over 195 years – the band formed in 1969 – but they can still put on a blistering, full-throttle live show. The X-Line Advance gave Give Me All Your Lovin’ all the bandwidth the audience needed; Legs was outstanding; Sharp Dressed Man was immaculate.

The show was ballsy and badass and proved that the ‘Top’ are still up there.

2015

Views from the top

42 (L-R): Amir Amor, DJ Locksmith, Kesi Dryden and Piers Agget

Between soundchecks at Wembley, Rudimental’s Kesi Dryden and Piers Agget tell PSNLive about life on the road

What roles do you play in the band?

KD: We’re both producer–songwriters. But when it comes to playing live, Piers plays the Nord and organs, and I play percussion and some keyboard parts.

Describe your live set-up.

PA: My set-up is a Nord Stage 2 and a Virus TI hooked up to a MIDI keyboard under my Nord. I play, organ, piano, Rhodes and funky clav parts, as well as synth parts on the Virus. I also sing backing vocals.

KD: I use Mainstage on a laptop controlled from a MIDI keyboard and a Roland SPD-S, and every now and then I jump on the drumkit, which can get pretty complicated. The SPD-S has samples that we’ve loaded in, Mainstage has sounds and synths that we’ve built, some are from our productions that we’ve copied over and put into Mainstage, but obviously tweaked for the live show.

What do you do to make your live shows special?

PA: Sometimes we’ll try and play and remake all the parts that we made in the studio. But other times we’ll choose something else, if there’s a synth line that can be played by a guitar and it sounds good, then we’ll change that line to a guitar. But if we feel like it’s a key part of the song then we’ll sample it from our production and play it as a sample in Mainstage. We’re adamant that the live show doesn’t sound exactly like the record. We want it to be an experience that blows you away. The Virus deals with a lot of the hard synth sounds, it’s got a really good synth engine. And having Mainstage really helps, because if we build a synth sound in Logic on the

ES-1 or ES-2 then we can load it straight into the live show.

Sometimes they sound great in the studio but when you load the same sound into Mainstage and put it through a massive PA it doesn’t sound as good, so we spend a lot of time editing it in the rehearsal space. We’ll add compression and EQ in Mainstage before it even touches the sound desk.

KD: That’s what a lot of our rehearsal time ends up as: rather than putting in new songs in and rehearsing them, we end up tweaking the sounds.

PA: Our sound man, Ricky, has been with us quite a while. Some songs will take three or four months to nail down sonically. We have to test it on different PA systems, and he’ll come with us and give us feedback, let us know you know that sound isn’t cutting through properly, and ask us to change it on stage.

Are there any challenges associated with mixing live instrumentation with prerecorded samples?

PA: We’ve got six or seven channels coming from Ableton, with the click going to the drummer, and we all follow the drummer. Then probably another 50-channels of live instrumentation. It can get quite intense, and complex. For us it’s important to have the bass heavy and having the drums and bass cut through like a rave. For our style of music that’s quite a challenge, because we’ve got trumpets, saxophones, keyboards all blended in with really loud, tough drum ’n’ bass.

What would you consider your biggest success to date?

KD: Definitely putting on our own festival with Disclosure, the Wild Life Festival, on 6 June. We had 70,000 people over the weekend. We headlined the Saturday and Disclosure headlined the Sunday. We curated the line-up as a dream festival, people we wanted to see, people we’re fans of and people we grew up listening to. We had Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and our friend Jess Glynne. This was the first time, and it was a great success. Next year hopefully it’ll be bigger and better.

What’s the biggest challenge that you see coming up?

KD: Being on the road so much of the time, being away from family and friends, and just getting tired.

When you’re doing five different countries in five days with minimal sleep and you’re stuck on the tour bus with 15 people that you see every minute of your life it can be a bit stressful. But it’s all fine when we get on stage, and that’s the pay-off. We’re not moaning; we love what we do, it’s the dream. But at the end of a three-month tour, after seeing everyone constantly, it does get hard.

What is the one issue that never seems to go away?

PA: Random technical faults that you can’t foresee.

We’ll turn up to a festival in America and we’ll hire gear in. Hopefully that hire company has made sure everything is in tune, and that nothing is missing.

But a little thing can mess up the intro to the show.

There’s so many factors that make our show run, and sometimes you can’t have a perfect show, but you can’t get that all the time. www.rudimental.co.uk