Church sound experts get the music industry’s seal of approval

[MUSIC HAS ALWAYS been an important element of Christian worship – from the mighty Masses and oratorios of classical composers to the parish church organist and the informal bands of Hardy’s Wessex. More recently, the pop and rock genres have been adopted by Gospel and faith groups.

The electrification of church music has brought with it the need for faithful amplification – allowing at the same time the spoken word to be understood more clearly.

When it comes to music amplification, there is no better endorsement than to be chosen as the sound system for the Boisdale Music Awards. Boisdale live music restaurants are recognised as among the finest in London and the awards provide a prestigious showcase for the group’s Canary Wharf venue in London’s Docklands.

Hosted by Boisdale Patron of Music Jools Holland, the star-studded event saw gongs awarded in 14 categories, including a Lifetime Achievement Award for Black Sabbath guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi. Together they represent the fact that electric music has established a heritage of its own.

Performers on the night enjoyed the use of a newly-installed sound system by French supplier NEXO. “We’ve had nothing but positive comments from visiting artists and sound engineers since installing the NEXO system,” said Boisdale commercial and marketing director Adam Priestley. “It’s important that performers and audience alike experience the very best live sound, and that’s exactly what they get with NEXO.”

Presenting the award for Best Reggae Artist to guitarist, songwriter and producer Dennis Bovell was none other than NEXO’s own Andy Simmons AMInstSCVE. NEXO has installed its systems into churches and houses of worship around the world. Their approach is summed up thus: “An optimised balance of high performance and discreet visual impact make NEXO systems an ideal choice for installations in houses of worship. The facility to mix cabinets from different systems – all powered by NEXO’s combined amplification and DSP control solutions – makes it possible to configure systems that deliver consistently even coverage across the congregation, even in difficult acoustic environments, while compact form factor and custom colour options help cabinets blend discreetly into the space.” q