Germany - Hooke Audio Verse is a binaural recording device comprising a microphone/headset combination and a dedicated app. 3D audio is recorded wirelessly, via Bluetooth at 16-bit 48 KHz, or wired, using the included adaptor. The system is compatible with Android, iPhone, Go Pro, Field Recorders, DSLRs and Computers and has a continuous-record battery-life of nine hours. A proprietary codec delivers almost zero latency - 4.3 microseconds - so any associated video is in perfect sync.
Hooke Verse has been available in the USA for two years and has established an extensive customer base of musicians, podcasters, vloggers, producers and sound engineers. Grammy-winning producer Tchad Blake and System of a Down’s Serj Tankian are among its advocates. Now Hooke Verse is available

UK - More Accurate Audio Solutions, a studio in Offenbach am Main, Germany, is run by audio expert Robert Hauck. The studio offers a wide range of services from production to mixing and mastering, as well as delivering training seminars that cover all aspects of studio craft.
With two studio spaces - one for production and training in modular synth setups, and the other for mastering, Robert was looking for an integrated solution to provide deep routing and audio resource sharing. After careful research it was decided that a DiGiGrid system could achieve all routing possibilities he required to connect every part, analogue and digital, of his studio infrastructure.
With Robert providing a permanent DiGiGrid training and demonstration facility, an education partnership was formed and a full DiGiGrid setup was installed, including an IOS-XL as well as IOX, IOC, MGO, D De

France - There are three Café Oz locations in Paris and one in Bordeaux. Each has décor suggestive of the Land Down Under with Australian flags, posters and artwork. Setting an engaging and friendly mood at the clubs is a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. Each venue has its own rig of lighting fixtures depending on its design and the general nature of its customer base according to Remy Zakine, artistic director of Café Oz.
Zakine, who began working at Café Oz 15 years ago as a DJ, believes that lighting is essential to creating an inviting atmosphere at Café Oz locations, which draw large crows of French locals as well as tourists from Australia and many other countries.
“I have always been passionate about the technical side of club design and what it can contribute to our guests,” says Zakine. “We place the projectors on the ceiling above the d
featured content

Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

Australia - The discreet design of DPA’s Core 6066 Subminiature Headset Microphone, combined with the fact that it is quick and easy to fit, helped secure an order for 18 units from Australian sound design, equipment hire and production services company LSS Productions.
Based in Melbourne, LSS Productions initially wanted the headsets for a recent production of Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical, Sunday in the Park with George. However, now that the units are part of the company’s permanent stock it is already deploying them on other productions including the Australian premier of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s musical The Beautiful Game.
Bringing high quality sound to musical theatre and events is a key reason why Marcello Lo Ricco established LSS Productions in 2001. With his background as a performer and musician, plus 20 years’ experience

UK - Industry electrical expert and LSi columnist James Eade has announced the October dates for his recently-launched accredited training programme, BS 7909 Temporary Power for the Events Industry.
The course has been fully updated to align it with current industry guidance and standards. It is the only course James Eade is associated with and not offered by any other provider.
BS 7909 is taking place across three days on 21-23 October at the Whatlington Village Hall, East Sussex TN33 0NE. There are still a couple of spaces left to book for this sesion, with further events scheduled by the end of the year - more details are available on  www.eade.uk.com/training.
Pearce Hire is also hosting a series of standards update courses at its HQ in Peterborough. This course is an acc

France - Amadeus has announced the installation of their Holophonix sound processor along with a variety of Amadeus speakers and subwoofers creating a new re-imagined immersive sound system at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris. Built in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Parisian district, the theatre hosts at least four productions each season involving classical or contemporary texts, presented in a series from September to the beginning of July.
In 1993 the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier became the second theatre for the Comédie Française. originally created in 1913 by Jacques Copeau. Threatened with closure, the theatre was bought by the French government in 1986, becoming the second Comédie Française hall in 1993.
In recent months, the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier has undergone an in-depth renovation of its stage infrastructure. The electro-acousti

Italy - Once again this year Visarno Arena, in Florence’s Parco delle Cascine, hosted Decibel Open Air, following the success of the 2018 event. The show, organised by Decibel Eventi, has become an important reference point among international music events. Over 30 performers from the international EDM scene performed on the two stages, with Holland’s Armin Van Buuren as the headliner.
To ensure the thousands of fans a memorable sonic experience, Tuscan rental company Emporio On Stage from Scandicci equipped the two large stages with Outline GTO sound systems.
The hurdles to be overcome to achieve the results requested included ensuring the highest possible sound pressure in the chosen area, while reducing sound spill outside that zone, and Giancarlo Paladini (the PA man and system engineer responsible for the rigs) explains: “This is done by means of a correct p

Indonesia - The seventh Ubud Village Jazz Festival (UVJF) was staged at the Arma Art Museum in the Bali Uplands, welcoming a host of local and international artists.
They and an enthusiastic audience embraced the true spirit of jazz presenting a wide range of genres and styles, celebrating the art of improvisation in a peaceful and harmonious setting, tagged Certainly! Indonesia.
As the event has gained status in the jazz world, the production values have steadily increased. This year, event curator Yuri Mahatma, gave a clear brief about the ambience he wanted to see and achieve on all of the stages, which was interpreted by set designer and artistic director Klick Swantara who also co-ordinated the production lighting design for the main Giri Stage.
This involved several Robe lighting fixtures - with 24 LEDWash 300+s, six Pointes and six PicklePATTs - su

Italy - The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. The festival and its technical team have always paid close attention to technical innovation, often leading new trends in the field of operatic lighting.
“Here we’ve experienced the whole journey of theatrical lighting, starting 40 years ago with analogue systems, incandescent or discharge sources. Then there was the transition to digital, the advent of the scroller, the first scanners, the yoke, the moving head and now we have LEDs used to their full capabilities,” says Fabio Rossi, head of the festival’s lighting department.
For an event like the Rossini Festival, where almost all the shows are like intricate works of art, the technical equipment used is of utmost importance. “The products

Japan - As one of Japan’s host venues for the Rugby World Cup, the Toyota Stadium in Toyota City, is gaining a high international profile for its newly-installed Nexo Geo S12-ST line array sound system.
With a capacity of around 44,400, the Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture is one of the largest football stadiums in Japan, and is also used for rugby. A major upgrade of its sound system was undertaken in preparation for the 2019 World Cup, equipping it with a world-class installation of Nexo loudspeakers and amplifiers, and Yamaha electronics. M&H Laboratory undertook design and sound consulting for the project, working closely with Yamaha Sound Systems (YSS) and the Nexo engineering support team.
The loudspeakers in the new system, primarily featuring Nexo’s high-spec Geo S12-ST line array modules, are discreetly installed amongst the steel beams of the stadiu

UAE - SSL has appointed Provision AVL as its live sound product distributor in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
Formed in 2014, Provision AVL have grown their reputation as a leading sales and distribution company in the Middle East, representing premium brands including Prolyte Group, Chauvet Lighting, Clair Brothers Audio Systems, Admiral Staging, and Le Maitre.
Provision AVL’s MD, Kevin Boujikian comments: “Back in my college days, the first and foremost audio console brand discussed around our Audio Engineering classes was Solid State Logic. Twelve years on, it was vital for us at Provision AVL to add a leading audio console brand alongside the exciting portfolio of lighting, staging and trussing products we already represent - hence the simple decision to go with Solid State Logic. The Live series compliments what we already offer in terms of audio sy

USA - Powersoft has appointed industry veteran Tom Knesel to the position of general manager, North America. Knesel, who will be located at the company’s US headquarters in Kearny, NJ and who will start on 7 October, will report directly to Luca Giorgi, sales & business development director, Powersoft. The announcement follows the successful relocation of Powersoft’s North American headquarters two years ago, and coincides with the company’s increased focus on the systems integration market and launch of the Mezzo amplifier platform earlier this year.
“We are very pleased to welcome Tom into the Powersoft family,” commented Luca Giorgi. “Two years ago, we began a significant restructuring of our U.S. operations, which included relocating our headquarters to the east coast, hiring new operational and sales staff, and realigning our entire North American sales

France - Modulo Pi has released KineMotion, an optical tracking module designed for creative and interactive visual experiences. Available now as an option for the Modulo Kinetic series of media servers, KineMotion has been fully developed by Modulo Pi to provide “unparalleled performance and reliability”.
KineMotion consists in an add-on software designed by Modulo Pi, beacons, as well as a calibration kit made of a wand and a square. Based on KineMotion and OptiTrack tracking cameras, Modulo Kinetic masters the whole calibration process.
Combined with the extensive capabilities of Modulo Kinetic - 3D particles engine, nodal editor, timeline sequencer, KineMotion “unlocks new opportunities for creative and interactive visual experiences such as projection on moving objects, particles drawing and tracking, automatic follow spot, light painting, and more”. Pos

USA - Altman Lighting has announced the Siren Sferies AFS-500 and AFS-700 followspots. Designed to be a powerful yet economical solution for any theatrical design, the followspots provide the full functionality of a traditional followspot but are packed with powerful new feature sets and operator enhancements.
“Understanding the need for high-performance LED luminaires in today’s theatrical environments, we are very excited about the introduction of our new AFS-500 and AFS-700 LED followspots,” explains Nicolas Champion, Altman Lighting vice president of sales and marketing. “Along with the recently released AP-150 LED Par luminaire, our SIREN Series of cost-effective theatrical solutions were engineered to meet and exceed the expectations of lighting professionals worldwide.”
The most compact of the Siren Series LED followspots, the AFS-500 is a lightweight

Europe - German-based rigging company Litecom, which has its roots in Denmark, has invested in the new Dynamic Stack Track System (DST) from Italian chain hoist manufacturer EXE Technology. DST is a traverse system with integrated rails to move, lift and rotate any object.
"Scenic movement will certainly be the future of upcoming tour productions. With the DST (Dynamic Stack Track) system, we invested in a scalable system solution that gives us the opportunity to best meet the growing demands of everyday touring. The comprehensive DST product portfolio offers many possibilities for scenic movement. I have been on the lookout for a finished system solution for some time and have now found one that convinced me immediately," says Litecom CEO Mathias Sonntag.
The black powder-coated DST52 system, which rides on dollies with master, slave and cable trolleys, is stocked in

South Africa - Unlimited Events Group has purchased 16 Astera Titan Tubes through DWR Distribution with plans to double up in the future. They also invested in two ART7 AsteraBox CRMX, the interface between lights and controller.
“I had been looking for a product like this for several years,” says Marius van Rooyen from Unlimited Events, head of technical for one of the largest décor providers in South Africa. “The cabling and processing of some of the other systems I had seen made them complex, high risk for technical failure and time consuming to install.”
The Titan Tubes have already been incorporated into a range of events, from exhibition spaces where they were used at AutoMechanika Johannesburg held at Nasrec, to the Midstream Spring Fest, an outdoors event. The units were utilised at the TrendVision Awards hosted at Emperors Palace and the Afri Group Aw

Canada - Punjabi music star Gurdas Maan is guided by a simple theory when pursuing his art. People, he says, listen to songs “from their hearts, not just their ears”. Appreciating this, he makes it his mission to touch the emotional core of his audience, leaving them feeling better about their lives and the world around them.
This spirit was evident as soon as Maan took the stage at The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on 22 September with his trademark tambourine in hand, and dressed in traditional Indian costume. His audience erupted with an outpouring of affection, and he proceeded to treat them to stirring performances of his classic songs like Sajna Ve Sajna and Heer while also weaving in inspirational stories and sharing heartfelt emotions.
Underscoring the deeply moving tone of the evening was an immersive Roosevelt Dsouza lightshow that fe

USA Rock back Halestorm are out on the road with a lighting system supplied by Bandit Lites, blasting audiences with both lead singer Lzzy Hale’s powerful vocals and a deluge of light that matches the ferocity and energy that the Grammy-award winning band is known for. The tour recently wrapped a co-headling tour with Alice Cooper and is now out with Godsmack on a fall run.
“As the co-headliner, we had access to the whole air package, however Alice Cooper had a large set piece that needed to be covered,” said lighting designer Craig Richter. “We had to trim the blackout truss low enough so that I could shoot over it with the US lighting truss, but high enough to not give away the Cooper set.”
To that end, Richter crafted a design with an old-school, massive wall of light behind the band. Using custom-built set carts made by Gallagher Staging on a mast in a

UK - The University of Northampton has deployed a network of interconnected Harman Professional AV solutions to facilitate a cutting-edge collaborative learning environment at their new Waterside campus.
The university leadership decided to build a new, centralised campus in Northampton’s Waterside district. The project allowed the school to completely rethink how to best serve their students, resulting in a radically different approach that eschewed traditional lecture halls in favour of flexible, collaborative learning spaces.
In order to achieve these goals, AV distributer Midwich supplied the university with a range of AMX, JBL, Crown, BSS and AKG solutions to accommodate the complex technical demands of the ultra-modern campus. The comprehensive Harman solution was designed and deployed by Kinly, a service-led integrator specializing in the design, implementatio

Italy - RTS is well established as a go-to intercom choice for sports broadcasters all over the world. RTS equipment continues to be standard issue in OB trucks covering international competitions at every level.
A recent example is Global Production’s OB coverage of the European Under-21 football championships in Italy. The Turin-based company deployed its OB-8 truck to cover the tournament - the largest and most recently-equipped member of its fleet. In addition to this, OB-8 is also Global Production’s first truck to feature RTS intercoms.
“We have two other vehicles that use different systems,” recalls Luca Manfredi, OB manager at Global Production. “But when we came to making the technical choices for OB-8, we could see that the RTS system was superior.”
As a result of this decision, the large and modern production environment of OB-8 features an

USA - Lighting director Tellson James is using a High End Systems Hog 4 lighting console to drive Mark Knopfler’s Down The Road Wherever Tour 2019. The 10 band members backing the former Dire Straits front man collectively play 49 instruments - from guitars and whistles, to saxophones and fiddles.
“I’m doing lots of pixel mapping of the eye candy in this show,” James notes, “and the Hog 4 is great for that. It is so easy to do on a Hog.”
This is James’ second time as lighting director for Knopfler. Lighting designer Mark Henderson drew the lighting plots for the 2015 and 2019 tours, while James programmed both. The 2019 tour kicked off in April, and is more scaled down for the North American leg, which started 16 August.
“The Change Type cloning feature (for swapping fixtures) is a lifesaver when working club/theatre tours, where you are faced wit

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