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USA - Essential Communications of East Hanover, New Jersey has recently completed a major upgrade to the audio systems at Manhattan’s Soho Grand Hotel. Opened in August 1996, the Soho Grand Hotel was Manhattan’s first luxury downtown boutique hotel, delivering a level of service and style that earned it a place on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List as one of the world’s best places to stay.
Presenting a variety of musical events and other programmes, including contemporary DJs, the Soho Grand Hotel has maintained its investment in technology over the past 17 years with four major sound system upgrades, all designed and installed by Essential Communications.
The latest upgrade includes a Symetrix Radius 12x8 EX DSP to integrate management of the audio system

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UK - Atlona’s success in the UK residential/custom install market has been bolstered by the professionalism of RGB Communications, which has helped raise visibility of Atlona residential products and solutions in the region. Building on this success, Atlona has announced that RGB’s distribution role will be expanded to support commercial sales, effective immediately.
“Atlona is already well-known for their superb range of switchers, matrix switchers, distribution amplifiers, and more,” said Gordon Innocent, chairman, RGB Communications. “However, with the advent of its new Huddle Room and Soft Codec solutions, OmniStream AV over IP range, and the company’s recently-announced Velocity cloud-based control system and wireless presentation solutions, we believe our extensive experience of more technically demanding ‘connectivity & control’ solutions makes us

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Live and Kicking - More people are going to see live music than ever before, with attendance at concerts and festivals at an all-time high. The total gig-going audience soared by 12% to 30.9m in 2016, according to UK Music, contributing £4 billion to the country's economy. But there was a 13% drop in the amount of money being spent at small venues - those with a capacity of under 1,500. Those venues have been particularly under pressure in recent years.
The chief executive of trade body UK Music, Michael Dugher, stressed that small venues were a "vital part of the live music industry". "UK Music will continue to campaign to safeguard smaller music venues, many of which are fighting for survival," added the former Labour MP.
UK Music's Wish You Were Here report also found that 4m people attended a festival in 2016; and that 823,000 people travelled to the UK fro
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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

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UK - Green Hippo has announced a key addition to its training team, further bolstering its ability to provide invaluable guidance to Green Hippo users across the globe. Annalisa Terranova joins as senior training manager and will provide training at Green Hippo’s London HQ, as well as taking sessions, including ‘HippoSchool’ Hippotizer training meets, across the rest of the world.
Annalisa comes equipped to deliver immediately effective Green Hippo sessions, bringing extensive experience of the media server technology, including projection-mapping projects. She has most recently worked with M.I.A. on the singer-rapper’s world tour. Annalisa programmed and operated a Hippotizer Media Server the live show using a timeline and timecode.
Terranova will be teaching the below Basic and Advanced sessions: HippoNet, HippoLauncher, Configuration, Output manager, Media m

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UK - The Systems Group at Shure Distribution UK is expanding with the addition of Andrew Francis as senior applications engineer and Richard Knott as project manager.
The new employees have been taken on in response to the growing demand for Shure conferencing audio technology following the launch of products such as the Microflex Advance networked mic array and in advance of the launch of the forthcoming IntelliMix P300 Audio Conferencing Processor.
Andrew Francis has a decade of AV experience covering both installed systems and live events. During this time he has worked with politicians and business leaders, as well as other high-profile public figures such as His Holiness The Pope, while producing conferences, awards events and gala dinners. On the installation side he spent three years as a technical manager designing and commissioning AV systems for large corpora

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UK - The long-standing former financial controller at the Bose Corporation, Simon Mighall, has joined Flare Audio as chief financial officer (CFO). Mighall’s role will include putting in place financial systems enabling Flare to “grow seamlessly and realise its potential as a rival of any of the world’s major audio brands”, supplying high end consumer and professional audio products globally.
“Prior to joining Flare, Simon Mighall spent 20 years at the UK subsidiary of Bose Corporation, whose turnover in this country went from less than £3m to over £100m during his tenure,” says Flare founder and CEO Davies Roberts. “Simon’s deep functional expertise, ownership, tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit position him well for life at Flare.”
“Flare Audio exudes excitement and enthusiasm,” says Mighall. “When I met Davies and the other directors, I c

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Europe - Kling-Net is a new plug-and-play protocol for easy operation of LED devices introduced by ArKaos.
The Kling-Net Tile app converts your smartphone or tablet into a LED tile and is available for for free. Kling-Net protocol, in combination with ArKaos software (LED Master, GrandVJ XT and MediaMaster), provides a plug and play connection to LED devices of all sorts. The compatibility matrix is on the Arkaos website (www.arkaospro.com)
(Jim Evans)

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UK - Back in April, Martin Audio chose Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt as the platform to announce and preview its ambitious line-up of 10 new products across multiple categories including line arrays, stage monitors and amplifiers.
With pre-sales running high, Martin Audio has announced that many of the new products have now started to ship. Dom Harter, managing director, commented: “I’m delighted that our production schedule has remained on track which is another sign of the growing maturity of the business, enabling us to keep our commitments to customers.”
First out of the gates was the XE Series, bringing engineering innovation to high performance stage monitoring. Featuring unique Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology with a patent pending third static waveguide, the XE series is designed to deliver” perfect monitor sound with a defined coverage pattern

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World - CAST has introduced wysiwyg Lighting Design Software Release 39 which packs improved security to protect user investment as well as a rich new feature set for every wysiwyg mode: CAD, Data, Plots, Reports and Previsualization and more.
Created with the lighting designer in mind as well as a futuristic workplace, wysiwyg’s powerful and integrated improvements result from the direct feedback from wysiwyg users and the wysiwyg beta testing program. Users will be able to be more creative and dynamic in their lighting design workflow from the design and presentation to clients as well as on site, saving valuable time and resources.
Users now can export 360º Spherical images of their design and with the help of a VR googles, such as Google cardboard or Gear VR, users can step inside their virtual design and experience it in first hand.
CAST has accomplished

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Switzerland - AudioRent Clair AG has expanded its hire offering by adding two DiGiCo SD5s and an SD12, along with four SD-Racks which include 224 channels of DiGiCo’s new 32-bit Mic Pre-Amp.
AudioRent Clair is one of the Swiss market leaders. As the European base of the Clair Global network, it is also part of the world’s largest concert touring operation and has an impressive roster of clients, including the Rolling Stones and U2, who all place their trust in the services of AudioRent Clair. Renown industrial companies including pharmaceutical corporation Novartis and financial services provider Baloise also count on the Basel-based company.
To meet the high expectations of its client base, AudioRent Clair continually tests and evaluates the latest technologies and devices.
“We are very happy and proud to see so many DiGiCo products, including the SD7, SD1

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The RHS's Flower Show in Cardiff is the season-opener for the society's large public events and although smaller than its Chelsea and Hampton Court equivalents, it annually attracts in the region of 30,000 visitors. The 2017 edition, the 13th staging of the event, took place in April at Bute Park and Arboretum, in the shadow of Cardiff Castle and once again proved to be a record-breaking spectacular.
Themed around myths and legends, several of the show gardens took their inspiration from tales of magic and folklore and the sheer variety on offer at the show marked it as a special weekend in Cardiff's cultural calendar. Fifty specialist growers were present, educational workshops were held and the focus was firmly on visitors enjoying a relaxed atmosphere in which they could fully appreciate the variety on offer. The Floral Marquees and Plant Village were bursting with demonstration

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France - Situated in Rennes, Les Champs Libres is not only the main city library (Rennes Métropole) and Museum of Brittany, but it also incorporates a science museum with planetarium, a conference room and exhibition hall.
Designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc 11 years ago, this cultural centre recently hosted a highly progressive multipoint sound system installation that would permit six sound designers to ‘sculpt’ artworks that could be moved in space.
At the hub of the system is an ingenious ‘engine’ in which advanced Powersoft tools communicate with QSC Q-Sys integrated AV technology control over an AoIP platform. This enables the designers to play out FLAC files - audio samples compressed with the FLAC audio encoding algorithm over AES67 - which these devices support.
With eight Amadeus PMX-5 loudspeakers and two ML-12 subwoofers distribute

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Israel/Germany - The German-Israeli co-production St Matthew’s Passion 2727 is a dance oratorio choreographed by Tamir Ginz for the Kamea Dance Company, inspired by the St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) by Johann Sebastian Bach, produced by Bayer Arts & Culture and a co-operation between two opera houses in Leverkusen and Wuppertal in Germany and Beer-Sheva Performing Arts centre in Israel.
Lighting designer Yaron Abulafia was asked to add his magic and imagination to the intense performance. He is working for the first time with Ginz, one of the most important chorographers in Israel, who heard about Yaron’s fresh, innovative approach to lighting which brings a unique layer of kinetic sculpting to the artform.
Yaron, already familiar with the music - a complex and ambitious musical construction that typically involves two choirs and at least one orch

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UK - PA Sound Systems in Elgin, Scotland has become the latest in a long line of companies to realise how quickly and easily KV2 Audio products can take their hire offerings to the next level.
Run by brothers Jamie and Ryan, PA Sound Systems ventured to PLASA Focus, Glasgow to start looking at which route to take their hire business whilst also looking for new audio solutions for installation projects.
The Anderson brothers pick up the story. “We were first made aware of KV2 Audio products at PLASA Focus in Glasgow. We had a chat with representatives of KV2 and left the show with brochures and the offer of a full demonstration, which we were really keen to follow up.
“Just a few weeks after the show KV2 made the long journey up to see us in Elgin with a selection of equipment. We were looking for a scalable, versatile system that we could add to our hire stoc

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UK - 22 June saw Subfrantic Production Services and the company's new Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 system installed in the legendary Studio 1 at London’s Abbey Road studios for a unique orchestral concert. Just a day after delivery it was thrust into a high-pressure situation - and it passed the test with flying colours.
The occasion was the final of Sonos ReScored, a competition which gave emerging directors the chance to have their short film scored by Oscar-winning composer Steven Price. Winner Luke Flanagan’s film Mind The Gap was screened in front of an exclusive, 300-strong audience, with the score played live by a 54-piece orchestra.
With both Abbey Road and Project Audio, the event’s production company, renowned for their pursuit of sonic excellence, the sound had to be exceptional. “We needed to showcase the best that the live industry could offer.

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UK - Continuing their long-running support for Nordoff Robbins, PRG XL Video, has provided a package of video technology for the O2 Silver Clef Awards, held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
The glamorous fundraising event which honours both up-and-coming and established music artists, celebrates Nordoff Robbins’ music therapy work, and via live and silent charity auctions, a raffle, and personal donations, raises hundreds of thousands of pounds to enable more people to benefit from music therapy around the UK.
PRG XL Video supplied Barco projectors, and e2 screen management system, along with three large projection screens for onstage, and a variety of plasma screens situated around the Great Room, that displayed lots from the silent and live auctions, and acted as relay screens from the camera system.
Crew chief for this event was Nathan Avery. Gearhouse

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Germany - When Let’s Dance, the German version of Dancing with the Stars / Strictly Come Dancing, celebrated its 10th anniversary series recently, lighting designer David Kreilemann decided to place special emphasis on the versatile and powerful XR 440 BWS moving head from PR Lighting.
He could see this fixture, which integrates spot, wash and beam with a quality optical system, performing all manner of duties. He therefore requisitioned 22 of the heads from rental company MLS.
"The powerful hybrid lamp impresses with its efficient sharp projection in both the spot and the beam modes,” says Kreilemann. “Even with slow rotations of the gobos and prisms, there are no visible jerks in the movement whatsoever. In fact, the two prisms, which can morph and contra-rotate with respect to each other, are absolutely brilliant on the XR 440 BWS.”

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UK - The Urban Hero Awards is an annual event bringing together people of all ages for their inspiring work and leadership within their local communities. For this year’s event, which took place at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, Jonny Billitt was tasked with providing stunning visual support for the evening.
This included an awards ceremony dinner with accompanying live music performances. To fulfill both of these roles, Billitt specified a number of Chauvet Professional fixtures, including eight Maverick MK2 Washes, eight Maverick MK1 Hybrids, 12Next NXT-1 fixtures, 108 PVP S5 LED panels, eighteen Rogue R1 Beams, 24 Rogue R2 Washes and 21 Rogue R2 Spots.
Performing key lighting roles in Billitt’s overall illumination concept were the Maverick Wash and Hybrid fixtures, and Rogue R1 Beams, which fulfilled a variety of roles including front and ambient stage ligh

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Russia - The City Panorama exhibition and entertainment complex in Kazan opened to the public in early 2017. Breaking new ground in the deployment of high-resolution video in museums and visitor attractions, AV expert Polymedia together with their partner United 3D Labs designed an integrated audiovisual system with the help of AV Stumpfl CIS, using an 800 wide by 300 cm high AV Stumpfl Curve projection screen.
Located in the exhibition hall, the panoramic exhibit uses a virtual fly-over whereby guests and citizens can see modern architecture of the city and familiarise themselves with modern Kazan. Video content comprises over 250 panoramic images taken with an ‘Octocopter’ using a high-resolution camera at different viewpoints and angles.
The system works using a touch-screen and controller placed in front of the AV Stumpfl screen. This enables visitors to look o

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UK - Visually there has always been a sense of fantasy and science fiction to Jeff Lynne’s ELO while musically his massively successful song catalogue inhabits a clear fusion of pop, rock and classical. It’s proved a happy combination on record and, as a live act, led to an epoch defining tour with a flying saucer in 1978.
Bringing that sense of scale and sci-fi to stadium stature for 2017 has been the task of production manager Chris Vaughan and a creative team lead by Tim Routledge. Like Lynne himself, they have plundered several genres, not least by recreating the flying saucer for the twenty-first century to ‘fly’ above the stage and by using video on an epic scale.
“The stage is wrapped in a back wall of seven very tall and closely packed portrait LED screens derived from the Muse Haarp tour,” Is how Video Design’s Alex Leinster describes it. “Add

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UK - Utopium supplied a range of lighting, rigging, staging and screens to create an electric atmosphere in Bristol’s Lloyds Amphitheatre for two consecutive weekends, July 2017.
Utopium was entrusted to create the perfect setting for thousands of music-lovers when Bristol Sounds (21-24 June) and Grillstock (1-2 July), headed to Bristol’s Harbourside. Both weekends welcomed some impressive music performances from the likes of Bonobo, Craig David and The Manic Street Preachers at Bristol Sounds and Pharcyde, The Darkness and Hot 8 Brass Band at Grillstock. With different stages in different positions and a variety of genres on offer over the course of the two events, Utopium had to be creative and astute when creating their base concert lighting systems for each event.
For Bristol Sounds, Utopium utilised a range of new equipment which included Martin Sceptron VDO
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