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UK - Bandit Lites UK has continued its busy summer season, which includes supplying UK lighting designer Jonny Gaskell with equipment for recent shows by Orbital. The band announced - before the release of their latest Blue Album - that they would split after 15 years of musical innovation at the forefront of the UK dance scene.

Their last regular UK gigs were two shows at Brixton Academy - for which Gaskell designed a lightshow that could also be taken in to various festival situations - including a headline slot on Glastonbury's Other Stage - for the band's final UK appearances. These were undertaken prior to a farewell European festival tour that's currently underway.

Gaskell wanted to ensure the band ended their groundbreaking career in a blaze of visual glory. The use of 53

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UK - Peavey has revealed that, for the first time, it has been unable to meet demand for its popular Messenger Series, due to the unprecedented success of the Corby manufactured enclosures, which were launched in March 2003. However, with some new initiatives introduced, Peavey has been able to announce that deliveries are back on track. "This has been part of my learning curve," admits the company's new MD, Clive Roberts. "I was beginning to grow increasingly concerned about the delivery times we were offering, and I know our sales manager, Dawn Richards, was too. Moreover, I know a lot of dealers were unhappy with the situation then and for that I apologize unreservedly. It certainly wasn't our aim to damage dealer relationships. "The good news," says Roberts, "is that today our production levels of the Messenger Series have trebled and we now have

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USA - Design consortium Lightswitch has announced that highly respected industry veteran Chris Medvitz has joined their team. Medvitz has been designing theatrical, corporate and concert event lighting for well over a decade, having been a staff lighting designer for The Obie Company and director of lighting design at the Juice Creative division of The George P. Johnson Company, as well as working as an independent designer for a number of years.

Medvitz's corporate client list is extensive, with companies such as Chrysler, Hummer, Jeep, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nissan, Samsung and Toyota making use of his talents. His theatrical credits include various productions for the Newport Theater Arts Center, Long Beach Playhouse, Theaterfaire for Children, Irvine Barclay Theater and Opera Pacific.

Recently Medvitz has broadened into creative and visual direction, designing product launc

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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 - The Liverpool Culture Company staged the largest ever firework display in the city to celebrate the Centenary of its famous Anglican Cathedral, described as "one of the greatest buildings In the world" by John Betjeman. The awesome 20-minute display - designed by Ian Woodroof of Fantastic Fireworks - is the largest fired off a single building so far this year in Europe.

The display, which was free to anyone within sight of the Cathedral on the Sunday night, broke new technological grounds with the live broadcast of the specially-composed soundtrack by Liverpool City Council's local radio media partner, 96.7 FM Radio City. This meant the show was enjoyed not just by a traditionally placed audience close to site, but by anyone tuning in to the radio and able to see the Cathedral - with the sonic advantages of no time delays! The innovative staging idea opened the ev

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Greece - Bose Professional Systems Division has installed the company's loudspeakers at several of the Olympic stadia in Greece, including the main Olympic Stadium in Athens, where the opening ceremony will herald the start of the Games on 13 August 2004. Bose has been involved in nine projects in all, all of which were completed within the very tight deadlines imposed by the Olympic Committee.

The Bose system designers made use of Bose's tools and technologies that during the planning stages: using the Bose Modeler design software for all venues, and the proprietary technology of the Bose Auditioner audio demonstrator for the main Olympic Stadium in Athens, the company's Greek distributor, Audio Group Greece BV, was able to produce an accurate acoustic model of the space so that key sound parameters could be predicted. For the Olympic Stadium, the use of the Auditioner audio de

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UK - Carlsbro Electronics has appointed Peter Ward as the latest addition to its sales team. Ward has taken over from John Roberts as the sales manager for the northern region and brings with him many years' experience from the music industry, having worked for Academy of Sound Leeds for three years, the last year as sales manager, and as a gigging musician. Ward is now the main point of contact at Carlsbro for all northern retailers.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK / Australia - Vision Systems has announced that it is to acquire voice response system manufacturer Ampekko. Headquartered in Tolworth, UK, Ampekko is a privately-owned company, founded in 2000. Ampekko designs and manufactures the Millbank range of voice evacuation, alarm and public address systems, which provide a voice response solution to certain triggered security and safety events, including fire alarms. Ampekko acquired Millbank from Federal Signal Ltd in May 2003.

"Ampekko's range of voice response solutions complements the future strategy and growth plans of VFS by broadening our product portfolio and providing an early warning response solution, with applicability in both fire and security applications" said David Lloyd, CEO of Vison Fire & Security, a division of Vision Systems. "Ampekko has a strong product offering but an immature channel to market

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UK - The town hall in the city of Haslach in Baden-Württemberg has a reputation among sound specialists for being a difficult venue, with an enormous reverberation time. This made the task entrusted to the team from Badensound of handling the sound reinforcement for the Eric Burdon concert on 18 July, 2004, particularly tricky. Johannes Moeck, MD of the Renchen-based company, said: "I know the hall only too well. Even when the audience is over a thousand strong and the place is packed to the rafters, it seems to make scant difference to the reverberation time. We had to come up with an answer."

The answer was the Dynacord Cobra-4, a system that has proved its value time and again in concert halls throughout Europe, and the gig by ex-Animals legend Eric Burdon was acclaimed by critics and public alike. Moeck recalls: "Before the concert, I sat down with the soundm

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USA - DJ icon Sasha specified the new Allen & Heath Xone:92 mixer for a tour of America, which coincided with the US launch of his new mix CD entitled 'Involver', released on Global Underground. Sasha embarked on a tour of major clubs and Virgin Megastores to promote the album, which hit the US Billboard electronic music chart at number one as soon as it was released on 22 June.

Speaking during the tour to Allen & Heath USA's artist relations manager, Nick McGeachin, Sasha commented: "I'm just using CDs on the tour. I hook up the Fireworks audio interface module to the auxiliaries on the mixer to bring in some cool effects, like sweeps and delays. I also love working the filters on the Xone mixers. The Fireworks integrates with the Allen & Heath mixers beautifully and it gives my DJ sets that extra element."

Sasha continues: "Xone DJ mixers have become an integ

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UK - Le Maitre's new Cryo Jets were put to the test at the recent premiere of the new Thunderbirds movie at the Empire cinema in London's Leicester Square. The Cryo Jet is a CO2 system which shoots out powerful jets of dry ice. Le Maitre's chief pyrotechnician, Mark Thomas, designed the show, using six Cryo Jets and a barrage of Line Rockets to escort the celebrity guests up the red carpet and into the cinema, creating a spectacular effect.

32 of the three-second Line Rockets from Le Maitre's Prostage II range of professional pyrotechnics were used, running on 190ft lines across the front of the Empire. Line Rockets travel at high speed along a wire, emitting a loud whistling sound and creating a tail of brightly-coloured sparks. They were fired in volleys of eight and four, at 10-minute intervals. The doors of the première opened at 1.00pm and the guests were inside for 2.00p

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USA - Rusty Brutsché, vice-chairman and chief technology officer of Production Resource Group, has announced that PRG supported five out of the six 2004 Emmy award nominees for Lighting Direction. "The television and film industry is one of PRG's most important markets," Brutsché stated. "We're absolutely thrilled to have participated in our clients' success."

Nominees supported by PRG included The 76th Annual Academy Awards (ABC); produced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lighting designer Robert A. Dickinson. Lighting directors: Robert Barnhart and Andy O'Reilly.
The 46th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS); Produced by Cossette Productions. Lighting designer Robert Dickinson. Lighting Directors: Robert Barnhart, Andy O'Reilly, and Matthew Firestone.
The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS). Produced by Worldwide Pants Inc. Lighting design

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UK - PA Installations (PAI) has completed a sound, lighting and AV project at Pontypridd's new social hotspot, Alfred's Bar. The company was approached to supply the venue's technical needs, with project manager Andy Bonehill co-ordinating the operation. The client specifically wanted an installer able to deliver all elements rather than just lighting or audio or AV. They also wanted everything done to an extremely high specification. "We designed a versatile, neat system, based on the client's needs," says Bonehill, "choosing the best products for the job - one of the advantages of not being product-driven!"

Alfred's Bar is independently owned by local entrepreneur David John, whose family operates other bars and businesses in the area. The multi-function two-storey venue is open in the morning for coffee and breakfast, morphs into a lively lunch bar at mid

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UK - Tourflex, distributed by A.C. Lighting, has launched the new Datasafe 4B digital data cable. The two-pair, 110 ohm, low smoke, halogen-free, ruggedized cable is designed for installation in extreme environments and insulated to 1000V, allowing cable runs in the same containment as power lines if required. The cable's outer sheath is both flame retardant and toughened, for a high degree of wear resistance.

Manufactured and tested to exacting specifications to ensure high performance and consistency, the cable is factory tested for HiPot, continuity, impedance and capacitance. The cable is available via A.C.'s Cable Express service, which provides same-day dispatch on custom manufactured cables and connectors. Other products in the Tourflex Datasafe range include 2-core, 4-core and digital colour changer cables.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - SSE Hire has purchased five dual-channel Audio-Technica 5000 Artist Elite Series wireless mic systems - the first A-T wireless systems it has purchased - for use on this summer's major festival stages. The systems, each comprising an AEW-R5200, true diversity, frequency-agile, dual-channel receiver and two AEW-T5400 cardioid condenser capsuled handheld transmitters, are the latest addition to the company's considerable radio mic inventory. The inaugural purchase of A-T wireless technology follows extensive use of the AT4054 capacitor microphone - of which the AEW-T5400 capsule is a development - which has proved extremely popular with artists and sound engineers alike.

Chris Beale, group technical director, SSE Hire, whose responsibilities include designing the systems configurations for all of the PAs that the company ships out, is enthusiastic about the performance of th

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UK - As part of its Professional Development Programme (PDP), PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, has organized two half-day sales workshops, to take place in London on 5 August. Presented by Mike Southon, author of the best-selling business book The Beermat Entrepreneur, the focus of the sessions will be on the technical aspects of selling, with opportunities to discuss issues faced by those attending. Due to the popularity of the event, there are now only four places available in the afternoon. The cost to PLASA Members is £40.00. To register email Nicky Greet at the e-mail address below, or call on 01323 410335.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Summit Steel's SmarTmasts have been in action at a variety of events and festivals around the country this summer. Highlights include Major Sir Michael Parker's Music on Fire son et lumière spectacular at Sandhurst Military Academy, where four SmarTmast IIs were in action flanking the main stage, flying Delta Sound's V-Dosc PA system, together with a pair of SmarTmast 1s at the edges of the area. Summit also installed 12 9m masts at the back of the seating tribunes for audience lighting.

Six 12m SmarTmasts were in Jersey, providing PA and lighting positions at a medieval jousting event for Delta Conference Systems, while in London, 12 single Masts were spread along a mile of The Mall for the Olympic Torch event, supplying sound delay points for Britannia Row's PA.

Four masts were supplied to Britannia Row Productions for PA rigging points at the opening of the Pri

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Australia - Haycom Staging, the Australia-based audio-visual and multimedia event production company, has recently invested in 10 units of ARX's new EQ260 dual channel graphic equalizer to add to its already extensive ARX inventory of over 60 EQ60s. Established for over 28 years, Haycom specializes in providing presentation solutions to Australia's top 100 blue chip companies, including Telstra and the National Australia Bank. Supplied by Roger Clapton at ARX Dealer CC's Light & Sound Pty Ltd the EQ 260s have been put into service at Haycom's Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane Offices.

The new EQ 260 comprises two ultra low noise 1/3rd Octave EQ channels featuring 30 new extended resolution long-throw, centre-grounding faders, switchable to either ±15dB or ±6dB, for the ideal combination of high fader resolution and maximum cut and boost. A protective dust and moisture cover is als

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UK - An updated edition of the Code for Lighting is now available from the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL). The Code for Lighting 2004 is published on CD-ROM and includes significant extra and updated information for lighting designers and other professionals responsible for interior lighting.

The new edition has an improved presentation, an index to the Code for Lighting section and a new section to the Schedule reinstating most of the information which was included in the earlier 1994 Code for Interior Lighting but not covered by the European Standard on lighting of indoor workspaces. The Code is packed with tables showing the recommended illuminances in virtually every type of working location and room type: hospitals, hotels, restaurants, libraries, offices, schools and many more.

The CD-ROM also includes a new edition of Lighting Guide 7: Office lighting and a Guide t

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UK - White Light Events recently continued its long-standing relationship with event producer The European Group, providing lighting and electrical services for the summer season of events at the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London.

Designed along the theme of 'Latin Quarter', the events took place in and around a series of marquee structures spanning over 100m x 50m and capable of housing up to 1,500 seated guests. White Light Events' lighting designer Jason Larcombe specified a dynamic system that lit both the exterior and interior of the marquees. A sophisticated nightclub lighting installation formed the central focus of the venue, designed to support both live bands and DJs and work alongside a complex audio-visual system. Larcombe dressed the rest of the venue with projections across the floor and ceilings, achieving a hot and vibrant atmosphere.

To achie

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USA - 2004 marks a 10-year anniversary at Martin Professional for Eric Loader, sales director of the company's top subsidiary sales department based in Florida. Loader's career started in a DJ supply store in the San Francisco bay area, followed by stints in Los Angeles with Towards 2000 (T2k) and American DJ Supply. In 1994 he was hired by Martin Professional to open a sales office in LA to serve the entire west coast. Three years later, he transferred to the Florida office to assume his current role of sales director.

Reflecting on his time at Martin Professional, Loader commented: "When I began, the RoboScan 1220 was our top product and DMX was just starting to be offered in our products. Martin was a strong player back then but certainly not a market leader. Then we went into expansion mode with changes in leadership, an expanding product line, reorganizations, lawsuit

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UK - Substantial number of ElectroVoice X-Line and XLC loudspeaker systems were provided by Britannia Row for the 80,000 people who attended the huge open-air concert, staged in the centre of The mall in London, to mark the passage of the Olympic flame through the city on its way to Athens. Britain's five-time gold medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave carried the Olympic Torch down its final stretch, the highlight of a major television broadcast which also featured concert performances from Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, James Brown, Will Young and Ozzie Osborne amongst others.

Sound designer Derrick Zieba found himself back in The Mall, where he scored memorable success with the Queen's Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. "The X-Line arrays were suspended from 10m smart masts, erected in terrible weather with high gusting winds as the guys tried to hang half a ton of PA,"

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