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US Invasion - Adele has been named Billboard's top artist of 2012, while her hit record 21 was named top album of the year in the music magazine's annual review.The 24-year-old is the first to receive both accolades two years in a row. Londoner Adele was also named top female artist, with hip hop star Drake named top male artist. Former X Factor contestants One Direction rounded off a successful year of US invasion after being named top new artist and Maroon 5 were top group.

The honours for Adele come in a year which saw her win six Grammy awards and dominate the US charts. Her second album 21 went straight to number one when it was released in March 2011 and did not leave the top 10 until the beginning of September this year. During that time, it spen

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UK - Following the high profile launch of EM Acoustics new HALO Compact line array system at the Royal Albert Hall, the company reports the first ever installation into an equally historic, if lesser known venue in east London.

Located in the heart of London's East End, the People's Palace was inaugurated in 1886 to provide cultural activities to the local population. Now owned by Queen Mary, University of London, the Grade-II listed Queen's Building (as it is known today) is home to the 750-seat Great Hall. The theatre has just undergone a £5.7m facelift in order to restore it to its former 1930's art deco glory. The finishing touch to the restoration was a new PA system; the new HALO Compact from EM Acoustics, with Stage Electrics' own Jamie Gosney providing the design and Martin Woodage project managing the installation.

Stage Electrics' Jamie Gosney takes up the stor

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Spain - Over the past few years D.A.S. Audio Aero 50 systems have been handled by hundreds of national and international sound engineers in festivals around the world. After listening to their feedback and combining this with listening tests and a battery of measurements to determine the real effects on the Aero 50s, D.A.S. Audio has updated the presets for the control and digital processing of the Aero 50 systems.

The major technical features of the new presets include: modification of the systems HPF cut to 80 Hz, the same as the LX-218 subwoofers; modification of the cross-over slope between the 15" and 8", offering higher definition for the mid-bass zones while also protecting the 8"; increase in the 8" HPF cut to 200 Hz, which provides higher definition and component protection.

The new Aero 50 V5.5 presets are completely compatible with the three main

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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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Denmark - Schouw & Co., parent company of Martin Professional, has entered into an agreement with the global 'infotainment' and audio company Harman International Industries to sell Martin to Harman. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in Q1 2013.

Through this new combination of two worldwide industry leaders, Harman and Martin believe that their comprehensive offering of audio, lighting and video solutions for the live stage and events, as well as permanent venues and installations, will 'provide new, exciting opportunities and will take customer satisfaction to even higher levels'.

This transaction will create a one-stop-shop for the professional entertainment market. Adding Martin to Harman's USD $4.4 billion organization and combining two of the largest R&D budgets in the audio and entertainme

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UK - Today Scala, Inc. has announced the installation of more than 350 digital signage screens at Britain's third largest shopping centre, Westfield Stratford City. The installation was carried out by Scala-partner Esprit Digital.

Included are 12 double-sided wafers, four inside and six out, four wall mounted 55in digital posters, ten 12 screen bulkhead video walls above each of the main concourses, a 5x5 screen array in the Vue Cinema foyer and two, 27 screen walls, one above the other outside Marks & Spencer. Crowning glory is the centrepiece, 5 tonne, 102 screen double sided video wall outside the John Lewis store. And it's the largest LCD video wall in Europe and probably the world.

All the Westfield Stratford City screens, predominantly Samsung, are used to display in-house interactive marketing messages and centre and store information, as well as information about event

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UK - Green Hippo's Nick Charalampidis is moving on to pastures new after five years at the company.

Over the last two years Charalampidis has enjoyed working on-site supporting Hippotizer projects such as Eurovision and Jay-Z and has decided to do more 'hands on' work with the system. From January he will be joining heavy Hippotizer users Fix8Group, integrating their fleet of Green Hippo servers on projects worldwide.

"Nick has Green Hippo's full blessing for this move. He is taking his extensive Hippotizer knowledge out into the field and will continue to be an ambassador for the company's products," says the company.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Turbosound has today announced the appointment of Sean Martin to head up international sales for the brand, with overall responsibility for the company's home market and its widespread export markets.

Martin has over 30 years experience at an international level with some of the industry's best known brands including an earlier four-year period with Turbosound in the late '90s - where he presided over one of the company's strongest growth periods resulting in its second Queen's Award for Export Achievement - during which time he acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the pro audio industry's distribution network and built strong personal relationships.

He fills the international sales role recently vacated by outgoing sales director Dominic Harter, who has steered Turbosound's sales and product strategy for almost 10 years, leading up to a further Queen's Award - this time

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UK - Scene transitions as Snow White flees the evil clutches of the Wicked Queen are smoother than ever at Portsmouth's Kings Theatre this Christmas thanks to Triple E's pioneering SDRIVE system.

Magical track solutions specialist Triple E launched the SDRIVE motorised curtain track system - a simple, lightweight, 'plug and play' motor for ERAIL - in the wonderland surroundings of the Kings Theatre in September and generously donated the first SDRIVE off the production line to the historical theatre as part of the restoration efforts.

"With Snow White keen to keep up her pace to escape the Wicked Queen, we knew the SDRIVE system would be a great help," says Triple E's managing director David Edelstein. "SDRIVE is fast, practically silent, and almost invisible - a winning combination that every heroine needs to survive. As she moves from scene to scene, SDRIVE en

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USA - The Bethel Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, recently added a new Vision Centre that houses additional Sunday school rooms, office space, as well as a large kitchen and multi-purpose fellowship area and stage.

The church leadership tapped Tony Parker, co-owner of Parkers Productions located in Statesville, NC, to design and install a sound system for the Vision Centre.

Because the room hosts everything from theatrical performances on a large recessed stage to basketball games, the new system needed to be able to accommodate an assortment of live events. In addition, the room was typical of a gymnasium with a 28-foot ceiling, metal roof, tile floors, plenty of hard surfaces and no acoustic treatment to speak of.

"Bethel Baptist Church has been a customer for seven years," explains Parker. "When they started construction on the new facili

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UK - PRG has supplied the British Comedy Awards, the premier accolade for all comedy programmes, performers and producers across the UK television industry since 1990. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the results of the British Comedy Awards 2012 were announced live on Channel 4 during a ceremony on Wednesday 12 December at Fountain Studios, Wembley.

For the second consecutive year, PRG's Jeff Bailey and Andrew Strachan worked with Peter Pearson, line producer at Unique TV and CPL Productions, to provide a comprehensive screen, lighting and rigging package.

Working with the production set designer Richard Drew, PRG's Jeff Bailey supplied two 3.2m x 2m Barco C5 5mm LED screens, a 4m x 4m PRG P30 LED screen and five plasma screens.

The two 5mm LED screens are a key feature of the production design and are used for awards graphics and video play outs. These screens are new to the PRG r

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UK - The APRS, in association with PLASA and the MIA, has made great progress in stimulating interest in exploring the Brazilian market since their scoping visit with the UKTI trade Mission in September. 15 UK companies have expressed interest in participating in a joint, national stand to create the best possible impression for their first time appearance in Brazil. The combined Booth/APRS/UKTI trade 'Embassy' could offer an opportunity to gain vital experience of the Brazilian market place, meet importers and distributors and make informed decisions about how to establish a foothold in this exciting country at a particularly auspicious time.

In addition to the 10 £1,800 grants available to eligible companies, the APRS is hoping that there will also be some additional funding for what UKTI call 'enhanced activity' during the event which will offer a Consular event to intr

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UK - XL Events, working with Premier PR, specified and supplied Pixled FX-11 LED for the World premiere of the movie adaptation of Les Miserables.

Following XL's work on the Total Recall premiere earlier this year, Premier PR once again called upon XL Events' technical expertise to provide a suitable outdoor LED solution for the event in London's Leicester Square.

In addition to the requirement for a 'weather-proof' product, the event needed LED which allowed access through the LED tiles for rigging of the lightbox letters forming the glowing Les Miserables logo.

XL Events supplied 60 tiles of Pixled's lightweight FX-11 to fill the rear upright of the stage where the stars were interviewed by Michael Ball and Emma Willis before the film screening.

The FX-11's easy maintenance allowed removal of the rear shutters and IMs so that the letters could be att

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UK - PRG reports that it has created a consolidated production department, with John McEvoy taking the role of head of production from 1 January 2013.

The new department aligns the teams within PRG, focused on the installation, operation and pre-production of projects across the concert touring, theatre, corporate & TV markets. The new team is centred around PRG's SW London premises, where the company's WYSIWYG studios and demo spaces are located.

As well as site based engineers, crew chiefs and technicians, the team also includes specialists in digital media and all aspects of pre-production, supporting PRG's lighting, video and rigging projects. John McEvoy has a long history in the technical production industry, having started his career at VariLite Production Services. John latterly ran the Full-Service Division at Essential Lighting which became a part of Production Resou

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UK - RCF's powerful Acustica series, especially tuned for nightclubs, has been specified throughout No Saints' new flagship nightclub, Wonderland in Maidstone.

The former 1800-capacity Liquid has been reshaped, from a circular into square dancefloor in the vast main room (called 'Tomorrow') with four pairs of the new H1312 throwing tightly dispersed, directional energy onto the dancefloor from their position high up on the lighting rig.

Says the club's head of promotions, Richie Carrera, "The sound system competes with anything you will find in a UK nightclub. It's as close to a Ministry of Sound experience as you will get."

The three-way system, run in biamped mode, incorporate a 12" woofer, a 8" cone midrange and a 1" exit titanium compression driver for long throw applications, and is complemented by four floor-standing TTS28 subs - two in front o

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Czech Republic - "Showlight 2009 was a superbly organised event which inspired me from the first minute until the very last. To hear so many diverse approaches to solving innumerable problems reminded me of why I first entered this industry." This comment, from Simon Stuart, Managing Director of HSL, refers to the last Showlight, held in Scotland in 2009, but it could equally apply to any Showlight, including the upcoming event in 2013 . . .

A four day event, Showlight is unique for many reasons, not least of which is that everyone - speakers, exhibitors and delegates - are present for the duration, so there's plenty of time for discussion and exchange of ideas. Hence the high regard in which Showlight is held as being one of the best networking events in the business.

There is also a unique wanderlust attached to Showlight: a different location is found every time,

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USA - Tait Technologies has appointed Jim Kempf as its new director of design for automated rigging, based in the Lititz, Pennsylvania office. Kempf will oversee the newly-formed winch and hoist design department, in addition to the existing track and rig design department. He will also support the permanent installation and rental/touring markets.

Joining Tait with nearly 15 years' experience at PRG Scenic Technologies, Jim's most recent positions there included director of technical design, as well as design development and estimating lead. With an impressive portfolio, he has served as the project lead on over 100 Broadway shows, including 42nd St., Wicked, The Producers, Spiderman, Book of Mormon and more.

Originally hailing from Long Island, New York, Jim's educational background consists of a BFA in Scenic and Lighting Design from Carnegie Mellon and a MFA in Technical D

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UK - Automation specialist Kinesys is launching LibraWATCH, a new free multi-platform load-monitoring software app which works with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems.

LibraWATCH is the latest in the innovative Libra range of products by Kinesys and integrates seamlessly with LibraCELL, LibraPRO and LibraWIFI.

With smartphones and tablets an increasingly popular everyday tool for technicians, riggers and touring crews in the entertainment industry, Kinesys has developed this new, user-friendly and robust load-monitoring experience specifically for all professionals who are working 'on-the-go' with rigged installations.

LibraWATCH offers a fully flexible and fully mobile solution designed so load information can be viewed quickly and clearly via a wired network or through a LibraWIFI wireless connection on multiple portable and hand-held devices.

Once installed

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USA - Carnival, the wildly festive celebration popular in areas with sizeable Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox populations, has its roots among most of the islands in the Caribbean. While the largest and most well-known celebrations are held in Trinidad and Tobago, these festivals are also common here in the United States. Toward the close of the summer season, Carnival celebrations occurred in Atlantic City, NJ, Brooklyn, NY, and Miami, FL. At all three events, loudspeaker systems drawn from the Aero and Aero Series 2 catalogues of D.A.S. Audio played a major role in the music heavy celebrations.

Advanced Audio of NY, NY, a live sound services company that specialises in the pro touring and special events markets, was contracted to provide audio systems at both the Atlantic City, NJ and Brooklyn, NY Carnival celebrations. At each event, D.A.S. Aero Series 2 lo

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UK - Located in central Leeds, the West Yorkshire Playhouse provides top-class theatrical performance facilities for audiences throughout the region and beyond. It is a producing theatre which creates its own shows for both in-house production and national touring, whilst also collaborating frequently with other major regional theatres. Numerous shows have transferred to the West End from Leeds, the most recent being Loserville which premiered at London's Garrick Theatre in October 2012.

The Playhouse also provides one of the country's most comprehensive arts education programmes, working with schools and young people in addition to offering a range of initiatives for adults and community groups. It is also a significant local employer with in excess of 200 staff representing every working discipline necessary to operate a contemporary theatre.

The West Yorkshire Playho

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USA - Pro sound, lighting and staging professionals from around the world will converge with the music instrument and product industry at the 2013 NAMM Show, which runs 24-27 January at the Anaheim Convention Center. Hundreds of pro sound and lighting brands including Harman, Avid, Chauvet, Bosch, Sennheiser, Shure, Korg, Tascam, Yamaha, American DJ and Behringer will be debuting products at the show.

"The massive changes in the recorded music industry have made live performance more important than ever for artists. And the industry that supports these live events continues to innovate, using technology to create a better, closer and more intimate experience for both performers and their audiences. It's a natural progression for NAMM to provide business-to-business platforms for these growing markets," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM.

Pro sound and lightin

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UK - West Street Live, Sheffield's only venue to offer live music seven nights a week, has taken delivery of an HK Audio ConTour Series PA system, supplied and installed by Sheffield-based Audio Engineering Services.

The front of house system comprises two CT115 tops and four CT118 subs (with two subs and a top stacked each side of the stage) - all driven by a Lab.gruppen C88:4 four channel amplifier - and is supplemented by four L5 112XA active monitors from HK's recently introduced Linear 5 range.

When the venue decided it was time for a new sound system, they turned to Andy Fisher of Audio Engineering Services. Being a long-time HK Audio user, with an extensive inventory of the ConTour Series and other HK systems, Fisher knew a ConTour rig would be the right choice. To prove the proposed system would be capable of handling the eclectic mix of bands featured at WSL, he arran

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