Solotech played a pivotal role in making Feist’s UK tour a resounding success. The Roundhouse in London witnessed an extraordinary performance, hailed by The Guardian as “one of the best live shows of the year.” Feist’s remarkable musical talents were complemented by Solotech’s top-tier audio and lighting solutions, creating an unforgettable experience for the audience.

The Solotech team tailored a package to bring Feist’s artistic vision to life, continuing to set the standard for live performance experiences. Solotech’s system engineer, Ben Malone, expressed his excitement about working with Feist on this worldwide tour, emphasizing the dedication of the UK team to exceed all sound and lighting expectations. David Preston led the UK team, and Phil Collins handled the tech prep, ensuring that every element contributed to an exceptional experience for both performers and the audience.

Solotech’s account manager for Feist, Robert Kennedy, praised the exceptional client team, highlighting the collaborative efforts that brought Feist’s vision to life. The team, which included tour manager/producer Jeremy Knowles, lighting designer/director Louise Simpson, production assistant/crew chief Greg Evans, video designer/director Colby Richardson, sound designer and FOH engineer Mark Vreeken, monitor engineer Ed McGlogan, creative producer Mary Hickson, and production design by Rob Sinclair, came together to create an unforgettable performance.

For a more in-depth look at this remarkable collaboration, read the full article here.

Source: LSi (October 12), Solotech delivers for Feist UK tour

Contact: media@solotech.com

Congratulations to Victoria (Vic) Hofflin, Solotech UK’s deputy head of Audio at ABBA Voyage, for being awarded the 2023 L-Acoustics L-ISA grant.

L-Acoustics in association with SoundGirls organisation have awarded four grants for courses in the official L-Acoustics Education Program. SoundGirls is a global organisation with a mission to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio by providing tools, knowledge and support to further their careers.

The L-ISA grant provides the funding to sign up for all the applicable L-ISA associated training courses with L-Acoustics. L-ISA is the L-Acoustics immersive audio platform and the training perfects an engineer’s understanding of line source behaviour, optimizing mechanical design and use of electronic settings, as well as allowing them to develop a comprehensive approach to calibration in the entire workflow of a project.

“Vic has been a great addition to the team, she joined as a General Swing Technician with a bias in sound and has worked incredibly hard to progress to Deputy Head of Audio.” says Tara Brady, the senior project coordinator at ABBA voyage. “Vic’s commitment to learning and self development is inspiring, I am incredibly proud to have her on my team and part of the Solotech Family.”

Vic Hofflin added, “I am a musician at heart and am incredibly passionate about working in the production industry as a female identifying creative and engineer. I not only want a seat at the table, but I want to make the table bigger and more diverse. To me, the only way to do that is to keep on providing opportunities (like these) and to continue educating and inviting new diverse people to be a part of the conversation. It is important to me to continue to engage with, and to learn about new ways of designing, supporting, and managing a system.”

Vic is extremely excited about this new opportunity for her to expand her knowledge and claims that it is just the start of her extensive career in specialised immersive audio production.

Visit the SoundGirls.org website

Discover L-Acoustics Education

Solotech was proud to deliver a comprehensive audio and lighting package for Canadian singer-songwriter Feist during her recent UK and EU tour dates.

Her performance at the Roundhouse in London was described by The Guardian as ‘one of the best live shows of the year,’ showcased Feist’s outstanding musical talents. ‘I’ve never seen a show like it,’ wrote the journalist Shaad D’Souza, ‘[It was] one of the most masterly rock shows I’ve seen in a long time.’

Feist is clearly a charismatic tour-de-force, her performance was supplemented with top-tier audio and lighting solutions to create a memorable show. The team at Solotech, with their extensive expertise in audio, video, and lighting – honed over many years – certainly rose to the occasion, providing a cutting-edge package, tailored specifically to deliver Feist’s amazing vision.

Technically, the audio package included; Allen and Heath Dlive S5000 at FOH, with a complement of outboard including Manley Vox Box, Neve 5045, Bricasti M7s, BSS DPR901s, Summit DCL200, and a Rupert Neve 5059 Summing Mixer. Onstage the control package included a Digico SD9 for monitors, as well as Shure PSM1000 IEMs and Shure Axient Radio Mics. System Processing was all done via 6 x Lake LM44s and 2 x d&b audiotechnik DS10s.

Although the tour used venue’s house L/R PA systems, they toured their own B Stage PA System, flown on truss in centre of room, and a surround system which used 12 speakers around the out-sides of Left, Right and Rear of the room.

Touring PA B-STAGE included, 8 x D&B Y10p, 4 x E12s. B Stage, Front Fills utilised 6 x E8sTwelve D&B Y10p were used for the Surround PA. Two of the rear surround racks placed at back of venues, were fed audio signal via RF using Sennheiser Dual 2050 Transmitters to Sennheiser EM3732-II Dual receivers.

“We were thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Feist on this worldwide tour” said Ben Malone, Solotech’s System Engineer. “Our team in the UK, headed up by David Preston, and with tech prep carried out by Phil Collins, was dedicated to ensuring that every sound and lighting element exceeded expectations, enhancing the overall experience for both the performers and the audience. It’s clear from the independent reviews that this really was a remarkable event.”

“We had an exceptional client team to work with,’ said Robert Kennedy, Account Manager for Feist.  “Jeremy (Knowles – Tour Manager/Producer), Louise (Simpson – Lighting Designer/Director), Greg (Evans – Production Assistant/Crew Chief, Colby (Richardson – Video Designer/Director), Mark (Vreeken – Sound Designer and FOH Engineer), Ed (McGlogan – Monitor Engineer), Mary (Hickson – Creative Producer), and of course, Rob (Sinclair – Production Design). A very strong creative team collaborating to help realize Leslie’s vision for her performance.”

Andrew Thornton, Production Manager for Harry Styles’ Love on Tour: “I really like working with Solotech who as one of our main suppliers look after video and lighting. They took on the challenge of a difficult LED screen with great care and attention.”

As Harry Style’s popularity as a solo artist continues to grow, the English artist set out on an extensive European stadium tour with lighting and video supplied by Solotech. Read the full production story, published in TPI magazine here: https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpi277_digitallr/26

Picture credit TPI Magazine September 2023

Kicking off in Istanbul at the beginning of August 2022, taking in a series of festivals in South America, on to Australia and the Far East, travelling through Europe, then a UK stadium tour, and finishing in Dublin in October, Arctic Monkeys’ The Car tour has been delighting fans with its blend of new material and classic favourites.

Solotech has worked with the Artic Monkeys for the past 16 years and have supported The Car tour throughout, including a run of UK stadium and European arena dates in the summer of 2023.

The band’s long-time engineers, Will Doyle and Matthew Kettle, have relied on DiGiCo consoles, provided by Solotech, to deliver premium sound at both the monitor and front of house positions for many years. Continuing their ethos of providing ‘an exceptional audio experience’, this time they have opted for the latest DiGiCo Quantum consoles along with a DMI-KLANG for immersive in-ear monitoring.

Read the full story in LSI magazine here: https://www.lsionline.com/digico-quantums-make-sense-for-arctic-monkeys

As Solotech geared up for a series of exhilarating festivals at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, starting with the iconic Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, CTV Montreal stepped behind the scenes to discover the intricate process that brings these inspiring events to life.

For several weeks leading up to the festival’s launch, Parc Jean-Drapeau was abuzz with activity as Solotech’s teams set up stages, ensuring that every detail was perfect before the tour buses and crowds rolled in. Our logistics experts meticulously plan every step, from packing and loading equipment to setting up stages on-site. It’s a delicate dance of coordination and precision that ensures the show starts without a hitch.

Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing the fan experience. While Solotech stays true to traditional methods, we’re also embracing innovation. Augmented reality and immersive environments are transforming how audiences engage with live performances. By combining these new technologies with our time-tested approach, Solotech elevates the festival experience to new heights.

From Osheaga, ÎLESONIQ, and LASSO Montreal, three major Montreal music festivals in three straight weekends, Solotech is at the heart of it all, ensuring that the show goes on.

Learn more about Solotech’s efforts behind Montreal’s festival season here.

Source: CTV Montreal (August 3, 2023), Preparations at Parc Jean-Drapeau ramp up for back-to-back festivals, starting with Osheaga

Contact: media@solotech.com

Continuing a global touring schedule that has lasted over twelve months, Arctic Monkeys brought ‘The Car’ tour to European arenas and UK stadiums in Spring 2023.

Solotech’s Dan Bennett has looked after the band’s audio requirements for over fifteen years: “We’ve worked with the band throughout their career, supplying audio packages for all the key moments along the way, from a Nexo Alpha system in support of their first album, through early arena and stadia tours, Glastonbury performances right through to the current day.

“Solotech has been working on this latest project pretty much solidly with the bands production team for over fourteen months now. We built the control package back in May 2022 and we’ve had it back in the shop just once for an upgrade. During that time it’s been right round the world including North and South America, the Far East and Australia.”

DiGiCo & L-Acoustics K-Series

Matt Kettle, the band’s mix engineer since 2008 opted for a DiGiCo Quantum 5 at FOH with Waves integration and Waves SoundGrid Server Extreme. When the package first went out, monitor engineer Will Doyle was also sat behind a Quantum 5 but this has now been swapped over to one of Solotech’s new DiGiCo Quantum 338s.

For the European dates Solotech added PA to the control package, with Dan Bennett and K-Series Systems Engineer (KSE) Mark Pantlin designing a scalable L-Acoustics system for the twelve arena shows. Main and side hangs comprised K1 with K2 with delays of K2 and KARA deployed to ensure coverage to the back of the upper tiers. KARA was also deployed as infill across the front of the stage, with ARCS  WIFO used as outfill.

The First Tour out of Solotech’s new UK HQ

The touring system returned to Solotech’s Blythe Valley HQ in early May 2023 to be repackaged for the larger stadium dates. This took place just five days after the move of Live Productions to the new UK HQ and was the first major tour to load out of Blythe Valley – a remarkable achievement given the size and complexity of the Arctic Monkeys stadium package.

Dan Bennett explained the challenge of a stadium tour, “With no two stadiums the same our system tech and K-Series System Engineer Mark Pantlin had to come up with a unique design for each one. For example the first date was at Ashton Gate in Bristol, a fairly traditional football ground. Then there were two nights at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, a much larger flat field with lower stands around the pitch. The London dates took place at the Emirates Stadium, one of the biggest in the UK. We had to ship in additional ring delays for this to provide coverage up to the rear seating, flown from the stadium roof.”

Scalable Audio System Design

Solotech’s Director of Technical and R&D Nick Lythgoe added, “We ran the L-Acoustics system on an AVB protocol. The drive system and network infrastructure from the arena shows was retained as the core of the stadium package. The scalability of this system allowed us to accommodate the larger stadium dates with their additional loudspeaker arrays and amplification and kept the deployment as efficient as possible for the crew on site.”

Solotech and the Arctic Monkeys

Dan Bennett was delighted with how the project has progressed. “To have worked with the Arctic Monkeys from the beginning and supplied them with audio for all the key milestones in their career has been an absolute pleasure. Returning to Old Trafford cricket ground sixteen years on from when they first performed there, as well as their homecoming shows at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield are personal highlights of this latest run.

We’ve had a great team out on this tour including Mark Pantlin and Dave Courtney, who make up the core global crew and Richie Gough who has been crew chief for the European and UK dates. Special thanks should go to Mark for his system design work on this project.”

“It’s always great to work with Tour Manager Steve Chapman, Production Manager Chip Calder and the whole Arctic Monkeys production team. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the coming months and years.”

Next up for the Arctic Monkeys is their largest North America tour to date. Solotech Uk will be shipping out the control package while Solotech’s transatlantic operation has been appointed PA and video supplier for this leg.

AM Audio Crew L-R Alessandro Cestaro, Jack Hubball, Mark Cleator, Mat Fell, Dom Green, Richie Gough (centre crew chief), Stuart Greenlees, Mark Pantlin, Matthew Kettle (AM FOH), Dave Courtney, Will Doyle (AM Mons)

L-Acoustics announced L-Series, the next generation of line array technology in April 2023. Solotech was the first audio provider to tour L-Acoustics new L2 line array as part of the product’s development phase, deploying the system on the Helene Fischer tour.

In this second video on the L2, Systems Engineer Nils Knecht, Lighting Engineer David Wolstenholme and Solotech’s Holger Schader discuss the advantages the L2 brought as part of the 360 audio lighting and video package Solotech supplied for the tour.

L-Acoustics is available to buy from the UK Solotech Sales team with the first orders to ship in Q4 2023, and available to hire from Live Productions for festival and touring projects

L-Acoustics announced L-Series, the next generation of line array technology in April 2023. Solotech was the first audio provider to tour L-Acoustics new L2 line array as part of the product’s development phase, deploying the system on the Helene Fischer tour.

In Part 1 of a 2 part video, Sergey Becker from L-Acoustics and Solotech’s Holger Schader discuss some of the unique advantages the L2 brings to the world of concert touring.

L-Acoustics is available to buy from the UK Solotech Sales team with the first orders to ship in Q4 2023, and available to hire from Live Productions for festival and touring projects

View L-Acoustics L2 The Future of the Line Array Part 2 here>

Solotech is hosting d&b audiotechnik Electroacoustics Seminar and Software and System Fundamentals Workshop training sessions at the Sales Warehouse in Heywood, Greater Manchester.

The two separate sessions are free and provide an essential introduction to electroacoustics and the d&b audiotechnic workflow.

Course: d&b Electroacoustics Seminar
Location: Solotech UK Sales, Heywood OL10 2JG
Date: 16th August 2023

This seminar provides a comprehensive guide to the principles of acoustics. Important questions are answered such as how does sound propagate and how do sound waves combine.

Course: d&b Software and System Fundamentals
Location: Solotech UK Sales, Heywood OL10 2JG
Date: 17th August 2023

This workshop is completely dedicated to the d&b workflow, with a focus on the software programs ArrayCalc and R1, from entering all the relevant data into the ArrayCalc planning software, via steps for simulating line arrays and point sources, through to generating an intuitive user interface for the R1 Remote control software, in order to send all the relevant parameters to d&b system amplifiers with only a few mouse clicks.

Places for each course are strictly limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis. Click on the links below to register your place today:  (redirects to the d&b website)

d&b Electroacoustics Seminar

d&b audiotechnik Software and System Fundamentals

If you have any questions re the courses or the d&b product range please contact the UK Sales Team on 01706 363400 or uk.groupsales@solotech.com