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Having routinely specified Martin Audio’s MLA Compact PA for festival shows where sensitive offsite noise has been an issue—along with the smaller MLA Mini on corporate events—Bristol based SWG Events has continued its long tradition.

Best known for servicing a number of stages at Glastonbury with Martin Audio solutions the production company recently provided sound reinforcement for the second year to the Hampton Court Palace Festival, having worked for the production company that runs HCPF on other shows.

In addition to the single large stage, which featured two main hangs of eight MLA Compact and six MLX, they also provided BlacklineX on a small bandstand in the East Front public picnic area prior to the show.

This year’s all-star line-up included UB40, Elbow, George Benson, Jack Savoretti, McFly, Kacey Musgraves, The Human League, Michael Ball & Alfie Boe and Crowded House. To provide even coverage for audiences up to 3,200-capacity SWG Events supplemented the two main MLA Compact hangs with DD12s for centre and left/right outfills, with eight WPM for front fills and six Blackline X8 for balcony fills. A monitor package in the shape of 16 of their new XE500 was powered by Martin Audio’s iKON iK42 amplifiers.

Aside from the quality of the music, the orientation of the stage—enabling the Palace to provide a spectacular backdrop—was the icing on the cake, as SWG Event Technology Specialist Ian Williams explained. “The idea is to create the illusion that the audience felt they were inside the palace rather than just in front of it. We illuminated it and handed control over to the lighting designers so it could be used as a spectacular backdrop.”

With Williams himself project managing, leading a team comprising Matt Pope, Ryan Bass and Kieran Jordan, the shows functioned like clockwork. Engineers simply plugged consoles into a pre-time aligned, pre-optimised system, and were provided digital inputs for left, right, sub and fill. “Our system technicians then worked to keep the optimisation as current as possible, working with the engineers to find ideal times within their sets to load in new profiles to the rig”, explained Williams.

SWG’s long successful tradition with Martin Audio equipment, now enters its next stage with their recent purchase of WPL. Williams commented, “We’ve already done a number of shows with our new system and we have received some great comments from engineers that have used it.”

If there is a single festival that defines the English summer, it has to be Henley, which this year celebrated its 40th anniversary with an eclectic mix of music, comedy, art and grade A fun.

Production managed by John Harris, Henley is a festival unlike any other, with the main stage placed in the River Thames, backed by a fleet of boats of all shapes and sizes. The site features a variety of other venues ranging from intimate comedy to cabaret and dance bands.

RG Jones has been providing audio at Henley since 1983—most of it based around Martin Audio PA—and in a relationship surviving that long, the level of trust and commitment is obviously at its highest. Over the years, the style of the event has changed somewhat from the original, fully classical programme to what is now a much more commercial line-up, but with no less determination to deliver an unforgettable experience. This year’s artists (on the main Floating Stage) were as diverse as Sir Tom Jones, Craig David, Katherine Jenkins, Jack Savoretti, The Script and Pete Tong with the Ibiza Classics Orchestra.

The Floating Stage sound system was manned by the experienced Mark Edwards, using an established design by Simon Honywill. The site is very unusual as it is around three times wider than it is deep, and three arrays each side of the stage structure are required to deliver the requisite coverage; the outer arrays feature nine deep hangs of Martin Audio’s MLA Compact, the forward facing comprise seven deep MLA Compact, and the inner coverage this time was provided by four deep Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM), plus some W8LMD frontfills. “It’s a tricky system to get right,” says Honywill, “as some seats are extremely close to the stage. But years of working on this site go a long way to guaranteeing a first-class audience experience.”

Elsewhere, top comedians were doing their very best to keep everyone laughing in roasting temperatures in The Comedy Club – Andy Parsons, Milton Jones, Maisie Adam and Russell Kane were among the fantastic line up. For RG Jones, The Comedy Club was operated by Sam Liddiard and featured a Martin Audio W8LM/WLX system.

Rosie Tarrant could be found in the Bedouin Bar with a Martin Audio DD12/SXC118 system for a varied mix of world and folk music, and in the Jazz Tent Olly Wickes was tasked with a stream of different acts—handled more than capably by an MLA Mini system.Finally Dan Langridge was anchored in The Riverside Restaurant, mixing the resident dance band on a W8LM/WLX system.

A highlight of this year was the appearance of Boney M in the Big Top.With a fantastic 9-piece band and a raft of backing singers supporting original member Liz Mitchell, they smashed through their massive list of enormous hits to the rapturous delight of a crowd of very up-for-it festival goers.Mixed by Simon Honywill on his first serious Martin Audio TORUS adventure, the sound engineer stated, “the result was one of those one-off joyous things which make you realise why you still do this for a living.” Complete with stage invasion, this extravaganza was a huge success.

Another big success was Honywill’s partnership with LIPA student Sheridan Burns, who came under his tutelage as part of Henley Festival’s new RISE programme. The Festival was set up in 1982 as a charity, its mission being to stage a music and arts festival for the local community. To coincide with its 40th anniversary, they set up RISE to support emerging talent, both in front and behind the spotlight—and Burns was selected by RG Jones to fulfil their RISE quota.

As for TORUS, speaking of his first experience with the system, Simon Honywill stated, “This is a great product; it has great flexibility while maintaining the musical, signature Martin Audio sound that I love so much.

“We had to redeploy the system into a 270° DJ system after Boney M finished … and it totally rocked!”

John Harris also added his own plaudits, both on TORUS and the sound set-up in general: “Henley Festival is proud of its long association with RG Jones and is excited to see and hear the developments in technology that they introduce to our stages.”

Background music systems have been shown to have a huge influence on people in just about every situation. However, an area that has been overlooked is the effect that the quality of the music has on human behaviour.

Research has highlighted the way that music can affect consumer habits in a retail environment, employee focus in a workplace and relaxation in a hospitality setting. The first studies into the effects of music on shoppers were published more than 30 years ago and these results have been confirmed and refined time and again since then. Findings by PPS PRL[1] showed that two-thirds of UK adults say that the type of music a shop or business plays influences what they buy. The same survey also found that classical music encourages restaurant diners to order expensive items on the menu and that more than two-thirds admit to leaving a venue after realising that no songs were playing.

Further research, published by JAMA Network [2], notes the implications that music can have in other hospitality settings, such as hotels and spas. This research shows that music can make a positive change in health-related quality of life, which highlights the important role that a commercial audio system plays in therapeutic settings such as spas.

A slightly more contested area is the use of audio in the workplace. This is a subject that has seen a large amount of research, with results that have often been contradictory. Some papers have found that listening to music with lyrics while reading or working can decrease concentration or cognitive performance (Shih et al., 2012 [3];Liu et al., 2021 [4]). On the other hand, a number of studies have shown oppositely that natural-occurring sounds such as white noise, or highly composed sound such as classical music, can be beneficial for increasing focus and can even improve learning outcomes (Davies, 2000 [5];Chou, 2010 [6];Angwin et al., 2017 [7];Gao et al., 2020 [8]).

Following the success of the inaugural South Facing Festival at the Crystal Palace Bowl last year, Festival Director, Marcus Weedon, requested the same formula for this year’s 10-day event. And that included Martin Audio’s ground-breaking MLA loudspeaker array, supplied once again by Capital Sound (part of the Solotech UK group).

This perfectly served the requirements of a top-class bill, including London Grammar, Bombay Bicycle Club, Jungle, Becky Hill and Richard Ashcroft.

Two other key developments helped boost the quality of the sound, as Solotech Project Manager David Preston—who was working alongside production manager, Julia Bruns, and site/production specialists, LS Events—explained. Driven by the excellent feedback, and absence of complaints from neighbours last year, he noted that levels within the bowl were raised from an SPL of 96dB(A) to 98dB(A) for this year, while the tech team still managed to stay within offsite thresholds.

The second advantage for Solotech was the extended space on the floating platform which housed the stage. Last year a lack of space at the front precluded mounting a broadside MLX cardioid subwoofer array across the front.

But with no such problems this year, 10 MLX subs were arced across the front of stage, with MLA Compact enclosures deployed as frontfills. David Preston explained: “Having the extra couple of metres along the front of the pontoon meant that we were able to get to a broadside cardioid array and provide more even sub coverage across the venue, and this also gave us greater control in the lower frequencies.

“The event is in a natural amphitheatre which seems to really help us with the audio coverage; the clarity at the back was similar to that at the front—which was great. As for MLA Compact, these provided a more robust option for front fills and could throw effortlessly across the nearby pond to hit the front of the audience.”

Preston led a Solotech team comprising Rayne Ramsden (System/FOH Tech), Isabella Di Biaise (Monitor Engineer), Harry Garcia and Diego Ternivasio (Stage Techs).

Ramsden programmed the DISPLAY software so that the sound tapered off at the site perimeter, thereby ensuring minimum bleed and maximum containment.

Once again, MLA was a hit with visiting sound engineers, among them Richard Ashcroft’s sound engineer, Al Davies. He has been using the PA since shortly after its launch over a decade ago, when with girl group Neon Jungle he said it was the best sound he had ever heard in Brixton Academy.

At Crystal Palace, despite the mix position being off axis he said the sound was balanced, the coverage even throughout, and the rear rejection impressive, with no backstage bleed. The subs also sounded great and non-granular. “Some have a tendency to sound ‘notey’, but the bottom end was balanced beautifully.”

He added, “Richard likes to be loud, so I was mixing at 97.5dB, almost up to the threshold, without ever struggling. He was really impressed and congratulated me afterwards.”

In conclusion, David Preston stated that Crystal Palace is now becoming one of the favourite festival sites he looks after during the summer calendar. “It’s a great space for concerts,” he said. “Working with Julia and the LS Events team is always a pleasure, and I look forward to 2023.

“Martin Audio’s MLA proved yet again that—noise control wise—it can do things that no other box on the market is capable of. For suburban festivals, with tricky noise limits set by local councils, that’s the important factor, to ensure the license for the festival can be granted again for the following year.”

German technology service provider, EBV Veranstaltungstechnik, has invested in Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision technology, with the purchase of a WPM line array from territorial distributors, Audio Technica Deutschland.

Based in Hettenleidelheim in the Rheinland-Palatinate, EBV is a family business with a long tradition. Elmar Breitwieser founded the company over 40 years ago and focused primarily on regional musical events, which he initially equipped with sound and lighting systems before adding stage technology.

In 2018 Christian Breitwieser, son of the founder, took over the company and expanded the business from concert and festival events to corporate functions, conferences and more.

THE OPTIMISATION OPTIONS MAKE THE SYSTEM FEEL AT HOME ANYWHERE—WHETHER IN A ROCK CONCERT OR AS A SPEECH REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM.

Needing to adapt and upgrade the audio equipment to the new requirement he opted for Martin Audio, stating, “I had already been familiar with the brand for a long time.”

His interest was rekindled, first when he became aware of the DD6 and CDD-LIVE series, and he initially expanded the company’s hire inventory by adding these two series, complete with a combination of SXP118 and SX118 subwoofers.

Justifying the purchasing decision, he said, “Both series have an asynchronously radiating horn—even as a self-powered coaxial system in the CDD-LIVE. The resulting performance is outstanding, the systems work very homogeneously and still sound extremely pleasant even at higher levels.

At the same time, he had also planned an investment in a line array, but this had to take a back seat due to COVID. “Fortunately, we now have a large number of events once again where a line array is needed. And for that reason we made an immediate decision to go with the WPM.”

Like the other members of the Wavefront Precision family, the smaller 6.5″ WPM system offers scalable resolution and very precise control capabilities thanks to the DISPLAY optimisation software. “The WPM fits perfectly into our portfolio due to its flexibility, EBV’s managing director continues. “The optimisation options make the system feel at home anywhere—whether in a rock concert or as a speech reinforcement system.”

An additional benefit of investing in Wavefront Precision had been its immediate availability, he confirmed. “We decided to make this investment at short notice in April and were pleasantly surprised that Martin Audio were able to deliver within a few weeks. This meant that the` system was already in use by the beginning of June.”

Long-standing Martin Audio rental partner, SWG Events, has upgraded its pro audio inventory with the acquisition of 24 of the large format Wavefront Precision WPL enclosures.

These form part of a Martin Audio package, along with 12 SXH218 subs and 24 XE500 floor monitors. Powering the WPL in 2-box resolution are Martin Audio iKON iK42 process-controlled, multi-channel amplifiers, part of an order for 17 iK42’s, which will also be assigned to the XE500.

Stated SWG Events’ Head of Audio, Simon Purse, “Everything came along at the right time, with me joining the company [from Martin Audio]. This coincided with SWG looking to buy a bigger, state-of-the-art system as an upgrade for their trusty W8LC, to put us back at the top end of the touring market, with higher tier acts.”

The acquisition was sanctioned by SWG managing director, Alister Pook, in light of the fact the company had been forced to cross-hire during this summer’s crowded outdoor season. “SWG has always been a Martin Audio house, and the fact that they were able to supply immediately from stock, plus our familiarity with the system, were major selling points,” stated Purse.

On arrival the new system was deployed within 48 hours, enabling their sub-hired MLA to return to base. This was at the Rhyl Event Arena for a package show that featured James, Tom Grennan and Jack Savoretti. It then moved onto CarFest North on the Bolesworth Castle in Chester.

Purse said that the choice of system size ticked a number of boxes. “A 12-box hang per side generally fits where we are at, giving us coverage for 5,000 up to 10,000-cap venue sizes.

“The Southwest has now got to the point where there is local availability to cross-hire so that we can scale up to a full arena system.”

He said he was particularly pleased with the XE500. “I believe we are one of the largest stockists of the XE500 and I’d be happy to put these in front of anyone.”

In conclusion, Martin Audio UK sales manager, Peter Codron added, “SWG has been a loyal, and long-serving customer of Martin Audio for many years. Their ongoing support is further reflected in this latest investment in our new technology, and being part of the ever-increasing UK Wavefront Partner Network. It is also gratifying to know that they already have a number of events earmarked for WPL.”