MARTIN AUDIO DOMINATE ITALIAN FESTIVAL SEASON
Audiosales in Italy has reached the end of a busy summer, supporting customers through a succession of festivals and high profile events involving premier Martin Audio PA systems; these have ranged from the flagship MLA system to conventional line arrays.
The first ever Today's Festival welcomed more than 23,000 people across five different locations over three days in Turin's Barriera di Milano - incorporating major concerts, dance events and creative workshops. Some 50 national and international artists performed including American headliners Interpol and TV on the Radio.
In the main stage sPAZIO211, Davide Scalzo, the owner of Microfase, provided a Martin Audio system comprising 12 x W8LC Compact line array per side, with 18 WSX subs, and W8C/W8S as sidefills.
Over in Tuscany, the first edition of Beat 2015 saw a total attendance of over 70,000 people arrive at the Parco di Serravalle in the town of Empoli - far exceeding expectations.
The main stage featured reggae outfit Sud Sound System as well as international bands Gogol Bordello and Subsonica.
Long serving sound engineer Paul 'Red' Talami, masterminded the Martin Audio MLA system, owned by All Access, who were in charge of the technical setup: 'We chose 11 Martin Audio MLA elements per side with a single MLD Downfill for the main stage, with six Martin Audio MLX subs per side and four Martin Audio W8LM for front fill,' he said. 'The area dedicated to the public in front of the main stage measured 80 metres x 70 metres and it was sold out for the main acts.'
The beautiful park location was in proximity to housing located about 50 metres laterally to the stage. The committee had imposed an offsite limit of only 70dB both in rehearsal and during the show. But according to Talami, with the sound system running at full tilt, there was a decline of far greater than 30dB in these residential areas, exactly as planned in the Display software, where the 'Hard Avoid' optimisation was used.
Earlier in the summer the town of Porretta Terme, situated on the Apennines between Bologna and Pistoia, hosted Porretta Soul Festival with an incredible line-up that included Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie, Sugar Pie DeSanto and Anthony Paule Band and 11-piece Frank Bey band.
Porretta has seen the best names in soul music perform there over the years and for the eighth year of an event now in its 28th edition, the company Phoenix Audio took care of the technical equipment, choosing a Martin Audio main PA. This comprised six W8LM Mini Line Array per side, and four WS218X subs, while on stage were 14 LE1200 wedge monitors and a pair of W8VDQ front fills.
"The configuration has remained the same for many years and every time we are satisfied with the result,' explains Enrico Casagrande, joint owner of Phoenix Audio with Michael Sasso. "The compact size of the W8LM and especially the Martin Audio LE1200, which allows us to put at ease the musicians on stage, always receives positive feedback from everyone involved. "
The Festival Internazionale dei Beni Comuni in Chieri (Torino) saw two giants of Brazilian music, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, headlining.
The two virtuosos were touring together for the first time in 20 years to celebrate a century of music between them (the show was titled Two Friends, A Century of Music).
To boost the South American rhythms of the two stars a Martin Audio MLA Compact was installed by Turin based Frequenze snc, support from Corsinotti Sas, who recently became a Martin Audio MLA Worldwide Rental Partner.
For the configuration it chose a classic setup, consisting of eight Martin Audio MLA Compact and four Martin Audio DSX subs per side. "The coverage of the square was smooth, precise and detailed - outstanding in all respects", said Paolo Gallarato of Frequenze snc. "The feedback from production could not have been more positive, and there was great satisfaction from the entire crew."
In Forte Dei Marmi (Lucca) in the prestigious setting of the Villa Bertelli Foundation, a series of unmissable concerts was staged during August featuring many famous names in Italian music. This opened with Francesco Renga, followed by the Nomads, comedian Andrea Perroni, Michele Zarrillo, Enzo Ghinazzi, aka Pupo. The Villa Bertelli audience then became much younger as The Kolors took to the stage and the atmosphere turned to magic with appearances by David Copperfield and famous illusionist Gaetano Triggiano. Famous Italian rock band PFM, also appeared towards the end, along with Fiorella Mannoia, Francesco De Gregori, while closing the festival were Andrea Pucci, the singer Marco Masini, fresh from the success of Sanremo 2015, and the timeless Renzo Arbore.
David Lapini's company Amandla Productions took care of the technical equipment, specifying for the main stage nine W8LM and W8LMD Downfill per side, eight WMX subs and four Martin Audio W8LM front fills. "Following the Lucca Summer Festival we are happy to have contributed to another great musical event in the Lucca region," summarises Lapini.
The Parco della Certosa di Collegno, near Turin, hosted the first edition of the Flowers Festival, with Patti Smith, the priestess of rock, headlining. The tour was to honour her classic and highly influential Horses, this yearcelebrating its 40th anniversary. She also featured other classics like Because The Night and People Have The Power, ending with a grand finale of The Who's My Generation .
David Scalzo's Cuneo-based company, Microfase, in cooperation with Big Talu service, was responsible for the sound and lighting and they again chose the Martin Audio brand which has been linked to this event since 2003. They deployed 12 elements a side of W8LC for the main hang and 18 WSX subs, as well as 12 LE1500 floor monitors and a pair of W8C/W8S sidefills.
Finally, from July to September, the streets of Cattolica become a stage for around 40 musical events across in the squares, with a panorama of events, mostly all free, and accommodating every taste from folk, jazz, '70s and '80s disco and international pop. The project is called Cattolica il locale da ballo più grande d'Italia" (the largest local Cattolica dance event in Italy). However it does not overlook another important element - food and wine - with the Cattolica Dinner On the Road Festival.
Major artists appearing in the town's main arena included Anastacia, Subsonica, Mika, Dirty Dancing (The Musical - original cast), Spandau Ballet, Angel Pintus, Massimo Ranieri, and Enrico Brignano.
Providing necessary sound reinforcement at the Arena della Regina, was Amandla Productions, with All Access providing their Martin Audio MLA. The configuration used consisted of 11 MLA and an MLD Downfill per side, 12 MLX subs, with eight W8LM Mini Line Array as frontfills.