German singer Helene Fischer kicked off her 71-date Live 2023 tour in April at Barclays Arena Hamburg for a 15-city run through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands using the newly announced L Series line array system from L-Acoustics.
Although Solotech has long provided technological solutions globally, this is among the first times the company’s Live Productions Division in Europe has provided a full 360° solution in Germany.
Produced by Live Nation and created by Cirque du Soleil, the tour comprises multi-night mini-residencies, with audio, lighting and video production needs provided by Solotech’s Live Productions Division, Europe, including L-Acoustics’ L Series line source array. Additionally, Solotech provided Avid S6L and Yamaha mixing consoles, wireless in-ear/microphone packages, Roe Visual Vanish 8T LED panels, robotic cameras, a full lighting rig and other related infrastructure.
Significantly, Solotech and Fischer are also the first to use the L Series’ Progressive, Ultra-Dense Line Source on tour. This concert sound system meets the needs of Helene Fischer’s team due to its power, control, and consistency in a format that is almost half the size and weight of an equivalent traditional line source array.
‘On a show like this, technical aspects dictate what you deploy and how it’s deployed,’ says Holger Schader, Senior Consultant for Touring & Special Events, Solotech in Germany. ‘Here, we had problematic weight limits in every venue, so we were looking for options to reduce weight and speed up load in and load out times.’
L Series also leaves plenty of real estate for other system elements and limits the type of visual distractions a larger system often results in, he adds.
In addition to being smaller, lighter and easier to deploy, the L-Acoustics L2 and L2D elements provide substantial audio benefits – significantly enhanced power density, consistency over the audience area, and improved rejection everywhere else. The arrays are powered by the new LA-Rak III platform, which provides 48 channels of amplification and DSP in a 9U touring rack package, enabling high resolution control and power to each L2 and L2D.
All of these elements were critical for Fischer’s tour: ‘There’s so much other infrastructure, so many lighting and video elements, that a high-density, low-weight system, with the full benefit of L-Acoustics’ proven technology behind it, plays a big role in a show like this,’ Schader says.
Solotech’s partnership with L-Acoustics and long-term association with Cirque du Soleil, as well as the company’s willingness to adapt and innovate, was a further benefit to this project.
The creative process was enhanced by enabling a more fluent dialogue than would ever be possible if using multiple equipment providers. Solotech was involved early in the creative process in May-June 2022 so that Live Nation and Cirque du Soleil could refine their needs for lighting, video and audio, with Solotech providing real-world solutions, no matter how complex or ambitious the design concept.
‘As a client, you’ve got to look for a company that can adapt to all your needs, especially on a show where so many changes are made during the creative process. Not every company can do that,’ says John Probyn, Head of Business Development, Live Productions Division, Europe, Solotech. ‘But because we are used to doing 360° shows of this size, if one option doesn’t work, we can easily provide multiple options to adapt to any artistic or creative changes down the line. Whereas other companies might struggle to enable designers to fulfill their vision.’
Solotech’s provision of a full 360° live production reflects the company’s willingness to leverage its relationships with manufacturers to get ahead of new technologies.
More: www.solotech.com
