Reverze hit the hardstyle music scene in 2006 and is now the biggest indoor gathering for the harder styles of music in Belgium. Held at the beginning of March, this year’s edition, Reverze – The Power of Perception, was organised by Bass Events and drew 25,000 fans to Antwerp’s Sportpaleis and Lotto Arena.
While the concept of Reverze is now familiar to its visitors, the event saw a significant change to its audio set-up, with Netherlands-based Purple Group fielding an L-Acoustics K1 and K2 system designed by Noiz Boyz. Brought in by Rudy Vorstenbosch, owner and production director of event industry service partner Axiom – Solid Solutions, this was the first time Purple Group had worked the festival.
‘Rudy wanted just one, full-service company for the production instead of multiple suppliers, as in previous years,’ says Purple Group’s Bas Feuler. ‘He knew that Purple Group could deliver all technical requirements including audio, lighting, LED screens, rigging and motion control. This meant that now, he only one had contact person for his production. It worked really well; the lines of communication were markedly reduced and any issues could be solved quickly.’
The audio design for Reverze has remained consisyent since 2014 and, despite the change in supplier and system, this year was no different: ‘It’s a design that works and no one saw any need for it to change,’ Feuler says. ‘But Reverze is all about quality and giving maximum experience to people. Power is important for an event of this style, K1 and K2 more than deliver on that front, and the addition of K1-SB subs gave much more impact for the raised decks around the side of the venue and over the tribune than had been possible in previous years.’
Purple Group received confirmation on the project in November 2019 and started work on it immediately: ‘The Sportpaleis is a very well-known venue and I have worked there many times,’ Feuler says.
This familiarity reduced the number of site visits required. When the production design arrived at Purple Group, Feuler and company chief of rigging, Ruud Koolen, were able to determine if the existing design would still work in the venue with the new system.
‘Once this initial phase was given the go-ahead, the design was sent back to the technical production,’ Feuler continues. ‘They sent us a new version with a small re-design, we made amendments on the CAD file and with Soundvision. This process continued until we had the optimum set-up. The quantity of technical equipment and the capacity of the venue were a complex match, so it was quite a task, both logistically and build-wise, to work on. Two months of pre-production were definitely needed to make the load-in of Reverze successful.’
The system comprised main hangs of 14 L-Acoustics K1 with two K2 down per side, plus four K1-SB with ten K2 down for the side PA on stage, the K1-SB providing impact for the decks and tribune. Twelve K1 provided the first main delay line, with hangs of ten K2 and eight K1-SB for the side delay flown next to each other for additional impact on the decks, while six K2 were used for the VIP deck delay. Subs and fills on the auditorium floor were 28 KS-28 and 12 Kara. 76 LA12x amplified controllers delivered all the power required for the system.
More: www.l-acoustics.com
