Kicking off in North Texas and continuing through mid-June, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres US tour leg is following a sustainability initiative to minimise CO2 emissions from set build and travel to freight, power and sound. The tour will plant one tree for every ticket sold, with a portion of the proceeds earmarked for a variety of green initiatives around the world.
As part of this initiative, the Coldplay camp has required the sound system to be 50 per cent more energy efficient than the previous tour in 2016-17. With that pre-requisite, Firehouse Productions (NY) chose d&b audiotechnik GSL and KSL loudspeakers for their efficiency, paired with D80 amplifiers that demand less input power and enhanced energy saving features.
‘Firehouse supports the European Coldplay dates alongside Wigwam; while Firehouse is handling the PA in the states, Wigwam will be providing production later this year when the tour heads to Europe,’ says Firehouse Productions Account Manager, Nick Bechard. It is a joint effort that has worked very well.’
d&b SL-Series was developed with efficiency in mind, reducing power requirements by up to 50 per cent for equivalent sound pressure output levels over former systems. In addition, precise control of directivity continues to be one of the hallmark features of SL-Series, keeping sound where it is needed.
Ninety-nine per cent of the venues will be outdoor, as in stadiums with no roofs,’ says Coldplay Head of Audio and sound designer, Tony Smith. ‘As the sound limits within and outside the stadiums in Latin and North America are not monitored, use of NoizCalc has not been implemented yet. Once we get into Europe, sound emissions will be an issue and NoizCalc will be a useful tool, but with ArrayProcsessing more so, I can predict what will stay in the stadium and at what level. Also, with SL-Series and its full-bandwidth cardioid pattern, the lack of sound from the back of the array will also help for any upstage level monitoring where the sensitive areas usually are.’
ArrayProcessing has become an important tool for regulating sound emissions and sound levels within the stadia. ‘There are some sites that the loudest area of the audience is monitored for audience protection against hearing damage,’ Smith adds. ‘With J-Series the local authority was surprised with the uniform sound level across the audience area, and now with SL-Series I am happy to continue this consistency.’
Smith is sending data to d&b audiotechnik R&D so power usage can be closely monitored. ‘This is very positive and forward thinking. I had a lot of data from Matthias Christner [Head of R&D Acoustics at d&b] leading up to the tour so I could pass on our power needs and details as well as to see what d&b was doing to reduce power consumption, which is up to 50 per cent less from our last tour. Production is obviously very happy with our reduced power consumption as well as the improved truck space.’
The first leg of the tour was in Latin America. Due to weight issues and the environmental footprint of shipping tons of sound equipment, Firehouse helped arrange local suppliers and as much local equipment as possible using predominately J-Series with SL-Sub.
‘We had a great result and picked up where we left off in 2017 but we were looking forward to getting our hands on GSL; we have not been disappointed. It has been a lot of fun and it’s sounding great. The sound of the box as well as the extra low end has been amazing. Being able to take the pressure off the ground subs to do all the work has helped the band and the ability to shape the sound in troublesome venues with the various tools has been exceptional. The CPL (coupling) function has been great as well for shaping what we need. The low end in the upper seating tiers has also been greatly improved.’
‘Many venues are already adopting sustainability strategies and artists have an increasingly strong desire to tour in an environmentally friendly way,’ states Marc Lopez, Vice President of Marketing, d&b audiotechnik Americas. ‘We are privileged to aid Coldplay in their sustainability initiative.’
The Coldplay d&b system configuration comprises 16 GSL8 per side for main hangs, 16 GSL8 per side for side hangs, sis SL-Subs flown per side, 18 KSL8 per side for 270 Hangs, four delay towers with 16 KSL8 per hang, 18 SL-Subs for ground subs, six Y7Ps, and eight Y10Ps for front fill.
There are 116 D80 amplifiers driving the system, 40 on each side of the stage – nine per delay tower. A Luminex Network backbone is used for amplifier control with an Optocore backbone for AES distribution of signal with an analogue backup. Eight d&b M4 stage monitors handle the various acts popping in and out of the tour.
Smith believes the tour will be using d&b’s new D40 amplifiers on ring delays when the it arrives in Europe: ‘We have also added three hangs per side down each side, two at the rear hung off the roof of the venue in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw. Each hang comprises of eight V8s, with V12s for the rear pair (provided by Wigwam). It helps in larger venues to get even coverage but also to control the coverage better, reducing sound spill for offsite SPL readings. It definitely gives the audience a better sound experience. I’ll be happy to see how they perform.’
Firehouse is also providing a package including two DiGiCo SD10s, while Wigwam is providing the control system package. Coldplay control is based around DiGiCo SD7Q, SD10RE, SD Racks, Nanos, Minis all with 32Bit Cards, using two loops. Optocore festival boxes, M12 with DD2s to transport backline Madi lines onto the loop. DirectOut Prodigy’s both MC and MP are used for analogue I/O to Madi and system EQ and control. Other systems provided by Wigwam include Wysicom IEMs, two M2 stage monitors, and a J-Sub for bass player, Guy Berryman.
XSL tops will be used in Europe paired with KSL-Subs for side fill. ‘Now we have no sound on stage, we felt the need to fill the void a little or at least have that ability to give some clean audio rather than the mush given off other PA systems,’ says Smith. ‘Again, the SL-Series, even in the smaller format gives a great punch at half the size and power consumption.’
d&b has held an environmental certificate since 2013 and committed voluntarily to meeting the requirements of effective sustainability since 2018 by participating in several initiatives promoted by the US state and federal government, and following the international principles of the United Nations. ‘The declared aim is to integrate these principles firmly within the company in collaboration with its co-workers, in the present and in the future,’ says d&b audiotechnik CEO, Amnon Harman.
