A feel-good musical extravaganza full to the brim with Motown classics, The Magic of Motown marked its 20th year at London’s Palladium in March 2025.
FOH engineer Job Lewis handles monitors and supplies all audio gear for the show through his company, JL Sound Reinforcement, with his addition of DMI-Klang IEM to his DiGiCo Quantum 225 deck has not only ‘revolutionising’ how the singers and band interact, but also freeing him to concentrate more fully on the front-of-house mix.
‘I am the entire sound team,’ Lewis enthuses. ‘I have been touring with the show for two-and-a-half years now; it’s a full schedule with no two shows ever the same. It makes it great fun to mix.’
Lewis sets each 3D immersive monitor mix from his console, with each musician having access to a control app via android and iOS so that they can make changes as they wish. DMI-Klang also gives Lewis a level of control he couldn’t offer before.
‘My workflow has massively improved with Klang, ‘he says. ‘I attended a training day with Phil [Kamp, Head of Sales] and his team. On that day, I realised that there is no downside to the Klang system. Binaural mixes are absolutely the way forward and objectively superior to stereo in every way. It’s simply the next step-forward in in-ear technology.’
Depending on the size of the venue, The Magic of Motown band can vary between a core of four players to a much larger ensemble. The special 20th anniversary performance included an extended brass section, additional percussion and guest artists. DMI-Klang allowed Lewis adapt quickly to the line-up changes.
‘It’s not just the band, we also usually have seven singers, but this can increase to eight,’ he says. ‘Being able to space the singers effectively in their mixes has been brilliant. They can hear everything clearly to harmonise, but don’t overpower each other. When we first tried it, their reactions were instantly positive.’
Lewis has found that interaction with Klang varies greatly depending on the artist. Once his singers have experienced the clarity and spatial separation of the system, they are happy for Lewis to set an immersive mix for them and it will stay similar throughout the show. In contrast, the show’s musicians are more likely to play with the immersive features on the app, spinning the instruments around their heads in 3D mode and experimenting with mixes to fully personalise their IEMs during the show.
‘The system is so intuitive that each person can interact with it exactly how they like,’ Lewis says. ‘For me, that independence was a key consideration when investing in Klang. I need to concentrate on the front-of-house mix, so knowing that my artists can take control of their mixes and have fun is great. I can still keep an eye on them all and, if needed, I can make changes from the console, but it isn’t distracting for me. The workflow of DMI-Klang has been great. The Quantum 225 is JL Sound Reinforcement’s first DiGiCo console and it has been fantastic in terms of sound quality, workflow and manoeuvrability for navigating tight theatre load-ins.’
More: www.klang.com