When Red Bull brought its Back2Beyond concept to the Banankompaniet warehouse in Stockholm at the end of March, the production challenge extended beyond a typical system design. To realise the event’s rotating, multi-stage format, NaNaNa Produktion partnered with Benum Sweden who deployed a Funktion-One Vero VX system.
Curated by Swedish DJ and producer Axel Boman, the event featured DJ Tennis, Jimi Jules and Jennifer Loveless for a series of rotating B2B sets, including several first-time collaborations. The event design, developed by Simon Ahlgren and Albin Davidsson of NaNaNa Produktion, centred on three stages arranged in a U-shape. Artists performed in a continuous back-to-back sequence, with each set blending into the next as the focus shifted around the room. This required a sound system that could maintain clarity and impact while facilitating controlled movement of sound between performance areas.
Benum’s Douglas Poppelman designed a four-point Vero VX system, which enabled each stage to operate with its own perceived left-right set-up. Funktion-One live sound engineer Will Wright supported throughout and went out to Stockholm for set-up and delivery of the event. Through careful alignment and panning between stacks during transitions, the audio team achieved a continuous sonic handover that followed the movement of the artists.
‘The choice of Vero VX came down to the need for a high-tier system to cover a big audience area with a relatively small footprint due to sightlines, without compromising on sonic quality,’ says Benum Product Manager, Mats Mattson
The system balanced technical performance with visual considerations. The final configuration for the central stages comprised two groundstacked arrays, each with three Vero VX enclosures above six F124 subwoofers, together with flown clusters of three Vero VX and ground-stacked F221 subwoofers in the outer positions. The result was consistent coverage and substantial headroom throughout the venue and a controlled and even response across the audience.
The outer stages were equipped with Evolution X and BR218 monitor systems, while the central stage had Evolution 2 with BR115 subwoofers. In the foyer, Red Bull’s own Evolution 6 and F121 system maintained consistency with the main space.
‘The transitions between stages were absolutely seamless,’ Mattson says. ‘Everything looked so clean and the sound was amazing – very crisp, without distortion. It was an effortless feeling with lots of “air” and headroom and, as is typical with Funktion-One systems, it didn’t hurt your ears even at high SPL.’