Harman Pro India supplies full audio and lighting setup for ‘An Ode to the Blues’
Published: ASIA
INDIA: Harman Professional India has recently partnered with students from the country’s Audio Academy to provide equipment and assistance for this year’s An Ode to the Blues festival. The event, which took place at Bangalore’s CounterCulture performance space and restaurant, was supplied with a comprehensive selection of Harman live sound and Martin lighting equipment.
Now in its fourth year, the festival has been growing in popularity and this time around featured performances across two stages from international and Indian artists including Guitar Shorty, Soulmate, Blackstratblues, Ministry of Blues, and others.
‘With every event we do, our primary focus is on the artist and we want to present the way they sound and the way they look at their absolute best,’ said Guru Somayaji, programme director and festival manager at CounterCulture. ‘This year we wanted to up the ante to bring in a setup that not only looked good but sounded top-notch.’
Each of the two stages were equipped with JBL loudspeakers including four VRX 900 series cabinets, two STX828 dual-18-inch subwoofers, two PRX615M powered loudspeakers and two STX815Ms. The speakers were powered by a Crown VRACK amplifier system comprising I-Tech HD Series power amps.
The live sound mix for the Robert Johnson Stage was handled by a Soundcraft Si Expression 1 digital desk with a Si Compact 1, while a single Si Compact 16 was deployed for the Roots Music Stage. All consoles were equipped with a Si Multi Digital Card to record the shows in multitrack to a DAW. A selection of AKG microphones completed the complement of audio equipment.
Both stages also featured illumination from Martin Lighting thanks to a setup that included Rush series MH 3 Beam, MH 1 Profile and MH 2 Wash models, plus MAC 101 LED wash and PAR 1 LED can lights. Martin M1 and M2GO consoles provided control for the lights on both stages.
‘This year through our partnership with Harman Professional and Audio Academy, the team not only delivered a fantastic-sounding and looking setup, but the students at Audio Academy also learned the process of setting up the system and the stage and in fact helped us a great deal,’ added Mr Somayaji.
The students will now go on to mix the multitrack recordings and produce a finished live recording of the event.
‘An event of this scale requires a first-class sound and lighting setup,’ added freelance sound engineer, Nikhil Pai. ‘With multiple bands and a quick turn around required between acts, an effective and reliable sound system is an engineer’s backbone for an event of such complexity. As a FOH engineer, I could not have asked for better technology. This was one of the best music festivals I have had the pleasure of being associated with.
‘Without Harman Professional India and especially application manager, Sunil Karanjikar, none of this would have been possible,' he continued. ‘Each and every artist complimented us on how exceptional the JBL loudspeakers and Crown amps sounded, the clarity of the Soundcraft consoles and the AKG mics and the striking lighting provided by Martin. The audio was truly stellar, with excellent balance, presence and clarity from every location around both stages.’