Following the success of the inaugural South Facing Festival at the Crystal Palace Bowl in London last year, festival director Marcus Weedon requested the same formula for this year’s 10-day event, including Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker arrays supplied once again by Capital Sound (part of the Solotech UK group) to serve artists that included London Grammar, Bombay Bicycle Club, Jungle, Becky Hill and Richard Ashcroft.
Solotech project manager David Preston, who worked alongside production manage Julia Bruns and site/production specialists LS Events adds that, driven by feedback and the absence of complaints from neighbors last year, levels within the bowl were raised from an SPL of 96 dB(A) to 98 dB(A) for this year, while the tech team still managed to stay within offsite thresholds.
Another advantage for Solotech was the extended space on the floating platform that housed the stage. Last yea, a lack of space at the front precluded mounting a broadside MLX cardioid subwoofer array across the front but with no such problems this year, 10 MLX subs were arced across the front of stage, joined by MLA Compact enclosures as frontfills.
“Having the extra couple of meters along the front of the pontoon meant that we were able to get to a broadside cardioid array and provide more even sub coverage across the venue, and this also gave us greater control in the lower frequencies,” Preston explains. “The event is in a natural amphitheater which seems to really help us with the audio coverage; the clarity at the back was similar to that at the front, which was great. As for MLA Compact, these provided a more robust option for frontfills and could throw effortlessly across the nearby pond to hit the front of the audience.”
Preston led a Solotech team comprising Rayne Ramsden (system/front of house tech), Isabella Di Biaise (monitor engineer), Harry Garcia and Diego Ternivasio (stage techs). Ramsden programmed the DISPLAY software so that the sound tapered off at the site perimeter, thereby helping to ensure minimal bleed and maximum containment.
At Crystal Palace, despite the mix position being off axis, Richard Ashcroft mix engineer Al Davies says the sound was balanced, the coverage even throughout, and the rear rejection impressive, with no backstage bleed. He notes that the subs sounded non-granular, adding, “Some have a tendency to sound ‘notey,’ but the bottom end was balanced beautifully. Richard likes to be loud, so I was mixing at 97.5 dB, almost up to the threshold, without ever struggling. He was really impressed and congratulated me afterwards.”
Preston states that Crystal Palace is now becoming one of the favorite festival sites he looks after during the summer calendar. “It’s a great space for concerts. Working with Julia and the LS Events team is always a pleasure, and I look forward to 2023,” he concludes. “Martin Audio’s MLA proved yet again that—noise control wise — it can do things that no other box on the market is capable of. For suburban festivals, with tricky noise limits set by local councils, that’s the important factor, to ensure the license for the festival can be granted again for the following year.”
