On Day Two, we brought in our Avalon by EAW system for DJs and EDM performers, comprising a pair of SUB.two’s and a pair of CLUB.three’s in Polar white and Machine grey. We also spent some more time tuning the main KF740 PA. That night we enjoyed some great sets by Tall, Tall Trees and Kishi Bashi. (Photo at left shows Kishibashi with Tall Tall Trees (at right).)

But this still wasn’t South by Southwest.

South by… For Real

The real SXSW events started on Day Three with a massive party thrown by local arts and entertainment website Do512. Four bands, mostly new folk acts, played the main stage with DJ Kidslyce covering the changeovers.

The photo at left can’t express the degree to which everybody everywhere was having a wild-good time. The line stretched around the block for hours and still had 20 people at midnight. And when those Avalon subs got to thumpin’…well, you know what can happen.

Day Four Preview

Tonight’s party, thrown by interactive marketers MRY, features only two DJs on the main stage, so we brought the…

Yesterday, we posted to Facebook about a story we saw announcing that DJ Magazine has moved their Winter Music Conference pool parties to the Delano Hotel. Again for 2013, EAW will supply the Delano with a world-class Avalon by EAW™ sound system. (Photo: Benny Benassi at WMC 2012)

Unlike last year, we will have four SUB.two hybrid subwoofer systems to power the dance floor. And, unlike last year, the Delano will run programming for the entire WMC event. Keep any eye on DJ Magazine for more info on their events.

South by Southwest

Before we can get to the Delano, however, we will spend the better part of two weeks in Austin, TX, where we’ll bring a KF740 systems and a separate Avalon by EAW system to The Belmont for their South by Southwest events.

The Belmont is a “buy-out” venue, meaning that client organizations book the venue for one or more days to produce their concerts. One client that has already announced their line up is The Warner Sound. They will be showcasing acts…

It’s been a couple of weeks since the Decibel Festival, and ASG Technical Training Manager Bernie Broderick and I have decided to post the following account of our one not-so-great night. We think there’s an important take-away that points to a larger discussion that may need to occur among the EDM community, manufacturers and the production professionals that support them.

On this particular night, a piece of sourced gear on the DJ stand developed a fault during the performance, and because of the way it was designed, we could not swap it out. Gear designed for DJs may not consider factors that traditional production requires to be able to respond to these kinds of in-performance failures. With EDM rapidly crossing over into the mainstream of live performance, the broader community needs to consider exactly what constitutes “DJ gear”.

Our Little Nightmare

Specifically, a small DJ mixing console began sending a slightly distorted signal, and we believed that the output section was at fault. It affected the mid-bass (the quad 12′s in the CLUB.two systems), giving them a harsh, barking sound. Instead of sounding stellar, the system sounded like it was at the end of its rope and then…

No word of a lie – last night was inSANE! Three incredibly strong acts simply demolished Neumos, turning an overflow crowd into a single, sweaty, writhing mass. The Avalon by EAW sound system got its heaviest workout yet, and it performed flawlessly.

Opener Jerry Abstract chose his stage name wisely; he played some seriously spaced out material. Long, droning bass notes punctuated by throbbing beats and topped off with tweaked-out, highly modulated HF effects. Surpisingly, despite being so, well, abstract, the whole set was entirely danceable.

Octave One – the Burden brothers who bring all the gear – delivered a powerful set of what’s mistakenly called “analog” techno. (They might not have laptops, but every single piece of gear except the Mackie mixing consoles is a computer. But, whatevs…) They got so wrapped up in their work that brother Lawrence literally kicked off his shoes mid-set and left them on stage. Your correspondent personally delivered them during the headliner’s set.

As Octave One flowed through their material, the crowd took that magic step from observers to participants. From that point forward, all…

Last night saw a sold out Neumos Jet Jam Presents showcase turn into a sweaty, writhing mass of humanity. Opening act Shlohmo spun a DJ set that got the crowd moving most vigorously and, much to our surprise, packed up against the bank of SUB.two subwoofers.

Baths (photo at left), an LA-based artist, played next and, no offense to any other acts, absolutely stole the show. It was clear from the outset that this was the performance of his life. As the crowd responded more and more positively, he gave yet more to the point that _he_ actually thanked the crowd over and over for their participation. In the end, he played an impromptu encore off his new album and, because he had not expected to do so, was a bit unprepared. He had to start three times before he got it right, but it was all the more charming for the flaws. Watch for this kid to break out in a major, major way.

Manchester EDM seen mainstay Star Slinger closed out the night with a UK-style DJ set that mixed classic tracks with programmed drums. His hard-hitting set brought the…

Last night was nothing short of mind-blowing. Opener Cyanwave worked out on the quad SUB.two array we brought and got the energy flowing. Bvdub’s set delivered a mix of ambient HF sounds with thick, driving bass.

But let’s not mince words. Monolake, aka Robert Henke (photo at left, Robert at right with visual artist Tarik Barri) – yes, that Robert Henke who created Abelson Live – just destroyed the place. Your correspondent has seen a fair number of musical performances, but Monolake takes soundscapes to a whole other level. He’s really something other than else!

Super-precise sound in a swirling, four-channel mix. Preposterous bass tones that last for days. Dramatic sonic sweeps. And did I mention the fact that it the whole room was spinning? At least that’s how it felt.

The Twittersphere exploded with all talk of nostrils vibrating and the need to make this amount of bass illegal. People expressed concern for their friends’ health – not hearing loss, but heart attacks.

Mr. Henke, for his part, could not have been happier. Literally. He said to me personally and then posted to his Facebook page, “This is the…

It’s been a hectic 48 hours, but we’re all loaded into Neumos and ready to rock. The crew at Neumos couldn’t have been nicer, and despite the lack of preparation time, the team from Decibel has made sure we had everything we needed.

So, let’s party! It’s about 4pm PST, and we’re waiting for the first sound check to start up. We better hurry, because the first VIP party is slated for an hour from now!

Tonight’s showcase at Neumos is called dB in Dub, and it features some dubstep performers from three continents.

Up first, local act Cyanwave will play a set that’s described as “expansive” and “a journey from dance floor to headphones and back around again”. Next, we’ll have bvdub, a performer 20 years in the dance music scene in his native  San Francisco via China, where he currently resides. The headliner is Monolake, a performer from Berlin who delivers “live audio/video”. I guess we’ll find out exactly what that means in a few hours’ time.

One new twist for us is the prevalence of visual artists as part of the showcase. Already, we have a permanent installation that will…

We’re going to Seattle for the Decibel Festival! EAW has agreed to provide two very different PAs for two very different venues at this week-long electronic music conflagration held each year on the last week in September in our other hometown, Seattle, WA, USA.

Last week in September…right, that’s this week! We better pack.

We’ve talked amongst ourselves about working with dB for a couple of years, and this year we found a way to make it work. We’re totally geeked!

Here’s the basics. For headliner Orbital (Thu.) and The Cannabinoids featuring Erykah Badu (Fri.) at the Paramount Theater, we’re partnering with HAS Productions – the first Red Certified™ KF740 provider – to deliver an innovative solution to this notoriously difficult movie palace converted into concert venue.

And in Neumos, typically a rock club, we’re bringing our own Avalon by EAW™ system for the whole shebang –five showcase performances, Wednesday through Sunday. Each showcase features a different style of music, so we’ll get a wide range of opinions on how the system performs.

Dealing with a Movie Palace

Many…

KF740s to Power Paramount Theater’s HeadlineActs – Avalon by EAW™ to Destroy Neumos

We’ve just sent out a press release announcing that Eastern Acoustic Works® (EAW™) will deliver sound reinforcement solutions for two key venues at the Decibel Festival™, an annual electronic music event held in Seattle, Washington, USA. EAW’s KF740 line array system will serve as front-of-house PA for Decibel’s headline events in the acoustically notorious Paramount Theater. EAW will partner with Las Vegas-based Hall Audio Systems, the first-ever EAW Red Certified™ Company. Separately, EAW’s Application Support Group will install a temporary Avalon by EAW™ dance club system in Neumos, where VIP parties will proceed five nights of performance sets and after parties. The release was sent out to EAW’s current editorial media list. If you are a journalist or editor and would like to receive our press releases, please email EAW PR.

If you heard crazy stories about our demo of the new Avalon by EAW™ SUB.two hybrid subwoofer system, rest assured; they’re true. This sub is scary powerful, loading dual 12-in cones on a bent bass horn and then mounting a 21-in direct radiator in the final flare.

That’s right, sports fans. It’s both a direct radiator AND a bass horn. That’s the hybrid part. And we process the two sections separately, so we can actually tweak and tune to taste.

Here’s what you really want to know: yes, we were destroying the Las Vegas Convention Center with sound. Literally!

It all started on Tuesday, when we were tuning the demo system. Granted, the array was  a bit over-the-top, including 5x of these beasts. (If you’re doing the math at home, that’s 10x horn-loaded 12s and 5x 21s.) 

We fire up the system and arll kinds of stuff started falling from the ceiling. First it was the plastic trim pieces around the sprinkler heads….