Unwetter: Stages and Sound

How to avoid bad weather and bad sound at Festivals? Pick the right festival! Check out our list
of festivals and interviews…

Papa Sven, after playing at a festival, complained about how the poorly organised sound system kept him from playing a good set. He hasn’t been the only one to diss on the sound system at a festival. I’m sure a fair share of DJs, audio engineers, ravers and festival goers have experienced bad sound at a festival before. Bad sound at a festival is awkward, especially if that sound is supposed to be blasting techno and making the audience dance. Dancing to dance music at a festival at incredibly low volumes is like trying to listen to dance music from laptop speakers. Low sound quality at main stages is not a rare phenomenon, as they are usually open-air with large capacity. The more the people, the more sound is absorbed, and the bigger the space, the less chance the sound can be contained. Another major challenge to ensure good sound at festivals is the environment. Difficult to predict and control, the weather is a big risk factor:

There are of course several festivals that do a good job to ensure probability and impact of bad weather are reduced to safe levels, and to ensure good quality sound. The obvious one is Time Warp, but that is an indoor festival. Here are a few stages at outdoor festivals that have managed to overcome at least one of these two challenges, as well as showcase unique stage design. As a result they have managed to produce top quality sound and atmosphere: 

LABYRINTH FESTIVAL

Since we are on the topic of sound quality, what better place to start than Japan, a country famous for its electronics and of course, home of Sony. Caved in by mountains, teepes scatter the Naeba Valley. The biggest teepee is the stage, where two stacks of Funktion-One speakers stand by either side of the teepee like two totem poles. Even though the stage is not sheltered (besides the DJ booth), it does a pretty good job with sound. This festival is a favorite by Marcel Fengler in terms of sound quality:

EASTERN ELECTRICS

If you haven’t got two sets of 15 metre Funktion-One rigs, you could always play with the space and create dome like structures, such as the Igloo Vision tent at Eastern Electrics. Igloo is a tech company that develops and delivers 360° technology. At Eastern Electrics their igloo tent showcased 360° visuals and delivered a surround-sound system. The space was as only 9 metres long and the DJ booth was on the same level of the dance floor. All these elements created a dark and intimate atmosphere despite the fact that it was set up by a commercial company. The CLR showcase was the highlight of the stage and of the festival, where during the early morning hours you could see festival goers surrounded by spacey visuals and submersed in techno played by Planetary Assault Systems, Tommy Four Seven and Surgeon. 

KAPPA FUTURFESTIVAL

Contrastingly, the DJ booth at Kappa FuturFestival is a mountain above the audience and Ellen Allien and Derrick May are certainly performers in this setting. The main stage looks like an old, stripped down aircraft hangar. Even though there is a large crowd and there is no full protection from side ways weather, this stage does not disappoint with sound.

The summer music festival is situated in the Parco Dora, right next to the city centre of Turin. Known as the Detroit of Italy, this historically industrial city is also famous for its underground party scene. Consider industrial and techno (and affordable tickets) and it’s no surprise that Kappa festival is hailed as one of Europe’s best dance music festivals.  

DEKMANTEL

 Dekmantel, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Impossible to leave out the Dutch, who are impeccable dance music events organisers. As Dekmantel is happening this weekend, expect amazing sounding music from a truly mouth-watering line up. The stage and lighting follow an industrial and futuristic design set up in the woods of Amsterdamse Bos, which is close to Schipol Airport. At the main stage there is even a parapet for festival attendees fearful of wet festival weather, and last year the muddy FACT stage was quickly covered with wooden floorboards. Efficient organisation indeed!

It is impossibile to worry about sound at this festival due to the Funktion-One rigs, small numbers of festival attendees (there are only 5000 tickets), and compact space. The stages are only a few minutes walking distance from each other, yet the sound at one stage never bleeds into another.

INTERVIEW

We discussed stages and sound in open-air events with a stage designer and sound engineer. We were interested to listen to their perspectives and learn more about their roles with stages and sound.

STAGE DESIGNER: Tiago Oudman

Tiago is an architect, project manager, stage designer and builder at Le Jardin, a team that creates stages for festivals.

What festivals have you built stages for? Can you also provide me with stage names?

We have built stages in Fusion Festival (Berlin, Germany), Subsonic Festival (Sydney, Australia), Eclipse 2012 (Cairns, Australia), Garbicz Festival (Poland).

For me the most important things for good stage design are: good location, a strong concept, sourcing the right materials, having the right team, right lighting.

Do you consider sound? If so, to what extent?

Usually we have a meeting with the sound engineer in the early phases of planning/design where we are given the specs for the sound system. After that we plan the stage to leave enough space to set up speakers, etc. But it’s definitely not a major concern.

Can you tell me what sound means from the perspective of a stage designer?

That’s generally a problem for the organizers to resolve. Outdoor stage sound depends on the sound engineer and quality of sound system.

How much does a stage design influence the sound quality?

Again, I would say it doesn’t have a big influence. In outdoor festivals, sound quality is dependant on the quality of the sound system, not the quality of the stage design.

Have you ever seen a stage where they got it wrong in terms of acoustics? How did they get it wrong?

Bad sound system!

SOUND ENGINEER: Nick Thistle

Nick Thistle from Fabric, Big Blue Audio and The Deck Doctor started working with sound since he was 15 years old. He finished studying electronic engineering in 1989, which according to him was a time when sound systems were starting to get really interesting. He has extensive experience dealing with all kinds of sound systems from low to very high end and his passion for sound is evident in this interview.

What does it mean to be a sound engineer for dance music events? What are your main responsibilities?

It means you’re at work. Responsibilities are obviously making it sound good, ensuring equipment is working and the DJs/artists have their equipment wired correctly, also checking they can use the equipment correctly.

Who is responsible for acoustics at dance music events?

'Responsibility' is a grey area, some may argue that the venue itself is responsible, however, few venues are concerned or understand the importance of the room sounding right before the system is turned on.

What does "good sound" at a venue mean to you?

Good sound for me is making the sound 'fit' into the room by cutting out unwanted & nasty frequencies to make it more comprehensible & pleasant for the listener & if I'm honest primarily myself.

Have you worked at a festival before? What are the main challenges of working at a festival?

Varies every time at every gig.

Worked at many festivals hate them with a passion. Don't really like working with bands or mixing live sound, so don't really class myself as an engineer as such. I prefer design, build and efficient running of a PA system, a system tech, as we are known. Often at a festival each band has its own engineer, it may be the first time they've used that system, they may have not slept in day due to the demands of touring etc etc.

The techs working with the PA company at festivals generally 'babysit' the PA and advise the visiting engineers: how to/where that is/ how that works etc. Festivals are always a bit frantic.

What is the best sound system to use for open-air events?

How long is a piece of string impossible to answer there are many 'preferred rigs' but there is no definitive answer to this one. I use a Turbosound PA system, an older one (when it was still a credible company). But that's another story. My favourite PA systems have been Turbosound, D&B and L'acoustic. There are others but we could be here all day on the pros & cons of each.

I should add, for what it's worth that there are many PA systems out there, you usually see the same handful of decent ones on the circuit & each of them have their own sound & own characteristics. Often the best way to get great sound out of them is knowing (usually by previous experience) some of those characteristics and capabilities.

I am curious about how festivals ensure good sound. So can u tell me the elements that ensure good sound at an open-air event? 

Different rigs will sound different in different applications. Point source and line array are the two common speaker systems. Both are good but very different in various applications.Often, particularly with dance music, promoters like to use a PA company that uses a 'fashionable' brand so that they can use it in the flyer for added promotion - this isn't always the best PA system for the application in question.

There's an old cliché about a good engineer can make a shit rig sound good but a bad engineer can make a good rig sound shit. An open space doesn't really have a sound as the are no walls or ceiling to contain it. Outdoor gigs are always a case of 'suck it and see' or busking it basically making it up as you go along - obviously doesn't sound enormously professional but if a knowledgeable pro is working the sound then it's in the best hands it can be in.

It seems like you have to adapt and improvise quite a bit.

Yes, technical improvisation is essential.

Well, sound can be outdoors, couldn’t it? There will always be structures or beams and people! Isn't there a smart way to contain sound in an open space?

Why would you want to contain sound in an open space? There isn't really a way to contain sound in an open space. People do absorb sound but when you do outdoor systems you need a fair amount of power anyway for coverage.

Because sound at festivals are shit! How much power do you need for an outdoor usually? Is there a limit?

Power is another 'how long is a piece of string question’. It isn't really calculated like that. Limits are usually set by local councils and should be adhered to or else you will be fined.

Do you work closely with the DJ? What is the relationship like between sound engineer and DJ?

I work closely with many DJs. Sometimes they are respectful and you can work well with them. Sometimes they are arrogant & ignorant twats, this makes working with them not so much fun and their sound probably won't be as good as it could be.

Can you tell me what open-air events you have worked for?

A handful, can't remember most gigs after I've finished them.

How do you forget about a gig?

For most people it's a night out or a few days away. For crew & techs it's another day at work. Kind of like me asking you what you did 3 Mondays ago...

Three Mondays ago I was at an after party

Can’t have been a good one if you can remember it

It was so good that I decided to stay in London permanently

Sounds like a good story in itself!

And you can't describe to me a time, moment, party, DJ set or place when/where the sound was just perfect for you?

One of the best sounds I ever heard was actually in a warehouse back in ‘91 with 3 huge mono block stacks, the sound almost took on liquid form. Although in fairness '91 was a different time, space & place.

Been racking my brains but like I say, once a gig is done I forget it almost instantly.

I like carnival. Lots of homemade sound systems, some sound great, some not...

Do you do some work for Notting Hill Carnival?

I'm not doing carnival, no. You need to be a member of B.A.S.S. to be able to have a static rig. I don’t have a homemade sound system either.

Actually, now there's a thing. Last year’s Good Times Sound was run by my friends Curt & Rich from Sound Services. It is a Function One company. The sound blew me away there. Very well thought out.

Nice…Why, what was so special about it?

I think it is somewhere on my FB timeline… Basically a very old tune dropped just as I went round front to check outtheir placement & sound, really took me back, incredible bass too as they were using infra bass enclosures.

That’s Rich Cuffley from Sound Services. Behind him are the amp racks & control gear on the left is a small Midas desk.

Heeeheee he looks like a character.

He certainly is! I've know him since the mid nineties when he was working for  Turbosound company, he cracks me up and we can both rant to each other in tech talk.

Do you know about what is happening with Channel One and Carnival?

They're trying to stop Channel One playing carnival apparently so I've heard, this would be tragic!

Written by Tarita Bilquis Weber

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