In Pace with Technology

We are in the fourth month of 2017 and this year has already proven to be a year of big changes in the live music industry. The current role of technology in live event industry in evolving and the music industry witnesses some trends that can shift the landscape in 2017. There are abundant chances to influence fans, simplify the work and gain profit. One of the key aspects to take into consideration is to go Digital. Over the recent years, digital audiences have become even more important. Online engagement through social media platforms like ‘Twitter’, ‘Facebook’ and ‘Instagram’ are one of the driving forces to create awareness and bring people to the event venue. Also promotions on Youtube create a lot of buzz.

Another vital aspect is what you actually do with the data? Data can be collected at different levels from planner, supplier to the customers’ voyage which can prove efficient to give important insight and analytics, giving an added value to the event. Marketing to this range of data can prove helpful and will result in better event experiences of the attendees.

In the recent years, the visual and interactive technology has also evolved tremendously and with projection mapping gaining traction, the visitors can experience a more engaging and a lively environment.

One such tech-heavy event was Vh1 Supersonic Pune edition scheduled from10-12 February. The attendees’ at this extravagant event witnessed one of the most balanced dance music lineups with talented artists. In their endeavour to create a rich experience for all; VH1 Supersonic is a celebration of every reveller there with hours and hours of non-stop back to back music from the best Dance Music DJs in the country and the world.

This event has a reputation of quality sound and displays advanced technology. Gionee Vh1 Supersonic was powered by Budweiser and in its fourth edition; the extravagant event offered its attendees with attractive stages. There were three stages with three different themes. Sonic Realm, the main stage was considered to be a part of the festival and was designed by renowned set designer Shyam Bhatia. Three leading acts, Eric Prydz, Macklemore and Zedd performed on this stage and the FOH engineer who executed these performances was Bruce Rodrigues. The other two stages were Labortoire by Gionee and the Spectrum Stage. The Labortoire featured visual patterns on the background and hosted an impressive line-up of performances by artists like like Aly&Fila, Proculture and Sickflip. The FOH engineers - Jagdish Mukte and Vishal effectuated these acts. The Spectrum stage, hosted by globally popular Dutch Techno brand Awakenings; mesmerized people with its LED elements and stage acts by Arjun Vagale, Joris Voorn, Eagles and Butterflies and much more. The FOH engineer for the Spectrum stage was Nasan Fernandes.

The sound engineer who put up this stupendous show was Manish Mavani of SnLPro; and the lighting engineering aspect was executed by Star Dimensions.

For the main stage, the gears used for sound were- K1 (Tops), K1 SB (Flown subs), SB 28 (Stacked Subs), KARA (front fills), CDJ-2000NXS, DJM-900NXS, DiGiCo SD10 and KARA monitors.

DiGiCo SD8 and Yamaha CL5 were used as FOH consoles for Stage 2 and 3 respectively.

With innovation at its side, Vh1 Supersonic 2017 was one of a kind event that introduced vibrant concepts with versatile themes. Along with the astounding line-up of talent, the attendees also cherished the ground experiences that were spread across the venue. The show had something in stored for all! One could go down the nostalgic trip of childhood and enjoy the LED see saws while others could treat themselves with the flea market, Jenga, community swings and lot more.

Going down South of the country another such event organized was Aatmatrisha 2017, a techno-cultural fest at PES University, Bengaluru, held from 3-4 March. J Davis Prosound & Lighting & Graflex Inc provided technical support for this event and it was conceptualized by conceptions Inc. Aatmatrisha’17’s pro-nite featured Vishal-Shekhar live and swayed the audience with the best of Bollywood.

Giving a versatile approach to music, Symphony 2017 was held from 7-9 February, 2017. It is the annual cultural festival of KJSCE. Fostering creativity and originality, Symphony is a rendezvous for all the art geeks, drama buffs, music aficionados, literary fanatics and dance enthusiasts. Eminent personalities like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Sushant Singh Rajput and several others graced the festival with their presence. It presented perfoemances like the “Kick Off Eve Concert” with an upbeat acoustic band all the way from Kochi, When Chai Met Toast! To Quote The Hindu on this band- “Chai Met Toast sounds something like the musical equivalent of a pinball game. Guitar notes, vocals and drum beats do little joyous somersaults inside the head. The band calls its music ‘happy’.” We couldn’t be more excited to kick-off Symphony with a concert for the first time ever in its history.

Also, putting together the elements of rock, funk, folk, pop and Indian classical music, Symphony 2017 along with Coke Studio Nights presented Lagori! The Bangalore based band made up of 5 unique musicians (each crazier than the other) brings in its own flavours and styles to the table. Young, energetic, full of surprises and utter madness on stage, Lagori has, over the last 4 years, brought thousands to their feet at their concerts.

Known as Asia’s largest and finest Blues phenomenon, the Mahindra Blues Festival brings together some of the best Blues musicians in the world for 2 days of guitar-rippin’, soul-trippin’ action at the iconic Mehboob Studio in Mumbai.

Since its inception in 2011, the Mahindra Blues Festival has been instrumental in bringing down international Blues legends like Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker Jr., Taj Mahal, and Walter Trout, among others, to Mumbai - fuelling a burgeoning interest in Blues music throughout the country. MBF has also become a great platform for Indian Blues bands to perform alongside the best Blues musicians in the world. MBF was also nominated in 2014 for the ‘Keeping the Blues Alive’ award presented by the The Blues Foundation of America.

In 2017, MBF returns in its seventh year, with a fantastic line-up featuring the likes of Supersonic Blues Machine featuring Billy F. gibbons & Eric Gales, Quinn Sullivan, Janiva Magness, Shemekia Copeland and Graine Duffy Band, along with home-grown talent like Blackstratblues and the winners of The Mahindra Blues Band Hunt 2017

Agra Music Festival 2017 was held on Feb 25-26 at Ramada Plaza Agra. The evening was marked with musical talent from across the genres and country. The showcase of aptitude included performances by Aditi Singh Sharma, an Indian playback singer along with Bandish, an Indi-Rock band from Delhi, The Kutle Khan Project and by Kaustav Songman who is a playback singer.

J Davis Prosound & Lighting & Graflex Inc provided tech support for yet another event - DJ Snake at Chennai on the 19th Feb 2017. The Frenchman DJ Snake made his way back to India. Supporting him is the Indian King of Bass Nucleya. The “Let Me Love You” hit maker was joined by the Bass Raja of India, Nucleya, on his three city tour. J Davis Prosound & Lighting & Graflex Inc will be providing the Complete Tech support (Sound, Lights, Truss & LED) for the Event.