Project Description
Having already made history as the first band to use L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology at their ground-breaking concert at Forest Hills Stadium in New York, UK indie rockers alt-J clocked up another first, this time on home ground at London’s Royal Albert Hall. For the final two dates of their world tour in support of their 2017 album Relaxer and its more recent counterpart REDUXER, the UK’s first ever deployment of the fully immersive revolutionary audio system brought more fans closer than ever to the band’s combination of ethereal harmonies and striking sound effects, which lend themselves perfectly to this 360-degree audio experience.
Sound Design Solution
A classic design would use a left/right configuration of 14 K2 with two K1-SB per side, augmented by a centrally-flown hang of eight KS28 subwoofers.
The L-ISA configuration at the Royal Albert Hall consisted of three central hangs of 12 K2 with three Kara down each, flanked by two hangs of 16 Kara either side of the K2 hangs to create the Scene system. Two hangs of four KS28 were flown behind the K2 hangs. Two hangs of 12 Kara formed an extension system and two hangs of 10 Kara provided sidefill coverage. Two ARCS II, left and right, sat on the stage lip, with two ARCS Wide centre stage for frontfill and three X8 per side for stalls fill. Four SB18 were positioned below the front of the stage for low end frontfill.
The surround system comprised ten Syva positioned around the top of the Gallery (Level 5), plus ten X12 evenly distributed around the bottom of the Rausing Circle acting as a delay ring for the main Syva surrounds.
Setup
L-ISA Design
L/R Design
Technical Information
| Type | Theatre |
|---|---|
| Venue | 45m deep x 55m wide |
| Stage | 12m wide front x 25m wide rear x 0.95m high |
| FOH | 23m from D.S.E |
Constraints
| Min trim height | 26ft (from stage) |
|---|
Due to the in-house rigging points availability and capacity the Frontal PA has to be quite far down stage.
Sound Design Target
| Program type | Rock |
|---|---|
| SPL max average | >= 105 dBA |
| SPL distribution | 6 – 9 dB |
| Frequency contour | 8 dB (@ 100hz) |
| Frequency contour | 8 dB (@ 40hz) |
Mapping
L-ISA Design
L/R Design
L/R Coverage
L-ISA Coverage
I was quite emotional when we listened back to last night’s show we did using L-ISA. It was like listening to the songs for the first time again.
Gus Unger-Hamilton, alt-J vocalist and keyboardist
L-ISA could change the way in which we format our live shows, to highlight the system. The more acquainted you are with the idea the more comfortable you are, and that breeds a further creative drive, and who knows what then might happen?
Joe Newman, alt-J vocalist and guitarist