Known for their genre-defying collage of hardcore industrial punk and heavy metal electrobeats, Enter Shikari are constantly experimenting with their live sound set-up – as on during their latest outing with a quadrophonic system.
During the initial stages of the tour’s design, FOH engineer Andy Russell sought a system that would push boundaries in audio fidelity, looking to Adlib Systems Engineers George Puttock and Sam Proctor, together with Adlib Account Manager and Director Dave Jones. Jointly, they specified Coda Audio’s AiRay for its low distortion, high output and intense clarity.
Having worked with Enter Shikari for the past 11 years, Russell knows how they and he like the shows to sound – raw, powerful, intricate and detailed. He aims to achieve a big, bold sound with lots of creative effects to accompany the volume and sub bass.
Roger Waters’ Dark Side of the Moon performance at Coachella in 2008 suggested the band to go down the quad route. It was a technique they used on the last arena tour (Feb 2016) which was also serviced by Adlib and system engineered by Sam Proctor. For this tour, the aim was to immerse the audience and make vast arena spaces appear as intimate as a 3000person underground club with condensation dripping from the ceiling.
Coda proved an ideal choice, as it covers a wider frequency range than many systems. A typical system set-up comprised of a 12-deep AiRay hang per side with four ViRay as down fill. Flown behind the AiRay were typically six SC2 LF extensions per side. These double 15-inch enclosures overlap the double 12-ichs of the AiRay in the 40–160Hz range, adding immense punch and weight to the already meaty AiRay cabinet.
The SC2 cabinet is from the same family as AiRay, so Puttock was able to fly them elsewhere in the hangs if needed, as on another tour which recently played Brixton, where they were slipped into the middle of the array to avoid hitting the balcony with the AiRay, while keeping one single line source of LF in the air. On the floor, 20 of Coda’s Sensor Controlled SCP-F dual 18-inch Subs were placed in a horizontal line. Three of Coda’s new arrayable point source (APS) speakers were used per side for infill in conjunction with four high-output point source (HOPS) cabinets.
The rear speaker hangs providing the quad coverage comprised of eight ViRay speakers in each corner. A truss was flown between these hangs to run the cables to FOH, where they were powered by Coda’s Linus Amplified Controllers.
Audio was taken from a Midas Pro X console at FOH to the Coda Amplifiers digitally and completely latency free with a proprietary LiNet Redundant Signal Distribution System.
‘The entire Coda package provided for this tour was a complete dream to use,’ says Puttock. ‘Audio quality was the prime concern for the Enter Shikari tour and the Coda System far outperformed all expectations. The added bonus that these speakers are also incredibly lightweight, easy to rig and efficient on amplifier resources was a massive plus… but completely incidental to the actual decision of quality first’.
‘We define ourselves as sound engineers, not convenience engineers. Even if it had been a case that the system was challenging to rig, we would have still chosen it for its sound quality. If you haven’t heard a Coda system yet, you should give this “underdog” system the benefit of the doubt and let your ears decide.’
‘I can now honestly say that Coda is the best PA I have ever mixed on,’ Russell reports as the UK run ends.
Monitor engineer Joe Crouch worked with Adlib technician Kleiner on stage using one of Adlib’s Soundcraft Vi3000 consoles and the band’s own IEM system. With most inputs DI’d into the line system, it was a clean and quiet stage on which Andy and Joe could let loose their creativity.
‘AiRay not only sounds absolutely phenomenal, it’s also lightweight, which takes away any rigging concerns, and the boxes are so small we can fit a surround sound rig into the same trucks space a traditional stereo arena rig would take up,’ says Production Manager Edd Slaney. ‘It’s not often you have a PA system that is so far superior to what’s come before, that it looks like it will be a game-changer for the entire industry.’
In addition to the fantastic comments in the press and constant positive chatter buzzing on social channels, Puttock recalls how every night at FOH they would encounter compliments on the sound from many delighted fans at the end of the show. ‘Whilst this does happen from time-to-time at gigs, on this tour it was constant. Every night without fail we would have 15-20 people come to FOH almost lost for words. hey clearly felt part of the whole show.’
The challenge of getting that intimacy and personal connection was achieved in abundance, thanks to Coda, Andy and the band’s tremendous effort in making this tour an experience that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
‘When Edd the PM came up to me during the sound check in an empty room on the first show commenting on how good it sounds – you know something great is going to happen come show time,’ Dave Jones sums up. ‘The band’s energy on stage is something else and it is one of the best live shows we’ve been involved with this year.’
