‘Advance production planning was imperative for Kula Shaker as the performance was part of a 14-date tour, and we were only able to fly in on the day,’ says Kula Shaker monitor engineer and production manager, Mike Taylor. ‘Even though the promoter arranged a police escort from the airport to get us through rush hour, we only had 30 minutes for set-up and soundcheck before doors opened. ‘
Key to the advance planning were the Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems used for FOH and monitors. The bands’ engineers were given the option of an analogue ML5000 or an iLive digital mixing system, comprising an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface.
‘I chose iLive because I was able to build a show and layout – including all the FX and dynamics – on the plane on the way there. Once we were on-site, I was able to quickly ring out my wedges with the aid of the backline tech, who used the frequency readout on the board and reduce what I wanted in record time,’ Taylor adds.
Kula Shaker used eight wedge mixes on stage, and Taylor was able to easily create custom layers with everything he needed in front of him. ‘The FX are amazing and the compressors are very musical. iLive has great operating software, high-quality sound, and an easy to operate layout,’ he says. ‘Ian Brown’s monitor engineer had never used iLive before, and the festival crew spoke very little English, yet he had found his way through most of the functions and with only a two-minute conversation he was moving stuff around on the layers and customising his desk to fit his needs.’
