The two large halls of the radialsystem offer audiences unusual concert settings, wihle smaller studios invite host installations, and an open deck offers listening sessions in the evening sun with a view over water that was once part of the former life of the pumping station on the banks of the river Spree in Berlin-Friedrichshain.
As a creative production and event venue for the development of new artistic programmes and event formats, radialsystem also hosts conferences, meetings and trade fairs that often deal with innovation and futuristic topics. The large number and variety of events, with their associated demand for quality, means it is part of the radial DNA to constantly develop and challenge itself technically, and the venue has become the first in Germany to boast a permanently installed L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound System.
In total, radialsystem has around 2,500m2 of usable event space spread over five floors. The L-ISA Ssystem has been designed for the largest room, the 600m2 Main Hall, and considers the broad spectrum of events hosted at radialsystem – from concerts, musical theatre and dance performances to sound installations of contemporary electroacoustic music, and events that focus on language and dialogue. The former machine hall of the sewage pumping station, the room retains its industrial architecture with wide arched windows and expanses of stone and concrete posing acoustic challenges.
Working alongside Martin Rode, L-Acoustics Head of Application Install for the DACH area, the radialsystem team settled on a modular system based on A15 arrays that can be quickly and easily adapted to two different stage sizes. The Scene system comprises five arrays, each with an A15 Focus and two A15 Wide, supplemented by two flown subwoofer arrays in end-fired configuration, each comprising two KS21.
‘In combination with the KS21 subwoofers, A15 provides the necessary low-end reserves to perfectly cover the wide variety of events,’ Rode says. ‘In addition, the integrated Panflex system allows the A15 to individually adjust the horizontal dispersion pattern so that side reflections from the industrial architecture are minimised.’
Five X8 are used as front fill along the Scene area, with a further 11 X8 for the surround system along the outer and rear walls. Rounding out the L-ISA installation are nine X8 for the Elevation system in the ceiling area.
Carlo Grippa, freelance sound engineer and project manager for the L-ISA system at radialsystem, had his first encounter with L-ISA a few years ago and – despite his vast experience in the surround field – was surprised by the sonic fidelity and the possibilities of L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.
‘I work a lot in the experimental field of contemporary music, often in combination with electronic elements,’ he says. ‘For this reason, I have always dealt with complex surround systems and mixes and have also designed systems myself that have an immersive effect on the audience.’
Grippa sat down with Sherif El Barbari, Director of L-ISA Labs, to see if he, together with a friend who is a composer of experimental music, could put the system through its paces at the L-ISA headquarters in London’s Highgate as part of an extensive demo. ‘I realised then that, for me, L-ISA is the way to the future of sound reinforcement,’ he continues. ‘It’s a creative, user-friendly solution that’s not based on a particular musical direction and is the best-sounding system I’ve heard. And those were our central requirements for radialsystem.’
L-ISA and radialsystem is already proving a promising and potent combination. ‘We have very different performances of musical and performing arts,’ Grippa concludes. ‘Lots of contemporary music and dance, classical music - often in connection with sound engineering and electronics - jazz, pop, events, parties and much more.
‘All the sound engineers at radialsystem have a strong creative pulse and want to show our artists the true audio potential of their work. At the same time, the technicians at the mix position receive a broader, easily accessible range of tools for greater creative freedom. With L-ISA, we can always raise the musical level to a completely new level. This means less showmanship in the sense of an auditory shooting gallery, but a subtle, enveloping and creative use.’
