With her earliest demo shared on Twitter by Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie (Nicholson) has spent the past ten years building her brand of personality-infused pop as well as having been touring vocalist for Rudimental early in her career. A testament to her achievements, she recently received a BRIT Billion Award, and successfully collaborated with artists, including on her first UK number one hit ‘Rockabye’, a collaboration with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul.
Currently on tour promoting her third album Unhealthy, she uses Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 microphone system, and enjoys a successful working relationship with the Relationship Management team at Sennheiser. Tour & Production Manager, Edd Sedgwick has also become an advocate of the Digital 6000 series, and collaborated with UK Relations Manager Peter Craig and the Sennheiser crew to bring several artists onboard with the Digital 6000 wireless microphone system.
‘The D6000 boasts a modern and premium appearance while also demonstrating remarkable robustness,’ Sedgwick says. ‘Even amid unexpected mishaps, such as an accidental mic drop, this resilient workhorse ensures the show must, and will, go on.
‘It gives artists confidence,’ he continues. ‘They know it’s going to be a good show with the D6000. Performers can run into the crowd and interact with the audience without worrying about the range – and Anne-Marie usually does that with her fans. The interchangeability of capsules is a really big factor, too.’
Anne-Marie uses a range of capsules are used depending on the size of the show, which can range from mammoth-capacity stadium gigs to small-scale acoustic performances. A more sensitive capsule is used if the stage is large, empty and more prone to room reflections and noise, but equally it can be quickly changed to adapt to a intimate show that needs a tighter super-cardioid capsule. This minimises any issues with the artist being in front of the PA.
‘The interchangeability of capsules is a great selling point for someone who does shows ranging from stadiums and festivals to large indoor corporate events, knowing we can always get the best and cleanest sound for Anne-Marie’s vocal,’ says monitor engineer, Joe Standen. ‘For us, having the option of analogue and AES outputs is a great advantage, too, we can also process each output separately and have full control of her vocal. We personally don’t use the Dante option but it’s great to know it’s there if we ever needed it.’
Working with Sennheiser’s proprietary Digital Audio Codec (SeDAC) also ensures the highest quality audio from the Digital 6000 series. For Anne-Marie, it works for her aesthetically too, especially in custom white. ‘Anne-Marie loves using the D6000 series, she owns her own system. It’s her choice of transmitter and we’ve never had a problem with it. She’s been using D6000 for as long as I can remember,’ Sedgwick says.
‘Where the vocal sound has to be precise, transparent and rock-solid, the 6000 series provides the confidence that it will be delivered to the channel crystal-clear for FOH, monitors and broadcast,’ says FOH engineer Chris Whybrow. ‘Anne-Marie’s vocal is the most important thing to put across so trusting we have the tools to do that is a great reassurance, and we can choose a capsule that captures her vocal exactly as it needs to.’
One of the most notable shows for Anne-Marie and Digital 6000 was her appearance at Capital’s Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium in June, headlined by a star-studded line-up of huge acts including Niall Horan, The Jonas Brothers, RAYE and Calvin Harris.
‘I was looking after several artists at this year’s Summertime Ball, including Jax Jones and Sigala, as well as Anne-Marie,’ Sedgwick says. ‘All of them were using the D6000 series. Sennheiser has always been a brand that I’ve turned to. We know that they will deliver what we need at the shows, especially the larger-scale stadium events. The flexibility really is key with performers like Anne-Marie.’
In addition to his role as Tour & Production Manager with Anne-Marie, Sedgwick operates his own The Fly Pack Company, which specialises in providing custom fly pack solutions featuring Sennheiser IEMs and Digital 6000, along with evolution wireless G4 microphone systems. These pre-configured systems offer a flyable solution that fits within a Pelican case. ‘This represents yet another avenue through which we extend support to all our artists, ensuring they have these systems readily available no matter where their journey takes them,’ he says.
Anne-Marie’s loyalty to Sennheiser is one that is shared by many of the biggest popstars on the current circuit. ‘With unmatched sound quality at its core, the D6000 series gives artists the confidence they need to perform in any size of venue, to any size of audience, ensuring that the vocal delivery is always crystal clear,’ Sedgwick says.
