With more than 17.6bn streams on Spotify, Colombian musical phenomenon Feid is currently on the road. with the Ferxxocalipsis Tour 2024 having kicked off in Sacramento in April and continued across major US cities from coast to coast, offering fans a chance to experience his brand of high-energy reggaeton live.
On stage, all six musicians’ and vocalists’ IEMs are plugged into Klang immersive monitor mixing in the form of a DMI-Klang card loaded into a Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum338 console for monitors, mirroring another Quantum338 at FOH. This marks the first time the Klang set-up has been used by Feid, any of his band members, or monitor engineer Carlos ‘Carlitos’ Dickson.
‘This is what monitor world looks like from now on,’ Dickson says.
Dickson, a Latin Grammy-winning and multi-nominated engineer – who has also worked with ‘Chyno’ Miranda of the Latin Grammy-winning duo Chino y Nacho, Tony Succar and Sheila E – says that he, Feid, and the band all came to Klang together.
‘In the beginning, I wasn’t using it that aggressively, so we all got used to it together at the same time,’ he says, noting that Klang is used in its full immersive-360 mode by everyone, including crewmembers and the channel he keeps reserved for guest artists. ‘It’s super simple to operate and you can easily get moving on it in no time.’
The DMI-Klang module interfaces directly with the tour’s DiGiCo Quantum338 monitor console, making a huge difference operationally during shows since Klang runs natively on the Quantum worksurface.
‘The console integration with DiGiCo means that I don’t have to use a separate computer for Klang, like I’d had to with other consoles. It’s just a single, seamless mix for me. I’ve been using Klang for three months now, and I have it in my monitor package for the whole tour through the end of the year when we finish.’
Dickson says the band appreciates the immersive aspect of the Klang approach to monitors, which gives them not only a custom mix but also spatial accuracy, positioning other musicians in the monitors the way they’re positioned on stage. ‘I love having more space to put each element in its place,’ he says.
But perhaps the single biggest benefit is how Klang reduces ear fatigue for everyone: ‘The distinct separation of instruments and vocals allows volume levels to be kept much more under control, which is important because each show is over two hours long and we have up to four shows per week,’ Dickson explains. ‘Also, before Klang, the band members would say that mixes sounded different from one day to the next. Well, the mix was exactly the same, but of course they can sound different in each different venue. Klang changed all that. Everyone can now hear more consistently and clearly because they have their own space. Klang helps in so many ways.’
Feid himself has become a fan of Klang: ‘I can tell you he loves it,’ says Dickson. ‘He really likes new technology and loves trying new things out. And Klang is where he likes to be, which is at the cutting edge.’
