Following a near two-year break from touring, English rockers Elbow take brand new album ‘Audio Vertigo’ on the road with a Skan PA Hire audio package.
Operated by the band’s long-standing engineers, Danny Evans (FOH) and Julien Helme (Mons), the combination of Avid VENUE S6L 24Cs at both ends, and a d&b audiotechnik GSL Series PA system design by Skan’s Scott Essen, made quite the impact as the new album was heard by live audiences.
Tour and Production Manager, Tom Piper, comments: “We have a very long-standing relationship with Skan, who are the long term and very much preferred audio supplier for Elbow tours. They provide state-of-the-art systems and are super-efficient operationally, a pleasure to work with.”
The band’s hits and new material is mixed by Danny, who is both the band’s FOH and studio engineer. He begins: “There’s generally a lot more time pressure when working live. I don’t mix particularly loud, but I think that coming to a live show should be a visceral experience. The d&b GSL used on our most recent tour has taken this to a new level, the way it reduces the output coming from the rear of the PA is a game-changer!”
After working with the band for two decades, Danny is settled into a routine with his audio vendor. He continues: “From the first time Skan supplied gear for us, everything was immaculately prepped, properly maintained, no corners cut, and the crew are always first class. Scott Essen, Joachim Dewulf, Matt Vickers and many other system designers from Skan have all been superb. I have learnt a lot from all of them.”
The ‘Audio Vertigo’ live campaign toured main hangs of GSL with KSL side hangs, V Line rear hangs, J Subs on the ground and Y Series cabinet for front fills, powered by d&b D40 and D80 amplifiers.
In terms of his FOH mix, Danny plays with dynamics that differ to the band’s recorded music, an opportunity, he says, to give certain musical passages more dramatic impact.
“I probably exaggerate certain effects in a live mix, which on a recording, would not bear repeated scrutiny. Specifically with Elbow, the lyrics are so important; I aim to mix in a way that Guy’s [Garvey, frontman] vocal is always 100% intelligible without it sitting right on top and making the rest of the music sound quiet in comparison.”
Danny’s desk has custom layouts and recallable layouts per snapshot/scene, meaning that with planning, it’s straightforward for him to mix 50+ channels on a 24-fader surface.
“I always spec the S6L with a Waves server, which provides an additional range of high-quality effects,” he furthers. “I love the flexibility of the routing, the ‘Events’ functionality is amazing and allows me to shortcut or automate certain things that simply aren’t possible on other desks. The integration with Pro Tools is almost perfect, and the fact that there's access to a wide range of plug-ins including 3rd party plug-ins from McDSP, Plug-in Alliance, and Waves, is a big advantage.”
For Guy Garvey’s vocal a DPA D: Facto II is selected for what Danny describes as “a smoother response through the high frequencies which is more forgiving of sibilance, even when I want to brighten his vocal channel.”
Reflecting on the many audio nuances of this camp, he adds: “As the artist’s engineer, I often deal with last minute curve balls or changes in spec, and Chris Fitch and the team at Skan understand this, always finding a way to make it work. Their tech support has always been second to none.”
In monitor world, fellow Elbow crew veteran, Monitor Engineer, Julien Helme, also chooses the S6L console.
He begins: “It was a natural progression to begin using the S6L after mixing on the previous generation of Avid Profile. The small footprint 24C works well for us.”
With five band members, six orchestral musicians, and a FOH channel, Julien is generating a handful of differing mixes.
He continues: “We’re using in-ear monitors, with no wedges on the stage at all anymore. We have Shure PSM 900 transmitters, with Shure P10 packs. These have twin diversity antennae giving better RF reception, and ultimately less dropouts.”
He concludes: “When it comes to getting everything right for our tours, Skan has always been the best at delivering what we need.”
Elbow will continue the ‘Audio Vertigo’ tour with a series of summer dates across the UK and Europe this summer.
