MSI Japan was appointed as the production partner for Clockenflap (Hong Kong’s biggest and longest running outdoor music and arts festival) for the event’s largest Harbourflap stage, where they deployed a Martin Audio MLA array for artists including Pulp, Joji, Yoasobi, Caroline Polachek and IDLES.
Responsible for the sound system design were MSI’s Bunshiro ‘Bun’ Hote, Yasuhiko ‘Yasu’ Watanabe and Yukio ‘Eddie’ Tanada, who explained that one of the biggest challenges faced at the event is noise control.
It is not so much about controlling the noise out the front of the stage as limiting the audio coming out the back of the stage. At the rear of the stage are several government buildings, residential properties and hotels. In past years there have been complaints from residents and so MSI needed to focus on rear rejection.
It immediately became apparent that in order to control the sound across the entire frequency waveband, their only choice was to deploy Martin Audio MLA, with its advanced DISPLAY control and optimisation software.
And by further adding a full cardioid subwoofer array, using 30 x MLX, they could achieve close to 30dB rejection at the rear of the stage.
The two hangs of 15 Martin Audio MLA and a single MLD downfill box were addressed by DISPLAY, the software enabling MSI to control the coverage for the audience. At the same time, by utilising the ‘Hard Avoid’ feature at the rear they could eliminate audio from on the stage, and therefore also from the residents behind the stage.
Limits were also placed at the edges of the audience areas to ensure maximum focus on the audio where it needed to be, without escaping across the water to the Kowloon side.
Clockenflap sound director, Sem Cigna, has been working on the event since 2016, and has seen several sound systems on the main stage over this time. Sem used MLA for the Gwen Stefani concert in Hong Kong in 2019 as well as the Rugby Sevens, and familiarised himself with MLA in a similar configuration to this show (although with slightly fewer subs).
There were similar demands back then and after that show Cigna commented, “I was able to experience just how MLA could reduce the audio outside the audience area without losing any impact for the audience itself.” They experienced the same thing at Clockenflap this year.