Press release
01.12.2010 - London
Ending on a high note: a-ha plays sold-out Wembley Arena
by Richard Lawn
London, December 2010 – Dubbed as ‘Ending on a High Note’, a-ha culminated a career spanning a quarter of a century with a world tour that lived up to its billing. Ever since the Norwegian pop trio burst out onto MTV with the iconic ‘Take On Me’ video and hit single in 1985, the band were at the top of the class in the late 80’s with hits such as ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’, ‘ Living Daylights’ and ‘Cry Wolf’. Until recently, the band laid low, but having released ‘Foot of the Mountain’ in 2009, they decided to take to the road for a final time. By the time the final concerts were played in front of a home crowd in Oslo on 4 December, the tour had covered four continents and fifteen countries over a 13 month period.
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The band directly employed the services of both Sherif El Barbari and Kursten Smith as their as FOH and monitor engineers respectively, both of whom acknowledged the professionalism and high standards of lead singer Morten Harket and his band mates Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen. “Morten keeps us on our toes as he is a consummate professional,” commented Mr. Smith. “I’d much rather work with a performer who clearly cares about the sound than one who doesn’t.” The singer converted to a wireless Sennheiser SKM 5200 with a Neumann KK 105 capsule together with Sennheiser in-ear monitors for the tour. “He really works us hard and is rarely satisfied with the sound, always looking to make improvements for the sake of the audience,” furthered Mr. El Barbari, who – like Production Manager James Maillardet – was sporting facial hair for the month of ‘Movember’ in the name of cancer research. “Morten is incredibly sensitive to the performance of his microphone and wireless personal monitor system. I’ve been an engineer for twenty-eight years and I have never met someone who is so spot-on regarding what he hears, what he feels, and what he expresses. He is a perfectionist who is capable of delivering, and he really raised the bar for Kursten and myself.” |
London’s sold-out Wembley Arena was a-ha’s last stop before returning to Oslo
The tour drew upon a full complement of Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones, including a Sennheiser SKM 5200 with a Neumann KK 105 capsule for the lead vocalist in addition to Sennheiser wireless personal monitors. The demanding singer became very attached to the sound of the Neumann KK 105 capsule. “The Neumann condenser sound rings clear and true when he hits the incredibly high notes for which he is known,” furthered Mr. Barbari. “As soon as Morten used the microphone he recognised the difference as it has better definition and is very open. Most of all, he likes the warmth it provides, which has been enhanced by processing them via a couple of Avalon VT737 vacuum tube processors.”
Morten Harket doesn’t compromise his focused vocals on stage for any athletic choreography, but was persuaded by his engineers to go wireless for the first time. Using a reliable, wireless mic has undoubtedly altered his style of performance, allowing him to move without fear of tangled wires. In addition, both Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen used Sennheiser e 935 wired dynamics for backing vocals, which Mr. Barbari recommended for their off-axis rejection and tailored response. Eight wireless ew 300 series personal monitoring systems with twelve transmitters were used together with an A 5000 CP antenna. Depending on the concert location and the availability of the various suppliers, ew 300 IEM G2 or G3 systems were used throughout the tour. Each band technician carried a duplicate pack on the channel of the performer. “I carry a spare pack in case of any RF trouble, but to date I haven’t had any need to use it,” enlightened Mr. Smith. “The massive video walls used on this tour complicate things, but the Sennheiser gear has been robust enough to deal with it.”
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A number of Sennheiser wired microphones were also used including e 902s to pick up the kick drum. “There were a couple of occasions when the drummer Karl-Oluf Wennerberg got a little carried away and created a rattle on the tom mics. In each instance, the Sennheiser suppliers replaced the model in time for the next gig,” admitted Mr. Smith. The very low profile of the drum kit forced Mr. El Barbari to select a combination of Sennheiser e 904 microphones on toms with contact transducers to trigger gates, whilst e 914 small-diaphragm condensers were used to cover stereo overheads and the hi-hat. In addition, an e 614 captured the harmonics of a sometimes-used glockenspiel. |
During the shows, monitor engineer Kursten Smith stayed in close contact with Morten Harket to ensure optimum sound
A DiGiCo SD7 console was employed to mix the 47 stage input channels at FOH including two ambient mic feeds for the audience, whilst an SD8 was used on monitors. As such, soundchecks were largely bypassed as all the band’s settings were saved and used for future venues. “I’ve used DiGiCo consoles since the D5 was launched and wouldn’t consider using another console as they’re so intuitive, reliable,” commented Mr. Barbari. “The support you get from everyone at DiGiCo is second to none.” The lead singer requests personal vocal mic sound checks prior to the doors opening on some occasions. “During the concert, 98% of my focus is on Morten,” Mr Smith confirmed with a grin. “Morten is a true gentleman, but he is very particular.” He stayed in contact during the concert with the lead singer via a pair of Ultimate Ears IEM’s, although the personal monitors made way for the personal touch at times as Morten would sometimes wander across to the SD8 and discuss improvements with Mr. Smith.
Capital Sound supplied a Martin Audio loudspeaker system for the European leg of the tour. This consisted of between 14 to 16 W8L Longbow cabinets as the main FOH system, supplemented by WLC line array cabinets for side fills and augmented by six per side flying Longbow subwoofers with twelve floor-standing 218 dual 18-inch subwoofers stacked in cardioid configuration. Devoid of wedge monitors on stage, the neat appearance was only broken by the addition of ten low profile Martin Audio LM speakers at the stage lip, which were used as front fills. A Meyer Sound Galileo processor was used to manage system EQ and time alignment, whilst XTA DP226 processors were employed as crossovers allowing sound crew chief Al Woods to configure the Audiocore software on a PC screen. Two Lake LM26 processors were also used by Mr. El Barbari as a final EQ on the SD7 console mixes feeding the Galileo, whilst TC System 6000 processors were used for vocal and drum reverbs. A TC2290 was added for delays and an Eventide Ultra Harmonizer for backing vocals. All FX were controlled via MIDI from the SD7.
The sold-out London Wembley Arena concert marked the last stop of the tour prior to the Oslo finale and the band looked suitably moved knowing that it would be the last time they would play live to a UK audience. Only when the musicians started to play the opening notes to ‘Crying In The Rain’ did Morten Hartke let his professional guard slip, visibly shedding a tear as he read a note passed up to the stage from an audience member. Their decision to retire when they did assured a-ha certainly did end up on a high note, playing packed venues rather than staggering on to dwindling audiences. Their choice of technical crew and the equipment they specified for the tour rider ultimately ensured that each two-hour set was delivered note perfect – just as Morten demanded.
The Sennheiser Group, with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. The family-owned company, which was established in 1945, recorded sales of around €390 million in 2009. Sennheiser employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, and has manufacturing plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company is represented worldwide by subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico and the USA, as well as by long-term trading partners in many other countries. Also part of the Sennheiser Group are Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin (studio microphones and monitor loudspeakers), and the joint venture Sennheiser Communications A/S (headsets for PCs, offices and call centres).
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(Photos by Richard Lawn)
