It’s 18 June and the sun has set in Volgograd. England are about to face Tunisia in one of the opening games of the 2018 World Cup at the newly built Volgograd Arena and expectations are high.

Volgograd Arena was designed by Moscow based Sport-Engineering, the winner of an open tender. Stroytransgaz was the project’s general construction contractor and Inline was the lead contractor for various audiovisual aspects of the project, including the main bowl sound system…

… From the very beginning, Andrei [Kremenchugski, Edelweiss Audio’s technical director] worked closely with members of the Funktion-One team. It started with Funktion-One founder, Tony Andrews. Andrei and Tony discussed the project at length and formulated a design that would give the stadium the highest level of sports venue sound.

Read the full article in Issue 01 of MONDO|STADIA

Hertfordshire’s Farr Festival is a special little affair that embraces the soulful parts of musical gatherings. Seemingly devoid of any obtrusive commercialism, Farr gives precedence to creating bespoke and engaging environments and to audio design that lets people feel the music.

Dave Millard – Full Fat Audio’s founder and owner – has supplied the sound systems since the event’s early days, almost a decade ago.

“I lived in the same village as the promoter, Oscar Thornton, and we became friends. The first year was basically a friend’s birthday party in a caravan in the woods. They only had a couple of speakers, but people enjoyed the setting, they had a good time, so they decided to keep it going.

“It grew from 500 to 1,500 for a couple of years, and then they felt confident and comfortable enough to invest some money and get some bigger acts in and then they jumped up to 3,000. AEG took it over and absorbed Oscar, who was basically the architect of the festival. He’s still involved, overseeing the acts and the whole personality of the festival and I’m involved on the audio side because we can do bespoke and unusual system designs, which are what the festival needs.”

As well as running FFA, Millard holds a sizeable stock of Funktion-One loudspeakers, which he pairs with his own amps for a variety of events throughout the year. Farr’s five stages are all equipped with this combination, with supplier support coming from Zion Audio.

Millard explains: “I’ve been using Funktion-one since about 2001. I mean, I was using Tony Andrews and John Newsham’s designs when it was Turbosound. It’s just something that appeals to me – it’s something that I get.”

Read the full article in the August Issue of TPi Magazine

(Photo by http://tidalmedia.co.uk )

For the 2018 edition of Electrobeach, which took place from 12-14 July, organisers broke new ground by employing Funktion-One sound systems on all 4 of its stages.

Held in the port town of Barcarès on France’s southern coast, Electrobeach is the country’s largest electronic music festival, featuring more than 100 DJs and hosting around 100,000 people over its 3 days.

To meet the needs of such a large-scale event, Funktion-One specialists from across France and beyond came together to work on the festival.

Heading up the project was Concept Group, based in the south of France, who in turn brought together Solution One from Montpellier, Remote from Paris and Think! AV from the Netherlands – each providing the equipment and expertise required to ensure this year’s sound systems would surpass all those that had come before.

Read the full article at TPi Magazine

(Photo by 432 Productions)

Nestled high in the Rhodope Mountains that line Bulgaria’s border with Greece, Meadows in the Mountains (MITM) is an annual festival that provides an experience both musically and geographically outside the mainstream – and off the beaten track. Located just outside the small town of Polkovnik Serafimovo, the festival returned this June for a four-day, non-stop party, powered by a Funktion-One sound system.

The very thing that makes MITM such a special festival – its spectacularly remote location – naturally meant this was far from a regular set-up. The system, supplied and installed by UK-based Audio Feed, undertook quite a journey to site. The truck carrying all the necessary kit from the UK was only able to travel half way up the mountainside – with the remainder of the trip made on a combination of smaller flatbed truck and horse-drawn cart.

The festival comprised six areas, each featuring a Funktion-One system, supported by XTA and MC2 to achieve the best quality audio in the low-pressure mountain air.

Read the full article at LSi Online

Sound Investment provided the Funktion-One sound system for the RESISTANCE: Carl Cox Megastructure stage at Ultra Music Festival in Miami Florida by the direct request of Carl Cox himself.

Cox regularly turns to Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews to deliver the finest sound reproduction, and, to that end, the system at his stage at Ultra was a tour de force of Funktion-One’s flagship technology and philosophy. Due to Andrews’ passion for accuracy, he has developed strategies that fix mechanical anomalies with mechanical solutions and acoustic issues with acoustic solutions.

The main speaker hangs were a full contingent of Vero cabinets. Vero is a large format speaker system that skilfully melds point source coherency with many of the conveniences of vertical column array systems. The system’s throw and coverage can be tailored to suit the venue and 12 Vero cabinets per hang ensured that each audience position from the front to the back had excellent imaging.

Vero was powered and processed by Lab.gruppen PLM20K amplifiers and LM44 system controllers, which are specifically utilised to take advantage of their high power output, precise signal processing, and Dante networking capabilities. All communication between DJ booth, monitor beach, FOH and amplifiers was accomplished using managed switches and fibre optic links.

The low frequency range of the music programme was reproduced using ground-breaking concepts in fixture design and system deployment. The venerable V221 is a dual 21″ folded horn with exceptional transparency and output. The ultra-low frequency range between 20Hz and 45Hz was reproduced using Funktion-One V132 enclosures, which utilise a 32″ cone driven by a 10,000W positioning motor – the Powersoft M-Force. Functionally, combining these two cabinets results in zero equalisation being required to achieve a flat frequency response from 90Hz to 20Hz, with tremendous impact and deep resonating bass without limitations.

The V221s and V132s were arranged in two single stacks, both with minimised horizontal dimensions. The result is a smooth coverage pattern in both the time and frequency domain due to the minimisation of inter-cabinet arrival time differences.

Cox also requested that the Funktion-One PSM318 be used onstage for DJ monitoring. The PSM318 is a floor-standing, four-way monitor system that features two 18″ drivers for low end, and a tri-axial low/mid/high driver for precise and coherent wave-front arrival regardless of where the listener stands.

The Funktion-One sound system at Chongquing’s Space Plus club has been designed to rival that of a large EDM festival, Sue Su reports…

The newest addition to the MIXC Mall chain of shopping centres has brought an array of luxury brands to the centre of Chongquing. At its heart is the mall’s flagship nightclub, Space Plus Chongquing.

When it comes to nightlife, clubbers in Chongquing have plenty of choice in where to spend the evening. With so much competition, it was essential that Space Plus Chongquing provide an excellent first impression, opening with unique concepts and a top-quality sound system.

Owner Mr Luo was introduced to Funktion-One co-founder Tony Andrews at the 2016 Prolight + Sound Shanghai trade show by the British manufacturer’s Chinese distributor, Phoenix Audio. It was during this meeting that Mr Luo decided to equip his next club with a sound system comprised entirely from Funktion-One loudspeakers.

Read the full article in the March/April 2018 edition of Pro AVL Asia

Returning to Bangkok for a second Asian edition, global trance extravaganza Transmission once again turned to trusted audio supplier Audio Plus to deliver the festival’s now-essential Funktion-One sound.

Over the past 12 years, United Music Group’s Transmission festivals have become world-renowned for providing the ultimate in indoor EDM experiences. Each event is designed to deliver an evening of high-quality DJ sets, woven together into a single themed show and elevated to the level of mind-blowing spectacle by an expert behind-the-scenes team of suppliers and designers.

Serving up a night of progressive house and trance to an audience drawn from over 60 nations, Transmission Festival Asia 2018 was no exception. Taking place on 17 March, the festival returned to the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) for a second year, bringing with it the Spirit of the Warrior show that had already wowed audiences in Prague at the end of 2017.

Read the full article in the March Issue of TPi Magazine

Photo by Palci

Full Throttle Entertainment’s ownership of the largest Funktion-One inventory in the southern hemisphere should provide some insight into the company. Caroline Moss finds out more…

Australian Production House Full Throttle Entertainment (FTE) wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for the entertainment mecca in the desert called Las Vegas.

Owner Adam ward, an Australian expat working for boutique installation and touring company Audio West in Southern California, had just finished installing the new C2K mega-club at the Venetian hotel in 2000. ‘I had friends that were throwing a party in the club and asked me to go out to Vegas to engineer their show,’ remembers Mr Ward. ‘About three-quarters of the way through the show, the club’s director of operations offered me a job. Later that week I moved to Las Vegas.’ Full Throttle Entertainment was born.

Read the full article in the May/June 2018 issue of Pro AVL Asia.

High-end restaurant brand, The Galliard, has opened a second venue in the north of Istanbul, complete with a Funktion-One sound system

After five successful years operating in the affluent Etiler district of Istanbul, The Galliard restaurant was recently joined by a sister venue, located in the new Vadistanbul development in the northern suburbs of the city. While the new Galliard Brasserie maintains the same emphasis on culinary excellence, it offers a more relaxed setting than its sibling, one which – towards the end of the night – shifts into a DJ-led bar/club mode, powered by the Funktion-One sound system.

Taking its name from a Renaissance dance that swept through France, Spain and Italy in the 16^th century, The Galliard family of restaurants waltzes its patrons through a rich menu of western European flavours. Walls decked with the works of respected artists form the backdrop to an array of dishes, designed and delivered with technical precision. It’s little surprise, therefore, that when owner Ahmet Uras set about designing the new Galliard Brasserie, he sought out a sound system that could deliver an equally high standard of artistic and technical excellence.

After hearing a Funktion-One system in action at another venue in Turkey, Uras contacted the installer responsible – Mek1Sound – to bring the same audio quality to the new Brasserie. Headed by renowned DJ/producer Murat Uncuoglu and audio installation veteran Ertugrul Karasati, Mek1Sound has significantly raised the standard of sound system installation in Turkey, thanks to the combined expertise of its founders and an exclusive provision of Funktion-One.

Uras explains: “We always prefer to work with Mek1Sound due to their friendly attitude and enhanced proficiency in sound system solutions. We believe that Mek1Sound is our true solution partner and they have our trust for all the systems they recommend to us.”

Karasati says: “The owner, Mr Uras, was really impressed with the installations we’d achieved elsewhere using Funktion-One. He instantly recognised that the superb sound quality that can be achieved with Funktion-One speakers would be the ideal match for The Galliard’s ethos of creating the perfect dining experience.”

To achieve the optimum coverage, two triangular brackets reaching down through the wood-slat ceiling each provide a mounting point for two F101s and an F81. Two more F81s are positioned on either side of a large screen – used to show sporting events – at one end of the restaurant.

F1201s are wall mounted at opposite corners of the restaurant – one by the kitchen hatch and one above the DJ booth. Lower frequencies are provided by four BR115 enclosures and two MB112 compact bass enclosures. A further four MB112s are used in the semi-covered outside terrace area to complement the rows of smaller, beam-mounted speakers used there. Three MC² Delta 80s deliver the required amplification.

As the evening proceeds and the focus shifts from dining to dancing, the DJ mix is brought to the fore, but without obliterating the after-dinner conversation. “The purity of sound created by the Funktion-One system means the whole room can be filled with music, without ever becoming uncomfortable,” notes Karasati.

Uras adds: “We always prefer to install Funktion-One solutions in our venues – their product range means there is the right solution for all different types of venues. First, we did The Galliard Etiler with the compact Funktion-One loudspeakers and the quality of the sound was amazing for a mid-sized restaurant/bar.

“Three years later we’ve done The Galliard Vadistanbul with some of the bigger Funktion-One speakers. Not just us but all the customers were appreciating the quality of the sound in the venue. Funktion-One always provides sound that makes you move to the music – you feel all the tones – particularly when you go to higher volume levels, you feel the difference compared to its competitors even more.”

Such is the success of the new installation, that Uras has commissioned a Funktion-One system for a third venue, The Galliard Dubai, which is due to open at the end of June. Regional Funktion-One specialists, Em-Tech, will carry out the installation, with Ertugrul Karasati joining the project in a consulting role at the request of the owner.

“Now we are constructing The Galliard Dubai with an even bigger Funktion-One system – I’m very excited to hear the sound after the installation. Once again, I’m very thankful to Mek1Sound, because they didn’t even sell us the system for Dubai, but they helped us with all the project details and product selections. Plus, they brought us together with Em-Tec and they are still helping us to finalise the installation details. I feel very lucky to know the partners of Mek1Sound, Ertugrul Karasati and Murat Uncuoğlu.”