Electronic music pioneer Jean Michel Jarre’s most recent appearance saw him take the stage in the Slovakian capital Bratislava to perform his “Bridge From the Future” show in front of an audience of 100,000 supported by a sound reinforcement system headed by a range of CODA Audio loudspeakers and supporting components.
The performance opened STARMUS, a science and music festival founded by Queen guitarist Brian May and astrophysicist Dr Garik Israelian with the aim of uniting science, art, and music to explore questions about the future of the planet. The show included contributions from May as well as the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and a 19-strong chorus form the Slovak Philharmonic Choir delivered from the largest stage ever constructed in Slovakia.
Veteran audio engineer Christophe Dupin and his team were responsible for creating the system, which was headed by CODA’s flagship AiRAY system supplemented by CiRAY, N-RAY, ViRAY, HOPS8 (for monitoring) loudspeakers joined by SC2-F and SCP sensor-controlled subwoofers. A total of 288 loudspeakers from across the CODA Audio range were used to cover the main stage as well as two delay setups.
“The reaction from everyone was to say that it was amazing and that people had never heard that kind of power from such small boxes!” Dupin says. “With the AiRAY, only 12 boxes per side covered around 100 metres and we still had plenty of headroom — the music is very punchy!”
CODA Audio’s proprietary prediction tool System Optimiser helped the team to achieve even coverage and the required throw as well as tonal balance throughout. CODA’s patented technologies mean that the “family’”of loudspeakers which make up its range are designed to be used together and interchangeably, retaining a consistent sonic signature.
David Webster, global sales and marketing director for CODA Audio, concludes, “This was a real challenge for system and engineers alike. The show was on a huge scale and extremely varied — from a masterclass in electronic music to the orchestra and choir, not to mention Brian May’s distinctive guitar — but the team ensured that everyone in the audience, no matter what their position, heard everything with fantastic clarity. Even when Jean-Michel took to the mic to address the crowd, the quality was consistent for even the most distant listener. We are very proud to have been responsible for a key part in the delivery of the stunning ‘Bridge From the Future’ show.”
