A&L Hyped up SoundStruck: Live Oct 2015 @ The Bee, Jaya One

Malaysia – Clear skies, busy roads and a truck load of acoustic equipment. Stationed outside of the Bee in Jaya One, Acoustic & Lighting (A&L) personnel unloaded their equipment off the truck and into the English retro designed café. For the very first time with the hopes of more to come, A&L collaborated with Wanted Symphony and Musicians Cube in providing acoustic equipment for SoundStruck: Live October 2015. SoundStruck: Live started way back in 2013 with the goal of being a platform for upcoming and aspiring new talents to showcase their music.

A&L powered that night’s event at The Bee with a total of six speakers. Two Alto TrueSonic 10” active loudspeakers were used as the main speakers while accompanied with another two 15” TrueSonic active subwoofers. In additional to the setup, two Alto SX Series SXM112A were used for monitoring and backup speakers. “We chose the Alto TrueSonic Series and the size because they were designed for live performance. 10” speakers were enough to reproduce sound throughout the venue. Of course we did notice that The Bee was situated beside a road, but it did not matter for our setup. These TrueSonic series are capable in punching through the noise. Subwoofers were added in to balance the sound reproduction with a little taste of bass in the performance.” commented one A&L’s stage crew. Alto Truesonic lightweight and handles allows easy portability and mobility, which is suitable for jobs that are on the go. The SXM112A were used as a monitor speaker for musicians and vocalist. Small in size and easy to install, these are great fit for small medium size venues such as The Bee in Jaya One.

Sennheiser microphones were used to capture the sound of that night’s performance. “We decided to go with the Sennheiser D1 and Evolution series for vocals and musical instrument microphones. There were many other options but we wanted to give the best we can for our local talent on that day. The Sennheiser EW-D1-845S has the capabilities to capture our vocal frequencies accurately. Therefore we decided to go with it as the main microphone” Nasir, A&L’s technician responded when we asked him about the microphone choices. The Sennheiser E604 and E614 were installed to pick up acoustic sounds. “We have seen these Sennheiser product in action in some of our events, and we felt that they were indeed capable of bringing out the pristine sound from the keyboard or the guitars”, he continued. The Evolution Wireless D1 by Sennheiser is one of the latest products. It is a digital sound transmission system, which specifically caters for gig and live events with its user-friendly set up.

Aside from the quality technical aspect of the event, the event itself was filled with “A” list performers such as Daniel Wong lead vocalist of Wanted Symphony who performed his original music and a cover for Follow Me by Uncle Cracker. The list also included the graceful and talented Amrita Soon, a recognizable local talent in the music industry. She performed various songs that night including her originals such as the Dandelion Days and Goodbye. Sherine Abraham and Michael also performed multiple covers such as Unaware by Allen Stone. Among the performers that night, Night Skies and Vision got our attention for having such a unique name. When asked how the name was developed “We got it during one night at a dodgy area in a studio trying to name one of our songs. Initially one of our members planned to use Night Skies as the song title, but we thought it was more suitable for our band name. That was the time we came up with our name and we have been using it ever since”, responded Megat the band’s guitarist. Night Skies and Vision performed Digital Love by Daft Punk and also their debut single Taking Chances. We also got to hear covers such as Mercy by Duffy from Debra Daveena who had been musically inclined at the age of 5 being raised in a musical family. We also got a wacky and fun band called The Blitz that performed 2 of their originals Illuminate and Lets Get Away. Last but not least, Hello Luqman an entertaining and comedic musician and vocalist performed covers for Senorita by Justin Timberlake and Stitches by Shawn Mendes.

With the proper sound system installation by A&L crew and precise configuration and direction by The Bee’s appointed sound engineer Melinya, we were able to witness “Clarity Meets Perfection” at its best as performances were heard all the way outside of The Bee with clarity. “Overall it was not too bad. I enjoyed and had fun playing with the mixers and controllers. It was also a learning process for me as I am not a frequent user of Alto Live2404 and Alto Stagedrive”, stated Melinya who has been with The Bee for two years. We were also given the chance to have a short interview with Night Skies and Vision that night. “It was as if we were fated. At first our band was looking for another guitarist and during a carnival at Shah Alam, we spotted Adam who had this placard in search for a band. That is when we met each other for the first time and how we get a guitarist”, commented Megat when we asked on the band formation. He also mentioned that the overall performance of the Sennheiser and Alto products were amazing “It felt like an upgrade. We could feel the quality in the product”.

At the end of the event we managed to speak with Daniel, the organizer of the event. Daniel who started his solo career venturing into RnB/Gospel/Soul music genre compared to Wanted Symphony which were more towards Electronic Rock. “I enjoy listening to Alicia Keys, John Legend, Nora John and all the classic such as Frank Sinatra. I’m more towards RnB, Soul and Gospel this is my direction when I’m performing on my own. When I perform with Wanted Symphony it will be in the direction of Rock” when asked about his solo performances. Additionally we talked about how Soundstruck came along and what was the purpose of it. “Soundstruck started around 2013, at that time it wasn’t official but moving along in 2014, we were much more active as well as working out with The Bee to be the official venue for Soundstruck.” He also mentioned that the main purpose of Soundstruck is to unearth hidden talent and to provide a stepping stone into a more serious musical journey.

“The outcome was great, it was a full house which I am really happy and grateful to know that people actually support the show in this manner, and of course with Sennheiser and A&L coming onboard it makes things even more exciting, the acts are going to sound better, the crowd has something to look forward to. People walking outside can hear the band for once, because last time we can’t hear the band when we are sitting outside.” As for advices to individuals who are pursuing the music industry he mentioned to just be yourself and to make your own identity. Writing your own song is also a plus. That night ended successfully as many were exposed to indie local talents in the music industry.