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Berlin's Loveparade Celebrates Homecoming with Meyer Sound
As music festivals go, Berlin's famed Loveparade is a unique event. The annual celebration of techno and electronica music and related culture began in 1989 as a music-centered party cum political demonstration advocating unity amongst the populace and the demolition of the Berlin Wall. With the destruction of the wall coming within months after the first parade, it has since evolved into an iconic summer event, equal parts parade, rave, freewheeling exhibitionist shindig, and the world's largest block party, with the stated goal of promoting peace and understanding through music. The parade spread to "sister" festivals worldwide, but the original Berlin festival was not held in 2004 and 2005, due to a lack of funding. Under the banner "The Love Is Back," Summer 2006 marked a triumphant return to form for the Berlin Loveparade, which featured over 200 musical acts from across the globe, including international electronica superstars like Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, DJ Hell, and ATB. An estimated two million people crowded the streets to groove to the 40 mobile stages winding their way through the city, each using a substantial sound system based on loudspeakers from Meyer Sound. In contrast to previous years, this year's parade provided free floats with identical sound systems to the winners of an online vote, so all participants would have access to sound systems of equal quality, capabilities and safety. Promotional firm Lopavent GmbH retained the services of local audio designer Christian Oeser to create the sound systems for the trucks. "Loveparade systems need some serious headroom," explains Oeser, "so we wanted to go with a system that was both powerful and compact." Oeser's design called for a dozen 650-P high-power subwoofers, eight MSL-4 horn-loaded long-throw loudspeakers and four CQ-1 wide coverage main loudspeakers on each of the forty trucks. Each float was also outfitted with a pair of USM-1P extended range narrow coverage stage monitors to help the DJ's keep the mix flowing smoothly. Although the parade marks the official kickoff of the weekend's events, many who flock to Berlin often skip it to sleep, as the real festivities begin at the parade's end, with the "Abschlusskundgebung," a massive party where all the floats' sound systems are linked together for half-hour sets by some of the world's premier DJ's. The city's downtown transforms into one big nightclub, with music and acts interspersed throughout the various after-parties held in all of the dance clubs and streets. "With the combined expectations of the clubs, artists, and, of course, the people of Berlin to make this a parade to remember, we knew we needed a system that could not only deliver great sound quality, but provide uniform, dependable coverage for each truck," explains Oeser. "The sound quality of the Meyer systems easily met our sonic demands, and the self-powered design was a tremendous benefit in the limited spaces we had to work with. The Meyer gear fulfilled all of our needs with ease, and will likely be a mainstay of the Loveparade for years to come." September, 2006 |
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