Del Amitri make triumphant return to touring with CODA Audio AiRAY delivering that trademark sound...
“I was sitting in the circle yesterday when Dave (FOH Engineer) was voicing the boxes he was flying - these new CODA things. I couldn’t believe the amount of bottom end that was flying out of these speakers - it is a very impressive system.”
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When platinum selling Glaswegian pop-rockers Del Amitri took a break in 2002 their members dispersed for more than 10 years. A reunion show involving founder members in 2013 at Glasgow SSE Hydro attracted 8000 fans and began a journey that has seen the band return to touring. In 2018 the band’s short UK Tour took in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, London and of course, Glasgow. With a career behind them that yielded 15 Top 40 singles and 5 Top 10 albums, the show was always going to be a knockout and so it proved, with packed houses turning out to enjoy this supremely talented band.
With guitarist Kris Dollimore and renowned drummer Ash Soan joining the Del Amitri fold for the tour, the band also added another new ally in the shape of CODA Audio’s state-of-the-art and incredibly transparent AiRAY PA system. 12 x AiRAY boxes per side were supplemented by 2 x SCF low frequency extensions on top and a further 4 per side for downfill, whilst on the floor there were 4 x 18” SCP subs with APS and HOPS8 cabinets as fills.
System tech Steven Norman enjoyed a relaxed tour, in his view partly as a consequence of AiRAY’s selection:
“When you get the CODA system into place, it’s very lightweight, so very easy to move and we’re done in a couple of hours. Also with it being a bi-amp box, you effectively cut your cable down by half, so it makes your day a hell of a lot easier. In at least one venue on the tour, had we been carrying a bigger box we wouldn’t have been able to get it in the air because the balcony points were too close. Instead we had a full-range system in the air – something we literally could not have achieved with any another system.”
Moving the show from venue to venue is straightforward too, as Norman continues:
“Because AiRAY is no bigger than a double eight-inch and only weighs 40kg, it’s versatility is unparalleled. On this run we’re doing a range of different venues from smaller clubs to 3000-seaters, finishing in Glasgow Barrowlands where you have no option but to groundstack everything. The amazing thing is – we carry the same PA – we just bring in less or more of it, which means it’s a completely consistent sound at every gig from the front of house and band perspective.”
Front of House engineer Dave Kay describes the effect of the CODA system:
“It just kind of takes the blanket off of the PA system if you like. It’s so transparent, which is great, although some people might not like it because you’ll hear things you haven’t heard before! Luckily I’ve got a very good band to work with so I don’t have that problem!”
In fact not only does Kay have a great band to work with, he is working with a band upon whom the finer points of CODA Audio AiRAY are not lost. Frontman Justin Currie is also a fan of the system:
“I was sitting in the circle yesterday when Dave was voicing the boxes he was flying – these new CODA things. I couldn’t believe the amount of bottom end that was flying out of these speakers – it is a very impressive system.”
Del Amitri are a phenomenally good band. Their experience and musicianship shone out during this highly successful return to touring, with audiences thoroughly engaged from the first note to the last. The trademark ‘in your face vocals’ that feature on their recordings were much in evidence, propelled by an engineer who knows Del Amitri inside out and in CODA Audio AiRAY, a PA System of such power and clarity, that it might have been designed especially for them.
