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12. Leonardo Dani of K-array with Dave Wooster of Sennheiser. 13. Steffan Lewis and Max Lindsay-Johnson of Duran Audio. 14. Wireless Solution’s Joan Lyman and Niclas Arvidsson.
15.Prolyte’s Nick McGeachin.
SOUND BITES FROM WALTER MIRAUER Since starting life some three decades ago as BADEM, the shop window of the
British Association of Discotheque Equipment Manufacturers, PLASA, as it is now known, has come a long way. So great is the distance travelled in fact, that a visitor to PLASA 2011 would have struggled to find traces of the show’s origins. Many of the movers and shakers in that entertainment and business sector, manufacturers and club operators alike, have collectively thrown in the towel. At this show, these days they are a no-show. This is a pity. Their absence has created a vacuum which nobody and nothing has stepped forward yet to fill, ef- fectively forcing the show organisers to provide extra seating and relaxation areas to cover their embarrassment and fill the vacant spaces. Even so, visitors turned up in numbers, especially from Europe and points East, and there was plenty for them to see and enjoy. Beginning then with that scarce commodity, disco product, there was one totally innovative DJ oriented item unveiled, Emulator. This takes DJ’ing out of the his- tory books and into the digital age. A midi-moderated system, and therefore pretty much crash proof, it uses an interactive touch screen display for all DJ functions and also to display to the audience, the paying punters, what the operator is do- ing. It’s a bit like a huge double-sided iPad for DJs and clubbers. JBL featured their Marquis Series of dancefloor speakers, not so much a homage to Funktion One’s Dancestack, or even a nostalgic glance back to EAW’s Avalon range, both of which are so long-established as to have become part of the clubland scenery, but a recognition of the continuing dynamism and vibrancy of this market sec- tor which might have gone from the headlines into the shadows, but which has certainly not gone away. Indeed, the prognosis here is a good one, the logic being that, as recession bites ever harder, people turn from big luxuries to small ones in terms of lifestyle and also become increasingly desperate for entertainment in all its guises. Additionally, in the emergent economies around the world, the demand is already strong, and growing. Destination venues with spectacular décor, lighting, sound systems, locations and so forth, together with multiple venue chain operations and franchises, the very
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