Kylie Has Europe on its Feet
with Meyer Sound MILO

Photo: courtesy of Meyer Sound Laboratories.

Audio Product Stories Published: 10 January 2009
Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue has launched a three-month European tour “KYLIEX2008,” bringing a killer new band, spectacular costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier, and state-of-the-art staging, multimedia, lighting and sound.

UK-based Capital Sound has once again designed and supplied a powerful Meyer Sound rig for Minogue’s tour, based around left and right hangs of 14 MILO® and two MILO 120 line array loudspeakers each. For some of the larger arenas, such as Manchester’s Evening News Arena and London’s O2, two additional side arrays of 12 MICA™ line array loudspeakers augment the system.

Low end is covered by a combination of six flown 600-HP subwoofers per side, along with eight 700-HP subwoofers per side on the ground. “Chris Pyne (FOH engineer) wanted a powerful but present low end, with both power and attack. Therefore we suggested the 600-HP and 700-HP together as an ideal combination to achieve that,” explains Paul Timmins, Capital Sound’s Project Manager.

Because the massive production utilizes the entire stage as a visual backdrop, a center hang of six M’elodie™ line array loudspeakers is used instead of frontfill loudspeakers. More M’elodies are placed on the ground to balance the imaging.

“With the M’elodies’ great output and focus, we’ve been able to cover the front rows with only six cabinets,” says Timmins. “We’re able to do so without interfering with sightlines.” Three more M’elodies per side are used for outfills. A Galileo™ loudspeaker management system with three Galileo 616 units handles system drive and DSP.

A long-time Meyer Sound user, Pyne is exceptionally pleased with the MILO rig: “The MILO really offers the right mix of power and articulation. I’ve always been a fan of Meyer Sound’s self-powered design; it’s a space saver as well as an efficient and reliable package,” Pyne states. “On this tour, we’ve got a lot of back-to-back shows. We are able to pre-rig the arrays and distribute cables, and transport them four-high on caster frames; it dramatically reduces setup time and makes it safer and more efficient for the crew.”

Following Minogue’s 2002 “Fever” tour and 2007 “Homecoming” tour with Meyer Sound MILO family loudspeaker systems, the current “KYLIEX2008” tour is making stops in major European cities including Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Riga. For video footage of this tour, visit http://www.kylie.com/.