It has been a year since Sound Architecture was announced as the exclusive distributor of HOLOPLOT for Spain and Portugal. The company, which had just been established in collaboration with Ilusovi Servicios, already had significant experience in the integration sector and took on the task of promoting HOLOPLOT X1 in the Iberian markets.
A year later, the company is thriving and has done an exceptional job, says Ian Holden, Regional Sales Director of HOLOPLOT for the UK, EU, and Nordic countries.
Ilusovi's goal has always been to provide comprehensive support for both permanent installations and dynamic temporary projects. Recognizing the potential of HOLOPLOT's innovative Matrix Array technology as a versatile tool for scenarios where traditional sound systems fall short, they decided to make a significant investment in X1 and simultaneously established Sound Architecture.
José Manuel Jiménez, owner of Ilusovi Servicios and General Director of Sound Architecture, recalls why they decided to invest in HOLOPLOT: “HOLOPLOT is not just acquiring another sound system. It is like unlocking a magic key that leads to a whole new realm of creative possibilities”.
Ilusovi first used X1 at the 2023 edition of the Starlite Occident festival in Marbella, a three-month-long live music event featuring an impressive lineup of high-profile artists.
We deployed it as a standard left/right system, using its precise control to overcome the notoriously difficult acoustics of the site and to cover the VIP area on the stage side without exciting the massive mountain behind it. The client was so pleased with the superior audio experience at Starlite that they requested the system for another eight-day concert later in the year, he continues.
“It was an achievement”, says Holden. “Both festivals had high-profile and renowned artists, and the team performed exceptionally well in supporting their FOH engineers, ensuring everyone was comfortable with the system. Since then, Sound Architecture has carried out a series of productions across Iberia, generating great interest in the region that has translated into significant opportunities and a testament to their tenacity and expertise”.
In line with its ongoing expansion, Ilusovi has increased its HOLOPLOT rental stock. Earlier in the year, they employed the precise sound control of X1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and once again at the Starlite Festival this summer 2024.
This year’s edition incorporates all the learnings and added experience from 12 months of working with the HOLOPLOT system and makes use of the new software features developed by HOLOPLOT since then.
The size of the left and right arrays remains the same as last year, with some additional modules added as front fills, but eliminating the flown central array. By adding more front modules, the height of the array can be optimized, further improving coverage of the audience area. Using the new software algorithms, the team was able to increase output power and further enhance temporal alignment.
This year’s lineup was as diverse as 2023, with a wide mix of genres. Van Morrison, Jamie Cullum, Sheryl Crow, Aitana, and Vanessa Martín have already taken the stage, while Take That, Tom Jones, Keane, Pablo López, and UB40 will perform in the coming weeks.
The feedback from visiting engineers has been very positive, with agreement on the audible impact of the sound control, especially in such a demanding outdoor environment.
We are very pleased with HOLOPLOT’s support and relationship. The team recently attended an update training in Berlin to ensure we continue to achieve the best results. Overall, the training was a great success, and we left with enhanced knowledge that we have already applied to Starlite and will pass on to our clients. We see a great future for HOLOPLOT in Iberia and are thrilled to have decided to invest in such exceptional audio technology, concludes Jiménez.
