The Brat album by Charli XCX has defined the sound of 2024. Despite more than a decade in the music industry, this year has seen a remarkable surge in her popularity. The album topped the charts, setting the tone and atmosphere for the year.
The Brat tour, which began in July 2024 and will continue through 2025 with dates around the world, features Charli as the absolute star, with occasional guest appearances and minimalist staging.
To ensure total reliability and crystal-clear sound on the tour, FOH engineer Mat Collis and monitor engineer Barry Tymms have chosen the robust DiGiCo SD12-96 consoles for monitors and Quantum 338 for FOH.
Quantum 338, the perfect choice
The ease of use and bright displays of the Quantum 338 are a very welcome upgrade and perfect for outdoor summer shows. When we travel the world, having a DiGiCo available makes a big difference. These practical features, along with all the routing options and a clean sound—but with the ability to add color if I wish—make the Quantum 338 the perfect choice for me, says Collis.
Collis has worked with Charli XCX for 13 years and has only missed a handful of shows in that time, so he is fully dialed in to what it takes to deliver a great performance. In the FOH position, there are 32 playback channels coming in via MADI to an Orange Box, DiGiCo’s bidirectional audio format conversion unit. The Orange Box uses DMI cards to route audio through any interface and features dual power supplies for added redundancy.
“In addition to the audio required for the show, we also have timecode and an internal BLDS (Buffer Loop Detection Signal) for redundant switching”, he explains. “We also have analog backup feeds, talkback for the sound crew and for Charli if needed. The large channel count on the Quantum 338 is very useful; even with a vocal and track show, the channel count can build up quickly, especially when you factor in effects returns and duplicate inputs”.
A rig built for demanding shows
Charli XCX attracts a lot of media interest, so additional feeds are often needed for broadcasts, recordings, or social media. Additional channels are also required for guest artists. With the high channel count, Collis greatly appreciates the three fader banks available on the Quantum 338 surface.
I usually send broadcast stems from the stage rack, but occasionally it’s just a left and right instrumental with Charli’s vocal separated, or a direct MADI split. Having all your channels in front of you is great and the Macros are powerful—there are many handy uses for them. I also love the Snapshot feature, which I use to raise levels during the chorus or to turn tracks on and off, he recalls.
On monitors, Barry (Baz) Tymms’s SD12-96 runs 96 channels at 48kHz/96kHz and benefits from 155 Dynamic EQ processors that can be assigned to any input or output channel. The master section offers 16 graphic EQs, 12 digital effects, and up to 12 control groups. The main show is performed entirely with tracks, with guest artists like Lorde, Yung Lean, and Addison Rae making surprise appearances to perform popular remixes. Special guests also perform solo during the tour, keeping things exciting for both the audience and Tymms.
“I started with Charli XCX for the last UK arena dates, so I’ve only been on the tour a few months”, he says. “I use many Snapshots during the shows, and when we have guest vocalists, I have additional Snapshots I can bring in for the extra checks we need. I love the two screens on the SD12-96 and the number of Macros is very useful, especially on a small surface. It’s one of my favorites and always available worldwide”.
It’s not just the workflow clarity, fantastic sound, and availability that keep Collis and Tymms coming back to DiGiCo. The support from Eighth Day and DiGiCo is a huge help to them on the tour.
“I’ve only had to contact the team a few times and any issue has always been resolved very quickly”, notes Collis.
Everyone is always very helpful if you need anything. It’s great to know we have that support behind us, even though the consoles’ reliability means we rarely need it, Tymms concludes.
