BRIT and Grammy Award-winning virtual band Gorillaz is currently on an epic world tour that features not only the Gorillaz live band, but also an impressive line-up of guest performers at every show.
With a DiGiCo Quantum 852 at Front of House (FOH) and another at monitors, both supplied by Entec Sound and Light, engineers Matt Butcher and Dave Guerin are equipped to handle anything the show throws at them.
Entec Sound and Light is providing the complete audio system and additional technical crew for the band's world tour in support of its chart-topping new album, The Mountain. With a different selection of guest performers joining Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz live band on stage every night, even the DiGiCo Quantum 852 is pushed to its limits. At monitors, Guerin has just 12 spare input channels available on his console. At FOH, Butcher has a little more headroom, although he says the real reason for choosing this console is the speed of its workflow.
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There are many reasons to use a DiGiCo, but we chose the Quantum 852 for Gorillaz because no other manufacturer makes a console capable of doing what a DiGiCo does. We can make changes quickly on the Q852, it provides the redundancy we need, and it allows us to accommodate any recording or broadcast feed request. We normally provide a stereo (L/R) mix because sharing the Groups alone already requires 64 XLR outputs, he explains.
The show currently requires a minimum of 165 input channels at FOH. These include multiple vocal microphones, each with dedicated effects, as well as instruments and inputs for guest artists. The system also features a Quantum 326 dedicated to playback alongside the two Quantum 852 consoles. Butcher also uses a Fourier transform.engine at FOH and, apart from his trusted Yamaha SPX900 and a few additional vocal effects, it has significantly reduced the amount of outboard processing he needs to take on tour.
"The Fourier works really well. I do most of the work from the console, but the larger reverb effects come from the Fourier, and everything remains stable", he continues. "We have multiple Optocore loops and a huge channel count, yet the system remains rock solid".
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To manage such a large number of monitor channels, Guerin has developed a series of custom applications. He provides iPads to both musicians and technicians so they can control their own mixes. His Faders app enables direct control of channels, auxes, groups, matrices and control groups.
I've now developed several apps: Faders, Doris, Changes and SetList. Each serves a different purpose, and because DiGiCo consoles can only connect to a single external app at a time, I designed Router, which allows all of them to communicate with the console through a single application. It's incredibly useful on tour, not only for the DiGiCo consoles but also for our RF technician, who can route any of my mixes to any of our four backup Sennheiser Spectera systems with a single tap on his iPad. On this tour I'm managing 290 input channels and 130 outputs, so staying on top of everything is essential. I'm even thinking about developing another app that displays the last OSC command executed to make tracking everything even easier, he explains.
With so many regular musicians, guest performers and a choir, channel counts quickly add up, highlighting the value of the Quantum 852's workflow and surface layout—two decisive factors for both engineers. For Butcher in particular, DiGiCo represents a combination of stability, reliability and ease of use that he has not found on any other platform.
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"We've used other consoles that sounded great and were readily available, but strange errors would appear just before the show", he continues. "The DiGiCo ecosystem is rock solid and makes rack sharing and managing multiple inputs incredibly straightforward. The audio network setup is also very simple. We've been using DiGiCo consoles for many years, and their high channel count perfectly suits our needs while delivering outstanding sound".
Guerin agrees, adding that DiGiCo's commitment to customer support is another reason why he has no intention of changing platforms. For him, knowing that someone is always available to help has been a key factor in his long-standing relationship with both DiGiCo and Entec Sound and Light.
We receive outstanding support from both DiGiCo and Entec, with Dan Scantlebury, Tom Olorenshaw and Matt Smith back at headquarters, as well as Colin Woodward, Kev Gill, Alex Chapman and Alex Goodby travelling with us on the road. On the rare occasions I need assistance, there's always someone at the other end of the phone. I had an issue on a Sunday morning at London's O2 Arena, called the DiGiCo support line, and John Stadius, the company's Technical Manager, called me back. Even though the company has grown significantly, it still provides worldwide support with the same attention to detail that engineers rely on, Guerin concludes.
The Gorillaz live experience—hailed by Rolling Stone as "an overwhelming pop spectacle" and by The Observer as "a star-studded show of stunning visuals and borderless music"—brings together twenty-five years of musical brilliance, constant innovation and a unique ability to break genres and redefine paradigms.
Throughout the summer, the The Mountain World Tour will visit Europe's major festivals before heading to North and South America in the autumn. Early next year, the band will perform in India for the very first time, with shows in Mumbai on 27 January and Bengaluru on 31 January 2027.
