deadmau5 — The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Project Description

Known professionally as deadmau5, Canadian DJ, musician and composer Joel Zimmerman has a well-deserved reputation as one of electronic dance music’s greatest producers. His latest album where’s the drop? features 15 of his best-known tracks reimagined for full orchestra by French film composer and producer Gregory Reveret (Justice League, Deadpool), recorded with the CMG Music Recording Orchestra and mixed by Alan Meyerson, who regularly works with film composers such as Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, and Danny Elfman.

To promote the release, deadmau5 performed two shows at The Wiltern in Los Angeles with a full 60-piece orchestra, a unique event made even more special by its presentation in L ISA hyperreal sound, chosen to widen the panorama of audio coverage to the audience and create a more intimate connection between the artist and his audience.

Sound Design Solution

Kansas-based L Acoustics Rental Network member DSS, Inc. would normally have designed a typical left-right configuration of 12 K2 per side with four KS28 on the ground, augmented by six X8 front fills for the show.

Instead, to achieve a wide panorama and better localization of the performers for the two deadmau5 orchestral shows at the Wiltern, arrays of 10 Kara enclosures were flown left and right with three identical hangs of six K2 modules and three Kara for downfill positioned between them. Three KS28 subs per side stacked on the stage in a cardioid array, with the bottom enclosure reversed, supported low frequency extension, while six coaxial X8 speakers provided lip fill.

Setup

L-ISA Design L-ISA Design
L/R Design L/R Design
Technical Information
TypePerforming Arts Center
Venue30m wide x 35m deep
FOH20m from Down Stage Center
Constraints
Min trim height Live video broadcast 6m from Stage required for camera shot.
Sound Design Target
Program typeOrchestral / Pop
SPL max average102 dB(A)
SPL distribution9 dB
Frequency contour10 (@ 100hz)
Frequency contour12 (@ 40hz)

Mapping

L-ISA Design L-ISA Design
L/R Design L/R Design
L/R Coverage

Strong Imaging

Weak Imaging
L-ISA Coverage

Strong Imaging

Weak Imaging

When we showed Joel that nearly all audience members throughout the venue would hear a grander, more spatial sound, it appealed to him. The perception of intimacy that L‑ISA can help create is also quite impressive, and L‑Acoustics was very supportive in wanting to help us make this show happen.

Fred Vogler, sound engineer for the deadmau5 Wiltern shows