The ever-innovative David Bowie scored another world first on 8 September when he broadcast a live concert from London that was simul-cast with 5.1 sound via satellite to cinemas and theatres across Europe. Due to time differences around the world, the show was seen the following day across Asia, Japan and Australia. North America, Canada and South America experienced the show about a week later, making the event more of an electronic world tour than a one-off promotion for Bowie's new Reality album.

The 90-minute performance previewed all 11 tracks from Reality (released 15 September on ISO/Columbia Records) but Bowie performed some old favourites including 'Hang on to Yourself' and 'Modern Love'.

Behind the scenes, the company responsible for the live music mixes was Sanctuary Mobiles, supported by a comprehensive range of additional equipment from GearBox. In Sanctuary's Fleetwood One truck were Chief engineer Tim Summerhayes with assistant Alex Goodison, while Fleetwood Two was staffed by sound engineer Dave O'Carroll and assistant Dave Loudoun.

Fleetwood One is equipped with a 96-channel Euphonix CS2000, whereas Fleetwood Two has a 72-channel version of the same digitally configurable, highly-automated console. The value of automation in a multi-channel live situation is relatively obvious but O'Carroll said the analogue audio circuitry used in the desks was also an advantage, the "proper, clean analogue path" being a good complement to the 24/96 resolution of the digital paths used for distribution and recording.

Photo © totalblamblam@davidbowie.com

"We do a lot of mixing in surround but normally as a post production activity," Summerhayes added. "The difference at this event was that we were creating the surround mix live but it presented no problems. Both desks are fully-equipped for surround operation.

"It was nice way to work because we were able to put the listener in the audience, as well as create the odd spot where we would have a musical element in the rear speakers, which is something you wouldn't normally expect."

But working 5.1 was only a small part of Sanctuary's role. While creating the 5.1 music mix in the larger mobile, Summerhayes fed elements of the mix to O'Carroll, who created a stereo mix in the smaller mobile.

"All the DTS encoders were in my truck, with the bit-stream going to the satellite truck," O'Carroll explained. "The master Digi-Betas were also in there, enabling us to lay the stereo mixes to those machines, along with the DTS-encoded tracks."

Equipment supplied by GearBox included two stacks of four Tascam DA98HR DTRS recorders, providing 32 tracks of master and backup recording each. There were two Prism ADA8 AD converters, each with additional AES cards, Audio Design ProBox 8 digital distribution amplifiers, plus DK-Audio MSD600M++ 'jellyfish' meters for 5.1 audio vectorscope and digital PPM monitoring.

Processing from GearBox came from a TC System 6000 - chosen for its 5.1 'unwrap' mode - and a Lexicon 960L, which was used to provide surround reverb on Bowie's vocals.

"Bowie is my all-time favourite artist," GearBox managing director Richard Eastwood revealed. "On a professional level, we're well-used to providing equipment for major productions but the fan in me kept saying, 'Let's check all this one more time, because it's for David Bowie'!"

There was also detailed technical liaison between GearBox and Sanctuary, to ensure that all the interfacing was correct for the various elements in the 24/96 system.

"There are two AES standards for 24/96, using either one or two wires to carry two channels of audio," O'Carroll commented. "The DTS encoders use the single wire standard, while the DA98HR's use two wires. That's why we used two Prism converters, one for the encoders and one for the DA98HR's. Also, they require different levels: the Digi Betas use PPM6, whereas the DTS encoders are referenced to full-scale."

On the day, all things audio worked like clockwork and the event was a massive success. "The reaction from the audiences in the theatres showed that they really enjoyed it – dancing in the isles and generally having a great time," Sanctuary general manager Ian Dyckhoff concluded. "Hopefully it will set a trend. The system produced superb results and it could well become a popular form of concert entertainment in the future."

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David Bowie
Sanctuary Studios