On the last day of May, we'll come together again for "Zhaodai on Leave," the annual electronic music festival by the northern seaside. No matter the distance, whether by plane or car, the moment you close your door and set off, you've already begun this three-day, three-night musical journey.
BAIHUI and Zhaodai present the "Zhaodai on Leave 2024" special, using music to connect departure, arrival, return, and memories, capturing the emotions of each moment of the journey to extend and amplify the joy.
As we set off, we've invited Zhaodai DJs Rehema Tajiri & Queen Asher and DJ Wife, along with the stage design and sound teams, to share a series of playlists perfect for the trip to Aranya.
To provide each dancer with a more stunning auditory experience, Zhaodai On Leave 2024's sound system Funktion-One will showcase their latest cutting-edge loudspeaker technology, EVO X. In this issue, we have invited Chris, the founder of Phoenix Audio/Funktion One China distributor, to share insights about the loudspeaker system and to carefully select five "Tracks for Travel" for everyone heading to Zhaodai On Leave, adding more auditory memories to the journey.
Funktion One is a company focused on independent research and development and high-end manufacturing of professional sound reinforcement systems. Since its inception, they have been dedicated to providing the perfect sound experience. With innovative and high-performance loudspeaker designs, Funktion One's products deliver extremely clear and impactful sound, avoiding the rigidity and harshness of traditional audio systems.
In today's sound reinforcement field, precise and delicate sound is gradually disappearing, with many technologies deteriorating. However, Funktion One remains committed to pursuing the best sound quality, striving to provide everyone with an ultimate auditory experience.
At this year's Zhaodai On Leave, Funktion-One's loudspeaker system ensures the best audio experience. The team used EVO-7TH long-range mid-high frequency loudspeakers and EVO-7TL mid-low frequency loudspeakers to deliver clear and powerful sound projection. To cover every corner, R1.5 full-range loudspeakers were used for supplementary sound, ensuring even sound distribution.
Now let's begin our conversation with Chris!
BAIHUI: What attracted you to the field of live sound? Since then, how has your story with Funktion-One unfolded and developed to where it is now?
CHRIS: The creativity and natural authenticity of live music fascinate me, especially the Pink Floyd tours. During the peak of Pink Floyd's tours in the 90s, they exclusively used audio technology systems developed by Funktion One's founder Tony Andrews, including The Wall concert celebrating the reunification of Germany, which was attended by over 350,000 people. The sound system for that event was personally designed and produced by Tony. Through a fortunate series of events, I was lucky enough to work with Tony Andrews and his team from the very beginning of my career. Starting with large concert tours and music festival sound system productions, I then moved on to various fixed installation sound system designs and the promotion of audio culture. It has been over 25 years now.
The fascinating thing about loudspeakers is that they allow everyone the freedom to create and express through the art of sound. Funktion One, with its adherence to the "point source" technology principle, offers more flexibility and imaginative possibilities in system design for different scenarios, aiming for the best system application rationality. Most importantly, all this freedom and flexibility are always geared towards achieving the ultimate pure and beautiful sound quality, which is the unwavering belief shared by both Funktion One and my team at Phoenix Audio. Whether it's the loudspeaker products themselves or the final naturally pure and beautiful sound quality, they all showcase the charm of sound technology and art. In this process, we realize that the pursuit of ultimate sound quality is endless. Humility, curiosity, and the challenge of the unknown drive us to continuously explore and practice. Each production brings new expectations and possibilities for surprises.
We are grateful for the trust and support from the Zhaodai On Leave team. All these new sound experience experiments and explorations have been fully realized at each Zhaodai On Leave music festival, continually bringing new sound enjoyment and inspiration to DJs, electronic musicians, players, and our team. Hence, every year's Zhaodai On Leave, besides music, audio enjoyment has become one of the expectations. This cooperation reflects the professionalism of the Zhaodai On Leave team and aligns with the pioneering experimental spirit of Zhaodai On Leave, which are also deeply embedded in the genes of Funktion One. The sound engineering at Zhaodai On Leave perfectly reflects the close cooperation and mutual understanding between Phoenix Audio and Funktion One. If I were to tell the story of our teams' 20-plus years of collaboration, it would be too long to cover here, but Zhaodai On Leave is a great epitome of these cooperative experiences.
BAIHUI: Compared to previous Zhaodai On Leave events or other music festivals, what do you think is the most unique feature of the Zhaodai On Leave 2024 sound system?
Chris: The most unique feature is the latest cutting-edge product from Funktion One, the EVO X three-way loudspeaker system, paired with the classic Funktion One double 21-inch subwoofer F221. This will be applied for the first time at Zhaodai On Leave during the final day's after party. We look forward to experiencing it together. Every year at Zhaodai On Leave, we use Funktion One’s latest and most advanced audio technology and new sound system solutions, aiming to create a unique and ultimate sound enjoyment for everyone attending Zhaodai On Leave, making each Zhaodai On Leave unique.
BAIHUI: Providing consistent sound quality in such a vast outdoor space is undoubtedly a huge challenge. How did you overcome this difficulty?
Chris: Each member of our core Phoenix team has over 30 years of experience in high-quality live production, ranging from events with tens of thousands of people to just a few hundred, both indoors and outdoors. Additionally, our team's collaboration and application of Funktion One's consistent technical products have also exceeded 20 years. This has built trust, mutual understanding, and a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the product's sound quality performance. Another important factor is the smooth and efficient communication and cooperation with Zhiqi, the technical and artist director of Zhaodai On Leave. For instance, for each production, we closely collaborate on details such as audience size and coverage area, beach ground reinforcement, and sound pressure disturbance control. The team also uses the professional sound field simulation software EASE for some auxiliary designs, but the data is only for reference; the final judgment is based on on-site listening. Of course, the mature, outstanding, and flexible performance and sound quality of Funktion One are the most reliable foundations for achieving the ideal sound effect.
BAIHUI: Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews has often mentioned that poor sound quality is not due to the loudspeaker system but because of "MP3 DJs." This view is very interesting and has been a point of contention for a long time. I’d like to hear your thoughts on live music sound quality.
Chris: Tony mainly emphasizes that every professional DJ should use high-quality sound sources, which is the most basic principle and respect as a professional musician. He discovered worldwide that some DJs use low-resolution MP3s to play music, which results in very poor sound quality when amplified through the loudspeaker system. He absolutely detests this and believes that such behavior not only deceives the audience but also ruins the high-quality Funktion One loudspeaker system, thereby ruining the entire event. Such behavior is completely unworthy of a professional musician! One instance was over seven years ago when I, along with my partner Mac and Tony, participated in the final outdoor music festival of the legendary Ibiza club Space before it closed. During the event, a DJ played an MP3 track on stage. Tony, who was tuning the sound on-site, was furious and almost rushed from the sound control booth to the stage to stop it. Unable to bear it, he angrily left and returned to the hotel. Using high-quality sound sources on stage is an undeniable basic principle for DJs as professional musicians. I fully understand and support Tony in this regard!
BAIHUI: Lastly, we have our "Tracks for Travel" segment. Human hearing is extremely sensitive, even 2000 times more precise than vision; it is this precise auditory experience that allows every note to seamlessly intertwine with the scenery along the way in the mind. Please recommend five songs for the audience flying to Zhaodai On Leave, so they can fly in a wonderful symphony of soundscapes.
CHRIS:Haha, selecting songs is very personal and subjective. For travel music, I would choose some chill electronic music that helps me relax and feel comfortable.
1.Bolero - Sir Simon Rattle
2.Martha Argerich - Jeux d'eau, M. 30
3.I. Allegro - Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28, Pastorale
4.Michael Franks - On My Way Home to You
5.The Police - Every Breath You Take