
Medicine Festival relieves the Covid blues with Funktion-One posted: 23/09/2020
Set in the tranquil parkland and ancient woodland of a stunning Berkshire country estate, Medicine Festival 2020 proved to be the perfect tonic for attendees and crew alike. It had been at least six months since most had been involved in any form of public event, but with safety measures in place, the five-day festival prescribed a healthy concoction of music, ancestral wisdom, art, wellbeing, future thinking, food, environmentalism, spirituality, dance and performance. Audio Feed had been appointed as the sound partner long before Covid-19 turned the world upside down. When the organisers decided to go ahead, the Funktion-One specialists were tasked with updating the sound system designs for the three-stage set-up.
The decision to host the inaugural Medicine Festival in such challenging circumstances was founded in a desire to provide some much-needed positivity for the downcast events industry - currently fighting for its life in the fallout of the Coronavirus apocalypse. Organisers worked closely with West Berkshire Council to enable the event to go ahead on the Wasing Estate. The council and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, were said to be delighted to have the opportunity to showcase how outdoor festivals can take place safely.
Safety measures included the reduced capacity (from 5,000 to 600), Covid-compliant risk assessments, social distancing, screening at the gate and a track and trace system for post-event.
Audio Feed's Oz Jefferies relished the opportunity to get back to the business he's dedicated the last decade to. He said: It was great to get the crew and the equipment out working on a project again, and to work closely with our favourite contractors. It wasn't always clear whether it would go ahead or not, but we were happy to support it when it did. We had to change the sound designs many times, but there was still a requirement for some good sized Funktion-One systems.
We certainly had a few challenges. The downpour on build day reminded us what its like to work in the British countryside. Meeting with event organisers, music curators and musicians and always remembering to keep two metres apart was out of the ordinary, as was building speaker stacks using facemasks. However, the exhilarating feeling of building speaker stacks again was great.
The Main Stage featured four Funktion-One Evo 6EH speakers, with four F124s two F215 Mk2s for bass reinforcement, and a pair of F101s for infill. Three XTA APA-4E8s and an MC2 Delta 80 DSP powered the system, with a DiGiCo S21 console at FOH. Over on the Lake Stage, four Funktion-One F1201s and four BR118s combined with XTA APA-4E6 and MC2 Delta 80 DSP amplifiers and a Midas M32. While Movement Shalla was home to two F101s, an E60 amp, an X04 controller and a Midas DM12.
Commenting on the sound, Nick Mulvey's FOH engineer, Marco Perry, said: The Funktion-One Medicine Festival 2020 sound system was well spec'd to cover eclectic DJ sets, various ceremonies and some truly magnificent live acts during the long weekend event. Within the noise constraints and its multifunctional purpose, the Funktion-One system performed outstandingly. Great performances, great sound system and great crew.
The festival's Music Curator, Moshe Halperin, echoed the sentiment: Phenomenal crew, great sound system, great spec - over and above what was expected.
Reflecting on a successful long weekend, Jefferies said: It was very exciting to get in a field again and to work at an event that took social distancing seriously. The energy of the musicians was incredible, and their reaction to the Funktion-One sound and XTA amplifiers was even more intense than normal.
The crowd had more energy than normal, perhaps because the rumour around the site was that this was the only festival of 2020. The Evo 6 system always manages to produce that little bit more energy from the crowd as well, especially with live music.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/03/2026
In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World Summit in London, where NAGRAVISION hosted a panel on content discovery and ...
20/03/2026
Friday 20 March 2026
Sky Extends Saturday Night Live UK Run to Eight Shows
Ahead of Saturday Night Live UK's launch tomorrow (March 21), Sky has confirmed...
20/03/2026
It's time to play The Money List! Baz Ashmawy is back at the helm as the qui...
19/03/2026
In 2021, we launched EQUAL, a program designed to address an industry reality that persists: Women artists, songwriters, and producers too often face fewer oppo...
19/03/2026
Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives
Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...
19/03/2026
New generative AI plug-in due in May 2026
Roland have announced the upcoming launch of a new generative AI tool created in collaboration with Sony Computer ...
19/03/2026
Nick Williams updates users on insolvency process
Nick Williams, the CEO of Native Instruments, has released the following official statement regarding thei...
19/03/2026
Iconic Swedish mic manufacturer back in action
Legendary Swedish microphone manufacturer Milab have announced that production is now fully underway, and mic...
19/03/2026
Acclaimed saturation unit goes virtual
Freqport's Freqtube FT1 (reviewed here in SOS February 2023) offers a convenient way to integrate real valve-base...
19/03/2026
The discontinuation of loss-making business activities as part of the restructur...
19/03/2026
Thursday 19 March 2026
Sky TV customers can enjoy a taste of Hayu's most po...
19/03/2026
Other Voices presents a legendary night of music as Foo Fighters bring their stadium anthems to St James' Church, An Daingean. The surprise performance teas...
19/03/2026
***Issued by RT on behalf of RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026...
18/03/2026
Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville
Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...
18/03/2026
Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded
Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...
18/03/2026
Mix-reference plug-in overhauled
iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...
18/03/2026
Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives
Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...
18/03/2026
Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...
18/03/2026
London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...
18/03/2026
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE ...
18/03/2026
X-Rite Pantone Demonstrates Advanced Color Management Solutions to Support Smart...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
BAFTA winner James McAvoy to star in Sky Original serie...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing announce multi-year agreement for the UK and Ireland
Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing have announced a new mult...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
Sky Unveils Poster and Trailer for Original Feature Fil...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
UP NEXT: Sky presents a bold slate of new, premium acquired content
Sky reveals slate of newly acquired premium drama and comedy, as i...
18/03/2026
Wednesday 18 March 2026
UP NEXT: Sky unveils an unmissable genre-spanning slate...
18/03/2026
New Playout-to-Delivery Capabilities Elevate ATSC 3.0 Experiences, Lower DTV In...
17/03/2026
Fresh Finds Africa spotlights emerging artists and movements across the continent and its global diaspora, with listeners tuning in to discover new Afro-forward...
17/03/2026
Last month, more than 60,000 fans piled into Bangkok's Rajamangala National ...
17/03/2026
Vintage-inspired channel strip joins line-up
Black Rooster Audio's latest plug-in provides an all-in-one mixing tool inspired by classic analogue consol...
17/03/2026
Level and EQ voice, reverb and noise independently
The latest plug-in to join Accentize's collection is said to take a new approach to dialogue processi...
17/03/2026
UHF radio mic & IEM bandwidth at risk
Once again, the UHF bandwidth that is currently allocated to RF audio gear is at risk of being reassigned to high-spee...
17/03/2026
Last Friday, the first Plant Fire Department Training Week in Bavaria successf...
17/03/2026
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE ...
17/03/2026
Comscore Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results RESTON, Va., March 17, 2026 - Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transact...
17/03/2026
17 Mar 2026
VEON Strengthens Leadership Team to Accelerate Digital Ambition Senior executive appointments are to enhance country operations and VEON Group'...
17/03/2026
UKTV today announces the appointment of Sam Tewungwa as Chief Executive Officer, who will lead the company's next phase of growth.
Tewungwa, currently Mana...
17/03/2026
Tuesday 17 March 2026
Disney included in the Sky TV subscription from today, b...
17/03/2026
The five-part thriller, formerly known as Inheritance, also stars Jonny Lee Mill...
17/03/2026
Tuesday 17 March 2026
Sky Arts welcomes Fearne Cotton as co-host of Landscape Artist of the Year
Sky Arts' much-loved Landscape Artist of the Year is set ...
17/03/2026
Season 2 of the darkly comic thriller will launch on Sky in 2026Tuesday 17 March 2026
Ella Purnell returns as wallflower-turned-killer in Sky Original Sweetpea...
16/03/2026
Promises studio-grade fidelity for the stage
Cloudvocal have announced the launch of a new instrument mic designed for professional live performers and engi...
16/03/2026
Popular MIDI/CV converter & interface overhauled
Kenton have announced the launch of the USB Solo Mk2, a new and improved version of their compact MIDI to C...
16/03/2026
Running from 16-29 March 2026
Starting from today (16 March) and running until 29 March 2026, Sonarworks are offering discounts of up to 40% across their ra...
16/03/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is delivering the first commercial 100-Gigabit systems following successful validation and certification for customer n...