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Kaiser Chiefs Back on the Throne with Sennheiser
Kaiser Chiefs are back on the road, hitting the UK, Japan, and the Americas as they tour their latest album, Off With Their Heads. Committed Sennheiser users since 2005, the band is once again taking to stages around the world with a selection of Sennheiser equipment.
Ilias Andrianatos is Kaiser Chiefs' monitor engineer. Along with front of house engineer Chris Leckie, he took the decision to upgrade lead singer Ricky Wilson's mic to a Sennheiser SKM 935.
"We wanted a vocal mic with a flat frequency response and consistent on/off axis response that cuts through the stage sound and has a good feedback rejection," explains Andrianatos. "That is suitable for Ricky's voice. The mic also needs to be able to take the knocks and drops during his super energetic shows. The SKM 935, e 935 and the e 845 that previous front of house engineers before Chris used for Ricky, all fulfil those requirements."
In addition to Ricky Wilson's vocal mic, the Kaiser Chiefs' stage is full of Sennheiser instrument mics, ew 300 IEM G2 in-ear monitors and wireless ew 500 instrument systems.
"We're using e 906s for the guitar cabinet and e 904s on the toms because of their natural, warm sound," continues Andrianatos. "The wireless guitar and IEM systems were chosen as we all agreed - the sound team, the back line techs and the band - that the great sound quality, the compact, easy to use and flexible belt packs and the very good RF coverage makes them the best in the market.
"We've been using Sennheiser mics and IEMs since 2005. The band's reaction towards the Sennheiser products has always been good. If they ever had to do shows when the Sennheiser equipment wasn't available it was always missed."
The band isn't alone in their appreciation of the benefits of an association with Sennheiser.
"I've known (Sennheiser artist relations manager) Mark Saunders since I started working with the Kaisers in 2005," adds Andrianatos, "and it's been a
pleasure to work with him ever since. He has been very supportive and he's always helped us with any issues regardless our geographical position."
Production manager, Robin Scott, agrees that Sennheiser's support has been a great help to the band.
"Working closely with Sennheiser for the past few years has proved invaluable to the bands touring production," he explains. "Especially useful has been the support that we have received on the rare occasions that any technical support was required, both in the UK and internationally".
Kaiser Chiefs are currently touring UK arenas, including sold out shows at MEN Manchester, and a UK leg finale at Wembley Arena. The tour then continues on to Australia and to further shows in the Far East.
In picture: Kaiser Chiefs front man, Ricky Wilson, touring the world, and the audience, with the Sennheiser SKM 935.
27th February 2009
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