latest news headlines

Francis Cabrel Benefit Concert with InnovaSON for Musicians of New Orleans

In a show of francophone solidarity and support for the stricken musicians of Louisiana in the wake of the disastrous hurricanes Katrina and Rita, talented French singer/songwriter Francis Cabrel put on a huge benefit concert at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

Renowned for his sophisticated melodies and sensitive lyrics, Cabrel is now one of the most prominent figures on the French and francophone music scene. He is also known for his social conscience and is both head and creator of a number of public service organisations in France. Once the extent of the damage in New Orleans became clear, Cabrel wasted no time in creating the non-profit organisation 'SOS Musiciens de la Nouvelle Orleans' with friend and fellow musician Zachary Richard with the sole objective of putting together a benefit concert in aid of the city's community of musicians.

An impressive roster of French and international stars including Juanita Brooks and Paris Combo joined Cabrel in a night to remember at the Palais des Congrès. At the heart of the system, and by special request of Cabrel's long-time FoH engineer, Ludovic Lanen, was an Sy80 digital mixing console from InnovaSON.

Lanen first came across InnovaSON at the "Jazz a Vienne" festival during the summer. Intrigued by the concept and capabilities of InnovaSON consoles, he opted for an Sy48 for Cabrel's mini-tour of cultural centres in his native region of South-west France in support of his association, 'Les voix du Sud'. Lanen was so taken by the Sy48 that he made a special request to try out an Sy80 for the 'SOS Musiciens de Nouvelle Orleans' benefit, even though there was already a digital console in permanent residence at the Palais des Congrès. "It wasn't a difficult decision," said InnovaSON's Hervé De Caro with a smile. "In the first place, a personal request from someone like Ludovic Lanen is difficult to ignore, and secondly it was for a very good cause, so we were pleased to help out."

Lanen spent two days in rehearsal at Studio Hocco in Vitry running through the show and getting to know the Sy80. "We needed everything to be as accessible as possible, because the changeovers between artists were both fast and frequent – we had some 20 artists over the course of two and a half hours," explained De Caro. "I optimized the configuration according to Ludo's requests, making particular use of the Xfad function, and then basically stood aside to see how he handled it. I have to say, I think we were both pretty impressed – during the course of the two days, he hardly asked me a single question, which I took as a huge compliment, particularly from someone as perfectionist as Ludo. He won't tolerate mediocrity in any shape or form, so I was pleased to see that he found the console intuitive, easy to use, and transparent."

Lanen agreed. "Cette console est magique!" he declared. "It's fabulous to mix on, and the audio quality is superb, both in a live environment and for recording live. The beauty is that it can all be done in the digital domain from the same control surface and still leave you with enough resources to handle your show and deal with the unexpected should it arise. InnovaSON has developed an excellent product with these consoles."

SOS Musicians de la Nouvelle Orleans was recorded and broadcast live on French national television network, France 2 and shown again on France 4 later in the month.

News Type:

latest news headlines

Francis Cabrel Benefit Concert with InnovaSON for Musicians of New Orleans

19th December 2005

HEADLINES

news archive

search stories