A.R. Rahman is one of the most talented composers and musicians working in the film and music industries today. While his film scores and soundtracks for blockbuster Indian and international titles have sold over 350 million CDs and cassettes around the world, he is perhaps best known for scoring Slumdog Millionaire. The Slumdog Millionaire score and soundtrack earned Rahman a Golden Globe, two Oscars, and two Grammys, among many other awards. The soundtrack peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and hooked millions of fans on its runaway hit, “Jai Ho!” The Journey Home World Tour 2010 celebrates Rahman’s prolific career, including songs from Slumdog Millionaire as well as landmark Indian films Lagaan, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Dil Se, Rang De Basanti and Roja’. The tour is a must-see theatrical event. Citing reasons for quality and wireless reliability, monitor engineer Doug Kimball (Rob Thomas, Christina Aguilera, Goo Goo Dolls) insisted that the tour switch over to a complete Sennheiser package to accommodate the twelve wireless vocals, four wireless instrument packs, thirty-eight wireless personal monitors, plus a plethora of conventional and unconventional instruments.
“In my opinion, there are a lot of mic manufacturers that make products that will do a passable job for a straight-up rock show involving musicians without nuanced technique,” explained Kimball. “But Rahman’s show is much more than a straight-up rock show, and both he and the people he performs with are exceptionally talented. Sennheiser products are a big step ahead of everything else that’s available in terms of fidelity and musicality. Beyond that, we have a huge number of wireless channels to manage in a tour of major metropolitan areas. I only rely on Sennheiser wireless in such challenging circumstances.”
The A.R. Rahman tour boasts twelve vocalists on wireless handhelds, including Rahman himself. All use the Sennheiser SKM 5200. Kimball put the female vocalists on ME 5004 condenser capsules and the male vocalists on MD 5235 dynamic capsules with Sennheiser EM 3532 receivers tying the wireless signals to the wired world. Many instruments benefit from Sennheiser wired mic fidelity as well. The bass drum conveys with an e 602, the snare with a MD 421 on top an MD 441 on bottom. All of the toms, as well as an auxiliary snare, rely on e 604 clip-on mics, and a Neumann KM 184 picks up the hi-hat and overheads. A collection of percussion instruments, including congas, bongos, taiko, and trash cans, similarly find the perfect balance of transients and body with e 604s. After trying all of the mics available, Kimball found that a classic Sennheiser MD 421 provided the most musical pickup for a hand-pumped harmonium.
Kimball is definitely earning his keep at the monitor desk, providing twenty-seven separate wireless personal monitor mixes to thirty-eight belt packs. “There was no RF tech on this tour, so it was entirely my responsibility to make sure everything was working properly,” he said. “In my experience, Sennheiser offers the most competent and stable wireless technology. Although I am in the process of transitioning to Sennheiser’s Wireless Systems Manager software to organize things, I simply used the scan and synch features on the new ew 300 IEM G3 wireless personal monitors for Rahman’s tour. I love that functionality, and it worked perfectly.”
He continued, “Kristy Jo Winkler and Sennheiser’s global support team have always been top-notch. When we need something, whether it’s a repair or a request to try out some mics, I never have to call twice.” A.R. Rahman is the first superstar from India endorsed by Sennheiser Global Relations. In November, The Journey Home World Tour 2010 will stop in South Africa, dates in Switzerland, France and Germany will follow.
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