Tomorrowland is one of the world’s biggest electronic music festivals, famed for being a magical experience with extravagant stages and globally celebrated DJs. In October 2015, the organisers opened their first pop-up concept store, the Tomorrowland Boutique, to give shoppers a taste of Tomorrowland in Antwerp city centre.
For three months, the store sold the Tomorrowland fashion collection and limited edition collectors’ items to festival fans and fashionistas alike. A raised ‘main stage’ area featured a bar, a Steampunk-inspired Pioneer DJ set-up in bronze and live sets from Belgian’s best DJs. And the History Room, set on a balcony running above the store, gave people the chance to plug in and relive the sights and sounds of previous festivals.
The organisers wanted to bring people a slice of the Tomorrowland experience, so a professional sound system was essential. They wanted an energetic sound in the shop – but at a level that allowed staff to speak to customers comfortably. For the main stage area, they wanted a warm bass and a tight, punchy chest kick, to create an immersive, festival experience. The History Room had to continue the vibe, but not compete with the space below. Plus, the system needed to sound good at lower volumes in the day and have the headroom to push it up for after-work parties at night.
The Pioneer Pro Audio team designed a sound system to enhance the Tomorrowland experience. For the shop, they installed three XY-101 10-inch speakers and an XY-115S compact 15-inch bass reflex subwoofer, while the main stage area had two XY-122 12-inch speakers – mounted horizontally with the horns rotated to provide smooth, consistent high frequency dispersion – and an XY-118S 18-inch bass reflex subwoofer. The DJ Booth had 2 XY-81 8-inch monitors on poles, while the History Room also had an 8-inch speaker to augment the sound from below.
As Kristian Van Haute, Pioneer Pro Audio Belgium, explained: “This configuration gave a great low-frequency energy in the store without overpowering shoppers and staff. We intensified that energy in the main stage area, with just two 12-inch speakers giving great coverage of the whole room.”
The whole system was powered by four Powersoft K2 amps and one M30, all with built-in DSP. During the install, the team re-cabled the whole venue, which had been cabled for a system from another company.
Debby Wilmsen, PR Manager of Tomorrowland Boutique concluded:“We’re completely amazed by the whole system. Not just the sound but also the visual impact – the gold grilles match and look like they were made to be there.”
