Britannia Row Productions supplied an L-Acoustics L2-based audio system for Radiohead’s 2025 European tour. The production featured an in-the-round stage design with a “TM Array” configuration and included a four-night residency at London’s O2 Arena. The TM Array design, named after German engineer Thomas Mundorf, features line array behaviour in the vertical plane with electronic steering exhibiting an omnidirectional pattern horizontally.
Britannia Row says the system distributes redundant AVB to amplifiers with an analogue backup via MADI over fibre. It was designed to minimise stage spill whilst providing consistent coverage across the venue. A block of subwoofers positioned in the middle of the array created cancellation directly below the band’s stage position, whilst audience positions benefited from summation of sources.
Each quadrant of the PA features a custom flown amplifier cart housing motor control, amplifiers and signal distribution. The sub array includes a custom lifting frame that conceals amplifiers and cables, co-designed with and fabricated by tour technical directors Wonder Works. The company says the PA can be flown or de-rigged in one hour.
Josh Lloyd, system designer at Britannia Row Productions, said: “With an in-the-round PA design, it can be difficult to minimise the amount of spill onto the stage. Using the L-Acoustics L2 for its cardioid behaviour we got the rejection needed. We also had the challenge of PA placement in the centre of the arena, where typically, a scoreboard may hang, but the economy of weight of the L2 and the sub array helped the rigging plan to be achievable.”
Lloyd added: “The band are situated directly below the cluster, where it creates the cancellation, meaning on stage, there’s no pocket of noise.”
Simon Hodge, FOH engineer, used a Dante-based control system built around Rupert Neve Designs RMP-D8 eight-input mic amplifiers with Dante outputs, paired with a Yamaha Rivage PM10 console. The production deployed 14 RMP-D8 units with PM10 surfaces at both FOH and monitor positions.
Daniel Scheiman, monitor engineer, mixed on a Yamaha Rivage PM10 with DSP-RX processor from backstage throughout the tour, using talkback systems and camera feeds for communication with the band. The monitor system included Wisycom in-ear monitors and Meyer Sound M4 wedges.
Britannia Row and its communications brand Surfhire supplied a converged solution encompassing audio, wired intercom, wireless intercom, wired internet and WiFi. Radio channels were integrated to interface with communications and audio systems as required.
Britannia Row Productions was formed in 1975 and was acquired by Clair Global in 2017.
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