Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews has described the current state of the live sound sector as being “in a state of rigor mortis” in an exclusive new interview with Installation.
In an in-depth conversation with Installation, Andrews lamented the ‘corporate sound’ he believes dominates the live audio industry, while suggesting that too many brands are afraid of taking risks.
“Live sound is as bad as it gets,” he said. “A couple of years ago we were at Carl Cox’s stage in Miami and I was trying out asymmetric bass, and it got pointed out to me that one side looks different to the other side so many times… I had to tell them ‘this is audio, not architecture’. Somebody actually said to us at a festival ‘everybody knows that you just put bass across the front’. That’s the attitude we’re up against. We’re prepared to take a step outside of that conservative attitude and experiment. A lot of brands are terrified of experimenting in case they go wrong or they get shot down. Consequently, not much is that exciting. Basically, live sound is in a state of rigor mortis.
“I like truth and purity, that’s my objective,” he continued. “I’m not the slightest bit interested in pandering to a misconception. We press on the way we are.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Andrews goes on to discuss the company’s extensive work across the installation market, as well as everything from the challenges the company has faced in shaking off its reputation as solely a manufacturer of club speakers, to his views on dealing with the human condition.
You can read our interview with Andrews in full here and in the print copy of our July/August edition.
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