PP Sound Lights Productions played a central role at two of Akon’s performances in Delhi and Mumbai, bringing nights of noughties nostalgia to the shows.
PP Sound Lights Productions, an event equipment and technical services provider helped to deliver a once in a generation experience in both cities through audio, lighting, LED, trussing, staging, wireless systems and backline offerings, delivering a technical showcase that combines high end gear with a skilled team.
The company worked closely with the organisers to internalise the artistic vision of the show, understanding how Akon moves on stage, how he interacts with audiences, as well as the emotional transitions between songs and the dynamics of supporting acts. With this creative vision in mind, the team conducted venue surveys in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Though distinct in terms of geography and atmosphere, both venues shared similar physical characteristics, especially in layouts, audience distribution, throw distances, and the rectangular footprint typical of large-format open air concert grounds.
With PP Sound Lights Productions design a technically cohesive reinforcement strategy that could be executed consistently across both cities, delivering an expansive performance stage framed by a trussing infrastructure, engineered with precision to support the lighting, LED, audio and scenic elements of the show, with an overhead truss grid that was carefully plotted to distribute load evenly, withstanding wind variations and supporting a lighting design that put wow factor at the centre.
Every segment of the structure, from the main roof span to secondary trusses, delay structures, and ground supporting frames were planned to guarantee both safety and performance integrity.
Prasad Parkar, founder-director, PP Sound Lights Productions, commented: “For us, the real story of the Akon India Tour is as much about the spectacle on stage as it is about the meticulously engineered foundation that brought the entire experience together.
The LED architecture saw PP Sound Lights Production deliver a 3.9mm pixel pitch outdoor LED wall as a central visual canvas positioned directly behind the performance area, supported by two auxiliary 2.6 mm pixel pitch LED screens flanking the main display to create a panoramic effect that frames the stage. To ensure that both audiences in each city had a clear line of sight, the team supplied iMag screens further into the audience areas, allowing distant spectators to feel connected to the live performance by capturing every facial expression, movement and lighting sequence on stage.
For lighting, both setups for each show were distinctive yet immersive. In New Delhi, Martin Professional fixtures were used to create an impressive visual colour palette, with more than 100 luminaires shaping the performance area and bathing the stage in a blend of washes, beams, aerial sweeps, and dynamic transitional cues.
For the Mumbai show, more than 100 Claypaky fixtures were used, featuring a mix of beams, profiles, and hybrid units to create a visually crisp look. The Delhi lighting focussed on delivering a warm and expansive experience, while the Mumbai show brought on punchy contrasts and beam architecture. Both shows featured a grandMA3 full-size console, giving the lighting control teams the ability to operate with seamless synchronisation, delivering complex timecoded sequences and live busked cues.
For sound, PP Sound Lights Production put a Meyer Sound Panther line array offering at the heart of the system, giving the Akon team tonal accuracy and long-throw capabilities.
Both stages were adorned with stereo hangs of 13 Panther modules per side, creating a main PA that was complemented by three Panther modules per side, deployed as outfill systems. This provided consistent coverage across the lateral audience zones, while an additional four Panther units were positioned across the stage lip for frontfill coverage.
The low-frequency experience was handled through 18 1100-LFC subwoofers arranged in an end-fire gradient configuration, allowing the engineering team to achieve forward low-frequency energy while reducing rearward spill onto the stage. This was considered a key requirement for vocal clarity during both high-energy performances.
“What our team at PP Sound Lights Production delivered in New Delhi and Mumbai was more than technical execution. It was a demonstration of discipline, understanding and craftsmanship. It showcased what is possible when a top-tier production house combines premium gear with a highly skilled team and a passion for delivering excellence without compromise. In an era where international artists increasingly look to India as a preferred touring destination, these concerts stand as a reminder that the country’s live production capabilities are not just catching up with global expectations — they are meeting and surpassing them!”
Both venues featured extensive longitudinal lengths to accommodate the throngs of crowds that had gathered to watch Akon perform, requiring PP to erect delay towers that featured six Panther modules coupled with three 2100-LFC subwoofers. This delivered a supportive layer of tonally consistent reinforcement across the full depth of the audience area, resulting in a listening experience that was coherent regardless of whether one stood at the barricade or beyond the half-way line.
Control of the audio environment was handled by three units of DiGiCo Quantum 338 digital mixing consoles, with two serving as front of house and monitor positions, and a third retained a fully redundant backup. The consoles were integrated through Optocore fibre networking for fast routing, signal transport integrity, and dynamic processing capabilities that were required for shows of this scale.
Onstage, the artists used a reliable RF infrastructure consisting of a Shure Axient digital wireless system with KSM8 capsules for vocal transmission, chosen for its reliability and resistance to interference. Multiple channels of Sennheiser IEM systems were used to deliver monitoring for performers and musicians, while a curated backline provided each instrument, amplifier, and peripheral that were essential to the artists’ technical riders.