Wonderfruit Festival

Music Festival Pattaya - Thailand

RDC ensures forbidden fruit gets thrown long distance at vibrant Thai festival

We’ve been using Pioneer Pro Audio speakers for quite a long time at RDC and that experience has left us in no doubt about the quality of their sound. After we received the offer we set a condition that the installation of Pioneer Pro Audio was non-negotiable. We knew that this would enable us to recreate high quality sound with no stress on the audience or artists.

Masahiro Tsuchiya | Organizer | Rainbow Disco Club

Wonderfruit is a 5 day annual arts, music and lifestyle festival attended by around 20,000 visitors daily, which takes place at The Fields of Siam Country Club, near Pattaya in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Since its inception in 2014, the spectacular festival has developed a vibrant pan-Asian focus. Although its early focus rotated international headliners with local talent, more recently the event has added elements from the wider region’s strong nightlife ecosystem. It’s eclectic, it’s hugely popular and shines a positive light on South East Asia’s blossoming electronic music scene. The 2019 renewal was as diverse as ever with a host of multi-faceted sets, including a number of live performances.

Located in a large tent on the site, The Forbidden Fruit stage, at Wonderfruit’s request, was taken over in 2019 by Rainbow Disco Club (RDC) of Japan, with the intention of reproducing the sound and atmosphere of that idyllic festival. When the offer was made, RDC’s Masahiro Tsuchiya was clear about one non-negotiable element – it had to be a Pioneer Pro Audio Sound system. He explains:

“We’ve been using Pioneer Pro Audio speakers for quite a long time at RDC and that experience has left us in no doubt about the quality of their sound. After we received the offer we set a condition that the installation of Pioneer Pro Audio was non-negotiable. We knew that this would enable us to recreate high quality sound with no stress on the audience or artists.”

Wonderfruit’s founder and organiser, Pete Phornprapha had experienced the vibe at RDC:

“Two years ago I went to Rainbow Disco Club and I really liked it. The vibe was really cool, the music was great and the sound was amazing, so this year I was playing around with the idea of a couple of takeovers by record labels or events that we admire. Obviously RDC was on the list so I contacted Masa and he agreed. RDC is known for its great sound, so when they said they wanted to use the same system we were very happy about that!”

Kohji Fujita who is a Japanese PA engineer and appointed by RDC and respected chose to use a Pioneer Pro Audio system based around the XY-3B. He had used XY-152 and XY-122 speakers at RDC for quite some time, but for this particular space the XY-3B was better suited to what was a long-throw application. The system comprised 2 x XY-3B and 2 x XY-218HS per side at the front, supplemented by 1 x XY-3B, 1 x XY-218HS and 1 x XY-2 per side at the rear. An additional XY-218HS was used centrally. One of the key factors faced within the space was the fluctuation in temperature. The XY-3B bi-amp configuration enabled the engineers on the ground complete control of the high and mid-high frequencies. Previous experience of using the XY-218S was improved upon with the horn loaded XY-218HS, helping to broaden the sound.

Asked about the XY-Series’ suitability for outdoor events, Kohji explains:

“When you’re delivering a fixed indoor installation you can prepare more easily because you are not compromised by limitations on time. The reverse is true for an outdoor event, so everything depends on the immediate environment. What helps to meet the demands is having a system that is durable, portable, easy to set up, and can be used for a wide variety of applications. The XY-Series meets all of these key requirements.”

With multiple stages using line-arrays in simultaneous action at Wonderfruit, the Forbidden Fruit stage was notable for deploying a point source system to great effect. The sound inside the tent was praised from all quarters as being very natural, with the center sub providing a warmth which helped to envelop the whole space. All the DJs who played through the system were very happy and the evidence of the audience reaction – non-stop dancing – demonstrated the important part it played in creating a superb atmosphere.

Co-founder of Wonderfruit, Montonn Jira was very happy with the response:

“As a festival we’ve always been known for having high standards of lighting and audio. Pioneer Pro Audio coming here this year has obviously added more value and encouraged us to keep pushing and fine tuning in every area.”

Allowing the takeover of the Forbidden Fruit stage by Rainbow Disco Club was clearly a smart move by the organizers, given the responses from all those in attendance. Pioneer Pro Audio’s XY-3B system was very much part of the package. Would you want to work with this sound system again? Masa smiles:

“Of course!!!”