Auditoria navigates complex festival audio for Sami Yusuf

Morocco:

Auditoria delivered audio engineering services for two sold-out performances by Sami Yusuf and the Fons Sophiae Collective at the 29th Fès Festival of World Sacred Music, overcoming a series of technical challenges posed by the historic Moroccan venue and the programme's diverse instrumentation.

Held at Bab al Makina in Fès, the performances welcomed audiences of more than 5,000 people per night and featured appearances from Moroccan artists Nabyla Maan and Sidi Ismael Bouja. The production combined sacred, Andalusian and traditional musical styles, requiring an audio approach capable of preserving the character of numerous acoustic instruments while providing consistent coverage across the outdoor venue.

Rather than travelling with a full touring audio package, the production utilised equipment supplied locally by Moroccan provider Kilmi. Auditoria adapted its workflow around the available infrastructure, deploying Yamaha CL5 consoles and Yamaha RIO stageracks alongside a travelling package of recording, show control and specialist microphone systems.

The team also worked within the constraints of the festival's fixed venue design and existing Adamson E15 loudspeaker system, focusing on optimisation and tuning rather than altering the physical deployment.

Particular attention was paid to the reinforcement of traditional instruments, many of which were never designed for amplified performance. A combination of bespoke microphone selections, contact microphones and Bricasti M7 reverbs was used to maintain natural tonal characteristics while ensuring intelligibility and consistency throughout the venue.

“One of the most interesting aspects of working with Sami Yusuf is that so many of the instruments were never intended to be amplified,” said Ethan Curry, audio consultant at Auditoria. “The challenge is always finding the best way to preserve the natural sound and character of each instrument while ensuring it translates effectively to the audience.”