Doja Cat brought to Europe her shows which were highlighted by four automated bridges, hair-covered risers, LED lighting pods, a wall of flames, and plentiful fireworks for The Scarlet Tour, backed by a Cohesion PA.
Kyle Hamilton, founder of NeverSleep Productions and 2018 winner of the Parnelli Award for FOH Mixer of the Year, selected Cohesion for the tour because it “gave the sonic picture I looked for with the way I wanted things to sound. This version is the best that I can get in terms of clarity and rejection on the back end. It’s a great-sounding PA,” he commented.
To render this sonic picture, Hamilton tapped NeverSleep’s Migui Maloles to be the FOH Engineer because he took “the vision and the format of NeverSleep and kept the brand high. I like how he moves, and his integrity is bar none.”
Maloles worked with Doja Cat since 2021 and understood the sound she desired. “We were looking for a PA that not only sounded great but would come across super clear with a lot of low end. We wanted something that would drive the point home for her style.”
Maloles trusted Audio Crew Chief and System Engineer Leon Fink because of his previous work on arena tours, specifically with Cohesion. “For me, it’s the PA that can be shaped to whatever my engineer or the gig needs,” said Fink, who has leveraged Cohesion since 2014. “It just gives me opportunities as a system engineer. I can shape it any direction. I don’t have to force it. I haven’t had that experience with any other speaker.”
Scarlet implemented 16 Cohesion CO12 left-right on the mains and the same number of Cohesion CO10 as side hangs; conversely, all 24 Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofers were upright on the ground, a dozen on each side. Six CO10 on the ground rounded out the system as front fill. The audio system was deployed by Sound Image, a Clair Global brand.
A challenge for Maloles and Fink was the thrust that ran directly underneath the stage right side hang. Explained Fink, whose touring resume includes Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, and Guns N’ Roses, “We ran the PA higher to help get more distance between the mic and the PA. It just gave us better coverage.”
“Leon and I worked together every day in every venue, gain shading the edge of that thrust,” added Maloles, who pointed to the great working relationship he had with Fink.
Their use of the CP218 II+ further illustrates that high level of collaborative spirit.
“I was a bit skeptical at first not having flown subs,” Maloles continued. “Then hearing the setup, it worked great. The low end was punchy, clear, solid, rumbling: everything you’d want from a sub.”
Production Manager Aaron Draude also recalled when he first heard no subwoofers would be flown: “Yeah, everything’s on the ground—back to the old school. They proved having skills behind the Cohesion rig is fantastic.”
“It’s a lot of low end, but we are still running the subs somewhere around -12 because it is so powerful,” said Fink. “This PA could do a metal gig almost without subs.”
Placing CP218 II+ on the ground also “saved weight on the roof,” said Draude, adding that the full PA fit into a single truck. “From my perspective on the production side, it saved me time, space, and weight. I found it to be very accessible in Europe. It always helped to know they could get it up and down so quickly. There are days where Leon would step into my office 45 minutes after load-out started and say they were done.”
Scarlet was Maloles’ first headline arena tour and his first time mixing on Cohesion. He pointed out that even minute changes in the mix, such as a 0.5 dB difference on an EQ, were very apparent. “As a mixer, that’s super helpful because it informs my decisions. I thought my mix translated nicely from near field to headphones, into the PA and into the room. I was blown away how my master file translated to the room.”
“To me, one of the most important relationships is with the FOH Engineer. The PA is the car, and the car can go very, very fast. If the driver is a good one, it’s awesome,” Fink concluded.
You can read the full production profile here:
