Engineers Choose DiGiCo Quantum flexibility and Power for Raye’s Summer of Shows

Raye is an artist with huge global appeal and a long list of awards to prove it, including the recent 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album, This Music May Contain Hope. Matthias Simmons is her front-of-house engineer and Joe Standen is monitor engineer. With such a wide fan base, the tour includes a variety of venues across the world. Simmons uses a Quantum326 and Standen switches between a Quantum7, Q338 or Q225 depending on the size of the show, all supplied by Solotech.

Equally at ease in a vast stadium or intimate jazz club, Raye’s performances captivate, whatever the venue. For the engineers, the constant variety of performance style requires consoles that are flexible, reliable and have a lightning-quick workflow. Having the power of the DiGiCo Quantum Series at their fingertips gives them all the features they need and, as Simmons begins, enables him to react instinctively, staying in flow with the artists, whatever the show.

“I met Raye way back when she was doing one of her first showcases; she was playing piano and her classmates were on drums and bass,” he recalls. “I haven’t been with her the whole time, I’ve popped in and out, but I started doing front of house in 2023 and before that I did monitors. There has always been a really natural, grassroots feel to Raye’s music; whether she’s playing for 20,000 people in an arena or a paired back jazz set, there is a genre-defying quality that stays pure. We can go from huge brass and string sections one night to just a piano, bass, drums and trumpet the next, and it keeps it very interesting.”

With two 17-inch, high-brightness screens and two sets of fader banks on the surface, the Quantum326 is the perfect mix of footprint-versus-power for the endless variety that Raye delivers. Generally, the touring equipment stays the same, quarantined between shows so that they can tour reliably with less warehouse-prep time required by the engineers.

“The size format is just right for me,” Simmons continues. “It’s got everything I need, plenty of processing and, even on the bigger shows, I’ve still got probably about 10 spare inputs and a few busses free. The Q326 has everything on hand, exactly where I need it. At the venue, I can generally load a show file and quickly adjust it. I also do a fair amount of my desk programming at home; the software is great and I can whip up changes super-fast. It’s all really robust.”

Standen joined Raye’s team as monitor engineer in 2023. For him, DiGiCo provides the consistency he needs in ever-changing performance environments. He is using two SD-Racks, shared with Simmons at FOH, an SD-MiNi Rack for monitor-outboard and a D-Rack for FOH outboard. The FOH and monitor consoles are linked via an Optocore loop. Being able to scale this setup is key because, in addition to the core band of drums, bass guitar and keys, there can be backing vocals, percussion and, for the arena shows, string and brass sections, plus guest vocalists.

“Raye has lots of different styles of shows and we’re lucky to do lots of cool bespoke arrangements and events. Every TV appearance, for example, is a different arrangement and sometimes has a varied line up of musicians. Being able to scale up and down, but keep all your settings, workflow, etc., in the DiGiCo ecosystem is greatly advantageous. Raye has very high standards and expects as much consistency in her mix as possible, so being able to go straight from an arena show on a Q7 to a TV appearance in a different part of the world on a Q225 or Q338, to Ronnie Scott’s on a SD10, and always have the key channels sound the same is so, so valuable to me.”

Having a fully integrated digital ecosystem quickly presents all the inputs in a joined-up way that improves workflow and the signal clarity. As Simmons adds, this is the ultimate time-saver and keeps the sound as pure as it should be.

“I don't run scenes in the desk; I'm also a musician, so it's easier for me to connect with the gig and mix like I'm playing it,” he says. “There are no analog signals onstage apart from the microphones and the cable. Everything else is digitally presented, it arrives at the console so coherently.”

With such a wide variety of venues, show formats, numbers of technical crew and artists performing alongside Raye, reducing variables for the audio mix is key to getting the most out of their systems. For Standen, the combination of support from the DiGiCo team and Solotech is the finishing touch to the technical excellence provided by his equipment.

“So far, I haven’t needed any tech support from the DiGiCo team, but it is always great to see them in random parts of the world!” he adds. “Mat 'One T' Fel and Kevan 'Snuggsy' Snuggs have been my Solotech technicians for this year and their professionalism and experience is second to none. They’re a super pair and have allowed me to be consistent, even when I'm flying straight in on a red eye!”  

For Simmons, DiGiCo consoles deliver exactly what he needs, without getting in the way of his mix. Being able to rely on his tools to do what he asks of them in any venue is a key requirement and something that he does not take for granted. As he concludes, the ultimate flexibility, smooth workflow and crystal-clear sound of his DiGiCo ecosystem is exactly what he needs.

“It keeps you on your toes,” he finishes. “We go from huge venues like London’s O2 and 8,000-seater venues in America to 200-seat-capacity jazz clubs. Raye’s music works everywhere.  We do a lot of cut-down jazz stuff, going from a huge brass section and strings to just piano, bass, drums and one trumpet. You can really make DiGiCo work as you want it to, so I’ve got everything where I need it, in a compact footprint, and rock-solid reliability. Solotech have been great, too. Dave Shepherd has looked after us for years, even stepping in on a few occasions and joining us on the road. The company is a great resource, they are always available and look after us really well.”

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