“When I talk about developing a sustainable solution for audio, lighting and stage production it came from the idea of being able to organise events anywhere; in the most beautiful of places.”
Wildlive is an innovative and exciting startup led by founder Alex Pinte. Since establishing the brand just a few years ago, Alex has implemented a razor-sharp focus on providing eco-friendly and financially viable sound, lighting and stage solutions for events organisers.
St Kilda Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival, New Years Eve on the Hill, Sydney Road Street Party, Byron Music Festival and Laneway are just a few of the events that have aligned themselves with Wildlive’s vision.
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Most recently, Wildlive has become the Australian Distributor for Pikip solar speakers. Pikip speakers use up to 10 times less energy to operate at the same efficiency as more traditional sound reinforcement options. Pikip and Wildlive are a perfect partnership when it comes to sharing a green ideology!
Pikip Solar Speakers
I managed to catch Alex for a quick chat earlier this month. September has seen him take Wildlive on the road with the Guts tour with the James Range Band and Melbourne rockers Floodlights.
The Guts tour is a fantastic initiative that sees a solar-powered convoy bring live music to rural communities in both the Northern Territory and Western Australia, the perfect testing ground for Wildlive’s mission. The tour, organised by The Bush Music Fund, consisted of a series of eight concerts that were all solar powered in NT and WA communities including Mutitjulu, Docker River, Tjukurla, Santa Teresa and Utju to name a few!
Alex explains that the tour instilled a lot of trust in the solar system on the road, having not seen or heard it. “Playing in completely remote communities, so much dust, and shaky roads.”
Alex is no stranger to skepticism in what can sometimes be a fickle industry. “It’s solar powered, how does it work when it rains? What if there is no sun today?”
Needless to say, the naysayers are always silenced, as Alex continues, “The first gig was like ‘Holy hell, sounds great, it’s beautiful.’” Alex elaborates further, stating “When it comes to solar people are always skeptical, but after the event they are convinced.”
It doesn’t take long for me to see what it comes down to for Alex and Wildlive. “When I talk about developing a sustainable solution for audio, lighting and stage production it came from the idea of being able to organise events anywhere; in the most beautiful of places”.
Exhibiting a definite passion for live music, it is immediately apparent how much of a priority it is for these solutions to be eco-friendly. A war that Alex has gone to battle for many times over the Wildlive’s short but storied lifespan.
“It’s been hard, the amount of doors that are closed before we even have the chance to present the idea is crazy.”
Unfortunately, this is a sad reflection of the cost of hosting events in the modern age.
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While it is no issue for larger events with big lineups, corporate sponsorships, and mammoth profit margins to cut through, small startups can often be left in the cold.
“At the end of the day, I’d say that a major part of the industry wants to be sustainable, but they simply can’t.”
“For a lot of smaller events you are basically left with deciding between surviving or doing the right thing, and these days a lot of companies are focused on surviving.”
Alex goes on to echo that “… that’s where we are really trying to do it, we want to make it accessible to make events sustainable.”
“Many events managers are expecting us to be expensive because it’s solar powered, but are actually really surprised to see where we fall when it comes to cost.”
And so it goes, as with every knock back in Wildlive’s journey there have been just as many tall victories. Reflecting on the origins of the company, Alex can trace it all back to a chance meeting with folk/blues singer-songwriter Kim Churchill.
“I knew that to get my foot in the door I needed an artist, I always loved Kim’s music and people had told me that he tried to do a tour with his solar-powered van, but it didn’t really work.”
Sometime later the stars aligned and Alex had a chance to make his move, explaining “I approached Kim at a gig with an idea, he said ‘Man if you do it, give me a call.’”
Six months later and Wildlive was hosting an event with Kim on board.
“I built this from the ground up with Kim, starting from nothing we did it together.”
Taking brave steps towards implementing new ideas is intertwined with Wildlive’s upward trajectory as a company. An ethos that is well illustrated by the Solar Sessions, an upcoming event curated by Alex to discuss and demonstrate the virtues of eco-friendly stage productions. He goes on to detail “I was talking to production managers, they said they were always having people demonstrate these ideas, but they were never professional enough, and the systems didn’t sound great before mine.”
“The Solar Sessions are a net zero concert series that combines the passion for music with a commitment to sustainability. It is our proof of concept and also our “lab”. We use those events to test new things before presenting them to our customers.”
On Friday 11th October, Wildlive are organising a Solar Sessions Showcase + Panel Discussion in partnership with VMDO. The Panel Discussion is a talk about the economic impact of being sustainable, the economic challenge, followed by a showcase of Wildlive’s solutions featuring performances from Kim Churchill, MzRizk, Wilson Blackley, Charlie Needs Braces and The Stamps. The event is the perfect initiative to get the ball rolling on discussing eco friendly and financially sustainable solutions for live music events in Australia, as well as a great excuse to get out and see some phenomenal up-and-coming acts!
Keep reading about Wildlive and the The Solar Sessions here.
