![Behind The Sound: Boom Audio + The Element 5 System [Exclusive Feature]](https://theelectrichawk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/415049987_270813329343272_5916275728986436583_n.jpg)
If you listen to bass music, you’ve at least heard of the Element 5 sound system. The massive piece of equipment quickly became prolific after live events returned post-pandemic. And with good reason. Managed by Boom Audio & Visual, “Lil’ Thumpy” boasts a nearly unmatched balance of clarity and impact. The small yet mighty Boom team is led by Rochelle Collins, Shea West, and Justin Hoover out of Wichita, Kansas.
Being from Kansas herself, Electric Hawk Managing Director Abby has a special place in her heart for the Element 5 rig and the incredible team that supports it.
We were able to ask Rochelle some questions about the Element 5 sound system, their team, and their journey to becoming one of the most critical participants in modern sound system culture.
Abby Price-Offermann, Electric Hawk: How did you and your team get into the electronic music scene? How did the transition from participants, to curators, to business owners occur?
Rochelle Collins, Boom Audio & Visual: We all got into the electronic music scene back in the late 1900’s – the 90s. LOL! Around 1998, my brother started an electronic club called Antarctica in Wichita… he let me sell water.
After [Antarctica] closed, electronic music took a backseat for me… I didn’t come back around to electronic music as a preference until 2005 when Shea and I got together. From there, I have
never looked back.
The universe led us to Burning Man… From that point, we became burners. We attended eight Burning Man’s and many, many regional burns. We loved the culture so much that we wanted access to it more than once a year in the desert. So, we began hosting a sound camp at our regional burn and then participating in other local events.
Eventually, we started looking for a warehouse, and as soon as we found a venue and got it up to code – COVID hit.
Shea has always loved sound, and we had been flipping systems to upgrade for years at this point. We had a chunk of money to reinvest, and he came to me asking if I wanted to buy this sound system from the UK. Honestly, we had no idea what we were buying, but it seemed right. So we went for it. We figured, bare minimum, we could flip it and not lose out.
Needless to say, we have not lost out.
APO: What are some of your favorite festival memories with the Element 5’s?
RC: Infrasound and Sound Haven are favorite festivals. Not one moment in particular, but as a whole. The dance floors are popping and packed, and the crowds are into it. I love the community of Infrasound a lot. They waste no time getting down to the systems. I mean, they GET DOWN!
It’s also really fun to get to know all the other crews running badass sound systems and production. Meeting new people has always been one of the best takeaways from festival life.
APO: I’d love to hear about a time when you were enamored by the community you’ve built around sound.
RC: We are constantly awestruck by the community. I would have to say some of my favorites are:
- People buying other people tickets to our shows who can’t afford them, just so they don’t have to miss out on the medicine of what we have curated.
- After all of our events, our community helps pick up, and the place looks just as it did when they showed up.
- The community already spending money on tickets and drinks and STILL tossing us the change or putting money in the donation box because they love and see what we do – and knowing we will give it right back.
- Lastly, simply how much love we get online from all over. It’s mind-blowing.
APO: Do you prefer outdoor or indoor venues for the Element 5’s?
RC: The Element 5 system shines outdoors in open spaces where sound is not bouncing off of structures. We have done some downtown events, and you can hear it bouncing off buildings. In open fields where sound can just travel, it moves through you so nicely.
APO: Shows and festivals are built on the foundation of collaboration. I’d love to know more about the process and your experience collaborating with artists, festival promoters, production teams, etc.
RC: Collaborations are all over the board. Beyond some difficult agents or DJs, we have had really good experiences with most people we have worked with.
This is a very male-dominated scene, and I can feel pretty pressed by that at times. You know, if Shea sends them a message they get right back… but if I do, they keep me on read. There are always going to be rough areas when collaborating and trying to work with so many people. We have rolled with the punches and worked through it as we came to any issues.
As we have gained more of a presence and reputation in the scene, though, we are finding that we are attracting those we love to work with and sorting through those we aren’t a good fit for.
APO: How does genre affect the Element 5’s? Do you have a favorite to play on them?
RC: We love all the genres for the most part. Our favorites on the Element 5’s are higher energy bass, DnB, house, techno, and psytrance/bass. With the Element 5’s having such amazing clarity and range,
those genres take you on one hell of a journey through sound.
“We like to build dance floors, so that’s our main focus with the system.”
APO: Where does the system reside when not traveling to festivals across the country?
RC: A warehouse in Wichita, KS, known as Tribal Roots headquarters, where we host our events for half the year. Eventually, we would like to mostly dial back to our own events. The goal is to focus mainly on Tribal Roots. One day, we would like to own land where we can build up an experience that isn’t mobile.
APO: Tell me a bit about the team that supports the Element 5 system.
RC: The team that supports the Element 5’s consists of six core members, but a lot more within the collective that make it possible. We are all friends who first enjoyed burning together and slowly grew the experience into the professional multi-mobile businesses it is now. It has been an insane amount of work, learning how to co-exist and grow alongside each other while learning how to navigate territory we had no experience in.
We have had our fair share of issues and challenges, but overall, we continue to rise to the occasion and overcome them. We’re still here in a post-COVID world when that shook a lot of people in the industry. We have built survival into our plan from the start, and it has proven successful so far.
APO: What is something you want the general public to know about managing a rig like the Element 5’s?
RC: It is a big, powerful tool that requires a lot of time and maintenance to provide what we do
with it. The logistics alone to haul it all over the country are insane. The energy required to
constantly build up and tear down is unbelievable. The maintenance is a lot to keep it
protected from the elements (no pun intended), and keeping it clean after each festival takes a bit of work, too.
“But mostly, the amount of learning that went into understanding sound to make it what it is was a lot of time on Shea’s behalf. Oh yeah, and cables. It’s never-ending on the cables. Production is a never-ending journey.”
APO: Where can we see the Element 5 rig in 2024?
RC: We will be all over the Midwest. I think the entire month of August is officially on the road.
Sound Haven, Infrasound, Summer’s End Smoke Out, and Flow Faire… to name a few for the season coming up!
This is your reminder to wear earplugs, support your local underground, and catch the Element 5 system as soon as you possibly can.
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