Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting and rigging for the most recent Rudimental UK tour renewing their long term working relationship with designer Jonny Gaskell, whose multi-layered scenic and lighting design has been delighting audiences throughout the year, taking several Hackney, London E8 landmarks around the world … culminating in a show at Alexandra Palace.
The tour started back in March and Jonny's visual concept – in its full incarnation - gradually revealed more elements as the set unfolded, an effervescent and cheeky mash-up of colour, movement, bouncing beams and lively visuals delivered with the band’s characteristic carnivalesque and slightly edgy vibe - matching the infectious beat of their music.
The launch of the new ‘We The Generation’ album which shot to the UK number one slot in early October generated yet more excitement as eager fans flocked to catch the band’s epic, full-on live performances.
The stage set was designed to be scaled to fit into various different spaces, however, only the largest venues - including an incendiary Saturday headliner on Glastonbury's Other Stage also supplied by Colour Sound - saw the full production.
The show opened quite sedately to reveal a massive, authentic scenic piece replicating Hackney High Street’s central railway bridge, with a double sided upstage drape - lit from both directions - depicting the skyline. Built by True Staging on a trussing superstructure, this bridge / pros arch also provided some convenient positions for side lighting.
The bulk of the lighting rig - comprising 130 moving lights - was based on three overhead trusses and another one upstage on the floor, plus three circular trusses at the back - a surprise element revealed when the Hackney cloth opened. A 4-metre diameter circle in the centre was flanked by two at 3 metres, all rigged with more lights. Upstage of that was an LED screen.
The moving lights were predominantly Robe, including 26 x BMFL Spots which were intensely bright and really kicked ass! “They’re wicked” enthused Jonny “Bright, excellent gobos and very reliable!”.
These were dotted around the upstage truss, with six on the floor, two downstage at the front for firing low-level beams across the singers and blasting into the audience, with four at the back on the floor truss (see below).
Twenty-four Robe LEDWash 600s and 24 x LEDWash 1200s, together with 32 x Clay Paky Sharpies were dotted around the various trusses.
The LEDWash 1200s were spread across multiple locations covering side washes including downstage on the floor and on the upright side trusses supporting the bridge. The floor units front lit the scenic speaker fascias and up-lit the bridge legs and surrounding drapes.
The Sharpies were used for all the bright, spikey, piercing beam effects
Ten Robe MMX Spots on the front truss provided the key lighting - a more flexible and dynamic option than standard profiles.
The lamp count continued with 40 X 2-lites, 18 x Atomics and 12 x i-Pix Satellites used to architecturally light six real street lights, customised by Colour Sound with Chauvet mini COLORband PiX fitted in the heads. Other assets included a London phone box that was also lit with Satellites and a couple of SGM XC-5 LED strobes inside … for additional craziness.
Eight ColorForce 72 LED battens grazed casually up the front of the scenic cloth, which was lit from behind by eight rather potent Studio Due CityColor floods.
Upstage on the floor was Jonny’s famous floor truss – four pieces of 10ft A-type trussing on wheels that were part of the summer festival rig – an ingenious way of getting a shed-load of lighting specials on and offstage very quickly!
Each of the four sections was loaded with a Novalight Super-Nova big beam effect, two LEDWash 1200s, a BMFL and a Sharpy.
The bridge and its support pillars were covered with LED tape also hooked into the lighting desk - Jonny’s own ChamSys MaxiWing and ExtraWing. He was supported on the road by Colour Sound crew chief Andy Melleney plus techs Simon Robertson and James Hind.
Colour Sound has worked with Jonny on Rudimental since the start of their touring work. He commented, “They are great – we always get good, well prepped kit, top crew and excellent service”.
Rudimental’s exuberant live We The Generation campaign continues in the UK in February 2016.
Photos: Louise Stickland