Fatboy Slim’s long-term lighting designer, Stephen Abbiss, has chosen to use the
superior live control capabilities of Avolites’ Tiger Touch II console for the DJ’s summer
season of festival shows and one-off headline slots across Europe and Australia.
Known for his flexible performance style, British DJ Norman Cook – known as Fatboy
Slim – demands a highly personalised approach when it comes to his production
lighting.
“Norman mixes completely live,” says Abbiss. “We don’t have a set track-list, so the
success of the show’s visual element relies on clear communication between myself
and the tour’s digital content creator and video operator, Bob Jaroc. To prepare for
each show, we have to know every track that Norman is likely to play.”
To that end, Abbiss and Jaroc use a robocam installed on the DJ’s deck table, which
provides them with a live feed of the DJ’s chosen upcoming tracks.
“It can get hairy at times,” says Abbiss, who has worked with the artist for nearly a
decade. “Because I am operating live and having to make quick programming choices,
I need a console that is not huge but that allows me a lot of control options. With the
Tiger Touch and Tiger Touch II, I can get to everything that I need quickly. The
freeform workspaces and touchscreen allow me intuitive control of multiple fixtures at
a time, which is great when you have to work at speed.”
The basis of the production’s rig is ten truss ‘fingers’. Ideally, all ten fingers would be
installed, but on stages where space is at a premium, the rig can be scaled down and
angled to suit the size of the stage.
Abbiss decided against touring his own control desk and instead relies on Avolites
products being available from the stock of leading rental houses around the world.
“Avolites has a fantastic global supply chain, so there was no need for me to tour a
desk,” says Abbiss. “I’ve been using Avolites consoles for many years. Accessible
features that allow me to do a fast re-patch and Avolites’ intuitive live control surfaces
keep me a fan of the brand.”
Abbiss is using the latest Titan software upgrade, v10.1, to program and control his
design for the DJ’s live shows. “I am relying heavily on Titan’s Fixture Intensity View
function,” says Abbiss. “I have a lot of ‘plots’ that need fast re-patching, and this
feature allows me to view and change the levels of my fixtures quickly and easily on
the console’s touch screen.”
Fatboy Slim’s 2017 summer season has seen the DJ play British festivals including
Latitude and Creamfields, as well as European festivals such as Nova Rock. The DJ will
also be completing a series of club residencies for Cream, Ibiza through August and
September.
