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 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.
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.
Rudimental’s exuberant live We The Generation campaign continues in the UK in
February 2016.