Nipius has been working with Suede since the late 1990s and was asked to create a lighting design to complement the band's 'experiential' new shows, which were performed to launch a new concept album and short film.
For the first half of the show, lead singer Brett Anderson and his bandmates performed behind a partially transparent screen, onto which their movie - a 'dark and dramatic tale of love and despair' - was projected. For the second half, the screen was pulled up to reveal the group as they played a selection of Suede classics.
Avolites' exclusive Netherlands distributor Fairlight supplied the Tiger Touch II to Keylight's Gary Yates after inviting him and Nipius for a demo of the console at his Bemmel studios.
"I was immediately impressed with the Tiger Touch II's generous 20 faders, 10 macros and large, bright screen, which meant I didn't have to take an expansion wing with me and I could take the entire console to London as check in luggage," says Nipius. "The console was just what I was looking for, control wise - the touch screen handles nicely and is very responsive. Graphically, it's great, with the premade gobo and position pictograms.
"The software is also full of fantastic features. I like to use organic visuals like slow random colour, intensity or beam changes and Key Frame Shapes in Titan V9 is a great tool for that."
To achieve his looks, Nipius used the house rig, which consists of fixtures including Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800ST, Robe DLF Wash, Martin Mac 2000 Profile, and Source 4 15/30.
Night Thoughts is Suede's seventh studio album and is due to be released in January 2016. The accompanying film, which was shown at the Roundhouse gigs, is directed by Roger Sargent.
(Jim Evans)
