ChamSys helps create different moods for Racoon
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Reflecting the multi-faceted style of Racoon in light calls for a design that can convey a wide range of moods in a clear, but subtle fashion. Erwin van Lokeren, the band’s long-time lighting designer, is accomplishing this feat on the band’s Fall ’18 tour with a lightshow that (like his client’s music) is at once straightforward and complex. An indispensable tool in helping van Lokeren achieve this is his ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console.
“I have been Racoon’s designer since 2006, and it is always exciting and challenging working for them because their music is so diverse,” said van Lokeren. “Racoon music ranges from up-tempo pop to really fragile small songs. This means that I have to go from making the show look big, to creating something very small and intimate. On this tour, I try to create a show that is a bit industrial. I have lights moving up and down in different positions, so they work as scenic pieces as well as sources of illumination.”
Limiting his three-universe show to 62 fixtures, van Lokeren is keeping his rig uncluttered to evoke an intimate hardcore basic mood on stage.
In light of his design vision for the current Racoon tour, the effects options in van Lokeren’s ChamSys console are of particular importance. “It is really very nice that the MQ80 gives me such a wide range of different options in the effects section,” he said. “I like having so many possibilities to search and create the right effect that I desire. The intensity master fader also works great for me, allowing me to adjust the brightness in venues, for example, where the roof reflects a lot. Given that this is a mood driven show, I need precise control, which is why I’m very happy to have the MQ80 with me.”
(Jim Evans)
