Elliott Mountford lights Charli XCX with GLP
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Now still only 19, and from a background in programming, Elliott has developed into a fully-fledged lighting designer. Most recently, he has been out with Charli XCX - with an armoury of GLP fixtures for company, supplied by Liteup.
“We had 34 X4 Bars and 34 JDC1 [hybrid strobes] on the European and USA tour, and then the show at Brixton Academy was a total upscale, with 96 JDC1s and 36 X4 Bars,” he reveals. The rig comprised both the touring and Brixton package. “It needed to be bright, and be able to create a thousand different looks out of a single unit - and the JDC1 always smashes that.”
Elliott has certainly earned his spurs, having worked as an LD with Skepta, Ghetts, Chipmunk and a number of EDM acts (Including Ultra Music Festival, Lost Frequencies, Carl Cox and Solomun). Earlier this year he programmed and tour LD’d rapper Santan Dave for LD Tim Routledge, an award-winning lighting show that helped him gain further recognition.
When Charli XCX was looking for a new LD she realised that Elliott, after operating several of her shows, would be best fit. He stepped up to take the lead role, and introduced a completely different conceptual approach, working alongside creative director, Jed Skrzypczak.
“Charli and Jed loved my work, and kept me on board for the festivals, and the US and European tour,” he continued. The lighting design came together organically, without a brief. “I’ve worked with Jed a few times now, and totally get his vibe. Charli’s future pop music needed to stand out. It was apparent that the Cubes, designed by Jed, were our central focus and so I needed a fixture that could produce a flat soft field of light, but was also easy to complement the rest of the rig.”
The GLP fixtures played a major role in ensuring all objectives were fulfilled. “I’ve used X4 Bars for a while, but JDC1 was a new strobe to me at the start of the year. After using a bunch with [Santan] Dave, I knew it was a fixture for the future and I was interested to see how far we could push it this time.”
Using two JDC1’s per cube, and six X4 Bar 20s on the back (with all other JDC1s audience facing), he quickly got his answer.
In summary, the LD says there are many elements that make the GLP fixtures so special. “Wherever I go, I see the Bars - everyone has them, even in the weirdest part of the world, and they always match. Their dimmer curve and colours are unmatched, and I feel like it’s a fixture I can use on every design.”
(Jim Evans)
