USA/UK - The Sleep Token experience is all about the music; the band are completely anonymous, so there are no egos or names to get in the way. Thom Pike, front-of-house engineer, has been with the band ever since their third gig in 2018.
For their latest tour, his mixing desk of choice was a Quantum 338. Monitor engineer, Samuel Schmitt, a long-time DiGiCo fan, choosing them consistently throughout his career, is also using a Quantum 338. Both engineers explain why DiGiCo desks are the right fit for this high-profile tour.
“It was the start of a new cycle and a new era in terms of venue sizes,” Pike recalls. “Solotech were able to help us out in terms of budget, so for our first gig at Wembley Arena I went straight to a DiGiCo. By the end of that tour I was in love with the console. I feel like there are no limitations. The desk does exactly what I want and more, and there is no looking back.”
The identity of the members of Sleep Token is a closely guarded secret and their following has grown organically over the last five years, without press interviews from the band. They wear masks and the stage is kept clear.
“The original idea of the band was just to listen to the music, don’t worry about who’s singing, who’s playing, just listen, it’s definitely different,” Pike explains. “The music world is all about the ‘who’, but Sleep Token is just about being moved by the music.”
Being with them since the very beginning, Pike used to mix FOH, monitors, manage the production and the tour. As the band’s success has grown, he has been able to delegate responsibility and now solely concentrates on mixing FOH. Their rise in popularity has seen the band go from 130 people capacity clubs to selling out 23,500 capacity venues like Manchester’s Co-Op Arena in just a few years.
The increase in venue size and production elements was just a part of the reason behind using DiGiCo consoles, as self-confessed enthusiast Schmitt recalls.
“I am a true DiGiCo evangelist,” he explains. “When a band is rapidly growing in terms of venue sizes, there are going to be things you want to do that other consoles are just not able to do. And that means you will be running in circles. That is never an issue with DiGiCo, the workflow is just much cleaner.”
It was Schmitt’s enthusiasm and support that made Pike feel more comfortable taking the leap to DiGiCo and, if issues did come up, Schmitt was only too happy to show Pike a quick fix, knowing DiGiCo’s support team are available should the worst happen.
“Sleep Token is great to mix because it’s a real rock mix,” says Pike. “Using a DiGiCo was a big change for me, but it’s been great. I get a lot of support from Solotech, and whatever the issue is, they are there to help us.”
“The crew are all good people and the tour has been the glue that keeps us all together. When it all works this well, it just makes sense keep everything the same,” Schmitt concludes. “I’m on the North American side of things, so I’ve worked closely with DiGiCo’s Ryan Shelton and Chip, they’re the best customer service and tech support. If they can’t help, they always know who is on call and will pass me on to them. Even if I just have a simple question, I never feel ignored by DiGiCo.”
