Robe lights Popland in Madrid
- Details
The show was a diverse electronic and symphonic fusion illustrating pop, rock and dance music ‘moments’ from the last 50 years, presented by one of Spain’s most influential mix-masters, DJ Nano, in conjunction with Catalan experimental theatre company La Fura dels Baus and the Darevitam! Orchestra conducted by Bruno Axel.
The event - three years in the making - was the brainchild of DJ Nano, who initiated with the concept together with Sharemusic! who produced this very special event with another two major Spanish promoters, Planet Events and Disorder.
Eduardo and Pixelmap Studios designed the stage in consultation with Nano – his first working with the artist – and set which included a 10m-wide by 6m-high upstage automated LED screen and four impressive 14m-tall 1.5m wide curved truss sections filled with convex LED panels.
The idea with the set was to create a stage to accommodate two sets of DJs that could also conceal the orchestra.
The night kicked off with a homage to some of the most legendary rock bands and artists of our time including AC/DC, The Rolling Stones and Queen, with the orchestra prominently involved in some unique arrangements for this chapter of the story.
When it came to moving lights, he wanted the most flexible and powerful options and MegaPointes were top of the list. Rental company Fluge has a large stock of Robe luminaires, which have been supplied via Spanish distributor EES, so he picked MegaPointes to be the primary hard-edged fixtures.
The 40 fixtures were rigged all over the stage, along the top and bottom of the moving LED screen, on the curved truss arches, with some on the stage deck.
The LEDWash 800s were used to light the stage, set and orchestra, selected for their “brightness and good zoom as well as the LED ring system which can produce some great effects” he stated.
The biggest challenge of the show was on the control side, syntonising the timecode from Nano across all the lighting, video, laser and SFX platforms, an integration which Eduardo and his team accomplished with their usual technical flourish.
The lighting programmer and operator was Juan Manuel Lazaro, Carlos Fernandez was the Pixelmap Studios project manager and David Inlines, Sergio Puig and Carlos Jiminez of Pixelmap Studios created the video content. Bochi Piagio was the lighting crew chief, and Eduardo also worked with Nano on storyboarding the show’s three musical acts.
(Jim Evans)
