When Lighting Designer, Jaycob Luque played his first ever date with renowned Canadian DJ/producer KAYTRANADA on Hallowe’en in 2021, he was supported by multiples of GLP’s impression X4 Bars.
“The X4 was revolutionary at the time,” he said. But fast forward three years and KAYTRANADA’s production values have scaled up – and GLP has moved to its X5 platform. So now, the designer has been able to upgrade to impression X5 IP Bars, specifying 156 fixtures. These have dominated the set for their power and versatility on the recent US stadium and amphitheatre Timeless tour. The show has also visited Australia, New Zealand and Africa and will visit Europe next spring.
“I’ve received nothing but positive feedback from fans and industry alike,” said Luque. “The X5 IP Bars were truly the highlight and I have never been more satisfied with a fixture… maybe since the JDC1!”
And it should be noted that he has included 24 of these strobe hybrids to the set – with inventory supplied by Matt Brotz at LEC Event Technology. But the X5 IP Bar is the star performer, and in the LD’s words “is so powerful and bright that the wall of light looks like a concrete wall.”
It has not been difficult presenting renders and creative ideas to the artist, as Luque has been a self-confessed major fan since the age of 15: “So from a fan’s perspective it’s been a case of what would I like to see at these shows? How would I match this song and with what colour?
“As he’s grown as an artist, I’ve been fortunate to scale up with him and design most of what he has done for the past three years. He has his own distinct sound and has virtually created his own sub-genre in the EDM space.”
Jaycob Luque can also reflect fondly on his own development path, since starting out as a house LD at the Observatory in Orange County, California. Today his creative work spans multiple genres, and LEC is generally his preferred vendor. “They just have that quality of service where it feels like a family. The gear itself is impeccable – the quality of preparation, from cable looms to the gear; not just the fixtures but the hardware that runs it all.”
The impression X5 IP Bars are a perfect exemplar of this, Luque said: “Matt [Brotz] had custom brackets attachments made for them so when they attach to the truss, they are perfectly spaced out in a great big consistent straight line of X5 IP Bars.”
Thus KAYTRANADA is immersed in this cubic world of vertical towers and horizontal lines. “The X5 IP Bar is the entire footprint,” continued the designer, “with towers stage left and stage right from the deck to the ceiling and the horizontal lines running from downstage to upstage, along with all the overhead rig on automation.” An entire row along the downstage edge outlines the square, while a depth of five further overhead rows to the back take it into a three-dimensional cube.
That the impression X5 IP Bar has taken such a quantum leap over its predecessor comes as little surprise to the LD: “Whenever I hear the GLP name the words that come to mind are quality, innovation and reliability. I can get more technical with dimmer curves and the quality of the new colour engine.”
Aside from the extraordinary brightness generated by the 18 40W RGBL LED’s, he said, “the colour engine is incredible and when I narrow the zoom, I can create the wall of light.
“We also used the zoom range to key light the artist, but there are moments when I would use the zoom to light him in a specific way, other than as a key light. The zoom is great because no matter the distance, I am able to get a nice wash on him.”
The other big advantage of the X5 IP Bar – more from a vendor’s and stagehand’s perspective – is that the fixtures are IP-rated, he notes. “We are often loading in and out of amphitheatres in the rain, but this just makes things easy.
“As for programming, it has been an easy transition. It’s like programming an X4 Bar, but with more parameters to engage with and have fun with, in the performance and tilt modes.” He does the majority of his own programming using GLP’s Mode 4 MultiPix Advanced (84 DMX channels).
Colleague Jake Hett assisted with programming and operated the show, while Jaycob Luque was also the tour show director. Other key personnel include Eddie Perez, Bethany Vargas, Tamir Schlanger and Von Ford (creative/content direction); Ivan Ceron (visual director); Nate Rogers (LEC production chief); and Olive Ball and Josh Gordon (lighting techs). Tamir Schlanger was tour manager, Eliza Willburger was production coordinator and Nate Rebolledo production director.
