Dutch rock group, Racoon have a career that has spanned over 20-years, with a unique array of evocative sounds, and collaborations with both Armin van Buuren on a Trance version of one of their hits and the London Chamber Orchestra.
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 longtime Lighting Designer, has accomplished this feat on the band’s Fall tour. An indispensable tool that van Lokeren achieve this is his ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console.
van Lokeren kept his rig uncluttered to evoke an intimate hardcore basic mood on stage. This sense was reinforced by his use of retro theatrical fixtures that were hung at varying heights over the band. Changing the position of these fixtures created a sense of movement on stage, in addition to leading audiences through the different emotions evoked by the music.
van Lokeren said: “It is really very nice that the MQ80 gives me such a wide range of different options in the effects section. 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.”
In addition to his MagicQ MQ80, van Lokeren used an extra PC Wing to control front lights and hazers. “The Wing allowed me to adjust smoke at any time during the show,” he said. “My biggest challenge on this tour was to get the right amount of haze on the stage. We are often at venues that have a lot of air-conditioning, which is a challenge. On this tour, haze is 90% of my show, because it’s great at setting the right mood.”
Meeting this and other challenges was easy for van Lokeren, thanks to his system techs and the ChamSys MagicQ MQ80.