Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Alexander O’ Connor known by the stage name, Rex Orange County has made a big impact across the UK in 2018. So the task fell to LD, Will Kinnaird to ensure the lighting was fresh interesting and appropriate for O’ Connor’s first production tour.
Kinnaird maximised the small size, brightness and versatility of Robe’s LEDBeam 150 moving lights, taking 24 of these on the tour where the 24 fixtures fitted neatly into three small flightcases. They proved a perfect tool for the low-profile aesthetic that he crafted for the tour, working closely with the artist’s Show Designer, Jed Skrzypczak.
When it came to the London gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, the LEDBeam 150 count was boosted to 51 and six Robe MegaPointes were added to the rig, all supplied by High Wycombe UK based rental company, Siyan. The goal was to maintain the sense of intimacy and cosiness that permeated the touring gigs, even though it was a much bigger venue and ROC’s largest show to date. Such is the buzz and his popularity that it sold out in a day, so there were many expectations.
For the main tour, the 24 Robe LEDBeam 150s were deployed in three horizontal lines across the stage – upstage, mid-stage and downstage – where they accentuated the clean and straightforward appearance of the performance space, adding depth, dmension and a degree of structural shaping.
In addition to the brightness and small size, Kinnaird also liked the zoom and the smooth colour mixing. He’d previously used Robe LEDBeam 150s on another gig, also working with Tom Grant, the Project Manager from Siyan who took care of this tour. Suitably impressed, he went on to specify them for the ROC tour.
He programmed and ran the lightshow using an Avolites Sapphire Touch console. The biggest overall challenge of lighting on the tour was to maintain continuity in every venue and having the Robe LEDBeam floor package helped achieve this.
Kinnaird has been using Robe products in his work since the start of his professional lighting career eight years ago. He commented: “They are simply going from strength to strength.”
Tom Grant explained that Siyan has been buying the LEDBeam 150s since their launch in Spring 2017 and MegaPointes have been a major part of 2018’s new moving light investments. “Both these fixture types are popular and flexible,” stated Tom. Adding that the LEDBeams can also be very used in very discreet applications due to the tiny size and MegaPointe units are constantly busy on internal, Siyan shows and cross hires.