Melbourne based lighting rental and production company MPH Australia, headed by Matt Hansen, continues to invest in Robe products, with the latest additions being over 80 MegaPointes, 50 Spiiders and 50 BMFLs.
These join a constantly growing inventory of Robe moving lights currently in the region of 700 plus, including BMFL Spots and Blades, Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s. Hansen made the commitment to Robe’s newest tech after having utilized the products on shows.
He founded MPH (Matt’s Party Hire) in 2006 initially to stock some more esoteric LED products like SoftLED cloth. MPH soon started incorporating lighting and rigging, with the first Robe investments being around nine years ago, a trend that continued rapidly resulting in a large inventory of Robe products that helped establish MPH as a serious force on the Australian lighting rental scene.
Knowing Robe’s reliability, Hansen continued his commitment to the brand as a core moving light product to service his fast-expanding horizon of concerts, touring and festival projects, the sector in which he specialises.
It was shortly after this that Robe really started appearing frequently on touring rider specs, a trend partly driven by designs emanating from the US and Europe. “There was definitely a point at which Robe started firstly being requested a lot, and secondly, it became readily accepted as a substitute for other fixtures on original specs. This really underlined our decision” he explained.
The very first gig for his newly delivered MegaPointes was the 2018 Parrtjima Festival of Light in Alice Springs where LD Richard Neville of Mandy Lights used 80 fixtures to illuminate the West MacDonnell Mountain Range with custom gobos and spectacular effects!
The fixtures were spread out over 1.5km and run via wireless Ethernet for control, where their incredible brightness and excellent build quality ensured a great installation.
Recent events for the Spiiders and MegaPointes have included Czech-originated dance event Transmission, staged for the first time at the Sydney Showground (LD Bas Kemper) and the Download rock festival in Sydney and Melbourne, where MPH supplied lighting for the Avalanche and Dogstooth stages at both sites – production designed by Jeff Pavey – and working for main lighting Contact’s Creative Productions.
While MPH definitely got the ball rolling with MegaPointes in Australia, others have also invested in these and Spiiders, and the already substantial availably of BMFLs in the country has been increased in the last two years.