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Xtylos Hit the Road with A Day To Remember’s European Tour
Canada-based Lighting Designer Alex Mungalof Alien Lites selected Claypaky Xtylos fixtures for the European tour of American rock band A Day To Remember (ADTR), which wrapped at the end of February in Antwerp, Belgium. Mungal designed and programmed the show for ADTR, which was on tour with Bring me the Horizon and Static Dress. The band has had a busy run lately with the month-long European tour that stretched from Portugal to Poland following a North American headlining tour that kicked off in Baltimore in July 2022 and wrapped in Las Vegas in October. ADTR also played an acoustic theater tour in the US from the end of November to the end of December 2022. Mungal has a particularly passion for lighting music. A musician himself, he has performed as a drummer for several hardcore bands. He has designed productions and sets for musical theater and continues as the show director for the bands Disturbed and Motionless in White as well as ADTR. “On this touring cycle for ADTR, we’ve been after a kind of rock show-meets-EDM show vibe with the design, so the US rig featured Claypaky Mythos 2 and Sharpy washes,” Mungal explains. “When we took the show to Europe, I wanted to experiment with the Xtylos and its beam that could cut clean across an arena We landed on the Xtylos as the fixture of choice and were absolutely blown away by it. ”Mungal had a V-shaped floor package spanning the stage on F Type truss carts, each loaded with the Xtylos fixtures. This design made for flawless on/offs and seamless transitions between artists, according to the lighting designer. Color Sound Experiment was the tour vendor for the overhead rig; Tom Campbell of Mirrad Studios shared “his powerhouse of a rig” for Bring Me The Horizon with ADTR.
Mungal was impressed by many of the Xtylos’s unique features that he showcased on the tour. “We were able to achieve gorgeous blue beams and even prism effects in long-throw situations,” he reports. “I can’t get over how clean of a full blue beam we were able to achieve in long throws and how well prisms showed up. We didn’t have an army of hazers, so seeing the clean-cut looks even with minimal haze was fantastic. ”He was also pleased with the Xtylos’ “quick color mix swaps and wipes in the effects. I love the laser engine behind this fixture. The overall P/T engine made the chaotic moments in the show completely fluid and smooth. ”Mungal received “great support” from Claypaky for the tour and enjoyed “lots of fun feedback on social media from fans, colleagues and Claypaky alike. ”His debut experience using Xtylos went so well that he says, “I would love to have them on future tours!”
RST Chooses Claypaky Fixtures to Light a Tribute to Mohamed El-Mougy, the Godfather of Modern Arab Music, in Saudi Arabia
RST (Resources Stage Technologies), an events solutions company based in Dubai, used an array of 260 Claypaky HY B-EYE K25 washes, Mini-B LED moving lights, Xtylos Aqua, Sharpy X Frame hybrid fixtures and Sharpy Plus Aqua moving heads for a tribute to late Egyptian composer Mohamed El-Mougy at Abu Bakr Salem Stage, an outdoor venue in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia.
El-Mougy, known as the Godfather of Modern Arab Music and who died in 1995, celebrates his centenary this year. The star-studded night in Riyadh featured popular singers from across the Arab world paying homage to the man who composed more than 1,000 songs plus music for some 100 feature films and television series. Robin Thomas of RST selected 260 Claypaky fixtures to be installed on stage, around the décor and on the roof of the structure illuminating the stage and the audience to everyone’s delight.
“The design may not have been out of the ordinary, as it was a classical traditional setting,” Thomas notes. “But with a 20-meter height, a stage spanning 40 meters and more than 100 musicians, it takes something special to color that setup.” He chose 40 HY B-EYE K25s as “the strongest wash lights available” for the task. He deployed 60 Xtylos Aqua for their laser sources’ ability “to maintain color intensity, which comes in very handy in outdoor installations of that size.” Sixty Sharpy X Frames were used to target the band on stage. “this is by far the best fixture I have ever worked with, considering its size and price. Thomas points out. “
Sixty more Sharpy Plus Aquas were picked for their zoom capabilities widening the spot to match the event’s classical theme, he notes. In addition, 40 compact Mini-Bs focused on the chandeliers on stage for light-on-light effects.
“Claypaky fixtures never disappoint and never fail to impress,” Thomas reports. “They are adaptable and can be used for any kind of event. Currently, they make up the biggest part of our lighting inventory.”
Thomas also gives kudos to the Claypaky team. “They’ve always been supportive, and we greatly appreciate our professional and personal relationship.” He extends his thanks, as well, to “everyone else involved in the event, as it takes a whole team to create something so beautiful.”
Vasco goes on a live stadium tour with Claypaky and an extraordinary lighting design by Giovanni Pinna
Vasco Rossi decided to delight his countless fans again in 2023 with a short concert tour that crisscrossed Italy. As always, Giovanni Pinna was in charge of lighting, and made extensive use of Claypaky fixtures.
“The set design changed radically this year," Pinna told us. “We mainly used 70-by-26-metre stages based around a triangle: there were three triangles of automated battens of different dimensions around a large central triangular LED wall. Each batten was fitted with a modular rig complete with all the lights”.
Pinna told us he deliberately chose to use only three kinds of moving light so that the stage was as uniform as possible. The ultimate goal was to achieve a high-impact, fully consistent visual result. Pinna used 148 Claypaky Hy B-EYE K25 units and 70 Claypaky Tambora Batten Squares as key lights, along with a few brand new Claypaky Skylos fixtures.
“The HyB-EYE K25 units were a very important part of the line-up; you could even say they made the show on their own for several pieces. The tour started in May, so there was a lot of sunlight throughout the first part of the show, for about an hour. Therefore, I really needed a spotlight that would 'shine a lot of light'”. I used Hy B-EYE units with white light for the first six pieces. Then, as darkness came, I added colour. I was really impressed with their power and flexibility, and I have to thank Marco Zucchinali of Claypaky for his support with the programming.”
Another key element of the rig was the "square" version of the Tambora Batten. Tambora Battens are high-power LED fixtures with advanced pixel mapping capabilities. Their unique selection of "advanced layer management" functions mean they can be arranged in a line or matrix, for stunning lighting effects.
Pinna went on to add: “I arranged 54 Tambora Battens on the triangles on the ceiling and 16 on the ground, for which I had scenic stands built where the Tamboras are recessed to conceal their bodies and leave only their light sources visible. They are very bright lights and can often be used on stage by themselves. I also used them abundantly as washlights on the band, and I must say they did an incredible job.”
Lastly, I was able to use four Claypaky Skylos units. This was their international début, and they were the stars of the lighting design. Skylos units have a white laser light source, capable of producing an incredible light output visible from miles away. Yet, they consume only 600W. The Skylos is a very versatile, weather-resistant fixture, capable of withstanding extreme conditions thanks to its IP66 rating and marine grade protection. All its components are tested to withstand temperature changes in a range from 70° to -30° C.
Pinna told us: “I had four Skylos units and used them in pairs on both sides of the proscenium, especially for some pieces where their power stood out, like "Gli Spari Sopra”. I then used them during the breaks, so as to create a show within the show".
Claypaky Xtylos and Scenius Shine at Grand Opening Party for Dubai’s Luxurious New Hotel, Atlantis The Royal
The new luxury hotel and resort Atlantis The Royal launched in Dubai with a grand opening party with the theme of “This Is it” and a guest list of celebrities, royalty, government ministers, travel influencers and global media. Mark Butts, Founder of Pasadena, California-based Preset Productions, chose 289 Claypaky Xtylos to outline the roof tops of the property and 35 Claypaky Scenius to act as front lights for the gala private evening that was marked by performances by Beyonce and superstar DJs Swedish House Mafia and a spectacular fireworks display. Atlantis The Royal occupies some five beach-side acres and has an iconic curved and stacked façade that gives a unique look to the landscape at the end of Palm Island. Preset Productions was charged with lighting the environment, fountains and architecture at the site as well as the main stage entertainment. PRG’s Dubai office provided the Claypaky fixtures to Butts, who served as Lighting Designer for the project.
Butts is a long-time Claypaky customer and was the first to use the original Mythos fixtures in the US. “We’re always looking for new and unusual gear, and Claypaky consistently delivers for us,” he says. “I’m always confident in their equipment. ”Martin Smit, Lighting Planning Managerfor PRG, notes that, “This was a project that pushed all boundaries. Due to the scale of the building and the fact that the hotel was still in a handover phase, over a year of meticulous planning was required in order to execute [creative agency] CNX’s vision, a launch event on the ‘global stage’!” PRG worked closely with the production team and lighting designers, including Volt Lites,. “Our role was to facilitate on the ground what was achievable from a design and delivery perspective. Personally,I led the team from drafting the design aspects to detailed site surveys to ensure the hotel infrastructure and network was compatible with our own systems, ”Smit Continues.
