Smith came onboard in December last year, and the band's latest touring campaign kicked off in the new year. He was given a free rein in the design, although the band had a few pointers - primarily as to what they didn't want.
The new album takes a more serious and reflective turn from the first one which was poppier and softer, and so Smith decided to take the lighting into moodier and more edgy realms, still infused with some classic theatrical touches, as is his oeuvre.
"A Diamond 4 is always my first choice" Smith confirms. "For all the reasons I love Avo desks - their power, ease of operation and massive flexibility." During the first leg of the US tour in January, they toured a specials package including the desk which was combined with different house rigs every day, and he found the D4's Fixture Exchange function invaluable and "very simple and easy to use".
The principal moving lights are 18 SGM Giotto Spot 400 CMYs which he uses as both profile and wash fixtures, maximising the effect of the frost filter. Eight of these are positioned on the gently curved upstage truss and the remaining ten on five vertical towers onstage.
Dotted around the towers are sixteen 2-cell Molefeys which create a matrix effect across the stage pointing forward. There are also eight Martin Atomic 3K strobes with scrollers, four on the floor and four on the towers. For a flourish of pure theatre, there are six Strand Beam lights on the floor in between the towers.
Also on the deck are eight SGM PALCO 3s, four static and four mobile, which, Smith explains, "really help with the saturated, moody looks" as well as producing fast, snappy colour chases for the poppy moments.
The front truss serves the very practical function of lighting the band! It contains nine Source Four profiles used for the bulk of the key lighting, which is filled in from below with floor PARs complete with CTO filters illuminating each band position. These are helpful for lighting lead vocalist Kele Okereke.
The five vertical truss towers are all fronted with Element Labs VersaTILEs which are driven by the RADlite, together with custom created content that Smith produced for the show. All lighting equipment was supplied by Siyan, together with the crew - Rob Watson (chief), Will Yapp and Jon Barker.
(Jim Evans)
