UK - Eskimo Dance is an exhibition of the grime genre in its rawest form. From the early days of raves at small (and often illegal) venues, the sound has gained more mainstream popularity in recent years celebrated most recently by Eskimo Dance at Wembley’s SSE Arena.
Firmly in charge of programming and operating the lighting for the show was Elliott Mountford of EMLD. The show was run with one of Mountford’s most recent acquisitions: A grandMA2 Light with an MA2 Command Wing for a full tracking backup.
“The first console, the grandMA2 Light, was purchased last spring,” opens Mountford, “but the most recent MA2 Command Wing came about from a visit to PLASA at the end of last year. Despite not being from one of the major rental companies, I was warmly welcomed at the Ambersphere Solutions stand where the full range of MA Lighting consoles were. Thor Andrè of Ambersphere Sales was really generous with his time and support and talked me through the features of the Light Command Wing. I came away thinking, ‘Even before I have committed to spending any money they have been more than helpful – this is good!’”
Mountford went ahead with the order and took advantage of five one-to-one training days at Ambersphere’s new premises to acquaint himself thoroughly with what the Command Wing and the MA Nodes have to offer. “The training days were really worthwhile; the set up at Ambersphere allowed me to explore what I could do with the desk while having someone on hand to answer any questions or help with advice if I wasn’t sure about anything. I’ve found the MA platform really easy and comfortable to manipulate; when you are moving from show to show and are not always sure what you going to find the flexibility and ease of tweaking the show file is invaluable.”
Since then Mountford has been busy out with the consoles with shows ranging from the smaller club events to the Eskimo Dance event at the SSE Arena at Wembley: capacity 12,500. “I freely admit to being totally converted to the MA platform,” remarks Mountford. “There’s no doubt that the MA name is known and accessible worldwide which is something to consider if you are touring in the far flung reaches of the globe but even more important to me is the level of support that is continually on hand from the team at Ambersphere. Nothing is too much trouble, no query is too small. When I first started programming the board, I sent in my show file and they talked me through every step to make sure I was totally happy with it.”
“This new purchase represents a vital investment for EMLD,” finishes Mountford. “The Command Wing and 2Port Node, allows for full tracking backup to our MA Light console and more physical DMX outputs for our bigger shows. Although we might not be the biggest investor in the marketplace, Ambersphere sealed the deal by treating us as if we were.”
(Jim Evans)
