David Guetta Rocks Brazil with Robe

	David Guetta in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Robe

DJ, record producer, superstar, and arguably the most popular EDM guru on the planet David Guetta completed an incendiary nine-date Brazilian tour in January, which saw Robe moving lights on the spec for most of the shows.

Guetta's lighting is designed by Jonathan "Leggy" Armstrong -- known for his imaginative and stylish shows which have graced several leading dance acts including Basement Jaxx. The touring team works with entirely locally-sourced productions wherever they play, and lighting on the road for this leg of the ongoing world tour was overseen and operated by two lighting directors -- Alex "Junior" Cerio of Smash Productions and Sam MacLaren of LightLab -- both also lighting designers in their own right.

Between them and the video visuals produced by Ben Brett's unique Pilot video control system, operated by Nick Briggs, Guetta gets a dynamic world class show wherever he plays.

This is also a very exciting and refreshing way to work, fusing structured elements with improvisation and live operation involved every night as the show plays out. The Pilot visuals will often set the tone and colors of the track, and both lighting and video work harmoniously contrasting and complimenting.

As Cerio puts it, "David DJs all night ... and in essence we all adopt the same modus operandi."

Due to the punishing gig schedule of the Brazilian tour, Cerio and MacLaren split the lighting design duties between them.

Cerio had Robe gear on all his shows, starting with an all-Robe rig in Guaruja and finishing in Ribeirao Preto.

Equipment for both of these shows was supplied by Apple Produções and included 20 Robin Pointes, 18 Robin LEDWash 600s, four Robin MMX WashBeams, 20 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, and 30 ColorWash 1200E ATs.

In Salvador, LPL provided them with 18 LEDWash 600s, 18 ColorSpot 2500E ATs, and 26 ColorWash 2500E ATs.

"I'm always happy to see Robe on the 'contra' rider," Says Cerio, who likes the Robin range in particular and further comments, "There's a really nice continuity across the LED fixtures, the Pointe and the MMX units, especially while programming, using the internal macros, etc."

He observes that he is seeing Robe at shows increasingly regularly, and particularly since he started working with David Guetta three years ago. "The pricing structure seems to have allowed companies in all parts of the world to get their hands on decent numbers of Robe fixtures," he reports.

Cerio was one of the first lighting designers to use Robe's best-selling Pointe multi-purpose fixture on a live show -- very shortly after the Pointe was launched, which was at a festival in Hannover in April 2013. The Pointes had come straight from the factory, and due to the time constraints he had precious little chance to experiment while programing.

He added, with a serious amount more Pointe experience under his belt, the overnight programming sessions in Brazil certainly allowed him to give the Pointes a good workout.

Cerio took full advantage of the zoom and focus for building transitional cues, and felt he achieved the best effects if the gobo or prism changing was hidden with a quick blast of the Molefeys. He devised a striking look by swapping a gobo behind changes in the zoom and focus wheels which he could only do with Pointes on the current rig layout. "It looked very cool."

He really enjoyed working in Brazil again and comments that the Brazilian companies and crews are great to work with -- the gear is usually well maintained and of a good standard and the companies are experienced and knowledgeable. "It's a pretty tight family there." And, of course, "The audiences and the vibes generally are fantastic!"

MacLaren had to wait until Sao Paulo to use Robe kit on the tour where the show at the Transamerica Expo Center was again supplied by Apple, who have a large selection of Robe fixtures in their rental inventory.

He used 20 Pointes, 18 LEDWash 600s, 34 MMX WashBeams, and 20 MMX Spots to great effect. He appreciates the newer Robe ranges, particularly the MMX Spot, and says "It's always good to see them on a spec."

In Sao Paulo, the LEDWash 600s were rigged on "wing" trusses reaching between the side of the stage and the DJ booth; the MMX Washbeams were deployed on the front truss and both upstage and downstage on the floor, while the Pointes were spread out on the wing trusses and around the DJ platform's rear LED screen.

He was extremely happy with the results, saying, "It was a great combination of responsive lights -- where shutters and colors, etc. react instantaneously to a quick stab of a flash button -- and console (a Hog 4) together with atmospherics," (courtesy of MDG fog and haze machines).

Like Cerio, MacLaren also enjoyed the vibrancy of the Brazilian experience, as well as touring and working with a fantastic crew of highly talented and friendly individuals on the Guetta team under the production management of Alan Green.

See Robe Lighting at PLASA Focus: Nashville, February 18 - 19.