Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWashes for Sohne Mannheims Tour

Leading German lighting designer Günter Hecker used 22 Robe LEDWash 600s as his key fixtures for the just finished Die Söhne Mannheims European tour.

Söhne Mannheims is a popular German band featuring up to 17 members (with 13 on this tour) encompassing several musical genres including rap, R&B, soul, hip hop, and rock all fused into a distinctive style. It is also one of the many ongoing projects of Xavier Naidoo, one of Germany's highest profile and most prolific singer/songwriter/musicians.

Hecker's lighting design studio is based in Werne. He started his lighting career in the theatre 20 years ago, and now works on a host of live events, TV shows, and bands. He has worked with Söhne Mannheims since 1999.

The gigs varied from 200 to 6,500 capacities, and so for the smaller clubs and venues, Hecker wanted a small, bright low power solution, opting for the LEDWash 600.

Seeking flexibility, he chose LEDWash as the main fixture. The units were floor-based, enabling at least some of his key fixtures to be fitted into whatever space was available onstage.

For the full size stage format, all 22 LEDWashes were located along the back just forward of the backline, around the sides and across the front of stage. Where there was the space, an expedient overhead rig -- six bars of six PARs - and the PA was flown from a six-legged ground support system.

Other than the LEDWashes and the PARs, he used four 8-lite Moles and two Atomic strobes... and that was it.

The set was equally minimal -- 21 panels (in full-size configuration) of white canvas squares flown off the back and front trusses to add some architectural definition and depth to the stage. So, it really was all down to the LEDWash 600s to bring the set alive visually.

With 13 people onstage to light and a two-and-a-half-hour set, it was a bold move to rely on 22 moving lights, but Hecker's experience and the huge functionality of the LEDWashes made him confident that it was the right decision.

Matching the hard driving action and massive energy of the band, a lot of the lighting looks were straightforward single and duo color mixes. With the LEDWashes located on the floor, it enabled a myriad of moody shadows to be projected onto the back wall and the upstage canvas squares and for the front line band to be crisply silhouetted, all adding to the excitement of the performance.

"It's a very good, highly cost effective product with excellent color mixing and a great quality of light," states Hecker.

He also used a lot of white light. Several songs were lit solely in different color temperature whites -- emphasizing the harshness of the music -- and an effect that was easily achieved using the LEDWash 600 with its range of "real" whites from 2,700 - 8,000 degrees K.

All lighting equipment for the Söhne Mannheims tour was supplied out of Satis & Fy's Werne office, including the High End Systems Road Hog console that Hecker used to run the show. He worked alongside his two crew -- Hanna List and Ralph Hackstedt.

Die Söhne Mannheims will be embarking on a full German arena tour in November following the release of the new album. Hecker already has an elaborate set design planned which will involve lots more LEDWashes and other Robe fixtures.