EVENT FOCUS
SLOWTHAI: HELL IS HOME @ O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON Northampton’s favourite son returns to the stage – or moreover, a makeshift rooftop – backed by production values built on the dynamic and industrious nature of creative crew.
Words: Jacob Waite Photos: George Muncey and Lewis James
Following the release of his widely-acclaimed second studio album, TYRON – and hot on the heels of THE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO TOUR in support of small venues post-lockdown – slowthai and his production crew commenced a countrywide campaign in March, wrapping up with two back-to-back, sold-out headline shows at O2 Academy Brixton, whereby ‘creative integrity was at the forefront’ of production values, as TPi discovers. Tasked with telling the story of TYRON on stage was Stage Designer / Creative Director, Lewis James, who collaborated with slowthai and his Manager, Lewis Rest, to curate stage and production design, show scripting, and video direction. The resulting design saw the artist perform the majority of the show perched atop a figurative roof and chimney of a house, which doubled to create a ‘soft box’, while a stream of video content, measured lighting, and pyrotechnics – including fire cannons and hazers – created an atmospheric, sensory assault befitting a ‘nightmare’ narrative, constructed by its architects. “The show’s narrative is meant to portray a sense of a nightmare, feelings of being trapped
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and anxiety but also moments of bliss — the classic pitched roof house and chimney was a metaphor for a make-shift home that has been built inside of his mind, a symbolic shadow where all his thoughts and feelings live. The stark boxed frame that contains the stage gives the space a feeling of containment yet also a space of protection, a framework that would allow us to tell the feelings of the album,” James said, explaining the creative concept of the show. Lighting Director, Michael Straun collaborated with James to enhance the visual experience, storytelling and narrative of the show. The duo employed a filmic, almost photographic style of lighting to complement the stage design. The majority of the lighting was based around the scenic structure of an illuminated soft box. Referring to James as the ‘artist’ of the camp in addition to slowthai, Straun triggered flickering of lights around the soft box to create a naturalistic look based on the creative director’s drawings. GLP JDC Lines came into full effect during some of the high-tempo tracks such as Drug Dealer, where the lighting units enhanced the energy of slowthai and the crowd. There
was no front truss installed by Colour Sound Experiment, at the behest of the design brief. Instead, rows of GLP JDC Lines surrounded the top and bottom of the stage outside soft box framing encompassing slowthai, providing a “beautiful and extremely bright light” that played with the audience when the artist was no longer standing atop the figurative house. “As a creative decision, we decided not to conventionally key light the artist,” Straun explained. “Instead, we focused on a silhouette look, using the soft box as a soft light. However, we did track slowthai’s movement on stage with a few Robe RoboSpot followspots on the balcony, as well as punches of colour and gobos to add texture to the front lighting.” Spectra Flood Q40s were placed around fabric to backlight the interior of the box, with an upstage row of GLP impression X4 Bar 20s sat beneath the house, allowing Straun to uplight a Blackout-supplied gauze placed in front of the video wall. MA Lighting grandMA3s consoles, operating in MA2 mode, helped control the show. For synchronisation, the show operated to timecode via a ShowKontrol system, which converted timecode from CDJs to the lighting director, as well as triggering video.
