Young Fathers

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YOUNG FATHERS

Following the release of their third album, Cocoa Sugar, the critically acclaimed Scottish powerhouse set off on a year of extensive touring, rolling out their own production for the first time. TPi checked in with Young Father’s lighting department to speak about their visual approach.

Shooting into the mainstream following their Mercury Prize-winning debut, Dead, Young Fathers – known to their friends as Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole, and Graham ‘G’ Hastings – have since been on a steady rise to success. Last year saw the band take a notable leap in their career following the release of Cocoa Sugar. The group marked the hit by hitting the road with their first full production to execute their unique aesthetic vision. After an extensive year of touring, Young Fathers’ 2018 ended with a sold-out show at London’s Brixton Academy.

The visual duo behind Young Fathers’ latest live offering was Phil Kaikoura and Andrés ‘Argy’ Atkinson. Kaikoura was responsible for the overall design concept, but the duo co-designed the lighting. While Argy set to work on the programming and time-coding for Young Fathers, Kaikoura turned his attention simultaneously to Mumford & Sons, with whom he is currently touring.

The design drew inspiration from the band’s iconic Roundhouse show in March, with its massive 24 x 15ft fast fold screen forming the backdrop. The co-designers clad four sides in sail cloth to create a cubic, forced perspective concept, in which the three members themselves performed on the stage apron.

The key was to create stark contrasts, Kaikoura began, explaining the decision to choose a set centred on plain sails and big surfaces. He continued: “The 4-sided cube was based on a distilled version of the big surfaces we used at the Roundhouse.”

“I think we confused a lot of local crew members when we set up the projections screen so close to the back wall we left no room for a projector,” laughed Argy. “These surfaces were simply used to project colour to produce a really impressive backdrop.”

The Brixton show took the look from the rest of the tour and inflated the

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YOUNG FATHERS

number of fixtures in the rig. Just like the rest of the run, the rig consisted exclusively of GLP in the form of 30 hybrid JDC1s and 48 impression X4 Bar 20s - all supplied by Christie Lites.

The duo deployed 25 JDC1s projecting behind the screens to create starkness and a forced perspective to add depth to the shallow stage. The band’s Manager, James Stanson, was inspired by the shadow effect design for David Byrne and prompted Kaikoura to use three further JDC1s downstage to create similar strong shadows. The JDC1s rear-projecting behind the screens were run in normal 23-channel mode. Three more created the big mono shadow effects, positioned in between the wedges in high-resolution 68-channel mode. “There is nothing else in the market that comes close the JDC’s ability to produce strobes and colour,” stated Argy. “Especially with the way we projected colour on the screen, we turned on the JDC and everyone was really impressed. As a strobe fixture, I think it is superior to conventional xenon strobes because there is no decay. It’s amazingly bright and it is so versatile. In fact, there are many elements I have still not had the luxury of using.”

For control Argy opted for a MA Lighting grandMA2 with an MA on PC Command Wing and Playback Wing, running nine DMX universes. “It’s a fantastic console,” enthused the LD, adding: “I switched brands a few years ago - as did Phil - and haven’t looked back. You are able to do more subtle effects on the MA which other brands simply can’t achieve. It makes a real

difference in your overall design.” Following the band’s summer run supporting Massive Attack, they returned to continue their headline tour which featured the same design save one element. “For the shows after Massive Attack we utilised timecode,” said Argy. “At the start of the year we were riding everything live. But on the build up to the second half of the year we programmed all the cues to timecode to make everything that little bit tighter.” Even though each track was time coded, the LD told TPi, the end of each song was still open to the operator as to when to blackout the stage.

Christie Lites has worked with the two lighting designers ever since opening up in the UK - and the company has been a constant for Young Fathers. “The rig was flawless,” observed Christie Lites’ Account Manager, Roy Hunt of the Brixton show. “We are finding both the JDC1 and X4 Bar units increasingly popular, and while our inventory is large enough to handle almost any request, demand is still growing.”

Argy was pleased to report the show had been given a resounding thumbs-up from both James Stanson and the Production Manager Nick Lawrie – not to mention 5,000 ecstatic fans. “The whole show was fantastic,” he said. “It couldn’t have gone better.” TPi www.young-fathers.com www.christielites.com