Post Malone

PRODUCTION PROFILE

POST MALONE: BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS

In line with his astronomic rise, the genre-spanning multiplatinum artist graced Manchester Arena as part of a headline European tour. TPi’s Stew Hume and Jacob Waite were both onsite for the singer’s sold out show to witness how this overnight success story translates his online oeuvre into a live tour.

Every now and then, artists come along who capture the zeitgeist of a generation so keenly, they are subsequently shot into the stratosphere of superstardom. It happened in grunge, then nu metal and now, in the latter half of this decade, it seems trap and hip-hop rule the roost. Leading the charge is a young gentleman who goes by the name Post Malone. It’s cliché to say an artist doesn’t fit into a genre, but Post really is a hard act to describe. Both his music and his aesthetic present a culture-clash of tropes from the worlds of rock, metal, hip-hop and RnB. He’s a true success story in the age of social media and music streaming, where boundaries are blurred, and everything is personal, yet universally shared with fans.

The question left for the live incarnation of Post and the wider Malone touring family (known internally as Posty Co.) is how to reproduce that intimacy on an arena run. Well, you can bet your best grill they have ridden the wave from obscurity to global recognition without looking back and created a spectacle unlike any other for the undefinable genius’ first ever UK arena headline run - the beerbongs & bentleys tour.

METHOD BEHIND THE MADNESS “We’re pretty much ignoring everything you are meant to do with a pop show” laughed long-time creative partner of Post, Travis Brothers, who has had a front row seat to the singer’s rapid rise in popularity. Brothers has been with the artist since the beginning of his career working as one of the lead creatives on live shows. “As he’s gotten bigger, we’ve been given more resources to bring others into the camp to help bring his creative vision to life.” Enter: Brothers’ creative partner Lewis James. The duo - both taking on the role of Creative Director - set about producing the singer’s biggest ever show.

“Our show is not like Beyoncé or J-Lo who warrant the need for dancers or set elements,” said James. “People come to see him perform and they want it to be raw. They want to see him light that cigarette, drink a beer and have a first hand conversation. It’s all about intimacy and personality.”

As the capacity for Post’s shows continued to increase, so did the production values. The management and creatives brought in Dennis Danneels, Production Manager for the beerbongs & bentleys tour. “I was really the first production person they ever hired,” began Danneels. “On their original run with his first album Stoney, there was only a very basic crew as they were only playing clubs and support slots. But then with the success of his track Congratulations and Rock Star, the anticipation from the public was overwhelming and management knew they were going to have to step it up a gear.”

Danneels has been fascinated by the speed with which things have changed for Post over the last year of touring, recalling how maybe a dozen kids would hover outside airports while crew members smoked cigarettes in the hopes of seeing the 23-year-old. “In the space of a few months, there were an extra 100 kids surrounding us. I’ve never been with an artist who has become this popular so quickly.”

The PM thinks he understands the artist’s quick ascension to the heights of an arena headliner. “I think a lot of it has to do with his personality which is really tangible to his fans. A few of the older guys on the crew are constantly comparing him - and this whole scene - to grunge in the early ‘90s. The other element is how well he crosses genres. We were all in his dressing room a few weeks ago and he would be playing music that would range from rap, country and western, followed by some Billy Idol and rounded off with straight up death metal. His influences are so varied and he doesn’t seem to write to any schematic. He writes what he feels.”

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This marked the first large-scale production for the artist, so the majority of suppliers were new to the Post family. PRG provided the triple threat of lighting, video and audio; Tait supplied staging; Pyrotek for special effects; Fly By Nite for trucking and rehearsals studios; Sound Moves for freighting; and Eat to The Beat for catering.

FILLING UP THE BONG “For our world tour we were very keen to give Post a stage not too widespread or generic,” commented James. “We had this vision of a brutalist, overarching structure juxtaposing Post’s bouncy personality,” What the team created was essentially a thrust which extended out into the arena, overshadowed by two monolithic LED screens. Overhanging the stage was an automated roof 16m long, jam-packed with just under 400 lighting fixtures.

Danneels said bringing in Tait as a stage supplier was a no-brainer. “This whole design came together so quickly, with only 10 days following our New Year’s gig to finalise the build,” commented the PM. “There are very few companies who are able to deal with this time scale - and I knew the highquality product I would be getting from a Tait stage.”

The creation of the automated roof piece, a seamless floating element, did prove challenging. “At the end of the day, it’s a 16ft long roof which is carrying a massive weight with all the lighting fixtures,” said the PM. “When dealing with that kind of object you’re inevitably going to get some flex which could affect the ‘floating’ aesthetic we hoped to achieve.” To remedy this issue, Tait offered a soft goods option which wrapped the entire object with a highly engineered aluminium sub frame underneath.

Luckily, overseeing staging and automation elements of the show was the self-proclaimed ‘dream team’ consisting of Lead Carpenter Lashard Davis, Automation Tech, Nick DiBiaso and Automation Operator Corwin Scites.

“I was brought in very last minute,” smiled Scites, who has been involved in a myriad of large scale pop and country acts – not to mention

working on Drake’s tour. In other words, Scites is well-versed in the finer points of arena automation, which came in handy when he said yes to the call up four days before joining the set crew on the road. The main centrepiece of automation was the movable roof that ascended and descended above the stage thrust. The pod structure moved on 20 Tait NAV hoists, which allowed the performance space to be open or closed down at numerous points in the show. “Initial conversations started in late October but we didn’t really get moving until December,” commented Tait’s Senior Project Manager, Aaron Siebert. “Aside from a tight build timeline, there is a lot of interdepartmental coordination. The main pod had lighting, rigging, automation, scenic masking, and lasers involved.”

The show begins with a big reveal where the roof slowly rises to reveal Post, amid a haze of smoke and lights. Scites said: “Throughout the run we have been at the mercy of some of the venue heights. But each day we just adjust the speed of the roof to sync up the moves with the rest of the lighting and video cues.” For control, Scites used the Tait Navigator to regulate all the moves throughout the performance.

The thrust also had its own automation element with a Flaggapault Performer Lift USC used for Post’s enigmatic entrance. Despite the ethereal aesthetic, visibility was of top priority in the staging department. “The majority of the stage is grilled decking with lighting below,” commented Siebert. “This allows for haze to come out of the stage but enables the artist to see through it. The stage is actually two levels. The grill level performance deck and a sub deck below which houses all the lighting and pyro equipment. This means the whole stage is built with all the gear and cabling inside so the stage can then be rolled into place.”

Load Cell Rental’s Ian Barret attended Fly By Nite Rehearsal Studios to complete a weight report during rehearsals alongside Head Rigger Brian Collins and the crew. He explained: “An independent report was made on the shows weights which includes a full description of the load and a record of the equipment used so calibration can be proven retrospectively,” he added. “The independence of the report is its strength, at Load Cell Rental

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we have no other purpose than to record 100% accurate weights so it tends to carry greater credibility with future venues than when productions just use their own load cells.”

VIDEO “Ultimately this is a very camera dependent show,” asserted James, while talking about the content played on the two imposing ROE MC7 LED screens run through ROE Evision HD101 processors. “There is some pre-rendered content which myself and Travis put together during a video shoot in London prior to the tour, but the large majority of what you see on the screens is produced live.”

Hidden backstage behind the PRG flightcases, TPi located Video Crew Chief Christopher ‘Topher’ Davison, Video Engineer Glenn Austin and Utility Tech/Camera Operator Jamie Riddoch. Austin set the scene: “This show has got a dark, grungy feel to it and some of the songs come in with trippy Notch effects on the IMAGs which punch through haze in a really vibrant manner.”

Midway through the set a ski masked Topher joined the performer on-stage capturing IMAG footage with a handheld camera. “The joke is I kind of look like Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat [a nod to the tour’s military thematics],” he admitted, adding: “There’s a really nice crescendo of visuals throughout Post’s set. Initially, we start on a low note and then slam it up until the last song, Congratulations. There is a really nice flow to the show and I think it was well-thought-out.”

Video Director Zachary Leonard took the hot seat. Leonard’s content was framed in portrait for the IMAG screens and run through disguise 4x4pro servers integrated with custom Notch effects. “My shots are wholly dependent on what the beautiful effects [Notch Designer] Lewis Kyle White designed for the tour. He has been amazing as well as everybody else on the creative team in bringing a visual dynamic to the show.” disguise Programmer and Media Technician, Asad Yousof controlled the visual elements of the production via two servers - a master and an

understudy at FOH. He praised his tool as the “ultimate media server” and said while a lot of the kit on this run is interchangeable he couldn’t do without disguise servers. “I want to give a huge shout out to Ash Nehru [one of the founders of disguise],” he added, “and the sales representatives on this run.”

Yousof utilised the Blackmagic Design router/switcher to monitor inputs and outputs. “Anybody on my team can see the LED walls are getting content at different scales,” he added. “I use the Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub mixed format routers for hot cues and routing because its network based – it allows me to control both servers from two points of the arena. Losing signal isn’t a problem because I go into the understudy for my presets in case of a failure, which has thankfully never happened!”

Yousof keeps the audience – who he explained “leave their ordinary lives at the door to immerse themselves in an environment with Post and his music” – at the forefront of his mind when he’s at work. But he also wants Post to feel “comfortable” on-stage in his element as “a live artist and a real musician who gives it his all” when he “lays out his emotion on stage.”

Yet, he’s a consummate performer, according to Leonard who followed timecode and praised Post’s ability to hit cues on-stage. “He’s a consistent artist. As a camera director - my camera operators will agree - consistency is the key to a good show. We know what’s coming up and what shots we want and it makes everybody flow better.”

To frame the content, camera operators manned 3 Sony HXC100s with Canon 86x box lenses and one with a wide angle for the handheld shots. Robocams came into the mix with Panasonic A120s and A130s. Leonard said: “Each camera has its own function on the show but it’s 360° on the thrust with the robos and 270 with the long lenses.”

Leonard used a Ross Video Carbonite black 2.5M/E switcher. “For some songs I cut two shows at once using separate IMAG screens and others for which we display four feeds for a ‘quad’ look. The Director praised the Carbonite for giving him the ability to multitask with multifaceted camera cuts. “I have macros I’ve built to cut from the aux to change the feed to a

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collage of him so when they’re up I can see it at the same time.”

A military grade FLIR Systems T660 thermal imaging camera was also brought in by the show designers to reflect Post’s penchant for his ever expanding arsenal of “toys”. Austin explained: “It’s naturally designed for finding people who are lost in avalanches. A lot of work has gone into tailoring the camera to tour because it’s not built for a broadcast environment but it’s worth it. As soon as you see the effect hit the screen, there’s a collective gasp from audiences.”

Leonard had never worked with a thermal camera before but credited Austin “for getting the thing interfaced with our system pretty easily.” Austin reminisced about the origins of the idea. “We toyed around with the camera in rehearsals. Once we figured out how to tune the temperature scale we discovered the output was so extensive that you can depict every hair follicle on Post’s face on-stage. For example, if he drinks an ice-cold beer on-stage, you can see the heat map of the liquid trickle down his throat. Contrarily, if you flick water on him the colour changes.”

Riddich delineated: “It’s an exciting time to be in the video department because technology is so fast moving with new screens coming out every two to three years. Creative departments are now being given the tools and the budget to complement shows even more now with things like disguise and Notch. We can implement these things with standard broadcast cameras and they’re now possible.”

Topher interjected: “That’s also the beauty of a live show. Although it’s the same show each night, everybody in the audience gets a unique experience. I’m almost certain we’ll soon live in an age where we’re only limited by our imagination.

“Nowadays, you’re able to provide effects which were once impossible in cinema so it’s a good time to be involved in video and automation - and we’re only scratching the surface. Who would have thought you’d be able to do true thermal imaging? We could have created a digitally altered effect to reflect it but it wouldn’t have provided the same depth.”

LIGHTING Ben Dalgleish was the lighting design for the tour. “I’ve worked with Ben on a multitude of projects including Drake’s Boy Meets World,” explained James who mused Dalgleish’s talent and speed made him the natural choice for this collaborative design. “Lewis and I aren’t afraid to change our minds when working out looks,” stated Brothers. The designer said Dalgleish was one of the few LDs able to keep pace with the back and forth, thanks to his ability to create their ideas as they discussed them in real time.

“Travis and Lewis tend to paint with really broad strokes,” began Dalgleish. “My goal is to take all these ideas and produce lights that match this vision.” The LD explained what it was like to join the Post Malone freight train. “He’s certainly an unusual pop act,” he began, discussing his approach to this less than conventional employer. “We make a real effort to present this show as a representation of who he is and the style he has come from. Rather than doing a conventional ‘flash and trash’ pop show, we wanted to create an arena performance to mirror his mood and energy.”

Dalgleish continued by talking through the roof rig deployed for the tour. The “power units”, according to the LD, were 40 Vari-Lite VL 4000 Beam Wash fixtures. “They do a lot of the ‘god’ looks in a lot of the songs especially when the roof is moving. But I also fan them out to make the whole set look intense and powerful. They are super dynamic in terms of range, from pencil beams to really soft washes.” The top of the roof was lined by 68 GLP impression X4 Bar 20s which shoot down to create a box effect. “In the original design we debated using lasers,” said Dalgleish. “But we’ve been really happy with the results from the X4 20s. Travis and Lewis’ initial brief was to produce a ‘wall of light’ and the X4 20s proved to be an ideal choice.” The LD also rated the performance of the 80 Robe Spikies he set out on the rig highly. “They are so fast. I have moments in the set where I have them fan out in split seconds, changing the look of the rig entirely.” Also present were 64 Claypaky Scenius Unicos, 24 Mythos 2s, 30 GLP JDC-1s and 34 Solaris Flare LR strobes.

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Lighting Director, Ben Ward; Production Manager, Dennis Danneels; Show Designers, Lewis James & Travis Brothers; Video Engineer, Glenn Austin; Video Director, Zachary Leonard; Utility Technician/Camera Operator, Jamie Riddoch; disguise Programmer & Media Technician, Asad Yousof & Video Crew Chief, Christopher ‘Topher’ Davison; Lead Carpenter Lashard Davis & Automation Operator, Corwin Scites.

The LD – who moonlights as a drummer and picks up on accents in music - designed depending on minute details highlighted in various elements of the songs. “I always want to accentuate the nuances with tiny moments within light shows.” The care and attention paid meant timecode was a necessary backbone. “You simply couldn’t manually reproduce this show night after night.”

Director Ben Ward manned the show from behind a trio of MA Lighting grandMA2s (two full size and one light). Why three, TPi asked? It comes down to the nature of the design, Ward replied: “We have one for each side of the truss and a third for a FOH view. The stage can be looked at straight on from three angles. With so many lights focussing takes a long time. Having three means I don’t have to drag a desk around an arena each day while focusing each position.” The Lighting Director confirmed using grandMA2 made this trifecta of desks manageable as each console networked together utilising the same session across all three surfaces.

One of the final elements of the rig was 6 PRG Bad Boy Spots which were operated by a selection of GroundControl Followspot Systems. “We tend to only use two at once,” commented Ward. “We have them arranged in three pairs with two out front, two in the middle and a final pair at the back. All our operators have done a great job keeping track of him, especially in some testing conditions due to the large quantities of smoke we use on stage.”

On that note, TPi spoke smoke with Dalgleish, who marvelled at the volume. “I don’t know another show since Nine Inch Nails which has used smoke effects to this level,” enthused the LD. It’s an aspect Creative Director Lewis James was also keen to implement. “The smoke effect really creates an atmosphere that gels with the themes in the show. Once again, it’s another convention we are breaking with this tour as most show designers wouldn’t ever think of covering their artists in smoke, but it really helps create the ambience we wanted.”

From FOH Ward controlled the fog and haze effects achieved by 16 Martin by Harman JEM ZR44 Hi Mass smoke machines, 16 DMX Fans and 6 Arena Hazes. “There are certainly a lot of empty bottles at the end of the night,” joked Ward, who was still amazed how much fluid they were getting

through each night. “I really see it as another lighting effect, dripping it in throughout the show and using the fans to ensure it sits low on the stage. At other times we have fixtures on the automated roof which I trickle out during those moments to enhance the effect.”

PYRO There’s no smoke without fire, and this tour had flames aplenty, courtesy of supplier Pyrotek. Leading the special effects devision was Effects Crew Chief, Gary Bishop alongside Laser Technician Antoine Cholette and Pyro Technician Jacob Madeiros.

The team devised the choreography of the show’s fiery elements at Fly By Nite’s Rehearsal Studios in Redditch. Bishop reflected: “We wanted to know how to maximise the effects with this stage setup. Fundamentally, pyrotechnics have to be a certain proximity from the audience and with a thrust stage setup it’s difficult to get your distances in linear feet so we’ve had to be creative.”

Set 8ft above the ground and shooting 20ft high, outer rims have become a staple of Post’s live performances. To create the signature look, Bishop specified 4 Pyrotek Dragon Flame Units with 4-hi/low flame bars and 4 dragon heads with 40kg of propane (or an aerosol substitute for certain arenas). He explained: “We can’t use propane flames because not every arena allows it in the UK.” Due to these constraintes, the crew deployed Le Maitre Salamander Quad Pros. “They use aerosol style canisters you plug in,” he conceded. “Admittedly, you can’t get quite as big of a flame out of those or use it as much during the show. Despite it being a downgraded look it’s still pretty big. Propane is our go-to but we have a B-rig for a backup and all eventualities.”

The Manchester show featured a litany of SFX content - 2 concussion hits, 2 line rockets, and 64 red comets. In addition, 30 red mines shoot off with a lyric at the start of the first song in conjunction with 24 white mines, 24 silver comets and 12 white flares which all reach 30ft high. Moreover 24 sparkbursts sparkled at 24ft. “As the show goes on it gets more intense,” he continued. “We also use 6 30W Kvant Laser Spectrum lasers computer

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Production Manager, Dennis Danneels; FOH Engineer, Joe Hellow; Music Director, Wow Jones; Music Programmer & Playback Systems Manager, Willie Linton; The Pyrotek crew.

controlled through timecode to create a series of looks with lighting and atmosphere with the haze. It adds a really cool, raw, gritty element to the show.”

When it came to the artist, Bishop only had favourable words to share. He said: “Post engages well with the audience. From our perspective, he seems really happy with the way the crowds are reacting and it’s coming together nicely. He’s a good performer, modest and humbled by the fandom. It’s an impressive thing to watch his astronomic rise in popularity over such a short period of time and it’s been a pleasure to be onboard.”

AUDIO Mixing sound at FOH was Joe Hellow. He mused: “I first met Post when I was touring with another artist late 2017 at a festival show. He killed it on stage and after the show, a large group of us hung out after the festival.” Hellow knew “immediately” he wanted to work with Post. Three months later, as fate would have it, he received a call from Danneels and the rest is history.

In the midst of Post’s arena ascension, Hellow detailed the importance of the artist’s core production crew. “He blew up quickly and the core

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Monitor Engineer and Guitar Tech Blair Bondy with Posty’s Gibson SJ-200.

production team have set the trend for those entering the fray on this upscaled run. Everybody is working towards the same goal, to have an amazing show. We come together to make sure we’re dialled in, Dennis does a great job at keeping us on our toes keeping standards very high, he truly brings the best out of each one of us.”

Systems Engineer Daniel Scheiman joined Hellow at FOH. “Daniel is someone who I can bounce ideas off and work the room. We trust each other. I’ve never had such consistent shows. We really found a match here in regard to FOH and Systems Engineer,” Hellow explained.

The main speaker arrays comprised 16 L-Acoustics K1s over 4 K2s per side. Additionally, 2 hangs of 8 K1-SBs were flown upstage of the main left and right. Outfills on each side were covered by 16 K2s, 32 in total. The 270° hang boasted 14 K2s per side, too. Flown subs, left and right respectively, came in the shape of 8 KS28s while 12 KS28s per side were deployed in cardioid made as ground subs. Finally, Frontfill deployment of L-Acoustics KARA and ARCS IIs strategically placed to maximise around our set design.

Hellow said in an appreciative tone: “God bless Dennis for trusting me on the final sound design, we’re not stretching in any means. We’re able to give the audience a clean and consistent sound every night, regardless of the venue size.

“We can adapt to size restrictions and we have enough system to reach every seat and make sure the audience can hear exactly what I’m hearing at FOH,” he added. “Admittedly, they might not get the stereo imaging I’m getting, but they do get an amazing show in each seat, from the nosebleeds all the way down to the front - it is clear, crisp and warm.”

Control was provided by Hellow’s ‘go-to’ DiGiCo SD10 console, and five shows in he was pleased to say all the tweaking was done. “At this point, I’m barely making changes except for riding his vocal and delays, which are the two consistently grasped faders I have in my possession for the majority of the show”

The Ontario native walked TPi through his hip-hop rack, which was his collaborated design with Circle Three Designs. Hellow completed the FOH rack with Rupert Neve channel strips, Portico master bus, API 2500 for maximum RMS obtained through multi stages of compression all the way to the master output, Hellow is running redundant Waves servers and Apogee symphony I/O to “truly bring the studio to the stage”. The rest of his signal chains, Hellow referred to as confidential “secret sauce.”

He elaborated: “It’s essential for me to have analogue gear in my setup because I came from a studio recording background and it gives Post a shimmer on the top end keeping the mix warm and crispy. I wouldn’t be able to deliver studio sound without the Rupert Neve 5045 Primary Source Enhancer which reduces feedback and does magic for a show where the artist is performing in front of the PA.”

For Post’s vocals, “I use the Rupert Neve Shelford channel strips. It’s

absolutely key to his sound. The capsule we’ve chosen is the DPA capsule d:facto and it’s amazing!

“Daniel is constantly monitoring the room in different locations with wireless earthwork mic setups utilising Smaart software. We have enough crowd mics at the end of the thrust to capture the crowd on-stage,” said the FOH Engineer.

He eluded to the perks of controlling his mix live: “It gives me goosebumps to see the crowd soak in the show. It’s why I’m here, to represent the sound at the highest quality to deliver it to the audience as they where listening to his record with some live flare,” he admitted. “I’m sweating and anxious before each show but that’s how I know I should be here. It’s that passion which has held me at this point and at this level.”

MONITORS AND PLAYBACK Monitor Engineer Blair Bondy has toured with Hellow for over two years. “We live down the road from each other,” said Hellow. “In my eyes, monitors is the most important gig because you’re the front line before everything gets to me,” he explained. “Blair has to stamp everything and make sure the artist is totally comfortable or I can’t get anything out of him and that is the balance of touring life.”

Bondy picked up the story. “Joe and I pretty much do every tour together at this point. He took me on my first tour.” Two and a half years later, he joined Posty Co. “Dennis was looking for the best FOH Engineer he could find and he got that with Joe. He also wanted the best Monitor Engineer but unfortunately that guy was busy so I somehow ended up here,” he playfully remarked.

As the Music Programmer and Playback Systems Manager on Post’s tour, Willie Linton capitalised on his niche talent of programming and playback. His playback inventory included: Lynx Auora (n) audio interface, which all the audio playback stemmed from. Radial Engineering SW8 switchers, Brainstorm Electronics Distripalyzer for timecode and Universal Audio Apollo 16 audio interface for vocal processing FX. Apple Mac Minis run ProTools and Ableton software, a Strange Electronics Setlist and a Novation Launchpad made up the rig.

Bondy explained: “We trust him with our life because this is a trackbased show. If the tracks fail, he has his built-in redundancy that we’ve never had to worry about and he also makes sure the auto-tune is set up every day with Jefferey ‘Smitty’ Smith on control.”

Linton worked directly with Post and Music Director Wow Jones to devise the music for the show - including recording new arrangements and reinforcement for Post’s album recordings. Linton stated: “All the lights, FX and video are triggered off timecode that’s programmed into our final arrangements and operated by me during the show. I work with Blair and Joe to get the stems sounding the best they can for both worlds, Post’s

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ears and the audience. Part of my job is also too setup our vocal processing rig which all microphones run through before they’re sent to stage.”

Bondy controlled the show via two DiGiCo SD10 consoles (a headliner and a support) utilising 32-bit cards on the SD racks. “I can’t think of anything in a digital mixing capacity DiGiCo can’t do.”

Bondy talked TPi through his macros. “I love the fact they’re simple. For example, I have an ‘oh shit’ macro to switch Posty’s vocal fader(s) from main to alternate input. In addition, guest microphone test macros are important so a guest can jam along to a song before they walkout without bothering anyone else wearing ears. I run my cue through a matrix so I have talkbacks (and on occasion our road radios) on top of that.”

Bondy specified a Shure Axient Digital system comprised of a spectrum manager, roadrack ethernet switch and antenna distribution as well as a “bunch of switch talkbacks”. He explained: “Not including timecode, we’re at 35 inputs just for Post. Mainly playback, a lot of talkback, 3 guitar lines and our 4 audience lines. My main thing on this tour is making sure everyone is communicating,” said the Monitor Engineer. “Once the artist is happy I slam the brakes and just fix problems if they occur.”

Wedges came in the shape of 20 d&b audiotechnik M2s. “Post prefers to have a mix of in-ears and wedges to feel his voice.”

Post and crew are all on Jerry Harvey Audio Roxanne’s for IEMs, 12 mixes of Shure PSM 1000 were used (9 for Post, 3 for support). Two Shure PA821b input combiners and two professional wireless T-shirt cannons - one located in monitor world, the other for the stage - made up the monitor world rider.

For two songs, Post played a Gibson SJ-200 citation edition and a standard edition as his backup guitar. “We use Elixir strings because they last so long.”

COMMUNICATION Keeping the crew in contact with one another was a job for two-way radio communications specialist, Radiotek - with the mainframe of the system

located in the production office, Posty Co. Production Assistant, Emily Waller said: “Using Radiotek as our provider for radios has been nothing short of exceptional. The radios are easy to use and you can quickly switch to the pre-programmed channel that has the countries frequency requirements. Since Radiotek is based out of the UK, they were able to fulfil all of our needs throughout the EU tour with ease.”

CONGRATULATIONS Partnering high-end production with his chart-crushing second fulllength album, the tattooed face of modern music proved why he is so wildly popular in 2019. With the breakaway success of the artists, it’s hard to predict where he and the rest of the Posty Co. will end up. “I’m constantly wondering where his next jump in popularity might take him,” mused Danneels as he leaned back in his Production Manager chair, after recounting the roller-coaster ride of last year. Seeing as the Posty Co. pulled off a highly intimate, dynamic show designed to appease thousands of fans used to seeing Post on their phones, it’ll be interesting to see what they do if the rise and rise of the rapper continues. “But you know what, whatever happens, we’ll be ready!” TPi Photos: Filmawi, Adam Degross & TPi www.filmawi.com www.instagram.com/adamdegross www.postmalone.com www.taittowers.com www.loadcellrental.com www.prg.com www.fbstudios.co.uk www.flybynite.co.uk www.beatthestreet.net www.pyrotek.com www.radiotek.co.uk www.gigcatering.com

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