Krankbrother presents Keinemusik with massive Ayrton rig at Gunnersbury Park
Gunnersbury Park in West London provided the setting for a unique, one-off festival style event last month as Krankbrother presents Keinemusik drew thousands of electronic dance music fans together for a UK-exclusive extended summer set from Adam Port, &ME, Rampa, Masšh and Muva T.
Ben Mansfield of Tourlite Designs was approached by the promotors last summer to work with them in developing the stage lighting and production design. He chose 48 Ayrton Rivale Profiles and 120 Ayrton Cobra fixtures as the mainstay of his lighting design.
“We’ve used Ayrton products for years and really like the spot fixtures and the colour rendering they produce,” says Mansfield. “But for this project we specifically chose Cobra for its tight beam and Rivale Profile for its versatility, big-faced lens and crisp optics. And since we had no roof to any of the staging and all the tech was open to the elements, the IP65 rating of both these fixtures was essential.”
At the time Mansfield and his team came on board, there were no confirmed artists for the event so his design needed to remain flexible. “We knew we wanted to create an arena that felt like it wrapped around the space, turning an outdoor festival setting into an area that gave the audience a feeling of stepping into a new space,” he says.
To create this space and give a strong frame to the performance area, Mansfield chose to use the large number of Cobra and Rivale Profile fixtures as they would guarantee him ‘a lot of punch’ in daylight, as well as a flexible rig to adapt to each performer throughout the day.
“We chose the Rivale Profiles to run along the whole span of the stage edge to give us a bright source capable of wide beamy gobo looks as well as tight aerial effects,” says Mansfield. “All except two sat on a 5ft shelf in front of the stage, while the other two were used to light a central set piece of the London Underground logo.”
At the request of the headline artist, the back of the stage was dressed with a huge ‘London’ banner as a backdrop. “We took the Cobra fixtures up above this banner in pods to give a bright and powerful stadium feel to the set,” explains Mansfield. “Half of the Cobras lived in pods above the banner, while the other half sat on top of the DJ roof and VIP areas creating dense linear rows of fixtures.
“The Cobras were part of the design from day one because we knew they would be a great outdoor workhorse and give us a lot of options for looks and effects.”
This flexibility of the rig was put to good use in transitioning from daylight to night time: “Keinemusik’s touring LDs used the lights in CTO, white and an amber colour, mainly in a singular position that washed the audience,” says Mansfield. “The fixtures with their big lenses and bright sources meant that the LD’s could play out all their effects and build movements and dynamics in the set even in bright daylight. This meant that the lighting played a key part all the way from day to dusk!”
The event was fully supplied by TSL Lighting. “James Davies went above and beyond (as usual) to ensure we had everything we needed and the system was delivered and installed to the highest possible standard,” concludes Mansfield. “The equipment and crew were fantastic.”
Text: Julie Harper
Photos: © Jake Davis
