RAF Camora tours with Ayrton Zonda 9 FX

Austrian rapper, singer and producer, RAF Camora, recently completed his hugely successful 10-date Anthrazit Forever Tour 2024 of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland under a ceiling of Ayrton Zonda 9 FX fixtures.

 A total of 90 of the unique Ayrton fixtures were chosen by lighting designers Raphael Grebenstein and Ole Güllich of Light Art Studios as the centrepiece of their design.

54 Zonda 9 FX were arranged in a central 18×3 matrix above and parallel to the stage runway extending into the audience, and the remaining 36 fixtures rigged in four small 3×3 pods to the left and right of the centrepiece, with all the pods and matrices slightly tilted.

“The design concept was aimed at extending the urban-style content from the LED wall up into the roof, creating a cohesive look while also emphasizing the stage shape,” says Grebenstein. “We didn’t want a beam show but rather a well-structured and highly detailed show with a lot of variation that would appear seamless as part of one unified design.

“For this we wanted a large LED wash light with a wide output to match the scale of the set. We chose the Zonda 9 FX as our main effect fixture, primarily due to its brightness and size, but we also made good use of the LiquidEffects™ feature, which we controlled via the media server alongside the Zonda’s high-power LEDs.”

“The LiquidEffects™ allowed us to create some unique looks that haven’t been seen very often: we mapped the video content onto the LiquidEffects™, effectively extending the LED wall into the ceiling. And due to Zonda 9 FX’s high pixel count, we also had the opportunity to program the show in great detail, mapping the high-power LEDs to add another creative layer to the show.

“Another major advantage was Zonda’s great zoom range, which gave us the flexibility to create large ‘blinder’ effects while still achieving a beautiful wash beam.”

Grebenstein makes special mention of some of the numbers where Zonda 9 FX’s capabilities really stood out: “For “Out of the Dark” we programmed the windows from the content onto Zonda’s high-power LEDs using pixel mapping. The windows in the content were animated to the beat, creating a perfect interplay between content and light.

“Another standout moment was during “Maschine”, where we mapped fire effects onto the LiquidEffects™, and in “Risiko”, where we mapped palm fronds onto it to create a roof of palm leaves, enhancing the visual storytelling.”

Based in Hamburg, Light Art Studios consists of Raphael Grebenstein and Ole Güllich, along with a constantly growing team of creative minds, programmers, and operators. Working across a wide range of industries, including concert touring, corporate events, special events, TV shows and opera, Grebenstein and his team are frequent users of Ayrton products. “Our approach is always holistic, meaning we don’t just think within a single discipline but rather consider the production as a whole. In the end, everything should feel seamless and interconnected—as if it was designed as one cohesive piece.”

The Zonda 9 FX fixtures were supplied for the RAF Camora Anthrazit Forever Tour 2024 by BBM Clair and TDA Clair GmbH, Germany.

Credits:
Lighting Design: Light Art Studios
Lighting Director/Programmer: Raphael Grebenstein, Ole Güllich
Lighting Operator: Raphael Knetsch
Mediaserver Programmer/Operator: Lucas Hoyer
Content Design: Andreas Babenko
Photographer: Tino Wichmann