[UK] Jasper Attlee (aka “Berlioz”) has famously described his signature sound as what would happen “if Matisse made house music.” Like the French master, who altered the course of early 20th Century art by upended rules about using colours, Berlioz is fearless when it comes to defying expectations. Breaking rules about genres, the British DJ-producer creates music that can be described as “Jazz House,” combining the improv and acoustic qualities of jazz with the 4/4 rhythm and beats of downtempo deep house.
Such music calls for a production and lighting design that is equally maverick – and that is precisely what Liam Griffiths, the team at The Vision Factory, and lighting op-programmer James Taylor have provided for Berlioz’s six-week multi-country tour.
The bold use of dark space is set against the show’s monochromatic colour schemes, and the foliage scenic pieces on the risers. “By keeping the majority of the stage in negative space, every beam and silhouette becomes intentional and readable,” explained Griffiths. “The performers then become graphic shapes rather than fully lit figures, which suited the tone of the set. This also gave the foliage risers something to play against. The plant silhouettes only read because they’re backlit against black.”
A principal light source for the show is the 20x CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens, which like the rest of the rig is supplied by Coloursound Experiment. The PXL units are key to the backlighting and to creating the redolent monochromatic glow that lights the stage.
“Sticking to a single hue per look keeps everything visually cohesive and lets contrast and intensity do the storytelling instead of colour change,” said Griffiths, who then described how light angles help him achieve his vision:
“Lighting from below and behind rather than the traditional front/top wash is about reversing the usual visual logic instead of light falling onto the artists. In this design, it feels like light is rising up through and around the performers, almost like they’re emerging out of the ground. It also lets the vertical beams double as a graphic architecture across the whole rig. Those long red shafts cutting up through the haze became a structural element as well.”
