DORTMUND, Germany — Held since 1997 at Dortmund’s Westfalenhallen, and marking 20 years since it was founded in 1991, the indoor rave, Mayday, drew crowds to its “Arena” section in hall 1 for trance and softer music, while its “Empire” section in hall 3 attracted fans of harder-driving techno and electro music. Both areas were lit with LED fixtures from GLP.
This year, for the main floor in the Westphalenhalle, LD Tim Franken placed 10 impression Spot One fixtures alongside 48 impression 90s on both sides of the stage. “We were using a lot of big moving lights with 1,200W light sources and more throughout the entire venue. I knew that the impression 90 could easily compete against those, but I was particularly impressed by the Spot One, and in particular its rich color output. Thanks to the baseless design, we were able to use the units as a design element within our visual concept.”
Also in the “Arena” was a full complement of moving trusses, pyro effects, video screens and a laser show provided by production manager Tim Brune of Cologne-based laserfabrik, lighting up acts that included Westbam, Paul van Dyk and the Members of Mayday.
Inside the “Empire” the hard beats and massive sound endured for 14 hours, with lighting to match. “Reliability, under high pressure and over a long period is what I expect from the fixtures — and I also need tools which allow creative design,” noted “Empire” LD Roland Aberle. “Techno is so much more than mindless ‘Boom Boom’ … it’s thrilling, demanding and diverse. Forget about simple chases or uninspired lighting dimmed up and down … that’s absolutely not the deal here.”
Aberle’s Mayday design included a large matrix consisting of G-LEC Phantom 60 System — 54 of these frames were installed at the rear of the hall, right behind the stage and the DJs. The matrix nearly covered the back wall, and Aberle used the G-LEC not just as a video screen, but also as a kind of lighting fixture, using a custom-made soft- and hardware solution.
“We developed a Linux based control tool, which converted DMX values into DVI signals, and via a separate video mixer we routed different signals on the G-LEC matrix,” Aberle noted. “Using the converter, I was able to display colors or even effects from the lighting desk’s effect engine, mix them with visuals or any content provided from the VJs — or display dedicated videos,” he added. “It was an exciting experience to use a G-LEC frame like a fixture with RGB color scheme.”
Another major element of Aberle’s “Empire” design was the considerable number of moving lights. Nearly half of them were GLP impressions, in a mix consisting of normal impression 90 and impression 120 RZ Zoom, with 21 of the impression 120 RZ Zoom forming a small matrix within the G-LEC matrix, drawing the audience’s attention to the stage, where famous DJs like Sven Väth, Jeff Mills and Rush rocked the house.
“The “Empire” people want to be wowed by what they saw and heard,” said Stefan Konstanty, head of production for local supplier Gahrens & Battermann, who has more than 15 years of techno experience. “They are very demanding in terms of lighting and sound technology.”
“We are delighted that the G-LEC and GLP fixtures made such a dramatic impact at Germany’s leading rave event — and particularly that the Spot One passed its debut with flying colors,” said GLP’s Kasper Gissel. “We are grateful to Roland and Tim for using our fixtures so creatively.”
For more information, please visit www.germanlightproducts.com
