Live entertainment history was made on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, when EDM super artists Kaskade and deadmau5 came together performing as the duo Kx5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The show drew over 46,000 fans and broke two records: It is now the largest single-day concert headlined by an electronic music artist ever in North America per Pollstar. The show was also confirmed by Billboard to be the biggest ticketed global headliner dance event of 2022. The crowd-drawing performance in Los Angeles was the second show by the EDM duo, having debuted the Kx5 collaboration first at EDC Las Vegas 2022 earlier in the year.
Kx5 brings together two of the biggest names in the EDM realm; Joel Zimmerman who performs as deadmau5, and Ryan Raddon performing as Kaskade. Since 2017, Chris Schroeder of Chicago-based Chris Schroeder Productions (CSP) has been working with deadmau5 as Production Director along with Technical Designer and Lighting Designer, Collyns Stenzel of Collyns Design, Inc. In addition to his duties as Production Director, Schroeder was also an Executive Producer for the two-plus hour Kx5 LA Coliseum show presented by Insomniac. After the historic performance both Schroeder and Stenzel spoke with PLSN about their work on the now-milestone EDM event.
Artists on the Move
Schroeder and Stenzel led the design process for the Kx5 project, which featured two moveable DJ platform pods that allowed the two performers to move side to side on a track and also infinitely spin. The centerpiece pods not only housed the performers and their equipment, but also had lighting and video elements mounted on them, effectively bringing the large stage’s design focus back into the two artists. “Collyns actually brought the structure to me as something we might want to consider for Kx5,” notes Schroeder. “When we sat down with Ryan and Joel—Kaskade and deadmau5—we designed these two pods for them to play on as we were trying to come up with something that was going to be interactive. This wasn’t just going to be back-to-back acts; they were performing together as one act. They each needed a space, but they needed to be able to come together. We also really wanted to put some heavy investment into the production, into the automation. We first debuted the moveable pods at EDC Las Vegas on the circuitGROUNDS’ stage to drive interest for everything they were putting together and planning for their Kx5 show at the Coliseum.”
The two automated pods each measure 16’ x 16’ and stand 9’ tall. “So, when the guys are up there, they’re at around 10’ to 12’ feet high,” explains Schroeder. “Each pod sits on an aluminum track that’s 6’ wide and 91’ long. The pods start in position at stage center and then each pod, at the LA Coliseum, could move 45’ off from center, and they both could endlessly spin. For future shows, we can adjust the track, adding or removing sections to expand or shorten it, depending on the size of the stage and venue. The weight of the audio, video, lighting, and backline on each pod is all distributed evenly over the track. We also specifically designed it so we could endlessly spin the pods. The pod design was informed by previous deadmau5 shows where he used a similar cube [pod] concept and they had issues with running out of cable causing limitations on the ability to spin the scenic element. “The cube that Joel was in when we did it in 2019 and 2020 could spin to 720˚ before it needed to stop, reset, and then spin back the other way,” describes Schroeder. “The cool thing about these pods is they now can just endlessly spin because we bring a 12-channel fiber optic cable up into the middle of the pod. That carries all the timecode—lighting, automation, video, and backline data along with a couple of spare channels of audio and camera feeds.”
Schroeder feels the automated pods enhanced the overall audience experience greatly, saying, “They really catered to the stage designed for the Coliseum because we tried to make it as tall and as open a platform as possible. We really wanted to make the viewing angles the most desirable from a patron standpoint. So, the nice thing is that both Ryan and Joel start at Stage Center and then each of them can go off towards Stage Left and Stage Right. It was a really cool dynamic that everyone got to enjoy the artists coming within their purview, getting closer and then further away, during the entire show. The automation fabrication was done by Collyns working with Jason Haag from F5D inc., [based in Herscher, IL.] We built and fabricated the pods in Illinois, then pre-programmed everything in Denver with Collyns and his team, before moving everything to the Coliseum.”
The pods were, literally, the pivotal element at the core of the overall design explains Stenzel. “The design was mainly based around the pods, and we wanted to basically showcase them and the robotics. It was a heck of an undertaking because we also have lighting and video all built within the pods. We put [Martin MAC] Ultra Performances on them and line the top of the pods with [Claypaky] Sharpys with GLP JDC1s and Ayrton MagicPanels on the corners as well. Plus, there are LED panels on all four sides of each of the pods.” The video product is WinVision Air 9, 9mm LED panels that are transparent, which allows Stenzel to put lights behind the LED and have them shine through. “There’s actually a bunch of different lighting fixtures directly inside of the pods, so the cool thing was that we could have content on the pod and then turn off the pixels and blow a bunch of light through it,” comments Schroeder. “It gave this really nice silhouette look on some of the breakdowns and the darker songs. It really pulled everything together well.”
Light on the Artists
Stenzel’s lighting design included nearly 800 luminaires for the Kx5 show. In terms of key equipment choices, Stenzel points out “the Elation CUEPIX 16 IP with RGB pixels that we had floating above the track of the pods. There was always some kind of light, or glow, on the artist, which was really great. That way I didn’t have to worry about a spot going out, or losing a key light, ruining that really nice, beautiful look that we had going on. It was a really nice option. Another honorable mention was the Martin MAC Ultra Performance, which is an amazingly powerful light. Very fast, great optics. That was our first time using that light as well, and we were greatly impressed. The GLP JDC1s, as always, were amazing and a great fixture to have in the show.”
Normally, Stenzel doesn’t use followspots, but with Kx5 he had little choice. “Usually, we don’t need them for an EDM show; the guy’s not going anywhere,” states Stenzel. For Kx5, where the two artists could move side to side—and also spin—Stenzel opted to go with Robe BMFL FollowSpot units run from the Robe RoboSpot controller. “It was really great—the two of them could do whatever they wanted without having to worry or needing to wear a tracking device. It was good to know that there was a team on there to manually take over in case anything happened with the pods moving left to right. I think the Robe followspots were a great addition and added to the lighting of the show.”
Stenzel ran the show on a MA Lighting grandMA3 running the MA3 software for the first time. While he’s quite familiar with the grandMA3 hardware, he took a bit of a dive into the deep end using it on this show. “It was a really challenging and wonderful experience,” comments Stenzel. “New console, new platform, so I needed to jump right in learning the nuances of the board that are different from the MA2. I had been tinkering with it for a while, but there’s no better way to really throw it all out there than to just go for it. The Kx5 show was the first time using it on an actual show; in a live environment for our team. The experience overall was very good. It’s a really good console and the possibilities are endless. The hardware and processor are great. Everything about it is pretty solid.”
Christie Lites supplied the lighting package. “They prepped everything out of their Vegas shop,” says Schroeder, “which worked really well because half our production was coming from Chicago. So, we were able to get things over to their shop and pre-prep as they came in. My company, CSP, brought in a couple of our leads on the lighting side, then Jules [Edwards], along with his lead Russell Benoit, built out the lighting crew.” Stenzel adds, “Christie Lites, and Jules Edwards especially, were great. The Christie Lites team were very solid, and their prep work allowed for a very smooth build.”
Video Artistry
In terms of video content, some of it was existing content from deadmau5 and Kaskade, and some was created specifically for the Kx5 shows. “We had a lot of content from past deadmau5 and Kaskade shows to work with to start,” explains Schroeder. “We used a company in the UK, where Joel is a part owner, called Rising Digital, and they made the content for all the Kx5 songs that had come out leading up to the Coliseum show. Then Ed Shaw, a partner with 36NORTH LLC, was our VJ/Programmer, and he was the one that actually edited it all and designed the show with Collyns.”
The production design included an enormous LED wall that, like the pods, was built with the WinVision Air 9 blow-through LED screen product. “The WinVision 9mm is very nice and really light,” notes Stenzel. “We were able to get a ton of it up there. We like the camera content to have a really nice soft edge, so it’s almost like a vision bubble when we do I-Mag. It gives the I-Mag content a more intimate feel. The video content, created by Rising Digital and edited by Ed Shaw, was really great and we were able to play off a lot of their content colors with the lighting and back and forth. Because there were so many screens, it was really easy to create chases and different looks for every song, rather than just one big window.” All of the LED video package was supplied by Innovative Event Productions (IEP). Stenzel adds, “The video team from IEP was great. For me, it is all about communication and I like being able to work with the same team on different events, that leads to a really great working environment.”
Schroeder describes one video/lighting design element that he particularly liked, “There was a very cool thing that Collyns did, which was a bit of a pain in the butt, but it was very cool—he had us take all the shaders out of the back video wall panels. Then we created a structure in the back that actually spelled out Kx5 with the JDC1 strobes. So, the audience could see the JDC1s behind the video wall once we turned the pixels off and they could flash in different colors, Kx5. We did that at the beginning of the show, as the intro was starting, as well as in different moments throughout the show. It was a nice little trick on the back wall.”
Everything on this show was timecoded. “Collyns, Erik Mahowald of Bending Lite Productions, and Ed Shaw sat in a dark room in Denver for about two weeks programming while we were on the road touring,” says Schroeder. “So, every single aspect of the show all the way down to drones and special effects we’re all running off of timecode.” Stenzel highlights one of the Kx5 songs that he really enjoyed working on. “We had a very good time programming the song, ‘When I Talk.’ I really feel that segment was something like a hidden gem inside the bigger production.” He continues discussing the programming saying, “For the overall Kx5 show, being able to highlight all of the sounds that we wanted to—without going overboard, of course—with all the pixels was definitely a good result of the time spent programming. I knew where I wanted the direction of the Kx5 show to go; being able to have subtle nuances, delay wipes, and dimming effects that we used in the show to really accentuate the music. As I mentioned, in the song, ‘When I Talk,’ that was a great one to feature the ability of the grandMA3 console for this kind of programming.”
Two Styles; One Duo
When performing separately, deadmau5 is not big on special effects, but Kaskade really likes them. For the Kx5 show, the duo decided to embrace special effects fully, including pyro, fireworks, lasers, and even drones in the LA Coliseum show. “Special effects are not something that we have on the deadmau5 side; not something that we’re usually accustomed to,” comments Schroeder. “Ryan, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of that. I think, in general on this project, the fact that their personalities are so different; the way they go about things is so different, but it all balances when they are together as Kx5. So yeah, for Kx5, we ended up using lasers, flames, proximity hits, and large platform fireworks. We even had flame units up on the delay towers. One nice thing about the flame effects was that they kept it warm up on the deck, so we didn’t have to put a heater up there.”
Stenzel enjoyed having the special effects in the design. “It was really exciting for us to be able to go nuts with the FX,” points out Stenzel. “Pyro hits in every song and being able to use the pyro across the stage; chasing from one side to the other while the pods were moving, that was great. Luis [Torres] from JDL FX did a wonderful job timecoding all of that. It was really cool. Luis and the JDL FX team did an excellent job.” All the special effects, including confetti and streamers, were supplied by JDL FX.
Often taken for granted but essential is the stage itself, which for the Kx5 show was supplied by La Puente, CA-based Stage FX, Inc. “The staging was led by a great guy, Adrian Gomez, CEO of Stage FX,” states Schroeder. “This was actually the first time the structure was built in North America, and it was great. It was a flexible sort of structure where I could increase the height, which is something I wanted to do without having too many guy wires and cross bracing. We did have to add offstage left and right at the end of the day, just because I went up another 10’. The final structure was actually 58’ tall and about 110’ wide. So, it was a big stage and a big undertaking, but it really brought the show together with the pods on the deck. Stage FX did a fantastic job, it turned out great.”
The Offstage Duo
Stenzel and Schroeder have been working together for nearly a decade and have built a great rapport over the course of that work. “Chris and I are longtime friends,” says Stenzel. “We work really well together and have a good yin and yang balance. For example, I want to spend all the money and he wants to not spend all the money. Seriously though, we’ve been working together since 2014 on various projects, where I’m designing the shows and he has production managed. It’s been a really good progression of our careers, and our professional relationship, over the years.”
“Collyns is one of the best lighting designers, and drafters, out there in my opinion,” Schroeder states. “Also, Collyns is our technical director on the deadmau5 side. For Kx5, he did everything from the drafting to the rigging plots, and worked directly with Christie and Jules, as well as with our team. He made sure that we had enough space for everything. It was just a great overall team effort without a doubt.”
As to being involved in the record-breaking event, Schroeder concludes, “Credit to Joel and Ryan for this opportunity and trusting us with their vision for Kx5. It was amazing to be able to produce something like this.” Stenzel feels much the same and says “Ryan and Joel are pretty great to work with. They are both extremely creative and very supportive. It was really nice to work with both of them. A very good collaborative experience all around. They made great music, and together we all made a great show.” Kx5 will next perform together at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL, which will run from March 24-26, 2023.
