01099 are currently one of the most successful up-and-coming rap/hip-hop acts from Germany. The quartet, who actually appear mostly in a trio formation, are perfectly geared towards today’s younger generation, hitting a nerve with their sensitive lyrics. In 2021, the successful EP Dachfenster was released, and the following year the four musicians from Dresden (01099 is the postal code of Dresden Neustadt) produced the LP, Altbau. Recently, their almost completely sold-out tour, Schnelle Brille, came to an end. Designer Felix Seidel developed a simple but very adaptable light and stage design for the 01099 tour, using the countless creative possibilities of the GLP JDC1 and impression X4 Bar 20.
In the spring of 2023, he first exchanged design ideas with the band and developed various ideas from them. “My goal was to design a stage that creates a unique and captivating atmosphere that immerses the audience in the musical universe of 01099,” he explains. Ultimately, when building the set, he decided to combine mirrors and LED panels on the stage: “This allowed us to play with visual effects and create immersive worlds that would change throughout the show to match the mood of the songs.”
The cube-shaped mirror/LED elements offered the flexibility for ever-changing images to be created, and at the same time gave the band members enough freedom of movement and opportunities for interaction on stage. The designer placed fixtures around the set to fill the rest of the stage with light. An additional B stage in the middle of the auditorium also ensured more intimate moments between the musicians and their enthusiastic audience. For the stage lighting, Seidel once again used GLP solutions; 18 JDC1 hybrid strobes in the floor set, another 12 in the roof, and eight impression X4 Bar 20 on the B stage created light spaces and atmosphere.
He deployed the JDC1, with its powerful combination of high-power LED strobe line and pixel-capable RGB surfaces, at the back of the stage, as well as on the sides and in the front of the stage to immerse the entire scene in color and, where necessary, an atmospheric setting to generate glow. The 11 GLP X4 Bar 20 on the front traverse served either as light curtains or as blinders for special moods during the performance. “The impression X4 Bar stands for beautiful colors, is versatile and just perfect for light curtains,” says Seidel. “On 01099, the Bars and JDCs were the real tools for creating a special atmosphere. I chose the JDC1 because it combines a multitude of functions. This, in turn, allowed me and the production to reduce the number of lamp types used to create an efficient and resource-conscious lighting design.”
The designer is well acquainted with both devices and turns to these, and other GLP fixtures, time and again – e.g., with Asaf Avidan and German rapper RAF Camora.
In summary, Seidel emphasizes that the 01099 tour had been all about teamwork: “As part of the Luce Studio collective, together with Tiziano Mirabella, we were able to successfully implement the project with the help of our network of talented artists. Marius Morhard actively supported us in the development and rendering of the video content; Leonhard Schumann from Endlos Industries built the set and thus made a major contribution to the implementation of the design; and last but not least, I would like to thank the entire crew, and especially Jonas Rahn, Fritz Pahlke, and Marco Ycke, who, as media server operators and LX operators, looked after the show with passion and contributed to the success of the design. Johannes Boisseree and Florian Stoffelen, who were respectively tour manager and production manager, also ensured a successful tour, and did their best to accommodate the stage design in every venue.”
Photo credit: Felix Seidel
Further information from Luce Studio: www.luce.studio
Further information from German Light Products (GLP): www.germanlightproducts.com
