Robe SVOPATT combines LED technology and analogue aesthetics on Bleachers’ tour

US rock band Bleachers, fronted by singer and producer Jack Antonoff, are on tour following the May release of their fifth studio album, Everyone for Ten Minutes. Designer Tobias Rylander has chosen 30 Robe SVOPATT fixtures for an analogue look.

Wanting to create something special, different, original and visually striking to set the show apart, Antonoff asked lighting and visual designer Tobias Rylander to develop an interesting concept. Known for his inventiveness and ability to think outside the box, Tobias enjoys taking on challenges and finding clever solutions.

Tobias opted for a retro, authentically analogue aesthetic for the stage. To achieve this, he used 30 Robe SVOPATT fixtures as one of the main elements of the lighting rig, which also includes several customised tungsten fixtures incorporating lamps from different sodium lighting units, repurposed to create bespoke theatrical profile spots and Fresnels.

The lighting equipment was supplied by Volt Lites, based in Burbank, California, with Matt Shimamoto as account manager. "Volt is one of my favourite vendors", stated Tobias. "As always, they did a brilliant job on this tour, making sure everything we wanted became a reality".

Tobias' initial design sketches included the classic Svoboda lighting fixtures. However, as the design already involved a large number of dimming channels, Matt showed him a video of the SVOPATT as a potential alternative to reduce power consumption… and he loved it!

I wanted it straight away! It was such a fun fixture, with all its colour-mixing capabilities and the potential to create multiple different configurations and effects. It can work as a strobe, a wash, a light curtain… exactly what I was looking for, commented Tobias.

He also showed the fixture to Jack Antonoff and the rest of the band, who agreed that it was a must-have for the show. And that is how the SVOPATT fixtures became part of the lighting rig!

The Everyone for Ten Minutes tour marks Tobias' second lighting design for Bleachers. Part of the aesthetic is an evolution of the concept developed for the 2022 tour, combined with plenty of fresh energy and imagination.

The 30 SVOPATT fixtures are mounted on three trusses suspended above the stage, with ten fixtures on each truss. The physical arrangement of the units required some careful planning, as Tobias wanted them to resemble the classic Svoboda fixtures and produce spectacular light curtains, along with many other effects, including silhouettes.

To achieve this, he arranged the fixtures so that the odd and even SVOPATT modules formed linear rows when illuminated. In practice, this meant hanging every second fixture upside down.

Once we achieved this configuration, the result was spectacular. We used the fixtures with individual pixel control, which made creating effects through pixel mapping much easier. The large lighting canvas we created delivered an impressive visual result, especially when generating video-style effects, with dynamic intensity transitions and colour mixing that produced very organic and eye-catching visuals, he explained.

Tobias also designed the stage layout and scenography for the tour, which he describes as "a scenic aesthetic inspired by an analogue recording studio".

The show does not use conventional video, but Tobias filmed analogue light bulbs and other tungsten lighting effects in action. This footage is fed into the strobes to generate specific, unique kinetic effects, synchronised with the lighting effects produced by the SVOPATT fixtures.

Jack Antonoff is actively involved in defining the show's aesthetic and shares excellent communication and understanding with Tobias regarding the visual identity they want to achieve.

Although it is a fun rock 'n' roll show designed to appeal to a wide audience, the aesthetic is carefully crafted to evoke the atmosphere of 1980s arena rock, delivering strong visual impact and exceptional attention to detail.

Lighting programmer and operator Dustin Snyder, who is accompanying the band on tour, has also played a key role in developing the look and feel of the lighting.

The SVOPATT fixtures were also new to Dustin. "They are awesome fixtures, really cool and completely different from anything else", he commented.

Dustin noted that Tobias likes working with highly selective individual pixel effects, creating looks in which only a single pixel or one pixel zone is illuminated at a time.

In this respect, the SVOPATT fixtures, used as backlights, can create an excellent soft, atmospheric and immersive analogue lighting effect, similar to that of a traditional 120V PAR rig, but with the brightness, features and colour capabilities of modern technology.

"The zoom makes it possible to create some very interesting and varied looks, and they are incredibly bright!" Dustin also highlighted the robustness and reliability demonstrated by the SVOPATT units throughout the tour.

The tour is ongoing, with another US leg coming up, followed by performances in Australia and subsequently the UK and Europe in late autumn.

Photo credits: Rob DeMartin