Light Shift
omeone hunched over a set oi decks or a shadowy iigure hidden behind a rack oi keyboards Is not the world’s most impres- sive sight. It’s the job at lighting and set designers to litt a night irom an instantly iorgettable to a wholly religious experience.
The man with the executive plan tor The Event is Paul Ludtord oi Kitchenware, who commissions the light designers and dreams up the sets. In the past they have had castles and pyramids built, lashed a thousand pine trees to the scaiiolding and even saved the Smash Hits award stage irom the wreckers yard. ‘lt’s the very basic things which look best’ says Ludtord. ‘I like protections, you’ll have brickwork or a field oi corn, or both together, getting various textures purely created by proiection.’ For The Event, an enormous catwalk extends out into the dance iloors. ‘The catwalk is absolutely bog standard,’ he
continues. ‘ lts nothing to look at really, but it lends ltseii very well to lighting. The lighting guys preler to work with something bare, the lights create their own images.’
The god oi light is Ben Sully: ‘Paul comes to me with a budget and a mass oi a tent and says “what are you going to do here, Ben? What are you going to stun us with this time?" '
Suitably stunned ravers write to Kitchenware saying: ‘We couldn’t believe the light show at the last gig - it was fantastic, please thank the operators.’ Letters like this rellect the energy that Sully puts into the task oi lighting an event which according to him is a labour oi love and art. When describing the operation oi the equipment he talks at ‘experiment- ing’ and ‘playing’.
‘lt’s the sequence at diiterent choreographed applications to diiierent sounds,’ he points out. ‘You are actually creating a visual interpretation oi music and trying to create an atmosphere alongside the musical experience. There’s a big artistic content. The lights enhance the evening. It’s possible to uplilt people and bring them back down again with a good light show. It they don’t notice and they had a good night, that’s what counts.’ (Rory Weller)
3.30 The Producer 10.50 Richie Hawtin gucogfiflmmy 4.30 Loftgroover l 1.50 The Source 9 Bass Generator 5.30 Bass X 12.35 Paul Elstak
6 Clarkee 1.30 Marc Smith l0 GTO D] S uad . ~ .
q . Tom Wilson 2.25 Ruiineck Alliance
1 I The Rhythmic SW0 8am Go home 2.55 Carl Cox 1 1-30 Darkravcr 3.55 Laurent Garnier i130 ACC The Space 5.35 Ege Bam Yasi 1 Lenny Dec 8pm Richard K 6.05 Mach One 2 Slipmatt 9 KMC 7 Craig Walsh 3 Human Resource 9.50 Robert Leiner 8am Catch the bus.
Rave Special
The Chlmaera trapeze and tire theatre specialists are a surprising introduction to the rave scene. Thelr high-rising ilamboyance and bizarre outilts will be lighting up the stages eight times during the night. ‘it's great to add to the energy at a night's dancing’ says their leader, Lynne Carrol.
STAY ALIVE!
Raving all night is as energetic as running a marathon — if less mindless.
I Treat your body with respect.
I Eat plenty before you go.
I Take enough dosli to stock up on food and drink while you‘re there (as well as have your go on the fairground rides).
I You loose salt when you sweat. Replace it. if you get a cramp. drink salty water from the first-aid tent.
I If you‘re going to take Ecstacy. be careful. Don‘t overheat: heatstrokc kills. Drink lots of water. Besides the bottled water. there are free water points.
I Chill-out regularly.
I Look after yourself. And your pals.
I Wallpaper if you have a house. you gotta have wallpaper. right? Prejoratis'e term for any sound that
OTHER TERMS
I Breakbeat An asymmetric.
partying‘ vibe.
create that ‘But what the hell. we‘re
I Bouncy Anything with enough
Affects an unhealthy interest in obscure remixes on weirdly named European import labels. Bugs the
is so interesting you can ignore it and chat to your pals.
I Handbag Put your handbags on the floor and dance round them music.
I Jungle As wide-ranging a term as techno. includes elements of soul, hip-hop and ragga over
rumbling bass and manic breakbeat.
I Ambient Techno without the beat: the mellow sound of sheep in a field of corn or any other weird sound you care to sample. The music which tired ravers chill-out to after going through the Dance Monster routine at Rezerection.
syncopated four-four beat. created
by speeding up the rhythmic pattern V
used in hip-hop music. The basic rhythm forjungle.
I 8PM Beats per minute.
I Dark music — uses minor chord progressions and disturbing samples and sounds to create that ‘hell the world’s going to end' vibe. Put on something dark at 4.30am and you‘re guaranteed to make people want to get into a safe dark
; corner until you put on some
Party music with happy vocals. major chord progressions and uplifting samples and sounds to
swing on the kick-drum to make you want to jump tip and down.
I Kicking Any music that really gets you dancing.
I Cheesey A corny, poppy. happy sound that makes you want to ptit your hands in the air and shout ‘EEEEEE!’(For Edam presum- ably). A favourite at raves.
I Acid The fat. squidgy. sound drifting round the beat like a bumble bee on valium which is created by a Roland 303 synthe- siser.
I Trainspotter Someone to whom all these definitions really matter.
hell out of the DJ by hanging out round the mixing desk trying to get a peek at their white labels.
I Dance Monster Doesn’t give a damn what the music‘s called, so long as its got a kicking beat. Bugs the hell out of resting ravers by trying to drag them
onto the dance floor
at 6.30am to dance to 216 bpm hardcore nosebleed gabba when all they want to do is
chill.
(Thom Dibdin)
The List 2‘) Jul) l I August NW 13