Neg Earth provide 52 of GLP’s powerful new hybrid strobes to light up delay towers
When Imagine Dragons recently undertook the European leg of their LOOM world tour — taking in major cities before culminating in two sold-out shows at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — their trademark high-energy stage show was further boosted by the presence of 52 of GLP’s new JDC Burst 1.
The tour was supported by Neg Earth Lights, who had been an early adopter of this powerful hybrid IP65-rated strobe, that substantially raises the bar in brightness, colour variety and flexibility.
When the American band’s show designer for the past seven years — Mitchell Schellenger from Station Six — was seeking just such a powerful strobe/wash, Neg Earth were quick to demonstrate this superior alternative to the fixture originally specified. “And the design team were very happy to make the switch,” notes Neg Earth project manager, Alex Griffiths. The timing couldn’t have been better. “At the time the plot was drawn, the JDC Burst had only just been released, so it wasn’t yet a widely known option.”
What the design team had been seeking was a bright strobe fixture for the four stadium delay towers, and the JDC Burst 1 perfectly fits the brief, since each powerful device features a 12 segment-controlled white strobe line and two RGBW LED plates that enable a blend of stunning colour effects. The motorised 185° tilt and precise control of 1,200 RGBW LED pixels, divided into 48 segments, enabled stages on the tour to be transformed into dynamic visual spectacles.
All 52 fixtures were divided evenly between the four towers and were patched in Mode 3 – 12 Segment (87 channels) by lighting director Jason Rothberg, who piloted the show. This served the purpose of extending the stage and thrust visually deep into the audience, according to Griffiths.
For Neg Earth the tour marked a successful reunion with the Las Vegas-based band. “While we have worked with Imagine Dragons in the past, we are delighted that circumstances once again allowed us to rekindle the relationship,” stated Griffiths.
For all the JDC Burst 1’s technical and optical capabilities, the fixture’s rugged housing was also essential. As Alex Griffiths explained, “The tour saw a mix of extreme weather — from heavy rain to intense heatwaves, and these fixtures generally performed well.” In fact, he couldn’t have been more effusive, concluding that “the GLP JDC Burst is an outstanding fixture, building on the success of its predecessor, the JDC1. Now fully IP-rated, it delivers an incredible output — three times the brightness on paper — with all the punch you could ask for in a stadium environment.”
He was supported on the tour by Jasmin Williams (Project Coordinator), Joao Magalhaes (Technical Manager) and Fiore Fillarini (Technical Design Specialist).
