The second edition of the Fun Radio Ibiza Experience, organised in association with Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, took place earlier this year at the Accor Hotels Arena in Paris. Approximately 17 000 people gathered at this huge EDM event which transformed the venue into a massive dance floor to the sounds of top DJs Robin Schultz, Nervo, Sam Feldt, W&W and headliners, Afrojack and Hardwell.
“The Paris show is a little taste of resistance,’ says show director, and founder of High Scream, Romain Pissenem. “To stand up and dance and have fun is the only response we can show to the threats to which our city has been subjected.’
Helping Pissenem bring the spirit of Ibiza and the unique Ushuaia vibe to Paris were over 200 Ayrton lighting fixtures, including over 100 MagicBlade FX, 50 MagicPanel FX and 50 MagicDot XT. Ayrton supplied the fixtures as part of a collaboration between the Parisian manufacturer and these masters of spectacular party nights to bring one hell of a party to Paris.
“The design for the Paris event incorporated an enormous stage, a linear arrangement of newly introduced LED screens and a long line of lighting fixtures framing a representation of the curved stage at Ushuaia. “We can’t replicate all of the productions from Ibiza,’ says Pissenem, “but we can bring the same energy, international DJ line up, and the effects show, all condensed into one dance-filled party night.’
With only one day of fit-up and little time to run any rigging from the roof, Pissenem decided his Parisian Ibiza stage should be based on a frontal design which would fill the enormous space and throw all its light forwards into the crowd. “The idea was to give the impression of throwing all the energy from the stage out front – like an extension of the music – as strongly as possible in the face of the crowd.’ States Pissenem.
Pissenem delineated the top of the stage with a long line of alternating MagicPanel-FX and MagicDot-XT fixtures, and added more down the sides, interspersed between the strips of LED screen, to create the massive wall of light. Inside of this, he placed fifteen angled trusses to replicate the arch of the Ushuaia stage, each of which was alternately loaded with four MagicBlade-FX and a MagicPanel-FX unit. Six truss towers located far upstage each carried half a dozen more MagicBlade-FX, while a long, stage-wide row of MagicDot-XT was located in front of the DJ booth.
Pissenem used the MagicPanel-FX to create incredible aerial effects including broad beams of coloured light with slow, sweeping movements as well as fast and furious activity, and utilised the graphic patterns, shape and orientation of the MagicPanel-FX and MagicBlade-FX to add more visual interest and eye-candy, which reached out into the audience and drew them into the party. The MagicDot-XT was utilised to full effect in undulating waves in front of the DJ booth.
According to Pissenem, the partnership with Ayrton was essential for the success of this event, stating that: “I love the Ayrton brand and have been working with them for years. When I want to create new effects or ideas with the light, I know Ayrton works in a way that will produce something amazing.’ Pissenem says of Ayrton’s chief design and technology officer: “Yvan Peard is as passionate about what he does as I am, and I really love working with him for that reason,’ he concludes.
