Night of the Proms 2015
It's gonna be a tough tour this year : 30 shows in less than 6 weeks, with many back-to-backs.
Night of the Proms 2014
There we go again : Night of the Proms tour 2014 ! It’s been the 30th anniversary edition , and as usual I’ll take care of backline and provide this massive orchestra with clicktracks , loops and timecode to sync things up . Great to be part again of this well oiled production machine and work with my Belgian colleagues again .
Update : I’m really getting into VIDEO lately , so please check out this little montage I made of our load-in :
Night of the Proms 2013
And there we go again : my 13th year doing the annual Night of the Proms tour . More than 30 shows in Belgium , Holland , Germany and Luxembourg , starring artists like Wyclef Jean , Gloria Estefan , Amy McDonald , Mark King , and many others ... off course with the usual 70 piece symphonic orchestra + choir . I take care of the Electric band’s backline , and run clicktracks and timecode to keep this huge band in time with itself and with the lightshow .
Night of the Proms , European tour 2012
Here we go again : this is my 12th consecutive year that I’ll be working for this fantastic production . They call me the “clickmeister” here , as I’m taking care of all click tracks , loops , timecode and other digital wizardry on stage . Guests for this year : The Jacksons , Anastacia , Mick Hucknall from Simply Red , Jupiter Jones , John Miles , Naturally 7 and the young Dutch Harp virtuoso Remy van Kesteren . 35 arena shows in Belgium , Holland , Luxembourg and Germany , starting early november and landing back home just a few hours before the family Xmas eve dinner .
Night of the Proms , European Tour 2011
This is the eleventh year that I'll be joining the Night of the Proms tour as a keyboard tech & DAW operator (or ClickMeister as my German friends like to call me) . We're doing 35 shows this year in Belgium , Holland , Luxembourg and Germany , spread over 2 months including production rehearsals . This edition's artists are SEAL , Alison Moyet , Nile Rogers , Mick Hucknall , James Blunt , Angie Stone , DIV4S and some more local names . I'll be sitting on stage again in between the electric Band , starting track after track from my double Logic MIDI/MADI rack , spitting out clicktrack , loops and timecode to sync the lightshow & video .
NOTP in Denmark & Kiel
for aprox 40.000 people , with a specialy arranged version of "music" syncing with a fireworks show . A lot of preparation for just those 2 shows , but who knows where it will take us next .... ...
Night of the Proms 2010
This is the 10th year in a row that I'll be working for the Night of the Proms , providing this great production with some MIDI magic , clicktracks , loops and SMTP timecode to sync the whole thing together . This year we have Boy George , Grace Jones , John Fogerty , Kid Creole (and some amazing looking coconuts) , sir Cliff Richard and the German multimedia project Lichtmond . Personally I think it's one of the best editions in years & I'm enjoying it a lot . We're doing 35 arena shows in Belgium , Holland and Germany starting end october and ending just before Christmas .
turning the MIDI rack into a MADI rack
Up until now it always involved a lot of cabling & DI's , but I've decided to go completely digital from source to destination (mac to digital FOH desk) . That means connecting and routing everything through adat pipes to the 01V/96 & then out into a RME ADI648 spitting out MADI signal over BNC .
I'll try it out on the forthcoming Night of the Poms tour from october to december . It should make life easier for all parties involved , as well as improve reliability and sound quality .
Night of the Proms tour in Belgium , Holland & Germany
As usual I'll be programming and running the clicktracks & loops and take care of all keyboards , electronic drums & orchestral percussion . There's only 2 of us to take care of the massive backline (my good friend Chris Oliver as a guitar tech + myself) , so we wont be bored .....
Night of the Proms , Charleroi
Night of the Proms , Germany tour
staying at one location is cool for a while : no building and breaking and lot’s of time off , but it also gets boring ...
So 4 more weeks to have fun and tour around Germany , and we’ll all be home the day before Xmas to spend quality time with family and friends .
A perfect way to end the year!
Night of the Proms , Holland
Night of the Proms , Antwerp
This is really a massive production : we have 1 full trailer of backline only ( and only 2 bacline techs ) . Not surpisingly if you know that the production is based around a 74 piece classical orchestra , including a grand piano , a harp , 4 timpanis , xylofone , concert bass drum , etc .... There’s also a full electric band , including V-drums , an advanced percussion setup , keys , bass & guitar .
My main job is to program and operate clicks and loops , program keyboard sounds , and setup the backline . Programming the clicks is really a challenge sometimes . Some of the classical stuff has very complex multi tempo and multi signature changes .
It took me a few years to get my head around the classical way of notating and interpreting rhythms , but I finally feel I’ve developped a good working relationship with the conductor .
I also get the freedom to add a personal touch to the music as well : a percussion loop her , a sound FX there ... this makes this work really enjoyable for me . I hope to keep on doing this for many years to come .
Stars of Europe , Brussels
I spent a lot of time programming clicktracks again ... and this time nothing will go wrong ... ;-) .....