Loïc Nottet 2017
Concerts & Touring
Entertainment engineering and staging specialist WICREATIONS supplied two of its laser guided wagons and control to the recent tour by Belgian indie pop singer Loïc Nottet. It was the first leg of the artist’s first production tour and the start of the campaign for his debut album “Selfocracy” which has topped the Belgian charts. Nottet shot to fame after being runner up in the 2014 season of The Voice Belgique and representing Belgium in the 2015 Eurovision Song contest, where he was placed a very credible fourth.
The tour’s production and lighting design was created by Ignace D’Haese of Ghent based creative practice Arf & Yes. He had the idea of moving certain parts of the backline around during the set for additional dynamics, so production manager Philippe Lengelé contacted WI’ to make it happen, with WI’s Geert Stockmans handling the project management.
The mission involved building two moving risers – made from black painted wood - for the drums and keyboards, both measuring 2 x 2.7 metres, which moved into a series of different pre-set positions throughout the show by the WI control.
The wagon system utilises IR sensor / marker technology and laser eyes for guidance which gives millimetre precision. The laser eyes are positioned so they can see the markers, from which they receive their co-ordinates, and move into exactly the right positions around the stage as each cue is executed.
The custom programmable controller which is flexible and very stable, has been specially developed by WI for the wagon system. It monitors all the positional information in real-time and if necessary can adjust the wagons to keep them exactly on track through the movements. This was operated on the road by Sam Melotte.
It was a really nice project working with a great team, and it’s good to see the versatility of the wagon system utilized in yet another show context
The first leg of the tour was extremely popular and included two high profile gigs at the Ancienne Belgique, with more dates currently scheduled for later in the year.
WI’s laser guided wagons were an innovation originally developed for the 14-18 Spektacle Musical staged in Mechelen in 2014, and are now used regularly for numerous applications which have recently included fashion shows for Kenzo and automotive presentations for Peugeot, Mercedes and Toyota
