A trend we’ve seen at TPi is the higher demand for production value at live events, and a part of this ever-growing pressure is the stipulation that shows must remain uniform, venue on venue, continent on continent, especially with fans now able to access shows from across the world on their mobile phones. Consistency was a prerequisite when it came to Kylie Minogue’s Tension Tour, for which Solotech provided a 360° package.
“Kylie has seen the value in having bespoke systems to support the production to the right standard for her, which is why we are seeing more of the same production equipment supplied across all markets – more so now than was initially planned,” explained Solotech Senior Account Manager, Robin Conway. “It has been great to continually develop working internationally and across multiple disciplines alongside Kevin [Hopgood, Production Manager], and the wider Kylie team, who are fantastic.”
The Tension Tour marked the camp’s first opportunity to work with Solotech on a 360° basis, after beginning a working relationship in 2009, Hopgood elaborated: “Kylie and I have a long-standing relationship with Solotech. Since the supplier established itself in the UK and acquired Capital Sound as part of the SSE Group, that relationship has developed even further and built on the 25-year relationship that Kylie had with Capital Sound as an audio supplier. The 360°-service certainly streamlines the lines of communication, logistics and overall coordination of planning. Having Solotech project managers across all departments working under Robin’s overall direction has made for a really cohesive experience, which has very positive effects on time management and costs.”
With 25 Solotech employees on the tour, the camp was familiar to Conway, who began as the Project Manager at the beginning of his Solotech career in 2013 – with him even teching some shows in the early days. “With such a large portion of the team coming from Solotech, you can feel the collaboration within the team and no matter the department, the team are proud to work and support each other, which you can really see in the dynamic of the tour,” Conway reported.
As the tour started in Australia, Solotech worked with third-party suppliers for the bulk of the technical supply, shipping over any equipment that the local companies weren’t able to provide.
“At the start of the process, we were organising meetings between creatives on the West Coast of the US, third-party suppliers in Australia and our teams in the UK and Nashville, which was tricky but entertaining to organise,” Conway said. “Starting in Australia was challenging, but we made sure the equipment delivery was perfect; we even had a man on the ground overseeing our relationships on the tour.”
Combatting an 11-hour time difference, the Solotech team introduced the production to Australian suppliers TDC for video and Chameleon Touring for lighting after creating the tour’s specifications.
“We worked hard to pre-build the tour beforehand so that even though it started in Australia, we were heavily involved with the project management in the territory, which allowed us to ensure the consistency of equipment to guarantee smooth running when the tour landed in the US.”
Although the production was introduced to the lighting and video vendors through Solotech, the audio for the run Down Under was JPJ Audio. “They were the best choice for audio and even though this wasn’t a Solotech introduction, we worked with the vendor in the same way we always would, ensuring the same consistency show on show, country on country,” Conway added.
Load-ins on the Tension Tour also looked different, with the crew able to unload into venues by order of requirement, rather than by department.
Outside of Australia, Solotech supplied a d&b audiotechnik PA system; DiGiCo and Solid State Logic consoles; Robe and CHAUVET Professional lighting solutions; MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles; ROE Visual LED video screens along with Panasonic cameras.
Conway concluded: “Kylie is an inspiring person to be around and we all try to keep up with her level of energy and creativity. All tours have their challenges, but this one has had many special shows and has been an absolute pleasure to work on. The reaction has been very positive, and Kylie and her team have been happy with the result and delivery of the tour. It’s inevitable that a touring team will bond but the Kylie camp feels like a step beyond that.”
