Marcus Lyall and Adam Smith have designed live shows for electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers for over 25 years. They tell Dezeen how they turn audio tracks into immersive visual experiences.
"Tom and Ed aren't actually that interested in being prominent on stage so the visuals effectively become the lead singer," said Marcus Lyall, just before Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands, AKA The Chemical Brothers, took to the stage at Alexandra Palace in London last month.
The Chemical Brothers took to the stage at Alexandra Palace in London last monthIn the live shows, Simons and Rowlands play keyboards, and add samples and filters over a pre-recorded backing track. Meanwhile behind them, a huge screen, measuring 20 metres by eight, acts as the main visual focus for the audience. The shows, which Adam Smith described as "ridiculously ambitious for a touring festival production," also feature a light show plus physical effects including giant mechanical robots that shoot laser beams from their eyes.
"We try and find a new physical idea and a new lighting moment each year," Smith said.
The main visual focus for the audience was a huge screen, measuring 20 metres by eightAt gigs this year they dropped hundreds of huge, lightweight bouncy balls on the audience from the ceiling and introduced a wall of 70 strobes, to add to the 24 lasers and 50 MegaPointe directional lights.
But Smith and Lyall's on-screen content is what sets Chemical Brothers gigs apart f...