Hardcore in the Hall – Cameo at the VORTEX Festival at EWS Arena Göppingen

In mid-February, the hardcore techno scene gathered at EWS Arena in Göppingen. The best hardcore DJs fired their hard beats and sounds from all speakers for almost 12 hours in the arena, which normally hosts Bundesliga handball games. The success of the first VORTEX festival was also due to the precise technical realisation by Skyeline-Live. For lighting, the full-service provider from Backnang relied exclusively on Cameo fixtures.

Cameo Light Installation at VORTEX Festival

“We work closely with the organisers. The young VORTEX team has a lot of ideas,” explains Jürgen Schuster, Managing Director of Skyeline-Live. “Cameo covers the entire spectrum of fixtures required for this.” Skyeline-Live knows the EWS Arena down to the smallest detail and has already supported numerous different events in the multifunctional arena over the years.

Clean & creative

To support the hardcore theme of the festival, the VORTEX favours clean and simple looks. “For an event this long, it is important to have a certain degree of versatility in order to be able to create new, exciting images again and again,” adds lighting designer Maximilian Barkow from MBLightarts, who were responsible for the lighting design and FOH operation as a subcontractor.

At the VORTEX Festival, the OPUS H5s can fully utilise their hybrid capabilities and are used in the four long main lines as beams, spots, for mid-air projections or as washes with frost filters. “The OPUS H5s are a central component in the lighting rig and create geometric structures”, explains Maximilian Barkow. In addition, OPUS S5 Spot moving heads are used both as front and key lights for the DJs on stage.

Static & dynamic

Jürgen Schuster and Maximilian Barkow are particularly enthusiastic about the PIXBAR SMD IP G2 LED bars: “The PIXBAR G2 are definitely the highlight of the entire lighting design and create the typical industrial look.” A total of 96 LED bars were installed directly one behind the other in the side lanes, which run the entire length of the arena.

“The PIXBAR G2 is a static light that can be used to create very dynamic effects.”
Maximilian Barkow, lighting designer MBLightarts

The ZENIT W600 and ZENIT W600 SMD LED wash lights also provide powerful lighting effects at the VORTEX Festival. While the ZENIT W600s are used as decorative lighting for the large stage banners, the SMD versions, which are suspended from the centre truss structure, impress as powerful blinders and strobes. As with all festivals, the reliability of the lighting technology is essential at VORTEX. “We were able to rely completely on the quality of Cameo here,” confirms Jürgen Schuster.