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MARRACASH: PERSONE TOUR The rapper brings on Ombra to oversee the creative direction of his sold-out Italian tour. TPi speaks to Lorenzo De Pascalis and Giulia De Paoli of Ombra to gain an insight into the creative process.
Words: Stew Hume Photos: Ombra
Following the release of his two most recent albums – Persona and Noi, loro, gli altri – in 2019 and 2021 respectively, Marracash set out on what would be a recording-setting run of shows, with the Persone Tour marking the first time an Italian hip-hop artist completely sold out a tour that passed through most of the country’s major cities. Executive produced by Mario Zappa from Friends & Partners, the tour was the result of a collaboration of a multitude of companies and suppliers. Leading the team was Production Manager Gianluca CIKO Cicognini, who was overseeing this ambitious production with support from Fenia Galtieri on the Tour Management side and Puccio Anatrella on the Site Coordination. London-based design studio Ombra was brought in to work on the creative direction, set design, content and light design. Led by Ombra’s Founder Lorenzo De Pascalis, the company also worked on the cueing of all the technologies and aspects of the show, organising cues in timecode ready for automation, lasers, effects and teleprompters.
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“We crafted the entire show around a simple set that offered many possibilities and sceneries – namely two large automated elements with automation; a screen that was also a walking surface along with a large rectangular truss,” outlined Project Manager Giulia De Paoli of Ombra. The show was broken up into three main chapters each highlights an important part of the artist’s career. “The show starts with a chaotic, ‘straight-to-the -point’ vibe with the artist appearing mid-air on the walking surface,” stated De Paoli. “The moving truss moves all around the stage as the show unfolds and the walking LED assumes different angles to create new, ever-evolving spaces on stage.” The next chapter of the show had Marracash move to the B-stage, positioned just behind FOH. It was at the point the artist got to perform some of the big hits from his back catalogue and to justify his moniker of Il King del Rap – The King of Rap. Finally, the last section of the show was dedicated to his most recent material. Back on the main stage, the goal from the
visual department was to create a “clean world, almost like coming from a place of understanding and deep introspection,” explained De Paoli. Before setting foot in a single venue, Ombra and the rest of the creative team used WYSIWYG to preview all the automation in 3D, creating the cues with an MA Lighting grandMA2 that could then be transferred to vocal cues in the playback system. “Each cue creates opportunities and almost a different evolution of the show,” stated De Pascalis. “The two movable elements intersect and play together in a harmonious way, creating new spaces to play with.” Moving these two elements was a Kineys APEX system supplied by Tekset. The Show Operator and Programmer was Marcello Marcelli, who oversaw the 16 motors in the roof. Marcelli worked closely with Head Rigger Filippo Lattanzi to also design the girder that was used to angle the screen in some rather unusual positions. With the rigging and automation sorted, Ombra turned its attention to the video and