Stuart Pring puts the SVB1 through its paces with Primal Scream 

As XTRMNTR's seven-date UK celebration tour came to a close in London, we caught up with Stuart Pring to find out how he used 28 Robe SVB1s throughout the tour.

Twenty-five years after the album's release, Primal Scream took XTRMNTR back on the road this September, performing it live in full.

For Stuart, the brief was to create a rig that could support the show while remaining compact and practical for touring. Working with Neg Earth, he chose 28 Robe SVB1 fixtures to deliver a range of effects throughout the set.

We caught up with Stuart and Henry Gardner, Project Manager at Neg Earth, at the London show to discuss the design, the fixture choice and how the SVB1s performed throughout the tour.

The show 

The seven-date XTRMNTR tour started at LIVEHOUSE in Dundee, swiftly followed by two nights at Glasgow Barrowland before travelling through Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester and Bristol, with Outernet in London as the final stop. 

Stuart approached designed the lighting and Neg Earth supplied the rental package, with Henry project managing. The rig included 28 SVB1s, which Stuart used to support the tour’s intense, high-impact visuals and match the unique energy and attitude the band are known for on stage  

The spec 

Stuart wanted fixtures that could cover a lot of different functions without needing a large footprint. Faced with the challenge of matching Primal Scream’s high energy stage presence, Stuart wanted to get as many creative options as he could from the space and fixture count available to him, giving him more to work with without adding a different type of light for every effect.  

Stuart approached Neg Earth with his specification, and they recommended the SVB1. These fixtures gave Stuart the option to use as pixel lights, washes, beams and strobes, changing their output through the show depending on the look he wanted to create on stage for each track. 

The interchangeable lenses gave Stuart another way to change the character of the fixtures. The lenses were used to get that distinctive ACL-style effect – sharp, concentrated beams or “fingers of light” - from the SVB1s, as well as a whole host of other looks.  

“The ability to do some really funky things with the lenses was so important,” says Stuart. “It was the most versatile light I’ve ever worked with.”  

The result 

Across the tour, the finished lighting design matched XTRMNTR’s intense, hyper-focused tone while still bringing plenty of visual variety to the stage. The SVB1s adapted well to the different stage setups and gave Stuart the range he needed from venue to venue.  

At the final London date at Outernet, the design delivered the scale, energy and final-night impact the show needed.  

It was a real pleasure to join Stuart and Henry at Outernet and see the result for ourselves. We really appreciated them taking the time to talk us through their approach and show us how the SVB1s had worked across the tour. A big thank you to everyone across the production for welcoming us in.  

It was brilliant to see the impact Stuart’s design brought to the final leg of Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR tour.   

Seeing the fixtures in the hands of the people specifying, designing and running the show is always the best part, and it was brilliant to see just how much Stuart was getting out of those 28 SVB1s and the incredible impact they brought to the final leg of Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR tour.   

The rig 

28 × Robe SVB1 

Across the tour, the rig included 28 x SVB1s for pixel effects, washes, beams and strobes.  

Interchangeable lenses gave further options, including ACL-style, or “finger of light”, effects, as well as a range of high-impact looks from the same fixture package. 

The team 

Lighting designer: Stuart Pring 
Neg Earth project manager: Henry Gardner 
Crew: Jonny Blunsdon and Chloe Boucher 
Production management: Allan Moffat and Chris Martin 
Tour manager: Neil Sharp 
Photography: Alex Dobson and Henry Gardner