Artist Spotlight: Amith

First off, tell us how your journey and passion for music led you to dive into audio visuals, lighting, and event organising festivals like Pangea?

I studied mechanical engineering at University, and while I was awake, my music was pretty much always on. In 2013, I discovered my gateway into the electronic music scene - Avicii’s Tomorrowland aftermovie. I know, how cliche, but the bug had bit, and in my spare time, I began teaching myself how to produce music.

Things really changed for me when Covid and lockdown hit. I had all this extra free time and I began to ramp up my focus on music production. I decided to create a studio space where I could go to and be inspired, and as part of the studio, I installed some LED lights. Around this time, I was at a friend’s house party and brought these LEDs with me. I strung them up and had a little remote that I was clicking to manually adjust them. Max (Von Scotti - Pangea) must have enjoyed the lights, or perhaps he just liked seeing someone with a bit of energy and passion for them, as there and then, he asked me to do the lighting for Pangea! Straight into the deep end, with very little knowledge of how to set up and operate lighting, I was going to be learning on the job!

Since that first Pangea, my career has progressed dramatically and I have been lucky enough to work at events such as Keinemusik in Cape Town, Fusion, Feel Festival and Pangea festivals in Germany, and Waking Life in Portugal. I have had amazing experiences and none of them would have happened if I wasn’t at that party, manually clicking a remote to control my LEDs. Crazy…

What are some of your favourite moments so far as both the DJ and lighting tech?

I think my favourite moment while DJ-ing was at Pangea (Cape Town). We’d set up the lights at the Enigma, but it had rained the whole morning and all of the lights were soaking wet - I was so nervous to turn them on! Max (Von Scotti) asked if we’d still have a show, and honestly I didn’t know. I was scheduled to play a set from 22:00 - 01:00, so I had some time to try and sort this out, but I was stressed! It got to about 16:00 and it was still raining. I looked at him (Max) and decided I wouldn’t be able to play my set - how can I give the best of myself to my music and to my set when I need to focus on fixing these lights?! “Not possible” he said…At a bit of a loss, and really stressed out, the team and I were trying to dry as much of the equipment as possible with towels, hoping this would do the trick. We plugged them in and thankfully nothing tripped- I remember the eruption of joy, the whole crew celebrating this victory!

By this time, Nataša was on (the set before mine) and she was absolutely ripping it! I ran into the kitchen and with no real plan, just began frantically downloading tracks. I got up, and with no idea what I was going to do, I just… began. I realised how un-intimidating this set was going to be compared to what I’d initially thought. I was standing in front of all of my friends and build crew who had all witnessed and been a part of the chaos that had unfolded during the day, at a place that truly felt like home. Two tracks in, and I was in flow!

When it comes to designing setups, do you sketch it out or do you use some software to bring your ideas to life?

When it comes to designing lighting setups, the preferred software is called Capture. I use it to create sketches of the stage using cad drawings in order to see how the lighting will look in advance. I do sometimes prefer to hand draw these sketches, like I did for Keinemusik’s show in Cape Town. We were running out of time to get everything setup, so I presented the organisers with a detailed sketch of what I was thinking and they just signed it off, there and then! There are some stages, such as The Canyon and Pangea, that just can’t be done in any kind of software. It's all done on the spot and it is made to look like it is completely one with the scenery.

What are some of the traits that you think are valuable as a lighting tech?

I really believe that people who have experience with DJing and electronic music are able to operate lights at a higher level because they are able to really feel and understand the music. Both DJing and Lighting are used to tell a story, and when people have knowledge of both, they can almost merge these stories together, creating really beautiful experiences. I really want to continue to push the established guys in this industry to just give more of a fuck! These big lighting companies are great but they have technicians, not necessarily creatives or ravers, who are running their setups. Often, these guys have no idea how a dance floor should feel, and unfortunately, there are not enough of the new generation of lighting technicians who have this knowledge to take over yet. I want to be a part of the reason that this changes, but I know this is not going to be a smooth transition... From the outside, my work looks amazing, but people don’t actually realise how intense working in this industry is. Lack of sleep, living off of garage pies, high stress, and it really feels like season never ends! I definitely don’t think it is sustainable to work in the way that I am currently for longer than 10 years, which is why I believe being part of, and building a solid team is so important.

Advice to anyone who's interested in learning ?

My advice for anyone who wants to learn lighting or join my team would be to come on a build. Come to an event and see what it is really about. The lights are the last aspect of a show to go up, and the first to come down. This means we’re often up all night testing and then can’t party because we have to be up to unpack first. While other people are attending these events as

their release, we are at work, and there will be many parties that you wish you could party at, but instead, you’re working. After big events, I will literally sleep for 18 hours a day for 3 days, only waking up to eat - this industry really does take a toll!

A key attribute for anyone wanting to get into the industry would also be how effectively they manage stress. Organisers do not want to see you stressing out, because then they start stressing out too! We have to remain calm and utilise this ability to say “everything is great” even though in reality everything might be very far from great! Being able to take a deep breath and problem solve from a space of calmness is key.

Possibly the most essential characteristic for working in lighting (or any part of an event’s technical setup) is to just be a nice human. I think it is really important that everyone we work with brings a good vibe. We all work crazy long hours together in stressful conditions, so having good people around is so important to lighten the load.

How do you manage to keep the energy up during those marathon 3-day/week long festivals?

Some events last days, so remaining as healthy as possible is key to maintaining stamina. We are literally pushing our limits and running on adrenaline to keep going, it can be intense! Overseas, there is a big culture of using stimulants, but I don’t want that for me and my team - I don’t want us to be dependent on drugs to keep going. Personally, I just can’t go to sleep if I believe something isn’t done, if there is still a problem to solve. I also know that my crew and I feed off of the energy of the space we are working in. I’ll come back to Pangea again, where their whole team will stay up with us right through the night so we can properly arrange and test out the lights. It creates an amazing atmosphere of creatives just being in flow and supporting one another. One of my favourite memories is drinking cacao watching the sunrise together with that amazing group of people, listening to music and knowing that we are about to make this dance floor an amazing space for all of our friends. To be honest I think that is why I do this!

What are some of your favourite moments so far as both the DJ and lighting tech?

One of my favourite events to operate lights at is at the Tropical Roast stage at Bazique. We’re in this little house structure right at the stage, and instead of being far away and removed, we are in the thick of things. It's an amazing experience! Doing the lights at Keinemusik was also an insane experience. I have always loved their music, especially their older stuff. I am not joking when I say that I did not leave that lighting booth for the full 7 hours of their set. I will never forget just before that Kendrick Lamar remix was played, I pulled everything back to darkness, and just as it dropped, I pushed it all back up again. This was a big WTF moment, a special feeling, I couldn’t believe that this journey had taken me to this point. Whenever I see videos of that moment under the Kloud, I get goosebumps.

What do you think Cape Town is missing in order to become an electronic music hub and destination?

To end off, I truly believe that Cape Town is on the verge of proper recognition from the international scene for our electronic music culture. We have so many unique genres that are so well received both locally and abroad, and people from all over the world already come to Cape Town specifically to come and experience our electronic music culture and events. We just need to continue creating spaces for more people to properly listen to music!