Technical production and rental specialist Live Company, based in Skovlunde, Copenhagen, Denmark, continues to invest in Astera wireless LED products at a pace to keep parallel with the “incredible demand” of the Danish market, states owner Peter Clausen.
They were the first rental company in Denmark to invest majorly in Astera, initially with AX1 PixelTubes in 2018, and the latest acquisitions include several sets of Titan Tubes and the newly launched AX9 PowerPAR – rock-solid, all-purpose everyday LED lighting fixture – and one of the three innovative products launched by Astera in 2021.
The AX9s were bought specifically for “Dejlig er Jorden”, an operatic recital tour around Danish churches by an ensemble of opera singers and classical musicians. Lighting designer Súni Joensen specifically wanted powerful, reliable, quick and easy to deploy wireless fixtures … and 12 x AX9s did a fantastic job!
“AX9s are excellent front lights,” says Peter, which was another reason for the purchase, together with the good battery life which easily covers the run-time of most events. He mentions that the consistency of the Astera lightsources and colours is impressive across all the product ranges.
Live Company’s Titan Tubes joined the general rental inventory based on the massive success they have experienced with the 100 plus AX1s, as they were keen to have Astera’s most up-to-date wireless Tube technology onboard. They like to be at the forefront of trends “and that’s definitely where Astera is right now,” stated Peter.
The AX1s have been in use constantly, even during the pandemic period, when they were out every week for digital gigs and streamed events, he explained. “We didn’t tail off on the AX1 rental at all.”
Titan Tubes and the AX1s are “simply sooooo versatile,” he comments. They can be used for key lighting, washing objects and areas, sets and décor, for making shapes and pixel-mapped effects for theatre, TV and broadcast applications and live shows … and that truly multi-purpose functionality is why they are such “GREAT value”.
He thinks the AsteraApp is great, and so do many of their customers. It makes remote control exceptionally quick and easy without having to set up a console, although also having the DMX control option is a big plus. “You basically have all the options to make your show or project work effectively.”
Looking forward, Peter reveals that they want to be “a fully Astera rental house, offering all of the products – Tubes, PixelBricks, NYX Bulbs, AX3s, AX PARs, etc,” and it looks like they are well on the way to achieving that goal.
When Light Partner became the Danish distributor in 2020, both demand and sales shot up in the country, and now that other rental companies are investing in the brand, cross rentals are a fast-growing aspect of the business.
“For events, wireless lighting / control is THE way forward,” Peter concluded!
Live Company was initially founded in 2006 as an audio rental house which then grew and expanded its scope to become a full technical production specialist. Peter joined in 2014 and now owns it, together with Mikkel Bedsted and two other business partners. They are passionate and enthusiastic about the industry and work hard to provide the very best service, technical solutions, and highest production values to clients across multiple genres of live entertainment and events.
Photo: © Louise Stickland