DJ Dimension Downtown LA Show Powered by Elation and Bending Lite

	"The question was, how many ways can we make him look cool while smoking a cigarette? We used a God light from above, plus RAYZOR BLADE fixtures in different variations to highlight him in multiple ways," says Attarzadeh. Photo: Kurt Miller

Lighting designer Aaron Attarzadeh delivered a high-impact, visually tight design for DJ Dimension's downtown Los Angeles performance, using a full Elation rig supplied by SLX Productions. As a designer with Bending Lite -- the team behind Deadmau5, Tiesto, and Insomniac events -- the designer adapted Dimension's UK tour aesthetic to the outdoor Factory 93 setting.

Attarzadeh, who tours with Dimension in the US, collaborated closely with the artist's creative team, manager Aaron Goldberg, Dimension himself, and Ariel Afar, principal and creative director of SLX Productions. Given that Dimension doesn't often play the US, the project was especially meaningful for the team.

"This show was really close to our hearts," says Attarzadeh. "We're all longtime friends, we all love drum and bass, and we wanted to replicate what Dimension does in the UK as closely as possible while still making it work for this venue and this market."

The designer says he favors fixture flexibility over excessive variety and loves running shows on the fly. That philosophy guided the lighting design from the start.

"We don't like to throw salads at shows," he explains. "We like large amounts of consolidated fixture types. Keeping it tight and concise means that when someone captures that one everlasting moment, everything looks consistent -- beam divergence, color temperature, all of it across the entire rig."

The lighting package included 36 PROTEUS RAYZOR BLADE S, 26 SMARTY MAX moving heads, and 16 SOL I Blinders, all from Elation. SLX, a full-service production company and rental house based in Los Angeles, also supplied haze and fog, along with moving LED panels. Data networking was handled via NETRON EN12 and NS8 nodes for communication from the stage to the front of house, running three VLANs for lighting, video, and show control.

The design process began in Capture and Vectorworks, where Aaron and the team previsualized the concept in detail. "We absolutely love Capture because it's quick to get a design in front of the client," the designer states. "We then build a full 3D virtual environment for the artist in Depence and use it as a selling tool. Everyone can immediately see the vision."

Working with Dimension's UK-based creative direction, the team focused on preserving the artist's signature visual moments, with the PROTEUS RAYZOR BLADEs playing a key role.

"We like to approach shows by focusing on what makes the artist look the coolest," Attarzadeh says. "With Dimension, it's him smoking a cigarette. That's his thing. So the whole question became: how many ways can we make him look cool while smoking a cigarette? We used a God light from above, plus RAYZOR BLADE fixtures in different variations to highlight him in multiple ways. That was the initial vision behind using the BLADEs."

Arranged in a straight line behind Dimension at neck height, the LD says the RAYZOR BLADEs were perfect for this show as they're essentially three fixtures in one. "You have two lines of white LED, which is the strobe, the RGBW LED engine, and white LEDs for a twinkle effect. Everything is more concentrated and efficient, but still incredibly dynamic."

That multifunctionality allowed Aaron to create high-impact looks without overcomplicating the rig. "The BLADEs let us do more with less," he says.

Afar adds, "The RAYZOR BLADEs are incredibly versatile. It lets us create a variety of looks from one fixture, which makes for a cleaner-looking rig. At SLX, we've used them on everything from Coachella to Ja Rule's 2025 tour. The IP rating is huge as well, especially when you're setting up the night before."

The designer made heavy use of the RAYZOR BLADE's SparkLED background effect, creating a twinkling grid behind the artist. "I'm a big fan of twinkle effects," he explains. "I left them on at 30-40% for most of the show so the rig would still look full from any angle. It's not bright to the point where it's bleeding out the show; it's just a tiny bit of twinkle that's shooting through the haze. Any photo, any angle -- you always see the rig alive, without it overpowering the moment."

The BLADEs' wide zoom range was also key to shaping the show's atmosphere. "Again, they are multi-purpose," Attarzadeh explains. "You can zoom them in tight to get a nice beam but I actually zoomed them all the way out and shot them down through the crowd on stage. It looked like the crowd was glowing in UV."

Mounted at the same height as the BLADEs, SMARTY MAX moving heads delivered tight, focused beams that added punch and contrast to the rig. Attarzadeh leaned on the fixture's hybrid design for its optical precision and flexibility rather than sheer quantity.

"You don't get the same beam quality from LED," he explains. "The arc source gives you a more condensed, pinpoint beam that cuts through the haze. With two stackable prisms and dual gobo wheels, there's a lot of variation available without needing to overbuild the rig."

Using the 16-facet prism, Attarzadeh created effects resembling fine laser-like beams radiating outward. "That arc source is key for projecting through a prism like this," he adds. "It's about clarity and control, not just brightness."

The SOL I Blinders, with its tiny housing and full-spectrum RGBL+AW LED engine, were placed behind a blow-through video wall to create a glowing under-stage effect.

"From the sides of the stage, the blinders shot through the haze to make it look UV, warm white, red -- whatever we needed to match the visuals," the designer says. Strategically placed Entourage fazers (ADJ) beneath the stage turned the shaded haze into an active element of the show.

For Afar, Elation fixtures have become a staple of the company's inventory. By pairing versatile equipment with design expertise, the company crafts unique staging solutions that are both flexible and quick to deploy -- an approach that proved integral to the project. "Ariel and his team at SLX made this an easy load-in," says Attarzadeh. "They prepped everything at the shop and had it show-ready in 3 hours from trucks dumped to programming."

The designer concludes by emphasizing that strong vendor relationships are critical to modern touring. "Our relationship with Elation is so important to the execution of these shows," he says. "Having local support, quick turnaround, and people who understand how fast showbiz moves makes all the difference. Ariel's relationship with Elation played a huge role in the success of this show."