Green Hippo Sees Armin Deliver Grade A Tour Finale at the ArenA

Superstar DJ Armin van Buuren played two solo shows at the Amsterdam ArenA and Dutch lighting creative Art of Light relied on a Hippotizer Karst Media Server to control a series of LED setups during the show.

Closing his latest ‘Armin Only’ performance concept at the Amsterdam ArenA, with the biggest show that he has ever done, Armin van Buuren became the first DJ to stage a solo show at the famous venue – also home to AFC Ajax the famous Dutch football team. The ‘Armin Only’ show debuted in 2005 and the latest edition is bigger than ever, letting the Dutch DJ play longer sets while also exploring his artistic side.

So, while ‘Armin Only’ enables the DJ to deliver a mammoth set, fans get more than just the Dutchman standing behind his decks. Armin was joined by an arsenal of musicians and singers that helped him bring his music to the ‘next level’, creating an immersive atmosphere of music and AV.

The Art of Light, the Netherlands-based creative, took care of lighting design, operating and controlling the two sold-out ArenA gigs. Responsible for the production of the event was ALDA Events, a global operating Dutch producer, concept developer and promoter of international DJ and event concepts.

photo by Jorrit Lousberg

Creating a spectacular to wow 35,000 people, company founder André Beekmans and his team harnessed an epic gathering of lighting. The gear on show included 900 Robe moving lights, 450 luminaires, and 2.5 miles of DiGidot LED strip. The Dutch creative also used LEDWash 800s as stage down-lighters, with 48 Robe Pointes in centre stage.

Michael Seeverens, Operator, The Art of Light & André Beekmans, founder of the Art of Light

Controlling and mapping this stunning LED strips was The Art of Light’s Hippotizer Karst Media Server. The result was an experience, which visually moved seamlessly from massive trance and dance sessions to more understated displays by Armin’s guest performers.

I’d been looking for a while at the best way to control a lot of RGB pixels and I ended up buying the first Hippotizer Media Server, which was a Karst. When Green Hippo released the Hippotizer Portamus, I immediately ordered one, and we now have two. We mainly use our Hippotizers for controlling RGB pixels in combination with a Grand MA2. For this show we used our Hippotizer Karst Media Server as main server and the Hippotizer Portamus as a backup to ensure that we cover all the bases – especially with a live broadcast going out on Dutch television and as a web stream!

André Beekmans, founder of The Art of Light