FKJ’s World Tour 2022-2024

NorthHouse worked closely with Tourlite Design to create a show design inspired by FKJ’s remote studio in the middle of the Philippine jungle.

For French multi-instrumentalist Vincent Fenton (FKJ)’s years-long world tour, Tourlite Design and NorthHouse designed a show that recreated the artist’s intimate home studio in the Philippine jungle. Large panoramic “windows” at the back of the stage served as the backdrop of FKJ’s onstage “home setup” before being transformed with an array of visuals displaying various locations from Fenton’s home surroundings (shot on camera/drone) alongside a range of animation and visual effects. 

The NorthHouse team envisioned taking audiences on a trip beginning inside Fenton’s studio and moving outside and further into the jungle until reality shifts and distorts, becoming more abstract, psychedelic, and audio-reactive. The team manipulated footage Fenton had taken around his home, which added even more of a personal touch, with After Effects, Cinema 4D, Unreal, TouchDesigner, and Notch.

To capture the ethereal tone of the track, “Vibin’ Out,” the team used feedback loops in Notch to create a wispy tail rising from pre-recorded footage of The Sundrop Garden singing. As Motion Designer Daniel Richards explained, “Notch was essential in letting us generate our own creative imaginations in real time. It allowed us to create a magical effect without needing hours of rendering.”

For “Losing My Way,” NorthHouse used Notch’s Sound Modifier and Time Stretch nodes to determine the song’s beats to which the psychedelic clouds colouring the background would synchronise. This way, they could see how the footage played back in real time with each change to a keyframe. Additionally, they used Notch’s Pixel Sorting Glitches, Dither, and Cloner nodes to quickly create kaleidoscopic flourishes.

“With Notch, we could keep both the design and animation phases fluid and really experiment with techniques and ideas we hadn’t considered previously, giving us a much more varied and dynamic outcome.”

Lydia Caplan, Lead Designer, NorthHouse

Additional press coverage:
Prelude Press, The Upcoming, 303 Magazine, Scene in the Dark.

Credits
Client: FKJ
Production Company: NorthHouse
Creative Director & NorthHouse Founder: Tom Bairstow
Producer: Alice Ryland
Lead Designer: Lydia Caplan

Lead Technical Artist: Florian Lecoq
Motion Designer: Dan Richards
Motion Designer: Sean Bone
Motion Designer: Liam Gilheany
Motion Designer: Dana Couling
Photography: Marlene Sanchez, Khali & Plainsong Live