Ed Warren: the man behind the greatest show

English version

Every great concert creates memories, but only a few manage to transcend the present and establish themselves over time as fundamental references in the collective imagination. What contributes to this is not only the artist performing on stage. There is a creative team behind the scenes that translates ideas into visual imagery. We had the opportunity to talk about this with Ed Warren, an award-winning lighting designer with 20 years of experience.

He has worked at major festivals around the world such as Glastonbury and has created iconic shows like the February 2023 Madison Square Garden event by Fred Again.., Four Tet, and Skrillex. His recent work includes Mumford & Sons, Interpol, Sugababes, Four Tet, and Liberato.

Hi Ed, happy new year and thank you for giving us this interview. How are you?
I’m really good thanks! Had some great time off with the family, long walks with the dog, Now back into action!

Colour and visual language

How do you approach colour decisions in a live context, are they tied to musical form, contrast within the set, or a broader visual logic?
Yes. But they are also tied to the vibe as a whole. Music is always the anchor, though not in a paint-by-numbers way. I’m responding more to shape, pressure, momentum, where the music feels like it’s leaning. Contrast across a set is crucial; colour only works if it has memory. If everything is intense, nothing is. Somewhere underneath there’s usually a loose visual logic quietly holding it all together, like an invisible grid you only notice if it disappears.

Do you tend to commit to a palette early on, or do you prefer to keep colour fluid and responsive during the performance?
I like starting with boundaries rather than answers. A palette gives the show gravity: it stops colour becoming decorative or chatty. Once that’s in place, I want it to stay elastic. Live music breathes, stumbles, levitates. Colour should be able to do the same.

In your designs, narrow beams often read as geometric forms rather than individual lights. When you’re shaping these kinds of curves in space, what guides your decisions?
I don’t really think of them as lights per se, I think of them as lines, or architecture that forgot to be solid. Geometry plays a big role, but so does nature: waves, spirals, things that repeat but never quite the same way twice. Curves usually appear when straight lines feel too authoritarian for what the music is doing. It’s less about control and more about letting the space show itself for a moment.

Preparation, improvisation, and live operation

How do you think about the balance between preparation and improvisation? When you’re operating live, what usually prompts you to intervene, and what makes you step back and let things unfold?
Preparation is just building a playground you trust. Once you’re inside it, you can stop thinking so hard. I intervene when the music feels like it’s opening a door and needs a little push. I step back when it’s already somewhere interesting. Some of the best moments happen when you do almost nothing and don’t ruin it.

When a show is repeated across multiple dates, how important is it for you that it stays consistent versus subtly evolving over time?
Consistency gives it bones; evolution gives it a pulse. I want the show to recognise itself in the mirror, but I don’t want it trapped in yesterday. Tiny changes: timing, restraint, letting something help itself: keep it alive.

How do you relate to mistakes or unexpected outcomes during a live show?
They’re often just surprises wearing a bad name. If everything behaves perfectly, you’ve probably over-designed it.

Do you see them as something to eliminate, or as part of the live nature of the work?
You avoid the ones that cause panic. The rest are character. Live work without risk is just rehearsal with an audience.

Tools, systems, and control platforms

I saw from your Instagram feed that you often work with ChamSys. Was that choice driven by practical reasons, or by how it supports the way you think and operate during a show?
Both, but mostly the second one. It’s solid, fast, and doesn’t demand constant attention. I like tools that disappear once you start using them, like muscle memory. I want the desk to feel playable, not managerial.

More generally, do you feel that control platforms shape the way lighting designers think, especially in live and reactive situations?
Completely. Tools nudge behaviour. If something makes experimentation awkward, people stop playing. If it rewards instinct and immediacy, you get braver decisions. Software has opinions, whether it admits it or not.

In live operation, do you mainly rely on traditional lighting consoles, or do you also incorporate MIDI controllers or pads into your setup?
Mostly consoles, but I’m not loyal to form factors. If a weird little controller makes a gesture feel more human, I’ll use it. The goal is intuition, not tradition.

Lighting and visuals

How do you usually approach the relationship between lighting and visuals when working with VJs? Especially in live situations, how do light and visuals stay in dialogue without competing for attention?
It’s like two currents sharing the same water. Light has mass; visuals have detail. The trick is knowing when one should lead and when the other should drift. The best collaborations understand negative space—knowing when not to speak is half the conversation.

Collaboration with Four Tet and your relationship with Italy

From a process perspective, how would you describe working with Four Tet? Over time, has the way you two communicate and make decisions together around music and light changed? If so, how?
It’s very calm, very trusting. We are friends. Early on there was more explaining; now there’s more listening. Decisions happen quickly because we’re both tuned to the same frequency. There’s a shared comfort in letting things stay unresolved until the moment they resolve themselves.

You’ve had the chance to work with Liberato and you’ve been collaborating for years with Club2Club, one of the major Italian festivals. Based also on your personal tastes, which other Italian artists or festivals would you like to work with in the future?
Italy has a great relationship with atmosphere and patience, which I really connect with. I’m drawn to artists and festivals that aren’t afraid of restraint, where leaving space is seen as confidence, not hesitation. I am working again with Liberato for his stadium show in Napoli, and Club2Club this year as well as an event in Milan for Fashion week in February. I love Italy.

Artificial intelligence, future workflows and Decision-making within a team

There’s a lot of discussion around AI entering creative workflows. Do you see any realistic role for AI in lighting design, especially as a tool for suggestion, analysis, or preparation rather than execution?
As a thinking assistant, yes. As a creative oracle, no. It’s great for preparation—testing ideas, spotting patterns, doing the boring bits faster. But the important decisions in lighting are emotional and contextual. Knowing when to stop is still very much a human problem.

In collaborative contexts, how do creative decisions around light typically get made? Is it more of a shared dialogue, or do you tend to centralise final decisions?
Ideally through open conversation, with one person quietly steering the ship. Endless consensus kills momentum. Clear decisions, kindly made, tend to make everyone relax.

Has working with teams influenced the way you design systems, in terms of clarity, flexibility, or robustness?
Massively. Systems need to be legible, forgiving, and flexible. Not just clever. The real test isn’t how they behave when everything’s perfect, it’s what they do when something weird happens and everyone’s watching.