BACKSTAGE MANAGER(s)
In 2021 [along with my buddy Dominik Prosser] we were set the task of creating THE most memorable backstage of ALL time whilst being sustainable, local and capable of handling top tier artists.
We accepted the challenge with gusto and commissioned, designed, manufactured and delivered some incredible never-seen-before structures in Spain and Portugal.
During the Summer of 2022, we got to deliver it.
Designed by Langarita Navarro, Olimpo Nomade is a “mobile city” for the festival’s performing artists. It’s where musicians prepare before a show, relax, and hang out with their peers after a concert or show. It is a lightweight, collapsible, transportable “galactic” city.
Olimpo Nomade rolls out for the first time on the sands of Portimão Beach, Algarve, Portugal. A series of services meet the festival’s needs while creating important spaces and external rest and entertainment areas protected from the sun by palm trees and fishing nets.
Emerging in an “oasis” of sand and palm trees, a majestic complex contains a sprawling doughnut, bubble camp, and a reflective palace that disappears into its surroundings. The “bubble camp” functions as a locker room. Each powder room is composed of two bubbles of different sizes, one of which is a dressing room, and the other has a large skylight, a communal area shared by performers with friends and staff before going on stage.
The Doughnut is a living room; it is a continuous, white, edgeless, inflatable structure covering 500 sqm, composed of a yellow cylinder interlaced with triangular prisms that act as vents and Emergency passages and exits. Inside the structure is a tranquil courtyard planted with palm trees.
The “Palace of Reflections” provides three dressing rooms for performers. On a scaffolding structure of 9 x 9 x 9 meters, there is a perfectly mirrored cube with a 3 x 3 x 3-meter void on each side for private terraces and independent access.
On the roof, a blue-carpeted observation deck with reflective railings seems to soar above its surroundings, creating a singular and otherworldly image.
The project aims to provide the festival with a practical, lightweight, durable, collapsible infrastructure that can be stored and transported with a minimum of containers and retains its aesthetic identity for as long as possible without losing a sense of magical remembrance sex. Build a portable Olympus for contemporary gods.
Oh and then this happened.
Winner XVI Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo
Selected Premios Arquitectura CSCAE 2022
Finalist A+ Award 2023
Project Name: Olimpo Nomade
Completion Year: 2022
Scale: Backstage for an itinerant music festival
Project Location: Portimao, Portugal
Landscape/Architecture Firm: Langarita Navarro
Lead Architects: María Langarita and Víctor Navarro
Design Team: Javier Estebala Alández, Antonio Antequera Reviriego and Fran Abellán Estevan.
Inflatable architecture: Espacio La Nube. Álvaro Gomis, Hugo Cifre, Miguel Ángel Maure.
Festivals: Afronation + Rolling Loud
Backstage Managers: Elliott Jack, Dominik Prosser, Raul Caldeira & Theodora Karakassi.
Install / Inflate / Operational Team: Roberto, André, Bruno, Cabral, Miguel, Igor, Janeta, Mauro, Ricardo, Hugo Morals, Luis Claudio, Andre Paulino de Oliveira, Gleison Barbosa Flor, Wallace Sousa, Mateus, João Figueirinha
Photo Credits: Luis Díaz Díaz
London’s annual Notting Hill Carnival is a >50-year-old celebration of the United Kingdom’s Caribbean community, and it’s often filled with parades, food, and, of course, music. Due to last year’s social distancing recommendations, the Carnival’s in-person events are on hold, but the art and culture of the U.K.’s Black creative community can be heard just as loudly as Notting Hill Carnival goes online. As an official partner for Notting Hill Carnival 2020, 2021, 2022 AND 2023, Spotify is excited to share our dedicated Carnival microsite, with a full virtual musical lineup, playlist takeovers, art experiences, and more
That’s right: The party isn’t stopping; it’s just moving from the streets into your home. Our new microsite is filled with playlist takeovers from big names, and it gives fans a chance to explore over 40 of the official Notting Hill Carnival sound systems and on-the-road DJs who spin dub, reggae, soca, soulful house and everything in between. Plus, we’ll be featuring an exclusive portrait and film gallery from renowned photographer Ekua King, podcast episodes covering Carnival’s rich history and a look forward, and ways to tune into live events throughout the weekend.
“Notting Hill Carnival is such an important celebration of Caribbean heritage for communities in London and beyond—enriched in tradition and activism and lived through music and dance,” says Sulinna Ong, Head of Music at Spotify U.K. and Ireland. “While it can’t take place in its usual way, it’s key that the celebration continues—in homes, living rooms, and gardens—especially given the current climate.”
Our microsite also gives fans the chance to explore over 40 of the official Notting Hill Carnival sound systems (aka large DJ booths) and on-the-road DJs. Check-in with King Tubby’s, Carnival’s oldest sound; Rampage Sound, one of Carnival’s most coveted spots, the prince of U.K. soca, Martin Jay; and even Carnival’s only all-female sound system, Seduction City Sound.
Exclusive photo and film gallery from Ekua King
Just as the in-person Carnival has music and art to boot, so will the microsite, thanks to exclusive work from Ekua King. The renowned London-based photographer of Jamaican heritage who shoots for the likes of i-D, Paper, and Vogue, has created an exclusive photo and film gallery on the site. Check out her stunning portraiture of the over 40 sound systems and on-the-road DJs, whose stories come to life through her shots.
To further underpin the celebration of Black talent in the U.K., Spotify has also brought on an all-Black creative team with design and production led by culture curators Portia Clarke and Elliott Jack, as well as creatives from the Black-owned design house Paq Works, and interviewer and assistant to Ekua King, Kwesi Dean.
Spotify users around the world can get in the mood for the big weekend (August 30-31) by heading to the dedicated Spotify and Notting Hill Carnival microsite at www.spotify.com/carnival.
Working with Kingdom Collective, I was asked to programme and manage THREE of the SIX Global Ambassadors for DMs super fantastic programme called Tough As You.
DMs are cool. They’ve been kicking down doors for >six decades and have been at the feet of subcultures changing the world we live in. Tough As You takes that heritage one step further. Working alongside industry-established mentors like Kojey Radical and Mahalia from UK, Kelvyn Colt and Serious Klein from Germany and Luidji and Claire Laffut from France.
Tough As You will fund and increase access to creative opportunities for underrepresented talent. Shaping the future of music culture together.
I’m a Producer. I produce shoots and films for Ekua King and Spotify.
What happens when three musicians from around the world collaborate on a track without ever being in the same room?
The series shows that despite the distance between them, all you need to make great music is talent, inspiration and good WiFi! In this week’s episode, Swiss producer/rapper Varnish La Piscine connects with Norwegian soul singer Charlotte Dos Santos & American Japanese singer/songwriter Joyce Wrice to make brand new track 'Love Boat', during lockdown.
The episode was shot during lockdown by the artists themselves using cameras provided by our friends at Sony.
In 2010, Elliott started Culture Clash under the Red Bull banner. It has grown into a hugely successful global event and is now known as the world’s biggest multi-genre musical battle covering Grime, Hip Hop, Reggae, Drum N Bass, Dancehall, Afrobeat and has featured Metalheadz, Soul II Soul, Trojan Soundsystem, DMZ, Channel One, Major Lazer, Boy Better Know [Skepta], Annie Mac, Rebel Sound, A$AP Mob ft. A$AP Rocky, Stone Love, Mixpak ft. Popcaan, Taylor Gang ft. Wiz Khalifa, Eskimo Dance ft. Stormzy and UKG All-stars. Elliott created this event from scratch at The Roundhouse in Camden and has programmed and overseen all of the events in the UK. The last clash took take place at The O2 in 2016 with a live audience of 20,000. The event achieved a national awareness of 64% between 18-24 year-olds and clocked more than 100 million online views.
Elliott’s baby is Book Slam. Run since 2005 with award-winning author Patrick Neate, it’s no exaggeration to say that Book Slam has revolutionised how Londoners look at books (and how publishers look at selling them). Book Slam has broken down the barriers between literature and popular culture, featuring hundreds of authors, from Andrea (Levy) to Zadie (Smith) alongside poetry from the likes of PJ Harvey, Kate Tempest, Hollie McNish and Riz Ahmed. Book Slam has also been a vital platform for new musical talent, showcasing early gigs from Adele, Sam Smith, George Ezra, Paloma Faith, Plan B and many more.
Fifteen years on, Book Slam remains a touchstone of London literary life and that’s down to Elliott’s imaginative programming and commitment to an ideal – inspiring, accessible creative culture for everyone. Always pushing boundaries and striving for innovation, Elliott fronted the Book Slam podcast (long before the medium was all the rage) which won a Gold Sony Award for Best Internet Programme in 2008, and he’s commissioned new writing for Book Slam events and anthologies from a wide range of writers including William Boyd, Mark Watson, Irvine Welsh, Helen Oyeyemi, Jeremy Dyson, Will Self, Tim Key, Bernardine Evaristo, and David Nicholls.
In November 2013, Elliott programmed 158 artists on the London Eye for Red Bull’s Revolutions in Sound. A celebration of UK club culture, the event featured 30 UK club nights, past and present, [one for each of the 30 pods to an audience of 28 in each], including Mark Ronson & Seb Chew’s YoYo ft. Lily Allen, The Young Turks ft. The XX, Danny Rampling’s seminal Acid House incubator, Shoom, Steve Strange’s The Blitz, Fabric, Bugged Out!, Goldie’s Metalheadz and many more. Broadcast live on Channel 4OD and YouTube, Revolutions in Sound broke the world record for contemporaneous live streams.
In September 2015, Elliott programmed Red Bull Studio’s Future Underground project to coincide with the launch of the Night Tube [which was subsequently delayed]. He delivered 3 nights of co-curated live music, working closely with the Grammy-nominated, Glaswegian Producer & DJ Hudson Mohawke. The event took place in a secret venue [disused Collins’ Concert Hall in Islington]. Elliott worked across multiple teams including agents, managers, labels and publishers as well as a host of Musicians, DJs, Conductors, Producers, Production Teams, Venue, Licensing, Marketing & PR and Legal.
Nike Unlimited You ft. Alexis Taylor & Joe Goddard [from Hot Chip] & Heritage Orchestra @ Truman Brewery, London (2016) (Event Programmer)
Thames Festival, London - 2010, 2011, 2013
Event Programmer
Red Bull’s celebration of Pirate Radio (High Frequencies)
Saturday 11 April 2016, 14:00
ArcelorMittal Orbit
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
To celebrate pirate radio's crucial contribution to UK music, the London stop of the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy Tour will see RBMA Radio take over Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park's ArcelorMittal Orbit for one day, inviting some of London's most iconic institutions to transform it into a digital pirate station.
RBMA Radio High Frequencies: Live in London
Déjà Vu FM - DJ Dlux + Spooky Bizzle
Fantasy FM - DJ Hype
Flex FM - Deekline
Freek FM - Jazzy D & DJ Laren
Future FM - Terror Danjah
Kiss FM - Norman Jay MBE + Gordon Mac
Kool FM - Eastman, Brockie + MC Det Phase 1, Fabio & Grooverider
Station FM - DJ Keithley + Mr Bantan
hosted by Sam Supplier
https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/events/rbma-radio-live-in-london
The RBMA UK Tour London leg sees Dizzee Rascal, Jay Prince and more
Red Bull Music Academy will be hitting the road again this autumn, rolling through Liverpool, Glasgow, London and Leeds for a month-long programme of club nights, shows, lectures, workshops, daytime parties, live radio broadcasts and special events from some of music’s most eminent emissaries. Returning to the nation’s capital from 19th – 22nd October, musical icons and rising stars of the city will be given the platform to throw down and celebrate their contribution to the UK’s scene. They’ll be joined by international names that connect the dots between the UK and a global exchange of musical ideas.
The most anticipated dates of the tour will see grime kingpin turned pop king Dizzee Rascal hits the RBMA couch to discuss his ascent from Bow to the big time and performs his genre-defining grime album Boy In Da Corner in full. Elsewhere chart-bothering DJ duo Gorgon City conduct a workshop at Red Bull HQ, and see SLG’s Clore Studio together with pioneering events programmers Thirty Three Thirty Three collaborative art and music series, with music from Rezzett. Rejjie Snow hosts an intimate one-off show, as well as Jay Prince, who will bring his brand-new mixtape to light with the help of collaborators and special guests, before This Is Awfultakes off at night with the likes of Father, ABRA, Ethereal, Kilo Kishand more, as well as Awesome Tapes From Africa celebrating a decade of digging. On Sunday Lady Leshurr will bring the London leg to a finish with her her lyrical wit bare at Studio Science.
https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/events/rbma-uk-tour-london-2016
ONE TRACK. FIVE CITIES. FIVE PRODUCERS. FIVE REMIXES... As part of Red Bull Studios ongoing collaborative relationship with Jessie Ware, a completely unique remix project has been launched – Jessie Ware: Remixed. The project saw Jessie invite five of her favourite producers to work on a special remix of her track, Keep on Lying, at five Red Bull Studios around the globe, over five days....
Bacardi’s Sound of Rum Music Documentary Series, Online (2017, 2018)
Talent Buyer
Elliott co-curated and programmed 2 music stages for Africa Centre's Summer Street Festival [2017, 2018] on Great Suffolk Street, London. Elliott programmed artists from Grime to Garage, Samba to Soca, Reggae to Rock, Hiplife to Hip Hop and ensured the festival programme embraced the Motherland and diaspora to feature the best in folk roots as well as the exciting new urban music coming from and inspired by Africa's dazzling array of rhythm, melodies and instruments.
Here’s a few other projects I programmed.
Head honcho Charlie Dark asked me to record a few episodes for Run Dem Radio.. Check them out below….
