2023-08-18 17:23:45
They and they are the little hands in the shadows without whom concerts and shows wouldn’t be what they are. The sound and light technicians, unhappy hearts of the song Rosie by Francis Cabrel, are those who go unnoticed, dazzled by the light of the projectors and the spectacle of the artists. And yet, without them, no stage or show. They are the ones who arrive early, sometimes days in advance, to install the speakers, tracks, spotlights and cables, before slipping away in the evening.
Jérémy Lohier knows well this life between shadow and light. At 33, this distinguished musician is also a versatile technician in his own sound company called G-Tech.
Strong test
Even if the task is made easier by a few tools, the majority of the time, everything is done with the strength of the arms.
Photos J.-M. Colonna / Crystal Pictures
In the summer, when he is not on stage, the child from Calenzana travels the Corsican roads aboard a truck loaded with hundreds of kilograms of equipment. “As much weight as you have to load from the storage room, then unload when you get to your destination, before moving it to the stage, plugging it in, running it, and finally, doing the reverse after the show is over.”
Every day, a technician can lift hundreds or even thousands of pounds at arm’s length. “The physical remains the most complicated. For the rest, apart from knowing the vocabulary, the job does not require immense technical knowledge. That is the role of sound and light engineers.”
The days are long. Very long. Sometimes, editing a scene can take several days. “Especially when there’s a lot of road to cover. The other day, it took me 5.5 hours to do Calenzana-Sartène. Inevitably, it weighs on the body and the morale. Even if we’ve been doing it for years, you never really get used to itnt”, smiles Jeremy. If the profession of sound and light technician is the same for all the stages of the world, in Corsica, it rubs shoulders with the particularities of a strong cultural seasonality.
Corsican sound
“There are a few events in the winter but it’s the summer that everything happens here”, says Jeremy. The shows follow one another, often overlapping and under the heat of a blazing sun, it’s a race. “Fortunately, I have about ten employees. The biggest problem is logistics and human resources. In Corsica, technicians are a rare commodity“, says the entrepreneur. The majority is made up of intermittent performers experienced in the exercise. “But there is a high turnover.”
Technicians never stay long. “Too bad. There is demand and ever more qualitative shows.”
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