The creative directive was clear: reflect the night colors of the 2011 crime film cult classic “Drive.” Ontario-based Brent Clark took this edict and ran with it, creating a raw, deeply evocative design for Sterophonics’ 2026 Winter Tour that was as mysterious and moving as the best of Hollywood thrillers.
Clark’s lightshow ended with a flourish when he created this absorbing color-scape for the band’s big hit “Dakota.” We could not take our eyes off it. Looking at the scene shown in this photo, we were so captivated by the brooding purple overtone that we almost didn’t realize that many other colors were playing off this palette, so harmonious was the balance in his design.
Balanced as they were, however, the colors were deliberately arranged asymmetrically, which only added an intriguing edge to the entire scene. This riveting mood was further accentuated by the set’s tunnel-like design.
The film “Drive” and its star, Ryan Gosling, earned widespread critical acclaim and many awards. If such honors were bestowed on the use of color in touring designs, we’re confident that this mesmerizing achievement would have as well.
You have a beautiful variety of colors in this scene, yet it doesn’t seem busy at all. What was the key to creating this harmonious mix?
“For this tour, I was given the task of keeping the whole show in the nighttime color palette of the movie ‘Drive’ with Ryan Gosling. I also have a book of photography that I love from Liam Wong, it’s called After Dark….very cool stuff.
“So, I had to push myself to keep in that vein, but not be boring or overly repetitive That song has always had a bit of an 80s techno feel to me, so I wanted to try to convey that vibe, but I didn’t want to go full Miami Vice tones — and again, I wanted to keep it somewhat tied to the Drive theme.
“I always like colors that seem to be a bit messed up, and I usually try to stay away from generic RGB stuff. I spend a lot of time just trying to create new tones. I like to go to the desk and pick a color from the swatch book, then play with it to create something a bit new. I will usually pick a main color for the song and then choose a bunch of colors that play nicely with the dominant color.”
Is that why you selected purple as your dominant color?
“Yes, I was following in the 80s theme of the song and trying to stick with the “Drive” palette. So, where that song falls in the set list, I had determined the song would be purple dominant and then filled in the blanks from there, so to speak. I try to “white board” a set list with colors and feel. Then I start to build from there.”
Your colors are not symmetrical. There is red with some hints of amber stage right and purple with hints of white stage left. Even at the very center of the stage, the artist has red over his right shoulder and pale purple over his left. Why did you make the colors asymmetrical?
“I like things that seem to be a bit broken and asymmetrical. I think it lends to better sculpting on stage. I think if you always have things, be it trusses, fixtures, or looks that are always symmetrical, things can get a bit boring. I like the challenge of trying to break things up …take the normal and flip it”.
This scene is set in a tunnel. How did that influence your choice of colors?
“The band and I have always seen this song as set in a tunnel…it has a driving beat that seems to lend itself to a drive through a tunnel. Again, following the ‘Drive’ brief, I was given those colors in a nighttime world, just seemed to work. Seemed to flow nicely as the closer of the set.”
Your down lighting has different blends of purples and whites; some are almost all purple, some are almost all white. Why is that?
“I tried to make those a bit different to help with sculpting on stage. With all the videos we had, I found I could lose band members in all the stuff going on. So those colors I found helped the band pop out from all the other stuff going on while keeping in the vein of what was happening.”
How do you feel the colors in this photo reflect the mood of the song being played when it was taken?
“I think they reflect this song perfectly. This song is the band’s biggest hit Dakota. A fan favorite and closes the show each night. It’s a fun driving song and a lot of fun to operate. I think it perfectly reflects what we had set out to do, and always went down great!”
