Enjoying a good collaborative relationship with an iconic band is a great honor. This gifted Munich-based designer is doubly appreciative of that! He’s had the privilege to be part of productive long-term collaborations with two such giants.

Greil’s path to both superstars began under the Woodroffe Basset Design umbrella, as he worked with Patrick Woodroffe, who, in an earlier Lighting Insights article, he credited with teaching him “quite a bit about the lighting and designing of a production, but beyond that also a great deal about the human side of our business.”

Although he still collaborates with WBD, Greil has also branched out on his own, while he has created memorable global tours for Rammstein and Genesis together with and for WBD and Patrick Woodroffe. On the surface, at least, the light shows supporting the two bands on those tours bear very little resemblance to one another, other than that both are compelling and multi-faceted in their design.

Greil wouldn’t have it any other way. Committed to delving deep into every client’s music, he is determined to reflect their unique identity in his designs. This is true whether they’re a new, relatively unknown band, or two of the most famous rock legends.

From a design standpoint do you take a different approach to creating shows for Rammstein and Genesis?
The pure technical workflow and approach is very similar for each project, but obviously in more detail every project is individual. Rammstein varies slightly from Genesis, as on Rammstein we had the pleasure to bring Florian Wieder and his team on board as a partner in crime for the set design. For Genesis we handled that by ourselves, even though with a lot of impact and help from our friend Jeremy Lloyd from Wonderworks.

Do you follow a different routine when working for one group as opposed to the other?
“Absolutely, since we’re always collaborating with and working for individuals. Even though Ramstein and Genesis share the success as artists and are all around good people, they each have their own mindsets. So, we have to adopt our routines to their specific needs.”

Have you taken concepts or ideas developed from lighting one group and used them when lighting the other?
“Absolutely not. The two shows one hundred percent different, as are the artists who create them. Each show deserves fully their own bespoke design. This is true of any group we work for, regardless of their level of fame.”

How did you get started with each group?
“Our friends from Rammstein approached us ahead of their very first stadium tour in 2018, which was the starting point for this collaboration. Genesis is slightly different, as Patrick and WBD have worked for them for quite a while. Even though having been involved with Phil Collins solo tour, I was the new kid on the block, when Patrick asked me to collaborate with him on the lighting design side.”

As a lighting designer, how would you describe the difference between working for the two groups?
“In my role I always have to adopt and react to the very individual needs of each of them. We’re in the blessed position, that even though very different, both artists/ bands are super collaborative and all around nice people to work with. This is always the best breeding ground to create magic.”

What three words or phrases best describe working for Rammstein?
Steam Punk, Impressive, Rock Opera

What three phrases best describe working for Genesis?
“Pushing boundaries, Progressive, Legends

Do you have a favorite song for each group?
“I’m in the lucky position to like quite a few songs of both their back catalogues. That said for Genesis I would say ‘Domino’ and for Rammstein possibly ‘Du hast.’’

How has your relationship with each of these bands changed over the years?
“Growing from the new kid on the block to a more trusted collaborator possibly, and of course the relationships are still evolving.”