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Exclusive Interview with Alex Reardon: Behind the Scenes of Soundstorm Music Festival

Silent House Studios: Elevating Stage Design to New Heights

DUBAI: What do Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, Usher’s Super Bowl halftime performance, Doja Cat’s Coachella show and Saudi Arabia’s MDLBEAST Soundstorm have in common? They’ve all had Los Angeles-born production studio Silent House to thank for their exceptional stage design and production. 

Leading the creative direction and design for Soundstorm since 2020, Silent House Studios president Alex Reardon says bringing their skills to the Middle East — and, specifically, the Kingdom — has been a richly rewarding experience. 

Leading the creative direction and design for Soundstorm since 2020, Silent House president Alex Reardon says bringing their skills to the Middle East — and, specifically, the Kingdom — has been a richly rewarding experience. (Supplied)

“There is a desire in the region not just for the biggest shows, but also for the best or most creative shows. It is relatively easy to do big, but when we level up to groundbreaking — to be innovative, to be revolutionary — that’s where the real challenges and real rewards are,” Reardon told Arab News. 

“Additionally, I’d say that there is a burgeoning production community who are focused on learning from the experience we bring,” he continued.  “To be able to share knowledge with young, motivated, intelligent people is an unexpected and seriously appreciated takeaway.” 

Soundstorm returns to Riyadh for its fifth edition from Dec. 12 -14. Stars in this year’s roster include rap legend Eminem, US rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, British rock band Muse, Swiss DJ duo Adriatique (Adrian Shala and Adrian Schweizer), German DJ Boris Brejcha, Italian DJ Marco Carola, British-Canadian DJ Richie Hawtin and many more. 

“We’ve been working on this year’s show since the end of February,” Reardon said. “There is a wonderful sense of collaboration with the MDLBEAST team — as well as deep friendship. So, we have the pleasure of starting with a blank slate of conceptual design iterations for the different stages and communal spaces.”