Stormzy's creative team have spoken to Music Week about the grime star's epic Glastonbury headline set.
The history-making slot, which saw Stormzy become the first black British solo artist to top the bill on the Pyramid Stage, provided one of the most memorable moments of the 2019 festival season.
Chris “Bronski” Jablonski, who runs creative house Tawbox with choreographer Amber Rimell, said the acclaimed performance built on Stormzy's Wireless Festival show last year.
“That was a big milestone for him,” said Bronski, speaking in the latest issue of Music Week. “Originally that was his big thing – to headline Wireless Festival – and we believe Wireless helped lead to getting booked onto the Pyramid Stage."
The performance had to be a celebration of where he's from. Not just geographically, but culturally as well
Chris "Bronski" Jablonski
Tawbox
Bronski, whose client list also includes Dave, AJ Tracey, Rita Ora and Post Malone, added: “[Stormzy's] Wireless Festival set had a very different crowd and we treated it very differently. This had to be broader. It had to be more accessible to a larger crowd, but also true to him and I feel like we got that balance as right as we could have.
“It was very clear to Stormzy and to us that the performance had to be a celebration of where he’s from. Not just geographically, but culturally as well."
Tawbox has worked with the MC, who is repped on the live circuit by Primary Talent’s Craig D’Souza, for the past three years.
“We all knew we were creating something that Glastonbury had never seen before, certainly not from a Pyramid Stage headliner," added Bronski. "We knew it was going to be something special, but what we didn’t expect was how it would be picked up globally. The world grasped onto it and has taken it as a huge cultural moment.”
Subscribers can click here to read the full interview with Bronski, Rimell and lighting guru Tim Routledge.
PHOTO: Andrew Timms
