Chris Curzon
Backstage – Festival Management System
I’m Chris and I’m a general purpose codemonkey and digital frequency manipulator at Simiantics, Enjin, and 3 Wise Monkeys. Luckily both of those tasks require the same tool -a computer- and I’ve grown up using them since I was 6. My role at Mo:Dem (when I’m not hooked up to the speakers and hopefully making people lose their minds), is to make sure their software system BACKSTAGE works, especially at key times such as the gate opening. BACKSTAGE is a project by Mo:Dem to help organise festival production (to the extent that it’s possible). It’s my favourite project I’ve ever worked on.
My first time at Mo:Dem was 2016 and I have played at every edition since then. It’s one of the most rocking dancefloors in Europe and one of the most beautiful places in the world, so every time I have always stayed on after the event to enjoy the nature. I also like to help out, and in 2021 this led to a conversation about their ‘festival management system’ they were building, and my involvement in Backstage began.
Working with the team at Mo:Dem to implement their production workflow, I’ve built a diverse system that handles a lot of information to reduce errors and simplify problem solving, both of which are vital in a situation such as day 6 of a psytrance party. Also the shop and gate entry systems, it handles staff, artist bookings, ambassadors, transport and budgeting, and comes with a range of useful real-time graphs and stats.
Luckily, once gates open and most of the attendees are in, the pressure is off and so I am off work while the music is on. It’s always inspiring listening to artists at the top of their game, and Mo:Dem delivers across all 3 stages. The overall artistic direction sits slightly towards the ‘normal’ end of underground, and as that suits my taste perfectly I’ve long since given up trying to make a plan for who to see when and instead learned to just go with the inevitable flow.
The team at Mo:Dem is clearly top-notch and I’m honoured to work with them, but more than that, they have become part of my extended family. I can’t wait to see them every year to catch up and see what crazy ideas and inventions they are implementing now and in the future.
