How we made ‘Live Over Lisbon’
The idea was simple: skip the stage and hang the whole show from a crane over the river. Was it easy? Not really. Was it possible? We had to find out. Live Over Lisbon is a 45-minute video concert, filmed at dawn in a single take on a platform suspended above the Tejo, with music from our debut album Sudden Light.
MXGPU LIVE OVER LISBON SETLIST
The idea
In March 2025 we launched MXGPU with two sold-out shows in the Oval Gallery at MAAT. After a year of touring and festivals, we wanted to bring our immersive 360° live show home in a form nobody had seen. No venue and no stage. Just the city, the river and the sunrise.
The brief fit in one line: come out of the darkness, and the sun rises.
Two days to go
Two days before the shoot we met in the studio to lock the last details: audio, video, lights, logistics. For the first time, everything was running smoothly.
Then came the forecast. A heavy tropical storm that had formed off Cape Verde two weeks earlier had crossed to the United States and was now heading for Portugal, due on the day of the show.
That wasn’t going to stop us.
First light
We met at first light for camera tests. The window was tight: set up between 6:00 and 6:10, then run the entire show. The light was exactly the orange we wanted.
Poderosa
We see these cranes from our studio every day. Poderosa is a 1970s floating crane built in Lisbon, alongside its twin, Vigorosa. For years they stood next to Lux Frágil, the club that shaped the city’s electronic music scene and our own musical identity. For anyone who lived through that era, they are part of Lisbon’s mythology.
Using Poderosa as our stage closed a circle.
Test day
The team arrived early to secure the platform, wire the lights and prepare the suspended stage. Pedro Moreira designed the structure and rigging, and Ricardo Tomás and Cristiano Cabral (Evil Angels) ran the rig.
The riggers told us we’d be wearing heavy harnesses. We hesitated: they would change the silhouette we had designed the shot around. And falling into the water wasn’t the worst case. If the power went in with you, you’d be electrocuted.
Poderosa, our stage for the morning.
The first lift was only a few metres, but it was enough to feel what being suspended meant. Easy, not scary at all, and we could dance.
At the filming site we had one final test, the only one we’d get before the real thing. The platform went up and things got real. The wind was rough, but the rig held and we felt safe.
Light set-up on the platform.
The night it almost didn’t happen
We were preparing the opening shot: a floating car driving across the water to the crane. Then the weather changed. Out on the river the platform was shaking hard, nothing like the afternoon. The crew on the water said it was dancing around.
Playing from the deck below or moving the shoot to the next day were both on the table. We decided to shoot the car scene first and make the call after.
A tracking shot along the water, then a slow tilt up to the crane. David Tomás piloted the Cupra Terramar float; SeaEO Tours ran the camera boat.
The take
Then, all of a sudden, the wind stopped. The whole crew rushed on board and we started filming as fast as we could.
45 minutes, no cuts. André Tentúgal directed, shot and edited the film, with Tiago Ferreira and Afonso Abreu on camera. Two drones covered the aerials: Jorge Sousa, Tiago Faria and Bruno Nacarato on one, David Gu on the other.
The sun had to rise during ‘luz’. It did.
We were emotional from the start. At several points it could have gone wrong. It didn’t.
Technical
Multitrack audio was recorded locally on our Tascam Model 12. Gui’s vocal came through clean despite the wind, and in places you can hear planes passing overhead. Alexander Lazarevic (Alex BPM) mixed it afterwards, but we kept the original performance from the single take untouched.
Our ChamSys lighting desk was controlled via MIDI cues coming from the Ableton set on the platform with us. So we could rehearse the final look with André beforehand.
An XLR cable broke on the way up, so the dancers below couldn’t hear what we were playing. André played them our tracks on his boombox.
The late start left the final scenes overexposed. André graded the film anyway, on the road with Jacob Collier.
The floating car on its way to the crane.
Sunrise during ‘luz’.
What if
This started as a “what if”: a floating car, a live show on a suspended stage, a historic crane in the middle of the river. It felt impossible. It happened because a lot of people said yes to something that sounded impossible. Their names are below.
Ana Viotti led the B unit while we played, with Diogo Miranda on camera. That footage became How We Made: Live Over Lisbon, premiered at MAAT, the building that sat behind us on the river the whole time. Watch the full Live Over Lisbon video concert.
Credits
Live Over Lisbon: a film by André Tentúgal
Creative direction: Moullinex & GPU Panic (Luís Clara Gomes, Guilherme Tomé Ribeiro)
Music written, performed and produced by: Luís Clara Gomes, Guilherme Tomé Ribeiro
Produced by: AV82, Underloop, Ao Sul do Mundo
Executive producer: Bruno Nacarato
Producers: Marta Assunção, Nadine Saize
Assistant creative director: João Cardielos
Cast: Carolina Pais, Máximo Francisco, Oksana Grybinnyk, Walter Neto
Director of photography and editing: André Tentúgal
Camera operators: Tiago Ferreira, Afonso Abreu, André Tentúgal
Drone 1: Jorge Sousa (pilot), Tiago Faria (camera), Bruno Nacarato (focus puller)
Drone 2: David Gu
Recording engineer: Luís Clara Gomes
Mixing and mastering: Alexander Lazarevic
Lighting design: Sebastião Pinto. Assistant: Isaac Veloso
B unit: Ana Viotti (director), Diogo Miranda (camera)
Poderosa team: David Cavaco Braz, Tomás Martins
Structure and rigging project: Pedro Moreira
Riggers (Evil Angels): Ricardo Tomás, Cristiano Cabral
Styling: Walter Neto
Cupra Terramar float: David Tomás
Motorboat (SeaEO Tours): Sidónio Paes, Bartolomeu Paes
Title design: Diana Oliveira
Management: Luís Viegas, Chris Schiraldi, Kris Topuzovski
PR: Infamous PR, Think Out Loud
How We Made: Live Over Lisbon: a film by Ana Viotti
Produced by: Underloop
Editor: Rui Clara Gomes
Camera: Ana Viotti, Diogo Miranda, David Gu
Audio: Luís Clara Gomes, Guilherme Tomé Ribeiro, João Cardielos
Narration and subtitles: Ana Viotti
Revision: Miguel Ferrador
Title design: Diana Oliveira
Special thanks: Cristina Rola, Paula Silva, David Albós, Carlota Vasconcelos, António Martins, Fernanda Silva, Joana Nobre, Rita Mesquita, Dona Fernanda, Senhor Henrique, Luís Montenegro, Hugo Valverde, Bruno Cardoso, Dani Zinni, João Castro, Rita Barradas, Ricardo Reis, Liobhan Lignel, Miguel Ferreira, Ermelinda Gonçalves, Luis Carvalho, David Costa, Gui Sousa
Thank you: Ao Sul do Mundo, Roda Artists, Discotexas, Audiomatrix, Grupo ETE, VAVA Eyewear, Sanjo, Vertigo Indoor Climbing, The Royal Studio, Sony Portugal
Powered by: Cupra
Co-financed by: the Lisboa 2030 Programme, Portugal 2030 and the European Union – European Social Fund+
Supported by: Infraestruturas de Portugal
