By
Nadia El-Hamchaoui
February 16, 2018 3:15pm
Swedish EDM duo Galantis took the Roundhouse venue in Camden by storm with a classic old-school set packed with fiery stage antics and impressive on screen graphics; offering a bewildering daze of frenzied dance music from their highly anticipated new album, “The Aviary”.
The first of three highly anticipated UK shows starts with a sensory amuse-bouche: flashing lights, psychedelic graphics and bursts of steam herald the duo’s entrance, which is completed by a nod to their roots with the infamous banging of the giant drums- which tower over both members of the group, Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. This grand entrance is the first sign that this show will be much like their old-school days of trippy graphics and wild stage antics, which include the likes of flinging themselves off amplifiers and leaping on to stage podiums. At the front of the famously circular shaped venue stands the stage, and atop of the stage is the typical DJ setup placed on top of a podium that takes up the front side of the space, where Galantis spends most of the time performing. In front and behind this podium, graphical displays which alter for each song are projected on to stage, flooding the entire set with vibrant colours and kaleidoscopic visuals.
Whilst there was an expectation that Galantis’ fan base would be predominantly young EDM loving adults, the crowd is surprisingly childish, consisting of obviously intoxicated teens stumbling around the venue wearing the full summer festival shebang in the middle of February. This does hinder the gig as the majority of the concertgoers have little awareness of their surroundings and are quick to get rowdy and in some cases violent, including a (rather pathetic, but still extremely annoying) mosh pit. This means that at points, focusing solely on the music and Galantis’ performance becomes difficult as you are instead attempting to avoid getting an elbow to the rib or a frantic fist to the face.
Despite this, Galantis’ set list is very impressive and well thought out. Towards the beginning of the set they play their newer and possibly less well known tracks, but cleverly include the lyrics to these songs on the bright and graphic screen behind them, inviting the audience to sing along even if they aren’t familiar with the song. This seems to work very well as the fans became more and more stimulated by the music with each passing track. They then go on to play their greatest hits including Runaway and Peanut Butter Jelly whilst also throwing in a tribute to the late, great Whitney Houston, which the crowd live for. It is certainly a clever move by Galantis; starting with their more recent songs, progressing gradually through their more and more well known tracks, and finally ascending to their greatest hits.
As the almost two hour set list comes to an end, it’s encore time; and they do not disappoint. They replay their iconic track Runaway, which hit #4 in the UK charts, and grace the audience with their single Peanut Butter Jelly, leaving the crowd charged and content that their most loved were played. It was certainly a major success from the EDM duo, and the atmosphere that radiated throughout The Roundhouse as the buzzed concertgoers left the venue should be evidence enough.
Nadia El-Hamchaoui
February 16, 2018 3:15pm
Swedish EDM duo Galantis took the Roundhouse venue in Camden by storm with a classic old-school set packed with fiery stage antics and impressive on screen graphics; offering a bewildering daze of frenzied dance music from their highly anticipated new album, “The Aviary”.
The first of three highly anticipated UK shows starts with a sensory amuse-bouche: flashing lights, psychedelic graphics and bursts of steam herald the duo’s entrance, which is completed by a nod to their roots with the infamous banging of the giant drums- which tower over both members of the group, Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. This grand entrance is the first sign that this show will be much like their old-school days of trippy graphics and wild stage antics, which include the likes of flinging themselves off amplifiers and leaping on to stage podiums. At the front of the famously circular shaped venue stands the stage, and atop of the stage is the typical DJ setup placed on top of a podium that takes up the front side of the space, where Galantis spends most of the time performing. In front and behind this podium, graphical displays which alter for each song are projected on to stage, flooding the entire set with vibrant colours and kaleidoscopic visuals.
Whilst there was an expectation that Galantis’ fan base would be predominantly young EDM loving adults, the crowd is surprisingly childish, consisting of obviously intoxicated teens stumbling around the venue wearing the full summer festival shebang in the middle of February. This does hinder the gig as the majority of the concertgoers have little awareness of their surroundings and are quick to get rowdy and in some cases violent, including a (rather pathetic, but still extremely annoying) mosh pit. This means that at points, focusing solely on the music and Galantis’ performance becomes difficult as you are instead attempting to avoid getting an elbow to the rib or a frantic fist to the face.
Despite this, Galantis’ set list is very impressive and well thought out. Towards the beginning of the set they play their newer and possibly less well known tracks, but cleverly include the lyrics to these songs on the bright and graphic screen behind them, inviting the audience to sing along even if they aren’t familiar with the song. This seems to work very well as the fans became more and more stimulated by the music with each passing track. They then go on to play their greatest hits including Runaway and Peanut Butter Jelly whilst also throwing in a tribute to the late, great Whitney Houston, which the crowd live for. It is certainly a clever move by Galantis; starting with their more recent songs, progressing gradually through their more and more well known tracks, and finally ascending to their greatest hits.
As the almost two hour set list comes to an end, it’s encore time; and they do not disappoint. They replay their iconic track Runaway, which hit #4 in the UK charts, and grace the audience with their single Peanut Butter Jelly, leaving the crowd charged and content that their most loved were played. It was certainly a major success from the EDM duo, and the atmosphere that radiated throughout The Roundhouse as the buzzed concertgoers left the venue should be evidence enough.
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