Galantis - The Roundhouse London, Wednesday February 14

  • Sam Pennington

Hypnotic, spirited, and highly euphoric: DJ duo Galantis transform a renowned Camden theatre into a high-energy, electronic dance rave.

As EDM fans filter into iconic London venue The Roundhouse on a rainy Valentine’s evening, the wide mix of characters attending the show seems unusual. Whereas the majority of people at a gig usually consists of a similar age and style, here this is different. Although teens appear to be the groups initial target audience, the crowd predictably also consists of multiple couples, many of whom are a lot older than expected, with one eccentric, middle-aged couple almost stealing the show with their vibrant dance moves. Combine this with the vast 3300 capacity floor space and questions begin to arise as to how the audience will engage with both each other and the Swedish Electronic duo once their set begins.
As houselights fade down the sound of chirping birds fills the venue, alluding to the release of the duo’s latest album, The Aviary. The enchanting sounds come to an abrupt end when Galantis members Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw run on to stage to a set of turntables in front of psychedelic screens, depicting mind-bending visuals and a monumental drum set up which takes up the majority of the stage. The pair immediately get fans’ hearts racing by playing a drum composition which transcends into arguably their most famous track, Runaway (U&I), which peaked at number four in the UK official chart, immediately dismissing any worries of audience engagement.
Galantis’ enthusiasm for live performance is evident from the offset with the pair putting on an almost two hour long adrenaline-fueled set, consisting of exclusive remixes of artists such as Clean Bandit and Calvin Harris to name a few, as well as performing their own signature dance-pop anthems.
In quintessential DJ style, the pair rarely speak due to the continuous stream of music erupting from the speakers but when they do, they ensure to hype the crowd in typical—if not rather meaningless—DJ fashion stating that London was their favourite city to play.
To excite the crowd, throughout the gig both Karlsson and Eklöw frequently jump onto the impressive turntable rig, before leaping off at crucial drops to accompanying explosions of smoke and fire. The theatrics continue throughout the set with the use of confetti canons and a remarkable display of indoor fireworks, making it difficult to criticise the incredible stage production.
As the night draws to a close, the duo keeps up the pace, by choosing their latest high-energy single, Girls on Boys, a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Rozes, as their penultimate track. The set comes to an end with a surprise encore of fan-favourite Runaway (U&I) which this time transitions into the faster-paced Quintino remix, providing the crowd with one last chance to party. Tonight’s show has solidified why Galantis have taken the global EDM scene by storm, providing not only hits but a visually explosive performance.