Photography: Josh Ma
Words: Ken Magno
There’s something different about dance concerts. Most bands and artists I’ve seen live recently, it’s a race to the front of the barricade to try gain the attention of whoever has the stage, though there’s something magic about the hypnotic trance of an electronic gig. The pounding bass echoing through the venue, the syncopation of frat flicks and red bull vodka induced “Woo’s” of eager many eager fans, there’s no better way to battle the oncoming cold weather than by burning up on the dance floor.
Enter Chris Lake; British electronic DJ and producer phenomenon who first took the world by storm back in 2006, turning the Hordern into a dance party not even some of the Sydney city’s most well-known dance clubs could compete with on a chilly Saturday night. His signature tech house sound accompanied by simple visuals (an LED screen hooked up to a livestream of the DJ alongside a light show that perfectly elevated the atmosphere) had the audience moving in a way that looked the Hordern had its own living heartbeat.
Having just come off a fresh back-to-back set with Australia’s very own techno powerhouse FISHER, many eager eyes scouted around the room to see if the Under Construction (the moniker that the duo of Chris Lake and FISHER perform under) marathon continued – a speculation that would pay off as the night went on. Playing through some of his more popular tracks, including recent hits such as ‘Summertime Blues’, ‘In the Yuma’ and chart topper ‘Beggin’ as well as his 2024 remix of Gotye’s hit single ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ simply titled ‘Somebody’, the party raged on with FISHER acting as a hype man throughout the remainder of their time on stage (while also playing some FISHER classics in true b2b style.
Chris Lake’s Disclosure collab ‘In2Minds’ signified the final moments of the night, closing out an insane season of shows and festivals for the dance mastermind. The show never ended even after the sound was cut off, with Lake taking to the stage once more to give the crowd one more chant, showing his love and appreciation for the people of Sydney one more time and bowing out to a thunderous applause of Sydney’s ever growing EDM community.
