Live at Spark Arena
26 July 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Synthony Origins Delivers a High-Octane Trip Through 30 Years of Dance Anthems.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to time travel through 30 years of dance music with a full-blown orchestra at your back and a sea of euphoric ravers at your side — Synthony Origins at Spark Arena on Saturday night was the closest thing to it.
Kicking off with high-octane DJ sets from local legends Dick Johnson and Bevan Keys, the energy inside Spark was already hitting 120bpm before the first orchestral note rang out. Sneaky Sound System then added their signature electro-pop gloss, flipping the volume to max as the crowd surged to the front. From that moment on, the vibe was locked in — a laser-lit celebration of clubland nostalgia with the track highlight being the performance of their 2006 hit song UFO.
There was a slight stumble in the flow when the transition from the opening DJ sets to the full orchestral section required a 10-minute reset. During the stage switch, audience momentum took a small hit as the big screens played ads — including one rather redundant promo for the city we were already in (“Play Auckland”? Mate, we were in Auckland, already playing hard). A live DJ could’ve held the mood better. Still, when the orchestra struck up those first notes, any lag was instantly forgiven.
The orchestral set, led with commanding flair by conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, was a masterstroke of hybrid performance. Reimagining floor-fillers by The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Fat Boy Slim, Carl Cox, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Darude, Eric Prydz, Tiësto, Avicii and more, the Synthony orchestra gave electronic anthems a cinematic sheen while preserving every pulse of their original power.
This wasn’t a night for passive nostalgia — far from it. No one showed up just to sit down, and it showed. The seated sections buzzed with fans on their feet, dancing in place, while the dance floor erupted into joyful chaos — a pulsating, euphoric mayhem in the best possible way. Thousands of punters — many in sequins, fluoro, or nostalgic nods to '90s rave culture — packed shoulder to shoulder, dancing without pause for nearly three hours. This wasn’t a concert. It was a shared release.
Vocally, the night was stacked. Emily Williams opened with serious heat, her powerhouse voice filling the arena with the kind of force that makes hairs stand on end. Sam Allen followed with swagger, while Scottish-born, NZ-based Nyree Huyser brought both elegance and emotional punch, proving that electronic music isn’t just about BPM, it’s about heart. Adding to the night’s sonic firepower, Lewis McCallum captivated the Auckland crowd with a blistering saxophone performance, effortlessly weaving soulful melodies into the high-energy fusion of EDM and orchestral might.
The highlight? The Auckland Philharmonia, who proved once again why they’re one of the most versatile ensembles in the country. Their strings sliced through the air with urgency and grace, adding a whole new emotional register to club anthems once built solely on synths. Cellist Begonia Chan, whom I happened to meet at the bar during intermission (humble, charming, and focused), played with visible passion, locking in seamlessly with her fellow musicians in a sweeping display of orchestral firepower.
This is what Synthony does best — bridging the nostalgia of late-night dance floors with the gravitas of live symphony. It’s more than a concert. It’s a reminder that the music we partied to in our twenties can still move us in our thirties, forties, and beyond — not just to dance, but to feel.
Spark Arena has seen its share of massive shows, but on this night, it belonged to the ravers — the ones who swapped lighters for lasers and moshed to Mozart-ified Prydz drops. Synthony Origins wasn’t just a gig. It was a heartbeat — and for three glorious hours, we all moved in time.
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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