What if orchestra conductor, but also DJ?

April 27, 2024 1:49 PM

Synthony is apparently an EDM orchestra. I mean, like, that's what it is. It's a DJ mix being played live by an orchestra. With singers and other things. Like, I can't describe this adequately, here: SYNTHONY - World Premiere - Full Length Show [1h55m] Performed by Auckland Philharmonia.
posted by hippybear (19 comments total)

Darude, “Sandstorm” — check
Alice Deejay, “Better Off Alone” — MISSING
otherwise a perfect show, wish I’d been there
posted by infinitewindow at 2:36 PM on April 27 [2 favorites]

I mean, maybe things like this have been going on for a while and I've missed them, but this feels really fresh and new to me.
posted by hippybear at 3:24 PM on April 27 [1 favorite]

There is some precedent:

- Acid Brass
- Jeff Mills's Blue Potential
posted by mkb at 3:29 PM on April 27 [2 favorites]

I mean, on some level, this is what I'd like to see The Polyphonic Spree achieve. They desire a scale they've never been able to manifest. But at this scale, a PolySpree concert would be completely mind-blowing/devastating/elevating.

And yeah, I know there have been other large scale dance music ensembles before, but this one is... so much bigger! And feels like it has something more behind it.
posted by hippybear at 3:34 PM on April 27 [1 favorite]

The 2015 BBC Proms included the Radio 1 Ibiza Prom (full setlist), with the Heritage Orchestra conducted by Jules Buckley.
posted by offog at 3:36 PM on April 27

Listening now, this is superb!! What a great show!!!
posted by seawallrunner at 4:54 PM on April 27 [2 favorites]

On a related note: Meute, a techno playing marching band.
posted by foxtongue at 6:20 PM on April 27 [7 favorites]

This is fantastic.
posted by ckoerner at 7:58 PM on April 27 [1 favorite]

I love this! And the conductor's enthusiasm is fantastic. Great melding of these contemporary songs with classical instrumentation. And the players look like they are having a blast!
posted by birdhaus at 8:56 PM on April 27

This is great, thanks for posting!

Things like this are my jam.

- Electronic Opus by BT
- Nero's Dubstep Symphony
- Deadmau5 with an orchestra and the album Where's the drop?
- Symphony of Unity from Tomorrowland 2023
- Pete Tong, The Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley - Ibiza Classics - Live at The O2, London 2019 (My favorite! Featuring Maxi Jazz from Faithless on vocals before he died)
posted by mmoncur at 10:24 PM on April 27 [1 favorite]

There is some precedent

The Symphonic Jean Michel Jarre

and arguably

The Orchestral Tubular Bells (1975) 1 2 3
posted by flabdablet at 11:46 PM on April 27 [2 favorites]

There’s so much good stuff here. Thanks to the original poster and everyone sharing links.
posted by Probabilitics at 2:24 AM on April 28 [1 favorite]

It's been posted here before, but Bonobo with the Royal Albert Hall pipe organ was an instant classic in the genre of blending EDM with classical instruments.
posted by Candleman at 11:06 AM on April 28 [3 favorites]

THIS THING IS BEST THING! Thank you all for all the links.

I might have squealed a little (a lot) when I saw Galvanize in there.

I would like to hang out with the conductor, she is having so much fun.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 2:37 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]

So great! I watched it all in one sitting and I'm looking forward to listening to it again. Changing the E in the EDM to S is a perfect fit.
posted by jwest at 4:39 PM on April 28 [1 favorite]

I am glad the orchestra is earning some money, and the soloists up front are clearly having a great time.
posted by senor biggles at 6:58 PM on April 28

I like a bunch of these "classical concerts doing their own take on electronic music" but I feel like the prevalence of drum machine and processed audio sounds in this video made it feel like a lip synced concert. I tend to fall a little more on the side of preferring these shows when it's "an orchestra creatively adapting the sounds of electronic music to their very analog instruments" (ie. the Bonobo at RAH example shared above) vs. "press play on a sequencer, and have some classical strings as an audio garnish"

Also, I'm curious to know how well any of the musicians were seeing the conductor through the dark mood lighting and smoke machines.
posted by bl1nk at 7:25 AM on April 29 [1 favorite]

I'm curious to know how well any of the musicians were seeing the conductor through the dark mood lighting and smoke machines.

Context: I'm a classically trained musician who's played in orchestras, worked doing concert sound and lighting professionally, and got into the techno/EDM scene in the early 90s.

It's not too hard to see the conductor in a situation like that. She was well lit and the majority of the light was coming from the video wall behind the orchestra, so she'd be easy to see. But to your earlier point, this music isn't complex enough to need a conductor. Once you have a light/video show locked to SMPTE or whatever, a lot of the subtleties a conductor can introduce with timing goes away (compare Bruno Walter's Beethoven symphonies to other conductors) goes away. I've not listened to the entire thing, but if you pay attention to Rhythm of the Night or Pompeii, you can hear them drifting off beat. These arrangements are something that a professional symphony performer could knock out with minimal effort. It's just another night at the pops for them, with a better than average light, video, and fire show.

But you know what? It looks like the audience and performers had a good time, people are enjoying seeing it on the internet, so just let people enjoy it? If this was a forum for serious notes on classical performances, I would have a lot of notes, but it's not.
posted by Candleman at 8:45 AM on April 29 [3 favorites]

Not my cup of tea, but also not a million miles away from something more up my street, like Sasha at the barbican.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 5:11 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]