Auckland Town Hall, NZ

Friday, January 17th, 2025

Making their annual voyage back to the motherland, North Shore-born sibling DJ duo Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales kicked the new year into gear at Auckland Town Hall on Friday night (January 17th).

After a sleepy year for Auckland’s electronic gigs in 2024, Chaos in the CBD put a much-needed spring in everyone’s step. The landmark Town Hall was the perfect venue for the occasion: unlike most DJ gigs, where the venue is on a flat surface, the Town Hall’s orchestral setup meant there was an escalated staircase ascending into the back corners of the hall, allowing everyone of all height ranges a premium 360-degree view. 

Needing no opening act, the crowd had the pleasure of Chaos in the CBD to themselves all night long. The gig commenced on the clock, the brothers throwing themselves into their renowned deep house sound, texturised by romantic rhythms and rich baselines. 

Hosting an avant-garde DJ set music catalogue, a spectral selection of soul, funk, and sophistication, the first hour featured tracks like “Right on 4 Tha Darkness” by Silicone Soul and “Escravos De Jo – Robust Horns” by Kerri Chandler, setting the mood for the long night to come. 

As a DJ duo who conjure a range of emotions through their heart-pumping BPMs, Chaos in the CBD brought a beautifully human experience into the space. 

“Into You (Johnathan Morning Mix)” by J.D. Hall, a cut from the fabric presents Chaos in the CBD compilation album, got the crowd smiling from ear to ear.

Chaos in the CBD prescribe a city-centric sound, perfect for urban dwellers to find communion. House music’s philosophy is to bring people together, which the dynamic duo naturally has in spades.

“Tracey in My Room (Lazy Dog Bootleg Vocal Mix)” by Everything but the Girl soon played, and the atmosphere in the space became automatically elated; the pulsating rhythms and infectious energy made it feel like even the walls were bouncing along with the beat. No matter where one stood, the music could be viscerally felt from all corners of the room. Auckland, for a change, felt alive. 

As the night glazed over, Chaos in the CBD picked up the pace, transcending into a heavier trance-like synthesis, showcasing their diverse sonic palette and colourful cuts.

The pair’s nonchalant production style and brotherly relationship made for the most intimate of gigs. They embraced, laughed, and grooved beside each other throughout the evening, taking turns stepping in and transitioning into the next track.

They did all of this while putting on the best five-hour DJ set New Zealand had seen in a long time – a vital reminder that house music is all about not taking life too seriously. 

Their name, standing for “Chaos in the Central Business District”, was an ode to their delinquent teenage ways, and you could see that even after all these years, these were still just two brothers playing around and having fun.

“The meaning of life is having fun!!!…then having more fun again!!! That’s about it,” as they late last year. 

Right on curfew, the brothers finished the night with warm, jazzy chords and nostalgic trumpet notes – very few songs encapsulate the musical mood of an evening’s end quite like “Midnight in Peckham”.

As the final song slowly faded out, the crowd did too, heading into the dark haze of the Auckland summer night. The all-night-long energy they left behind felt like a good omen for the year to come.