28/02/2026

DUB FX & Tiki Taane – The Tuning Fork: February 27, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Dance/electronic experimental artists Australian Dub FX and Kiwi Tiki Taane teamed up last night for a collaborative and experimental two-hour show at The Tuning Fork.

They kept the room under their spell of fusion DnB, acoustic, electronic, and reggae music with multiple musical influences seamlessly weaved together. Much like the gig-goers, a tapestry of eclectic ages and styles – from dreadlocks, to bucket hats, with dyed hair and bald heads dotted in between – all moving in time, bewitched by the same trance-like spell that emanated from the duo at the front of the room.

Dylan C

Iconic New Zealand DJ Dylan C emerged from the multihued spotlights that littered colours across the dance floor of the venue to kick off the night. Straight off an appearance at the final Splore music festival, he came ready to perform a pulsating set to those warming up for the main event of the evening.

He began playing in a too-quiet room. The early arrivals were shadows, being choraled by the music to groove along the outer walls. A lone figure in white danced in the middle of the room amongst the spotlights, joined one by one by other gig-goers until there was a core group of around thirty pulsating in time to the beats laid down by the experienced hands of Dylan C.

The DJ warmed up in the first ten minutes with mostly instrumental beats, before transitioning into a vocal-led section and alternating between the two for the rest of the set. He sampled a few popular songs that encouraged the audience to sing along: Glory Box by Portishead and Cay’s Crays by Fat Freddy’s Drop among them. The bouncing bass line riffs, crisp drum hits, voice samples and orchestral instruments swelled and fell in waves of sound, a fitting precursor to Dub FX & Tiki Taane as the room slowly filled up.

Dub FX & Tiki Taane

Dub FX & Tiki Taane entered the stage while Dylan C rounded out his set. In true showmanship style, the two seamlessly introduced themselves while the DJ faded out – Dub FX in English, Tiki Taane in Te Reo – and launched full-bodied into their set.

The two warmed up with a looped track, layering instruments and vocals above a beat-boxing base. Soldiers of Fire then ignited the room, a song the gathered fans of Tiki Taane knew well. They both showed their performer chops as they played We Won’t Come Down and Come Again – Tiki Taane pulling his mic stand towards him and dancing with it, Dub FX stalking across the front of the stage leaning out over the audience with full confident swagger.

After they played Summertime, Dub FX shared a message of unity and love, with a nod to ongoing conflicts in Palestine, Congo and Sudan. After this heartfelt moment and protest song, the music completely cut out. The unfortunate overloading of the electronics gave both musicians a moment to show their experience and how unfazed they were by the mishap – which they shared had happened the night before too – getting straight back into the music without flinching. In the words of Tiki Taane: “we’ve gotta roll with the wairua [spirit].”

Midway through the set, Dub FX acknowledged his fellow musician for being inspiring him as a teen in the late 90s and being a large reason why he picked up the mic. Earlier in the set, Tiki Taane had shown his appreciation in return for inspiring him to experiment with looping. The mutual recognition and respect was clear between the duo, and was evident in how tight their playing was, as well as how much fun they had together on stage.

After Fake Paradise, Falling and Love Someone, they energised the room with Way To Flow, another from the homegrown Kiwi talent, that demonstrated their full range of musicianship. Their collaborative potential was in full swing, looped layers of a strummed guitar beat, a picked acoustic riff, electric bass drum on the down beat, a cymbal crash, deep bass reverberation, and fast lyrical rapping soaring over it all. They created a living, breathing soundscape, swelling and becoming more complex and beautiful and felt deep in the chest and soul. Both musicians’ eyes were closed, bodies moving in time as if involuntarily, showing their deep connection to the rhythm flowing through their veins.

From the opening notes of Always On My Mind, it was clear the whole room knew the song. It felt as though they were waiting for this moment as the lyrics were gleefully shouted towards the front of the room. Lighting illuminated the audience so everyone could see each other, revealing couples cuddling, kissing and feeling the deep nostalgia of the moment. Tiki Taane sped up the tempo towards the end of his most well-known track, then launched into a treat of an instrumental interlude of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army. The crowd again sang along joyfully – he knows his audience well – and drank in the full rockstar moment.

They played Teach and Rooftops from Dub FX’s repertoire, then the final song Tiki Taane’s Love Your Ways, played out to his home country crowd who belted the lyrics out with him. With a setlist of more than twenty songs, and two hours of layered genre-spanning music, the audience eagerly got their money’s worth and were still yelling for more.

But as the final notes of the musical collaboration rang into the open space of The Tuning Fork, the trance that had tied the room together through shared experience lifted, much like the haze of weed smoke and vape tendrils disappearing as the house lights came on.

They had appreciated every second of escapism afforded them by the pair of skilled musicians. And the crowd made sure to let them know with their cheers and ear-splitting wolf whistles. Gratitude repaid for the spell that had settled over the audience – and had now lifted once more.

E.J. Rzepecky

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