TuneLab
ABSOLUTE. in The Lab LDN
Mixmag
Another late-night Lab LDN session where we're trying to decipher if that's a new ABSOLUTE. ID or just a really good edit of something we should know. The Mixmag Lab is dimly lit, all concrete and focused energy, the perfect setting for a techno tête-à-tête. This is a techno set operating at a median 133 BPM, firmly rooted in the 12A key for most of its hypnotic duration.
The energy profile is remarkably low-end heavy (0.63 avg), creating a subterranean pressure that allows the mid-range percussion (0.31 avg) to punch through with clinical precision. The mixing is patient and linear, building tension through repetition and minimalistic flourishes, with high-end elements (0.07 avg) used sparingly as punctuation. It's a lesson in less-is-more dynamics. The crate digging here is impeccable: the opener, Liquid Liquid's 'Optimo', is a foundational post-punk funk curveball.
Zero B's 'Lock Up (Monolith Mix)' is a stone-cold classic breakbeat techno weapon revived for a new generation. Patrick Topping's 'Be Sharp Say Nowt' serves as a peak-time loop tool, while BLK's 'I Need a Boiler Room' is a self-referential wink we all appreciate. MAXIUS's 'Overdrive' and B.D.B's 'Boss Rhythm' provide the relentless forward drive. The journey begins with the sparse funk of 'Optimo', escalates through the raw energy of 'Lock Up', and concludes with the jacking groove of Ozzie Guven & Chris Gialanze's 'House Party', a full-circle return to dancefloor fundamentals.