TuneLab
BARELY LEGAL DJ set in The Lab LDN 2018
Barely Legal's 2018 Lab LDN set is a glorious, chaotic mess of genres that makes perfect sense to anyone who's ever had a 'miscellaneous' folder on their USB that's actually their most played. The vibe is a proper London basement, sticky floors and all, where the rulebook has been discarded and the only guideline is 'will this make people pull a face?'. This is a breaks and progressive house odyssey with a wildly variable BPM average of 137.9, skipping from house to breaks to drum & bass, with harmonic hubs in 8B and 12A providing some anchor points. The energy is low-heavy at 66%, but the mid-range at 29% allows for plenty of melodic and rhythmic detail in the breaks and basslines.
The mixing is adventurous and sometimes jarring in the best way, using quick cuts and genre switches to keep everyone on their toes, a true selector's set that values surprise over smoothness. The tracklist is a nostalgia trip and a forward glance: X-Press 2's 'Say What!' is a big, brash house opener. Throwing in LTJ Bukem's 'Atlantis' is a breathtaking dive into atmospheric drum & bass. Cadans's 'Chant' is a modern, tribal-breaks weapon, and the Audiofly remix of Bambook's 'Give It Up' is a deep, driving house cut.
The peak might be the sheer audacity of blending jump-up D&B with Calabrian melodies in that 'Jump Around Calibria' edit. It all begins with the acid-tinged roar of 'Say What!', finds a sublime, liquid peak in 'Atlantis', and comes in for a landing with the driving, vocal house of SolyMar & Megamen's 'All I Need'.