TuneLab
CHRISTIAN RICH future hip hop DJ set in the Mixmag Lab LA
Of course we're here, frantically trying to ID that synth line that cut through the hip-hop swagger. Christian Rich's 'future hip-hop' set in the Mixmag Lab LA is exactly the kind of genre-blurring headache we live for, where the only rule is that there are no rules, and Shazam is our lifeline. The Lab is all concrete and neon, a sterile box transformed by low-end pressure and the haze of too many ideas colliding in one dimly lit room. Averaging 122 BPM and anchored in the dominant 12A Camelot key, this isn't a pure hip-hop session but a masterclass in tempo-stretching electronics with a mid-range energy focus (0.458) that creates a persistent, groovy thrust.
Rich's mixing style is deceptively smooth, weaving between four-on-the-floor house pulses and broken-beat rhythms with a producer's ear, using harmonic shifts into 3B and 7A keys for melodic respite. The low-end energy (0.386) acts as a consistent anchor, allowing percussive layers and subtle textural changes to build tension without resorting to obvious drops. The arc is less about peaks and valleys and more about maintaining a hypnotic, forward momentum that keeps us locked in. The crate dig here is sublime: dropping Yomanda's timeless trance weapon 'Synth & Strings' is a brazen genre invasion that somehow works perfectly, while CamelPhat & Will Easton's 'Witching Hour' injects a dose of tech-house menace.
The Fetty Wap 'My Way' remix with Drake is a cheeky, crowd-pleasing pivot, and Alex Metric's 'Rave Weapon' serves as a pure energy injection. Don't sleep on the deep cut bliss of Bombay Traffic's 'Soul Brother' remix or Disclosure's 'Bang That' for its swung garage feel. It begins with the atmospheric swell of Marc Ustari's 'Alone Together', builds to a chaotic, extended peak during Future's 'Sh!t', and winds down with the melancholic synth farewell of Alex H.'s 'Auf Wiedersehen'.