TuneLab
CUARTERO, GERMAN BRIGANTE & HECTOR COUTO in The Lab LDN
A back-to-back-to-back from Cuartero, German Brigante & Hector Couto promises one thing: relentless, bass-heavy tech house, and their Lab LDN takeover delivers with the subtlety of a freight train. The vibe is a sweatbox of pure function, where the only decoration is the red glow of the mixer, and every track is a tool for forward motion. This is tech house in its most driving form, averaging 124 BPM and overwhelmingly centred in the 12A key for maximum hypnotic effect.
The energy profile is ruthlessly efficient: a crushing 0.80 low-end focus, with minimal melodic distraction in the mids and highs (0.10 and 0.09), creating a physical, loop-based pressure that is utterly compelling. Their tag-team mixing is fluid, layering percussion and basslines to build a monolithic groove. The tracklist is a who's who of modern tools: Gaetano C & DePandis's 'Saw' is a razor-sharp loop weapon, and the choice to drop Bicep's remix of Blaze's 'Lovelee Dae' is a masterstroke of melodic release amidst the grit.
Joe Montana's 'Electric Dreams' provides a sleazy, retro-futurist bassline, and the Fred again.. edit 'ItsNotREEAALLLLLLLL' shows a keen ear for current hype. They start with the deep, vocal tease of 'Touch Your Mind,' build a peak around the relentless drive of 'Mark Knight & Prok & Fitch - Into My Life,' and close the ceremony with the gloriously silly, Ricci-remixed bomb that is Justin Timberlake's 'Sexy Back.'.