TuneLab
David Vunk
Boiler Room x Dekmantel Festival 2018
David Vunk's Dekmantel Boiler Room set is a glorious tribute to the wonky, the funky, and the outright silly side of dance music history. We're all in on the joke, grinning at the sheer audacity of the selections. The festival sun is setting, casting a golden hue over a crowd ready for something with character. This is a masterfully curated journey through electro and tech house, holding a steady, funky 128-130 BPM sweet spot. The harmonic backbone is firmly in 12A, giving it a bright, major-key cheerfulness that underpins the quirky samples and synth lines, with detours into 3B and 5A for depth.
The energy is bass-led and groove-centric (0.53 avg low), with mids (0.34) handling the playful melodies and just enough high-end (0.12) to keep it crisp. Vunk's mixing is playful and precise, often using quick cuts and teasing edits to keep the energy buoyant. Kiko/Gino's 'Electrogenic' is the perfect, squelchy opener, announcing the electro-funk agenda immediately. The double-drop of Company B's 'Fascinated' is a stone-cold classic deployed with maximum joy. IM KELLAR's 'The Scene' is a deeper, driving moment, while Modeselektor's 'Huyendo Pt.
2' brings a dose of glitchy, modern weirdness. Jacopo Sb's 'Traum' is a beautiful, lesser-known melodic gem. The set kicks off with the analog warmth of 'Electrogenic,' peaks with the undeniable sing-along of 'Fascinated,' and sends us off into the night with the timeless, psychedelic arpeggios of Der dritte Raum's 'Hale Bopp.'.