TuneLab
Dubfire
Tomorrowland Belgium 2018
Dubfire at Tomorrowland Belgium 2018? Yes, they actually let the grown-ups play on the big stage sometimes. This is for those of us who need a palate cleanser from the euphoria—a dose of proper, head-down techno. The vibe is dark, industrial, and intensely focused, a welcome anomaly amidst the festival's glitter. This is a masterclass in minimal and industrial techno, operating at a relentless 127 BPM. The harmonic language is sparse and functional, with a heavy emphasis on the 10B key (used six times) to maintain a hypnotic, driving tension.
The energy profile is all about the subterranean rumble, with a staggering 0.75 average low-end presence that vibrates through your ribcage. Mids and highs are used sparingly, for texture and punctuation rather than melody. Pants's 'Tension Within' is a perfectly titled opener, all brooding atmospherics and skittering hats. Woo York's 'Second Breath' is a modern classic of driving, melodic techno from the Afterlife stable. Yony Uribe's 'Old Dance' is a marathon 24-minute journey into percussive hypnosis.
Prunk's 'Heat', in its Hot Since 82 remix guise, is a surprising but effective injection of swinging UK garage groove. The journey begins in the shadows with 'Tension Within', reaches a peak of industrial grit with Gesaffelstein's 'Selected Faces', and leaves us in a state of rhythmic trance. A bold, uncompromising statement on the mainstage.